Chapter 2: Me and Deb

I had briefly thought about studying engineering after my experience with Maxwell Marine Services during the summer. I did enjoy the work and the people I met. Mr. Maxwell, Bob to most of his employees, had built a very good business by importing and distributing quality lines. He was the original Mercedes Benz stationary engine distributor, along with Volvo, Yanmar, Cummins-Onan, and Honda.

His service department was very busy with rebuilding and repairing a variety of makes and models. The versatility of the shop along with his contacts made his business very successful, and I was sure he would retire wealthy when the time came. Bob had no sons and complained that his two daughters had no interest in running the business. I wondered, as did most of his employees, what would become of Maxwell Marine Services when Bob finally walked away.

My parents had been making a number of friends in their new neighbourhood. Mom met some nice people at the art shop and Dad and Mom both met more people at the golf course. They used to go there almost every Sunday to play and socialize. Kenny and I would have dinner by ourselves when the weather was good enough for our parents to play golf. Even when it wasn't nice, they would go up there for dinner with some of their friends.

When I looked over the engineering courses and the requirements, I knew I wasn't up to the task. As much as I was interested, the work required was far more than I thought I could handle. Perhaps I was being lazy, thinking I could skate through without having to work too hard, but that was my outlook at the time. I decided to continue with selected courses of interest to me. I'd passed all my mandatory courses in first year, and now I could make some choices. At the time, that included chemistry, introductory physics, psychology, European history, and political science. A strange mixture for sure. Later on I would kick myself in the ass for not taking any business courses, but that would be some years in the future.

I can't remember exactly why, but I chose chemistry as an elective for my second year. It was a two semester course and when I scanned the outline, I thought it might be interesting. I had no idea just how interesting ... or challenging ... it would be. But as odd as it sounds, that one course turned my young life in a direction I would never have guessed. It introduced me to the world of women, and my first girlfriend, and sex.

During our first class, the lecturer announced we would need to break up into groups of two for lab work. I looked at the class list to see who I might be paired with. In high school, they almost always did this sort of thing alphabetically. But not here. Nope. We drew lots from a hat ... or a waste can as it turned out.

The name I pulled was D. Cummings, my new lab partner. There were forty one students in the class, so there would be nineteen pairings and one which would have three members. I wondered who the "third wheel" would be. I didn't know a single soul in this class. I saw a forlorn looking young guy near the back of the class, thinking he might be the odd man out. I went to him.

"No lab partner?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I'll have to find a pair who will allow me to join."

"What's your name? I'm Ian Kiernan."

"Terry Palmer," he said, shaking my hand.

"Why don't you join our group? My partner is a D Cummings."

He brightened up immediately. "Thanks. I appreciate that. Thanks," he repeated with a big sigh of relief. Terry was an ordinary kid, not very tall, glasses, long dark-brown hair, and a pocket protector in his checked shirt.

"Let's go find D. Cummings," I suggested.

I held my hand up and said in a reasonably firm voice, "I'm looking for D. Cummings."

It took less than a half minute before a young woman presented herself to us. "I'm Deb Cummings," she smiled.

"Holy shit!" I said to myself, staring at this vision. I thought I might have heard a strangled sound from Terry, but he was behind me.

"Uh, Hi Deb. I'm one of your partners," I managed to squeak out. "I'm Ian Kiernan, and this is Terry Palmer. He was the odd man out in the count."

"Oh, you mean we are a three-person team?" she smiled.

"Yes, Ma'am," I stumbled. "Lucky us. Another brain to contribute to our undoubted success." I was verging on being a blithering idiot in her presence.

Deb chuckled at my remark and looked us both over. At some point she must have decided that we were harmless and said, "I guess we should go and register with the teaching assistant ... or whatever he is." Our instructor was a young looking guy still in his twenties, I figured.

"Let's do it," I agreed, and followed her toward the crowded desk of our instructor. Terry was right behind me. I'd already deduced that he was a quiet one, and I thought that was a good sign. Not some loudmouth know-it-all. Deb, however, was another matter altogether. She was definitely going to be a distraction. It was going to take all my self-control to be in close proximity to her and still get some work done.

Deborah Cummings was barely over five foot tall in my estimation. But what she lacked in height, she made up for in other directions. Let's just say that nature, or genetics, had blessed her with the most magnificent tits any female should be allowed to possess. I'm absolutely positive that if you asked any guy in that class what her face looked like, or what colour her hair was, none of them would know. Moreover, while she was spectacular from the front, she was no less impressive going away. She was wearing a tight pair of jeans and again, her assets were not only on display, they were poetry in motion.

"Holy shit," I mumbled once more under my breath.

"What did you say?" Terry asked as I watched Deb clear a path to the front.

"Never mind," I said. It wasn't a remark meant for publication.

"Thanks again, Ian," Terry said. "If nothing else, I'm going to enjoy the company of our lab partner," he grinned.

"Assuming we can concentrate on the work, that is," I said with an arched eyebrow, bringing about a nod of agreement.

I watched as Deborah moved to our instructor/lecturer's desk. It was like the parting of the seas as she progressed. She returned a few minutes later, the throng of students making way for her once more.

"Have either of you looked over the course outline yet?" I asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

"I have," Deb said.

"Me too," Terry added meekly.

"And me too," I signaled. "It looks very interesting, based on what we'll be spending time on."

"A lot of organic chemistry and other related subjects," Deb said quickly.

I nodded. "Right. I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew," I mumbled.

At that point, the instructor asked us to take a seat and he would begin covering the course outline and objectives. It was going to be a very challenging semester for more than one reason, I thought.

It didn't take me very long to see where the effort was going to come from in our study group. Terry was almost a silent partner, but a very bright one. His contribution would be valuable to keep us on track and not get wandering off in the wrong direction. Deb was a bundle of energy, very much trying to herd us to act as a team for all our benefit. Me? I was just along for the ride.

There were times I thought she would lose her temper when I dropped the ball on an assignment. But to her everlasting credit, she stayed quite patient and encouraged me to keep at it. I had no intention of letting her down. She was the leader and I, along with Terry, was her supporting cast. I wanted her to succeed and I wanted to succeed with her. Terry was right there with me.

We were approaching the end of first semester exams and for once, I was ahead of the game. Terry and Deb were going to ace the exam, I was sure. I was confident I would do okay. Our group project would be handed in before the exams, but I was satisfied that we had done a good job on it and should get a decent mark.

As far as my other courses went, I felt reasonably comfortable that I was going to be okay. Psychology was a lock. History was only a little less secure. Political Science was more like a history course and I was doing fine there as well. I was surprised that I was not having problems with physics, but that was a relief. I needed two science subjects and I knew for certain that I wasn't a biology candidate. Not a heavy course load, to be sure, but it would get me though with a degree in four years and that was my ambition. I still had to study and work hard, but I liked the subjects I had chosen, so it stood to reason I would do well in them.

I was sitting by myself at a small table in the Sciences Building cafeteria one day when who should join me but Deb. That wasn't common. She usually disappeared at lunch, catching up with other friends, I assumed. I didn't know an awful lot about her even after sharing a class with her over the past three months. I remember her saying that she came from Sechelt, on the Sunshine Coast. I had never been there, but I knew where it was. Where she was living locally was unknown to me. She certainly couldn't commute from home.

"Hi," she smiled, "mind if I join you?"

"No ... of course not. Please do." I made a weak move to stand as she seated herself. I was a bit tongue-tied, as I often was around her when the subject wasn't chemistry.

"You ready for exams?" she asked as she began moving things from her tray to the table.

"Yes. You've been a really good motivator, Deb. I think it's helped me with my other courses, too."

She smiled her thanks once more. She was a very pretty young woman. Nice reddish-blonde hair, a round, friendly face, and of course, that amazing body.

"Do you think you will make it?" she asked.

"I think so. I'm pretty sure I know the work well enough."

"That's what I was thinking too," she nodded. "I looked at the second semester outline and I think it's going to be more demanding than the first. I hope we can all cope with it."

"Terry will be okay. He's really smart."

"Yeah, that's my take too. What about you, Ian? How do you feel about next term?"

"Hey, as long as you're still the leader, I'll be fine," I grinned.

I saw her blush for the first time. "Thanks," she said quietly, not looking up.

I decided to change the subject to avoid her any more embarrassment.

"I know you're from Sechelt. Where do you live during school?"

"I'm staying with my brother and sister-in-law in Richmond. I catch a bus near their home and I'm here in forty minutes."

"That's good. It's about forty minutes for me, too. I live with my parents in West Van. I'm not crazy about commuting, but I'm in a car pool so I only have to drive once or twice a week."

"Oh, West Van is such a nice place to live. Do you have a view?"

"Yes. We live just below the highway. We have a great view."

"I'm envious," she said. "I'm not that keen on Ditchmond, as I call it."

I laughed. I'd heard Richmond called that before. It was almost below sea level and everything seemed to be floating on the island municipality.