Chapter 27

Monday morning, first of July; it’s going to be clear and very warm; I got up early and went for a long run. Breakfast with JB and the others was very nice; Carol made it, but let me clean up afterwards. I got a call from Karen asking if I would like to come to her folk’s place for dinner that night; she and her mom were cooking Italian. I agreed, and arranged to be there at 6; nothing to really worry about, I kept telling myself. JB and I just took it easy the rest of the morning; I washed and waxed the Buick; it was a little dirty from all the traveling; and cleaned out the interior; then handed him the keys so he could take Angie out for lunch, just them. Cathy came by, she thought we should maybe record a few of our better songs and put them on cassette to sell on the Fourth; Bob thought that might be a good idea, if they could get it all together in time. He arranged for Tom to come over the next day; Bob figured we could record a dozen or so songs tomorrow, and he could get them mass produced by a friend of his on Wednesday. Cathy was in charge of developing the cassette sleeve design, once we had the songs figured out; I thought this was moving extremely fast, but kept my mouth shut; what did I know about the music business?

JB and Angie got back from lunch and retired to the pool house for a ‘nap’, JB said; Angie grinning a bit; Bob took me into the main house to his office and we talked about the ‘no-name band’. He thought we were doing something worth pursuing, there seemed to be a lot of local interest; he wanted to formally register the band, and see how much of a demand there was for it. The big problem of course is that JB and I were not going to around much; his idea was to organize it around the band he already had going; JB and I would play and sing with the band when we were around; when we weren’t, he would have ‘guest artists’ perform with them. I told him whatever he wanted to do was fine with me; I’d be willing sign whatever release/contract he came up with. He smiled and shook my hand; no rush, and he’d want me to have whatever contract he had drawn up reviewed by a lawyer; but, ‘you’re pretty much family’ he said as we left his office.

JB and Angie came back into the main house after their nap, JB looked like he might have actually slept some; we chatted a bit about various things; then I got cleaned up for supper with the Whites. I drove the Buick and got there right at 6 pm; Karen greeted me with a hug and a kiss, then escorted me to the kitchen. The house wasn’t massive, but everything was upscale and very nice; the kitchen was equipped on a professional level, and would have been acceptable in a modern restaurant. The ladies were making veal parmesan as the main course, with a salad first; and they were attempting creme brulee for the first time, with a bunch of laughing going on. A nice, relaxing atmosphere; Paul wasn’t there yet, it seemed he was still working at the hospital; we chatted about a few things, nothing important, not yet.

The ladies asked me if I had any suggestions concerning the dessert; I told them that was way beyond my capabilities, but I could toast some garlic bread if they wanted; Ana accepted and I took over one of the stacked ovens to do that. Paul got there about 30 minutes later; he went to take a quick shower as we finished making the meal; once he got back, we sat down to eat. He said a brief blessing; I just sat there with my head down, but he noted I didn’t add an ‘amen’ at the end. “Are you religious?” he asked; I guess we are jumping right into this.

I explained I wasn’t, and why; it was a nice, civil discussion. We started with creation vs evolution; then discussed the probable early origins of mankind and the Old Testament; then Jesus and the New Testament, and my belief that most of what was attributed to him was equivalent to modern myths. We closed with me just stating that I simply didn’t need the explanations or comforts that religion tried to supply; and left it at that. We moved on to a couple other areas; why I didn’t want to settle down, get married, have children; when asked why I hadn’t gone to college I told him it was a little involved, but I’d be happy to explain after supper. The rest of the meal went extremely well; I complimented the cooks and Paul joined in on that. I insisted on helping clear the dishes and load the dishwasher, a fairly new type of home appliance; that led to me explaining about my first paying job as a busboy and dishwasher, and then becoming a cook. We retired to the living room, I was offered a drink; just water I told them; we sat down, Karen sitting next to me, holding my hand: and Anna started asking questions.

After a few I suggested I simply tell them about my early life as I lived it; I wasn’t sure Karen knew it all, and it seemed to me the best way to get it out there. I glossed over a lot of it; but told them of living along the shores of Lake Erie, and my mother not being the easiest to get along with; I could tell Anna had more questions about that. I told about working with my step-dad and uncle as a handyman, then all the moving and schools I had attended; that I had decided fairly early to join the military after graduating high school; how I loved to read and was going to take advantage of the educational programs the military offered, now that I was permanently assigned to Cherry Point. All of them had a few questions as I explained; I answered all as I went along; I finished up with my time so far in the Corps; that I liked it and hoped to make it a career.

It was quiet for a few seconds when I finished; it was Anna that spoke up first; “You know your early life wasn’t normal, typical I guess I should say. I’m getting the impression your mother never told you she loved you, or gave you a hug; it sounds like your step-dad was a good father, but you didn’t get a lot of, nurturing I guess I should say. You missed a lot of what most kids get.”

“You can’t miss what you never had,” I told her. “I watched TV and movies, and saw things different from what I experienced; but all that was ‘make believe’, not real. It wasn’t a bad childhood, but it did make me the way I am. I want to travel and see the whole world; settling down somewhere does not appeal to me.”

“What about you and Karen?” Paul asked.

“I like her a lot; maybe even love her, as much as I’m able to; but I’m also sure, eventually she won’t be happy with me. She’s an amazing woman, I’m a little in awe of her; but eventually I hope she will look for someone else. Until then, I’ll support her as much as I can; and try to make her laugh a little.”

The room got really quiet for a bit; then Karen turned to me and spoke up, giving my arm a squeeze; “I like you a lot too, maybe even love you; you make me awfully happy just being around you.”

“I know honey, and I’m happy being around you;” I leaned close to her and said to her; “but sooner or later, we’re going to go in different directions. You keep going in school, I’ll visit when I can; we’ll write each other; and see what happens.”

“Are you being intimate with each other?” Paul quietly asked.

“I’ve handled that one already,” Anna told Paul; “I had a long talk with Karen today, and they are being careful. You and I will discuss this later; but I don’t think we have anything to really worry about there.”

“I’m her father, I’m going to worry about it anyway;” he said; “but I guess I need to trust the both of you a little bit. Be nice to my little girl,” he quietly said to me; “you don’t want me mad at you.” A few seconds went by, then Anna announced it was time for dessert.

The rest of the evening went pretty well; Paul told me about being in WWII, and how he took advantage of the GI bill to go to school, and becoming a surgeon. Anna had a few more questions for me, and how I grew up; after all, she is a behavioral psychiatrist. Around 9 I started saying goodbye; Anna invited me back anytime; Paul just shook my hand and gave me a smile. Karen walked me to my car; we spent a few minutes talking, then she gave me a tender kiss, and went back inside. I headed back to the Brooks; I guess the visit went pretty well, no shotguns in evidence.

JB and Angie were waiting for me when I got back; Angie wanted to know all about it. I told her most of it; she didn’t press me, knowing she would be talking to Karen about it; we decided to make it an early night, and that JB and I would do some serious exercising in the morning.

JB got up with me Tuesday morning, and went out and PT’ed, physically trained, for well over an hour. When we got back Angie was up and dressed, she had a class that morning and would be gone until noon. Over her mild objections I lent her the Buick, I wasn’t going anywhere; I was a bit surprised when Bob took JB and me to the studio, and started making plans to record us. He had a 16-track recorder that used what appeared to be an oversize reel-to-reel tape machine, plus a large mixing board and a bunch of peripheral equipment I couldn’t identify; he started setting equipment up while JB and I discussed what songs we’d be comfortable doing. We came up with several Beatles and Motown tunes that we could probably do without much problem. An hour later JB and I were doing our thing with Bob recording and directing us; by noon Bob decided we needed to get Tom over there and the four of us record a few songs. Angie came back around noon with Karen; I suppose I shouldn’t really be surprised; we all had lunch together and chatted a bit until Tom showed up; the afternoon was to be spent in the studio.

The ladies stayed in the main house visiting; Bob said we didn’t need any distractions. It took all afternoon; we’d record a song and then Bob would listen to it; he had us re-record a couple of the songs; but by 5 he seemed to be happy with the results. Karen called home and arranged to stay and have supper with us; Carol seemed to be quite happy with the extra guests for supper. Cathy came by afterwards; Bob let everyone listen to the recording and they all liked what they heard. Cathy was sure she could sell them on the Fourth, if Bob could get the music transferred to cassette tape; he was sure he could, I guess this is really happening. We left Bob in the studio to do whatever he needed to do; Cathy made a list of the song titles and their order; she went home to make up a sleeve for the project; damn, this is moving fast.

JB and Angie, and Karen and I went to the pool house living room to relax a bit; as far as I was concerned it had been a full day and I was a little tired. We chatted a bit, the girls got in a foot massage; about 7, I took Karen home. She sat next to me in the car, but behaved herself; no caressing me or trying to get me aroused. Actually the whole afternoon had been a little reserved; I had gotten a couple kisses and hugs, but nothing more; I wasn’t concerned, we’d go at her pace. “Can you come in for a while?” she asked me when we reached her house. I said yes; we ended up in the living room with her parents, watching a little TV; we watched ‘Happy Days”, a new show I hadn’t seen yet. We all commented on how much Ron Howard had matured from ‘The Andy Griffith Show’; and the Fonzie character, how popular that seemed to be, especially to younger people. Once the show was over Karen stood up and pulled me to my feet; “We’re going to my room and listen to some music for a while,” she announced, then led me away. I was expecting some sort of objection, or admonishment to behave; Anna just clasped Paul’s hand in hers, and smiled at us. Paul wasn’t smiling, but he wasn’t growling at me either; he just turned slightly to Anna, who leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Karen was smiling at me, quite broadly now; she led me upstairs and gave me a quick tour. The master ‘en-suite’ was at one end of the house; we didn’t go in, but Karen said it was her parent’s ‘retreat’; there were four more bedrooms and two more bathrooms upstairs. I couldn’t help but compare it to my homes growing up; one bathroom for 8 people, you better not stay in there for long; do your business and get out, so someone else could use the facilities. Karen’s bedroom wasn’t extremely large when we got to it; I noticed she didn’t shut the door completely when we entered. It had a canopy double-bed, a walk-in closet, a dresser and chest of drawers, a desk and chair, and an upholstered chair with a foot-stool in the corner; she had it nicely decorated, no dolls or old toys displayed; it was a nice, comfortable room. She didn’t say much at first, just turned to her stereo and put on the first platter of Elton John’s new double-album; ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”; then she turned to me and held me close, giving me a tender kiss. “We’re not supposed to close the door, but my mother promised they wouldn’t come up to check on us,” she murmured as she lowered her hands to my ass and pulled me tight against her. “We are listening to music,” she giggled; “but that’s mostly to keep us from being heard if we get a little noisy; if I get a little noisy.” Her kisses quickly went from tender to passionate, and I responded in kind for a moment; when she started unsnapping my shorts and tugging them down, I stopped her.

“Baby, are you sure we should be doing this here, and right now?” I whispered. “I know your dad wouldn’t be happy about this if he knew it was happening; we don’t really want to rub his nose in it.”

She reluctantly took her tongue out of my mouth; “We’re good,” she softly panted; “I’ve had several long discussions with my mom; and my dad is not all that upset. He’s impressed by you, and kind of likes you; and he realizes we’re going to make love again, no matter what he thinks about it.” It had been a hot day, and she was wearing another sundress, this one with shoulder straps that tied back around her neck; she reached up and untied them, and pulled the dress down to her waist. No built-in bra this time, but a strapless one that circled her chest and gave her fantastic breasts the support they needed; that support quickly disappeared when she reached back and unhooked the bra, removing it and tossing it on her bed. Her nipples were already pebbled and begging for attention; I couldn’t resist leaning down and taking one in my mouth, gently sucking while I caressed the other one with one of my hands.