Chapter 8

The next morning I got up around 7:00 and went downstairs to grab some breakfast. I knew my father had an 8:00 tee time and I hoped that he would have already made the coffee. He had not disappointed me. I drank my coffee and ate some cereal while Dad drank his coffee and read the paper. Dad left around 7:30 to head for the golf club. I lounged around the kitchen a bit longer. Just after 8:00 Julie and Lisa came down to the kitchen in their pajamas and fixed some cereal and orange juice. Mom came down a few minutes later, grabbed a cup of coffee and rushed out saying that she had to go to a planning meeting for a charity fundraiser.

Her last words were, "Mike, I'm counting on you to take care of Julie and Lisa and be nice."

"Sure, Mom," I replied. "You can rely on me."

As soon as Mom was out of the door, Julie sniggered and said, "Yeah, we can count on you to take real good care of us."

"Well," I replied. "I don't recall hearing any complaints last night, now did I?"

"Na," Julie drawled. "Ya'll done real good, Bubba."

Both Lisa and I cracked up at that. I followed up by reminding them that we had to get our story straight for the doctor at the clinic. I told them that they had to get their skanky outfits on and to pack some more appropriate clothes for the mall. Our story hadn't changed much except for Lisa's part about the candles. I had confidence that she act well enough to pull it off. In fact, I felt much less anxious than the first time we had gone to the clinic. Lisa and Julie headed back upstairs to get dressed.

Just before I started upstairs too, the phone rang and I answered it. Mrs. Daniels asked for my mother. I told her that Mom was out to a meeting and that we were planning to go to the mall in Jackson. I offered to take a message. She seemed quite distraught and said that she really needed to ask a favor of my parents. When I offered to help, she broke down and said that there was a family emergency that required her husband and her to go out of town suddenly. She wanted to know whether it would be an inconvenience for Lisa to stay over until they could get back. I assured her that my parents had no plans that I knew of and that my mother treated Lisa like a second daughter. I asked what I should tell Lisa. She replied that her sister, Lisa's aunt, had been injured in an automobile accident and the family needed their help. She added that they would be back as soon as possible but they didn't want to take Lisa out of school if they had to stay past the weekend. I promised her that we would take good care of Lisa. She gave me her cell phone number so we could keep in touch.

By 9:00 we were all dressed in our hillbilly best and loaded up in the car headed for Jackson. Lisa and Julie were wearing scruffy shorts and t-shirts with no bras. I had put on old work jeans and a t-shirt. I told Lisa about her mother's call which left her quite subdued, obviously concerned about her aunt. Nevertheless by the time we got to the clinic we had all assumed our roles, even Lisa. We arrived a little before 10:00 and surprisingly we didn't have to wait long before the doctor saw us. She examined each girl separately. Within an hour and a half we walked out of the clinic with two three-month supplies of birth control pills and an appointment to return in three months. The doctor had detected no evidence of side effects. The lab tests were clean. After all the planning and angst, the clinic visit was a bit anticlimactic. Lisa later told me that when the doctor heard her story about the candles, she just shook her head without even admonishing her for foolishness.

As previously, we found a convenient alleyway in which to change clothes before heading to the mall. This time, I let them wear their bras. We agreed to go our separate ways and to meet at the food court around 1:00. As always, I find shopping in malls boring. I wound up going to the food court early to find an empty table from which I could drink my coffee and watch the people. It was an interesting study to watch the social dynamics as small groups of teen and pre-teen girls and boys checked each other out while trying to appear cool and aloof. Those kinds of games were definitely not anything in which I had ever developed skill. I found one group of girls about the age of Julie and Lisa particularly amusing. They sat at a nearby table baiting the hook by flashing their assets barely concealed behind their low cut blouses and short skirts while pretending to be totally unaware of how much they were showing. I was convinced that at least one of the little teasers had no panties to cover her nearly hairless honey pot.