Chapter 38: Mix and Mingle

Friday, October 3, 1986

Thankfully, this was another day where classes were pretty light. Things with Amy had gone as well as possible, I thought, but it had still been very stressful. This week might have gone much worse if anything big had been going on. Right now, at least, the McBride situation was on hold, nothing huge was happening with Lynn, P.C.’s Limited was quiet, and so forth. Friends were doing well, family was fine, grades were good, and so forth. We hadn’t even gotten any hate mail in over a week!

Something was bound to come up, but we were good right now.

About the only thing of note today was a chance to hang out with Lindsay a bit after Advanced Business Management. She’d had two dates thus far, but both were one and done. Still, where there were dates, there was hope, and we both crossed our fingers for better luck soon.

Tomorrow should be fun. We had the football game against Texas Tech, followed by the President’s Endowed Scholar reception. If there was a bummer, it was that the reception was at the same time as MSC Cinema’s showing of ‘Ladyhawke’. We might have to rent it at some point. Amy hadn’t seen it, and I was nearly certain she would enjoy it.

A month from now, Jas and I would meet Amy’s parents. That was going to be fascinating. I was going to have to think seriously about what to tell Mom and Dad next weekend. It felt wrong to tell the Finches that Jas and I were in an open relationship and that both of us were with their daughter when Mom and Dad were unaware of any of that.

How much to share was a question. But ... something. Angie and I should have talked about it last night, but I wasn’t ready yet. We would need some time soon, but probably not before next week.

We had a big surprise waiting in the mail when we got home. Somehow, they’d resurrected the Broadway season this year. It wasn’t the best lineup, but it was good enough.

The first show was a hit with everyone. ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ was coming on November 6th. I was the only one who’d seen it on stage, and that had been decades ago. Since I didn’t add that it would be my first time (though I was pretty sure it would), I avoided elbows and couch pillows.

The Valentine’s Day performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was the second show. We’d already been planning to go. The question was who would go with whom, but we were working on that.

Their third show sounded like fun, too, and a lot more lighthearted than ‘Romeo and Juliet’. On March 1st, they were doing Cole Porter’s ‘Can Can’. Jas declared it a must-see, and that was that.

Their last show was something of a mystery, but we would see it simply because it was in the series. William Windom, who none of us could place without resorting to researching him (which we didn’t do right then — one day the Internet would arise!), was performing a one-man show about James Thurber, who we also didn’t know well. Some research would definitely be required, but it sounded worth the time.

‘Thurber’ was on April 23rd, just a couple of days past Cammie’s, Paige’s, and my birthdays. We checked, and it was a Thursday. I might visit the parents on the 24th, or not. It was a week after Easter, though, and we would likely celebrate my birthday that weekend instead. Paige would likely do the same. As for Cammie, her celebration would be here, though she might also celebrate with the Rileys and Penelope and David on Easter weekend.

Overall, all of us (including Amy) decided to buy season tickets. Candice and Sherry were ordering separately, though, so they could have their own dates. Cammie and Mel decided that was a good idea and followed suit. Jas, Angie, Paige, Amy, and I were planning to sit together, though the details of who sat next to whom might vary.

Unlike many of our peers, we spent much of our Friday night studying and working on technical writing. That’s partly why our grades were so good, of course. But part of the work was because we’d spent a couple of nights involved with Amy, and part was to make sure we were free to concentrate on other things in the future.

Some of my time was also spent on P.C.’s Limited reports. I wasn’t getting to them as often as I should have been, perhaps. It was pretty obvious from the last two weeks that the 386 was a hit. Sales numbers were going up noticeably week-to-week.

Quality issues weren’t spiking yet, which was a good sign. They probably would, unless the 386s were simply more reliable than older systems. That was possible, though. A lot of work had gone into the 386s, including more testing than any other P.C.’s Limited product had undergone.

We knocked off work around eleven and headed to the MSC, getting ice cream before heading to Kyle Field for Midnight Yell Practice. It was still pretty warm out, making this feel a bit like the Octobers of later years. But this was also just the start of the month, and things might well cool down in a week or two.

Midnight Yell Practice was fun. The team was on a roll, and various speakers promised a return to form after last week’s struggles. We all hoped that was true. There was a long way to go, but they were in the top ten and could, in theory, make a run at the national championship this year.

Would they? They’d never gotten really close in my first life. Nor had UT during these years. Still, things were different, potentially because of us.

It would be annoying if A&M wound up in a bowl game with the national championship on the line while we were in Europe. Annoying or not, though, we would be there, not here. There would be other big games, most likely.

We shuffled bed partners again. In an unusual (perhaps too unusual, considering) twist, Jas and Paige both joined me. Amy and Angie were, thus, on their own.

The three of us discussed whether that would change one day, with Amy joining Angie or Paige for the night. We all thought it seemed at least possible and maybe likely. As with everyone, it was ‘wait and see.’ Jess had been with me first, then with Jas, and now with all four of us. There was no particular reason why Amy should follow the same path, but there was also no reason why she couldn’t.