Chapter 3

“I had to pee, and I got into it that way. There was no ‘he’.”

“So there’s no guy scratching his balls today?”

“No!”

“Too bad,” the woman laughed. “I thought maybe you were finally letting yourself have fun again.”

That night, Jim called. “Hey, Kay. I’m taking a risk and calling you.”

“Hi! How are you?”

“Good. Did you beat the rain?”

“I was nice and dry in my car reading your note when it started.”

“Are you okay from your fall?”

“More or less.”

“You did get hurt, didn’t you?”

“Not hurt, no. All right, if you must know, I got poison ivy.”

“I hear that can be really bad. Apparently I’m immune,” Jim said.

“I assumed I was too, since I never got it before. I saw some in the woods, but I thought I avoided it.”

“You got it on your hands?”

“Amazingly enough, no, considering I must have gotten into it tumbling down that hill.”

“Your legs, then.”

“Um, no. Worse.” She sighed. “You know what you saw that you shouldn’t have?”

“Oh, no.”

“It’s not real bad. It’s not spreading. Shelly got me calamine lotion, so I’m just waiting it out.”

“Is sitting down for coffee a problem?”

“Jim, at the risk of being crude, right now I feel like I have fire ants in my panties, and I don’t dare scratch.”

“Ouch.”

“Can I call you for a rain check?” she asked.

“Please do.”

The following Sunday was wet. Kay puttered around her apartment and debated calling Jim after lunch, wondering why she wanted to. The phone rang, so she didn’t have to decide.

“Hi, Kay. It’s Jim.”

“Hey.”

“How are you feeling by now?”

“Reasonably well healed. I don’t have to fight the urge to claw my skin off anymore.”

“It’s not my idea of hiking weather, so I wondered if you’d like to use your rain check for that coffee.”

She spent a ridiculous amount of time choosing her outfit, finally throwing on the jeans and tee she first selected as his Jeep pulled up outside. She grabbed her purse and opened her door as he rang the bell.

“Oh!” he chuckled.

“I saw you from the window,” she blushed.

They dashed together through the rain. He held her door while she climbed in and then got in the other side. He waited for her to fasten her seatbelt before starting the engine.

“Where are we going?” Kay asked.

“There’s a place in my neighborhood. If you can think of a bean or a blend, they have three varieties of it. How’s your, um, butt?”

She giggled. “Much better, thank you. Can’t believe I told you about it.”

He laughed in return. “We can’t really unsee or unsay what we saw or said, I guess.”

“Okay, that’s awkward,” she said.

“I have some stories about my fraternity hazing that are far worse.”

“Oh?”

“The pledge master was a depraved, sadistic prick. I’d have to know you a whole lot better to share some of his finer moments.”

They parked near a shop in the old part of town. At one point it appeared to have been a neighborhood bakery. Now, the front of the building was crammed full of cafe tables for two.

“I work near here, but I never noticed this place,” Kay said.

“It’s a third-generation family business. The little sign on the door may be the only advertising they do. We can sit here.” He held a chair for her at a tiny table.

“Welcome to Wholelotta Jo!” An eager girl in jeans and a logo shirt appeared at their side. “All our selections are on the chalkboard on the wall. The bean of the day is Ugandan Bugishu, a mix of Arabica and Robusta bean characteristics. Not at all bitter, moderate caffeine level, very full-bodied, with some subtle woody tones.”

“Sounds good,” Kay said.

“I’ll have the same,” Jim agreed.

“We have fresh organic cream and organic cane sugar,” the girl offered.

“Not for good coffee, thank you,” Kay said, and Jim shook his head too. The girl bustled away.

“I’m not a connoisseur,” Jim confessed. “I often go with the bean of the day if it’s something I haven’t tried. This place is the cheapest around and everything is all-natural. They even have some low caffeine blends.”

“They wouldn’t work for me at my job,” Kay smirked. “A career in the business world sounded good when I was in college, but I need lots of coffee some days.”

“Tell me about yourself,” he said.

“Hmm. Well, I was a surprise baby. Only child to parents who had given up hope, so they’re fairly old. Played soccer as a kid and volleyball in high school. Went to college, got a B.A. in business administration, found a crap job, and met Sid. We dated for a while, and he got serious. I was caught up in it. I convinced myself everything was perfect.”

“But it wasn’t?”

“Hardly. He pretty much wanted to control everything. I dealt with that, but the cheating was a different matter. Can you believe that bastard hit on Shelly? He told her he wanted to spend a night with every girl in the wedding party as his farewell to bachelorhood. The son of a bitch said he thought she was hot, wanted to get in her pants. He exposed himself to her! He even asked her about a threesome with me! Since we’re best friends he assumed we played when he wasn’t around.”

“Wow,” Jim said.

“Yeah. Shelly called me the minute he left. I rehearsed an exit scene. I was going to be all high and mighty and righteously indignant. When he opened the door, all I said was Shelly called and told me. He didn’t deny it – just packed his stuff and left. I cried for two days straight.”