Chapter 8: Revelation, Part I

July 1977

Saturday was pick-up day from camp. Rather than going straight home, Dad took me to see the site for the new house. It was a wooded lot on Overlook Drive that covered just over 7 acres. When we arrived, I saw that the excavation for the footers of the house had been completed. Dad showed me the design - very similar to houses we’d had in Yorba Linda and Bermuda Dunes, California.

It was a U-shaped one story home with a pool in the center of the ‘U’. In this case, it was an indoor pool instead of an outdoor (like in Bermuda Dunes) or a rose garden (like in Yorba Linda). Built on a slope, the garage would actually be about half a story down from the house on one side, and a room with hot water tanks, the furnace, and some space for storage, underneath my parents’ bedroom on the other side of the U. There weren’t many houses on the street and there was even a farm with horses. I hoped that boded well.

Back at home, I found the expected and hoped-for letter from Birgit. Nothing much had changed from her last letter - just having a good Summer sailing, hanging out with her friends, and getting back into the swing of things. She had drawn little hearts all over the page, which made my day. She reminded me about our agreement and told me not to pass up any opportunities.

She hadn’t met anyone, but didn’t want me to be a monk. I frowned a bit, but I knew eventually she’d have a boyfriend. It was pretty much inevitable, and although I hadn’t really had any ‘opportunities’ as she put it, I figured I would have a girlfriend, too. We were way too young, and way too far away, for a commitment.

After I put my dirty clothes in the washer, unpacked the rest of my stuff, and got some lunch, I sat down and answered her letter. I had more stuff to write about since I had been at camp, so I easily filled a couple of pages. I sealed it and planned to put it in the box on Monday. Then I called Larry and made plans for later in the week.

The rest of Saturday was uneventful, and I had traded away my service at Mass, so I sat in the pew with my mom, my brother, and my sister. We were at our normal Mass and Jennie wasn’t there. I did see her as we were leaving, walking hand-in-hand with who I assumed was now her boyfriend.

I once again felt a pang of jealousy, though it went away quickly. I hoped they got along. We arrived home and I had a message from Jennifer. I called her back and she asked about chess. I told her I was getting together with Larry at his house later in the week and she should check with him. I gave her his number and we hung up. The rest of the day was quiet. I just read, watched a bit of TV, and turned in.

Monday I had to show up at the deli for my first day of work. To call it uneventful would have been an understatement. To call it boring was accurate. Put on the apron, sweep the floors, and keep the tables wiped down. Carry hunks of meat and cheese from walk-in cooler to the display cases. Repeat as needed. But I was getting paid. I did notice that several girls from school came in for lunch the first day. The rest of the week was more of the same. Different people came for lunch, different people picked up orders. I made a couple of deliveries to a doctor’s office down the street.

Wednesday afternoon I was off and it was the day I was heading to Larry’s. His mom picked me up on her way home from the hospital where she was Charge Nurse, stopped by Jennifer’s house to pick her up, and learned she was staying for dinner like I was. We played some regular chess, but mostly we played against Larry’s Chess Challenger computer. On easy mode we could all beat it. On the harder modes it could beat us, although if we teamed up we could hold our own on all but the two hardest levels.

Larry’s mom let us know that dinner would be ready in a few minutes and asked Larry to find out what we wanted to drink and get it. Coke for both of us. He went to get the Cokes and when he left, Jennifer said she wanted a chance to talk to me.

“Sure. Just call me.”

“I’d rather talk in person, if you don’t mind.”

“Well, can you come to the Deli for lunch? We can eat and talk.”

“I can do that.”

“I work tomorrow.”

“OK.”

I wondered what was up, but didn’t think too much about it. Dinner was fantastic and the conversation slipped from my mind as we chatted about everything under the Sun. Larry’s brothers, Brent and Jeff, were pretty cool and didn’t bug us like my brother did. When we finished, Mrs. Higgins served us ice cream. After dessert, we grabbed the chess board again and played until Jennifer’s mom came to pick us up.

They dropped me at home and Jennifer said, “See you tomorrow.”

“Uhm, yeah, see you tomorrow.”

When I got in the house, I had a phone message from Melanie Spencer. I had no idea why she would be calling, but I went to the upstairs extension for privacy and called her. She said she had something for me from Birgit and wondered when she could bring it by.

“What is it?”

She deflected every question I tossed her way. Finally I told her I’d be home all day on Friday, so any time would be fine. Since she had a car, it wouldn’t be an issue for her. But the anticipation would kill me.

Thursday was uneventful, at least until lunchtime. Jennifer showed up and I asked Andreas if it was OK to take my lunch. He looked at Jennifer, smiled, and said, “Of course. Be back in an hour.” He made us some sandwiches, not charging me for Jennifer’s (mine were always free when I was working). We went to sit at a picnic table in front of the deli.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“All year, in chess club, it was pretty clear that you didn’t have a girlfriend. You also didn’t talk to many girls except me and Susan. At the dance, you were going through all the cute girls in the room, having a blast and otherwise being a different person. When they played Dancing Queen and I asked you what you were thinking. The way you said ‘Birgit’ plus the look in your eyes screamed ‘love’. But it didn’t look like love unfulfilled. It looked like love experienced. Something is going on with you this Summer.”

“Jennifer, we’re friends. But it’s not something I really want to talk about. It wouldn’t be right.”

She considered what I had said and countered “Ah. A gentleman. So you won’t talk about it. I get it. But with Birgit, there’s no reputation issue. She’s gone.”

“That’s not true, actually. The whole ‘Swedish girls are easy’ reputation kind of kept her from dating more. She was being careful not to be put in that category. She went out with a number of guys. And what did you hear?”

“You’re right!” Jennifer said after a moment’s silence. “Nothing. No rep. Kinda hard to brag about bagging the Swedish chick when you don’t get a goodnight kiss! She did go out, but mostly she hung with you and Larry.”

“Exactly.”

“It’s clear from the dance and from this conversation that you were together at some point. And unless I miss my guess, about six weeks ago.”