Chapter 03

First Date

Ernie turns up at Melissa’s house at the agreed six o’clock to find a subdued argument going on. Mister Watson is surprised when he meets Ernie for the first time, because he’s neatly dressed and is polite, a big change to most of Melissa’s previous boyfriends. He’d heard a lot from the other family members so he wondered what Ernie was like. After letting Ernie in he turns back to his heated discussion with Mrs Watson.

After listening to a bit of it Ernie says, “Excuse me, but I may be able to help. If I understand this correctly you’ve a last minute problem with your babysitter for Emily, right! Missus Watson is talking about staying home to be with her so she’s not alone, and you don’t wish her to miss the party you’re going to, correct?” Mr Watson nods his agreement. “Emily, get dressed nicely, you’re coming out to dinner with Melissa and me.” He turns to Mrs Watson, “Now, when everyone is ready we can all go out, problem solved.” Both adults just give him odd looks. “Emily has seen us kiss before, and that’s all we’ll be doing, because that’s as far as Melissa wants to go and I respect her wishes. No big deal as I can afford an extra person for dinner.” While shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders the Watsons finish getting ready and Emily sets a new personal best time record for getting dressed to go out.

They’re taking a little longer to be ready to go out than Ernie had planned, so he has the taxi he booked start his meter and wait for them when the taxi arrives on time. Mr Watson is happy to see they’re taking a taxi. While he’s waiting Ernie takes the time to ring the restaurant to inform them of the delay and to change the table to a setting for three.

When everyone is ready Ernie escorts the girls to the taxi and they get in; Emily in the front, and Melissa with Ernie in the back to snuggle close and kiss while they cuddle during the drive.

The taxi drops them outside one of the best restaurants in the area and they walk in. Compared to the majority of diners they’re a bit shy of the dress standard, but well above the minimum. The large bar is full of people waiting and a line of hopefuls is at the reservations desk. Both Emily and Melissa are surprised to be here because it’s a place their parents have often talked about eating at, but they can’t afford to go to.

Ernie leads them up to the sign that says ’Reservations,’ and a few of those waiting giggle at their dress. He smiles at them, and when the maître d’hotel asks what they want Ernie simple says, “Booking for two, changed to three, for E. Cable, please.”

The maître d’ smiles, “Ah, yes, Mister Cable. I hope you don’t mind, the table your secretary booked was beside the stage, but when you changed it to three we had to move you to a table near the back.”

“That’s perfectly all right, Maurice. I hope you are Maurice, because we haven’t met yet and I was told you’d be on tonight?”

He smiles and responds, “Yes, I’m Maurice. Please come this way,” and he undoes the rope to show them to their table; surprising those who sneered at their clothes. When they walk across the restaurant the girls’ eyes are wide with surprise because they’ve never been in a place this fancy before and they’re very taken with the way Ernie handles the entry, despite the behaviour of the others waiting to eat.

Once seated with orders for soft drinks taken and menus in hand they’re left alone to discuss the meal. Emily gulps and says, “Ernie, whatever I eat here is going to cost you an extra hundred bucks or more, have you got enough on you for that? If I’d known it was this expensive I’d have refused to come. I can understand you want to impress Melissa. But the extra for me is way too much. And how did you organise this so quickly?”

He smiles, “Look at what you’d like to eat and forget the prices, I can easily afford it. I earn a few thousand dollars a week in royalties for my books and inventions.” Both girls look up in shock. “I organised the dinner by simply ringing Dad’s secretary between first and second period to ask her to book me dinner at a top restaurant, and then I left her to organise it. When she rang me back with the details I organised a bunch of flowers to be sent to her so she’ll be happy to help me again.”

Giggling at his organisational skills the two girls settle down to select a good dinner. The meal and service are excellent, and the girls are entranced by the quality of the food. When it comes time to pay Emily is surprised to see him pay with an American Express Gold card.

They leave the restaurant just after eight in the evening, and walk a block down the street to a live show theatre house with a good top live play on. After walking up to the bookings window Ernie says, “Excuse me, Ma’am, I’m Ernie Cable and my secretary was organising seats for two to be held here for me, but we now need a third, can that be arranged, please?”

The woman responds, “E. Cable! Ah, yes, here it is! No problem, sir, all of the general pre-booked seats were taken so your secretary reserved one of the champagne service boxes for you, it seats five; so you’ve room for your friend and two others, if you want. She said you’d bring your Master Card with you for us to process.” Smiling, he hands over the card then signs the slip when it’s presented before taking his copy with the envelope of tickets.

When he turns away Melissa asks, “Did she say we have five tickets? If so, can we invite Jenny and her boyfriend to join us?” She’s pointing to a girl and boy eyeing the length of the line, he recognises her as another of the cheerleaders.

Nodding yes he calls out, “Jenny, Jenny Benson.” When she turns to look around he waves his arm above his head, adding, “Here, Jenny.”

They walk toward each other and meet in front of the doors. Jenny says, “I really want to watch this, but it looks like they’ll sell out before half this lot gets in. Want to join us and go somewhere else?”

With an evil looking grin Ernie holds up his hand with the five tickets spread out in it as he says, “No, do you want to join us and go watch the show?” With eyes wide like an owl she just nods her head yes.

Taking Melissa’s arm in his left arm and Emily’s in his right arm Ernie leads the small group inside the theatre. Expecting to join the long queue for the general seats Jenny is surprised when he heads up the stairs on the right to the section marked ’Private Boxes.’ The usher takes their tickets and punches them before handing them off to another usher.

After escorting them to their box the usher starts to clear his throat, and Ernie says, “Yes, I’m aware of the laws. The other gentleman and his date are of legal age and can share some of the champagne. Can we please redeem the other bottles for a good supply of cola and lemon squash?” The usher smiles while he nods his head yes, his smile widens when he gets sight of the ten dollar note Ernie slips him as a tip. The others don’t see it because they’re still very busy with examining the contents of the luxurious box they’re sitting in.

A few minutes later the usher is back with two glasses and a bottle of champagne for Jenny and her beau, plus a tray with two large colas and two large lemon squashes plus a selection of half a dozen nibblers. After pouring the champagne and giving them to the older couple he offers the soft drinks to the ladies first, and Ernie ends up with one of each, taking the cola first. The usher gets the message, and they all know the next round will be two colas and one squash.

While they sip drinks and watch the audience take their seats Jenny introduces her boyfriend, Robert, and thanks him for the tickets and the drinks. Ernie is a bit embarrassed by this and says, “Jenny, please, if you must thank anyone thank my Dad’s secretary. I asked her to get two tickets for tonight and I said I didn’t care how much. The only thing left was to buy this whole box, which is for five. So when we found that out and Melissa saw you she suggested we invite you, so Melissa is more responsible than me, because she saw you there.” Jenny can see right through his smoke screen, but she realises he’s embarrassed so she settles for thanking Melissa.

The show starts at eight thirty on the dot and finishes at eleven fifteen, with two short intermission breaks. Due to the excellent service by the usher, helped along with two more ten dollar tips, they’re kept well lubricated and fed without having to go and fight for it at the food concession stands. Ernie limits Jenny and Robert to only two bottles of champagne for the night (one each) while the rest have soft drinks. Ernie knew the usher would see they’re looked after because the box comes with five bottles of champagne prepaid in the tickets, and the several soft drinks are a lot cheaper than the three bottles of champagne not drunk, so the usher is providing them some of the value of the wine with the nibblers free as well. Even so, he or the theatre is still well ahead on this box for the night.

They take their time leaving the box after the show, and are slow making their way out the front door. They all came into town by public transport, so they now need taxis to get home. They stand on the street and can see no taxis in sight because the main taxi stand is several streets away. Jenny and Robert are about to start walking that way when Ernie shakes his head no. He knew taxis at this time would be a problem so he made special arrangements. He stands there, waiting and checking his watch.

At twenty-five minutes past eleven, on the dot, a nice limousine pulls up in front of the playhouse and stops. The driver gets out and smiles at them while asking “Mister Cable?”

Ernie nods and says, “Yes, Jonathan?” The driver smiles at the confirmation code and walks around to open the door for them. While the ladies get in Ernie says, “A slight change of plan because we have an extra address to go to first.” The driver nods agreement, and Ernie has Jenny give her address, Robert can organise to get himself home from there.

Once they’re all seated in the limo Melissa snuggles up to Ernie and gives him a big kiss before saying, “Consider me one extremely well impressed new girlfriend. It’s been a dream of a first date.”

A surprised Jenny asks, “If this is what he does on a first date what would he do when he wants to really impress you?”

A laughing Ernie says, “Probably a personal live show by her favourite living singer.” Jenny and Robert are very stunned by this while Melissa and Emily laugh, because the Watson girls are starting to get a feel for Ernie’s sense of humour.

Sometime later the limo pulls up in front of the Watson house just when Mr and Mrs Watson are getting out of their car at a few minutes to midnight. They’re very impressed to see Ernie squiring the girls out of the limo. The driver has a clipboard in his hand while he holds the door open for the girls, they’d dropped Jenny at her house and Robert a few blocks back because he lives in this part of town. When the girls head for the front door Ernie signs the driver’s time sheet, they’ll send him the bill next week. They do a lot of work for the company his father works for and they know the bill will be paid because it was organised through the company.

Mr Watson is very surprised when Ernie isn’t embarrassed to give Melissa a very long goodnight kiss in front of him.

Saturday

The morning sees Ernie doing his daily exercise routine before breakfast, then off to his lab for some work after breakfast. He spends most of his day working in the lab. Mid-afternoon he locks up the lab and stops to speak to his parents about the party, he’s just checking it’s all on track. Up to his room and work on his computer for a while.

At four o’clock in the afternoon he’s walking out of the shower in his robe when Lee dashes in for her shower. He’d phoned her yesterday and invited her to become an external member of the Cable Company, so she’s coming tonight and bringing a friend. That makes the line-up for tonight being Lee, Tom, Margaret, Nancy, Pearl, Maggie, all of their partners, Melissa, Emily - no partner invited, and Ernie: fifteen in all.

At a quarter to five the three Cables head out the back door and pick up their cousins plus their three dates at their front door, arriving at the Watson front door at five to five. Melissa and Emily are ready and their parents walk out to see them off, they’d heard about last night from Emily and they’re still recovering from the shock of such a fancy restaurant and show. Dead on five o’clock a twenty seater minibus with driver pulls up and they all climb in, it heads off to pick up Maggie and her partner and Tom’s partner. Ernie is becoming a bit worried about who Lee invited. When they pull up at Maggie’s to find two girls and a boy Lee says, “I’ve invited Lisa as my partner, I hope you don’t mind?” He smiles at her to let her know it’s OK. They’re soon aboard and off to pick up April, Tom’s guest. They pick her up a few minutes later.

They all chat and get to know each other while the bus drives off; only the driver and Ernie know where they’re going, and neither is telling. Just before six o’clock they pull up outside a country club on the other side of the city. The driver hops out to open the door and help the ladies alight. When he closes the door Ernie confirms he’ll call if they’re leaving before the booked time of eleven, when the driver is due back; but he may have to wait until midnight.

All of the girls are impressed when they walk into the club. Inside they’re shown to the large table reserved for them. Ernie explains it’s a dinner show with dancing, so they’ll be here until eleven or later. He also lays down the law about alcohol, only those over eighteen can drink any alcohol and they’re not to get drunk. They spend a pleasant evening eating, talking, listening to the floor show, and dancing. The six boys are kept busy making sure all nine girls get a fair amount of time on the dance floor, none of the girls mind their dates getting the others up to dance as well. Ernie makes a point of dancing with Melissa for all the real slow numbers. Lisa is surprised when Ernie holds her close and caresses her back during his dances with her.

During one dance Melissa says to Ernie, “Do me a favour next Saturday and take Emily off for a good fucking at some point, please. I know I’m a bit silly insisting on being a virgin for my husband when no one else is, especially my sister, but that’s the way I am.”

He smiles and responds, “It’s not silly, if that’s what you want. And since you ask, I’ll see Emily has a very good time on Saturday.”

The evening passes in a very pleasant way for all, and they leave at eleven thirty. The trip home is the reverse of the one out, and every one of the girls is seen home safe.

The next day is an easy day for all and Ernie spends it in his lab or on his computer, taking time for a long lunch with the Watson family.

Monday passes by without anything of real interest, and Ernie spends some time with Melissa at her home after walking her home. Then homework followed by dinner and martial arts training.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning and the school day passes without any issues, then it’s off to cheerleader practise. The teacher and girls notice they now have three groupies watching them, so they have a laugh about the group growing. Melissa and the other Cable Company members wonder what Ernie is up to with the extra girl there.

While the girls go through their routines Ernie asks Tom and Vanessa, the girl Tom brought, if they thought they were strong enough to throw two or three of the cheerleaders up in the air to around the three metre mark if the girls gave them a running approach. They look at the girls for a moment before they admit they could throw most of them up that high. He also asks about both their skills in general gymnastics. It turns out Vanessa is very good and would make an excellent gymnast, except she no longer has any confidence on the beam due to a bad accident a couple of years back, and you can’t do well in the high level competitions without the beam. Tom is fair, but Vanessa thinks he can do better if he really tries.

A smiling Ernie gets them to help him bring some more of the foam practice mats over to where the girls are, where he sets them up in a long row. The teacher and girls watch them, with interest. During the next break Ernie walks up and talks to Melissa for a few minutes, her eyes go wide and she gives him a few names. He goes and talks to the girls named, and they give a similar reaction. He then talks to Vanessa and Tom, their reaction is to open their eyes wide in shock, then they smile at him when the full import of what he said sinks in.

Just when the teacher is about to get them started again Ernie stands to call Vanessa and Jenny over to him. He stands Vanessa on the grass just in front of the mats and has Jenny take up position about three metres in front of her while he takes a position about three metres behind her. On his command Jenny runs at Vanessa and jumps into the air just before she hits her, Vanessa grabs Jenny’s waist and throws her high into the air. She reaches about five metres up before she starts to come down near Ernie, so he steps forward to grab her around the waist and drops onto his back while Jenny tucks into a roll and rolls forward to jump up into a star position. The teacher and the rest of the girls just watch this while they wonder what he’s up to. After a short talk they repeat the manoeuvre, but this time Jenny flies in a lower arc for a little longer distance.

Another discussion, and a third go. This time the top of Jenny’s arc is about the three metre mark while her horizontal travel is about four metres and she needs next to no help from Ernie because she lands in a perfect forward roll. Another go like this with Ernie to the side. After three more tries Ernie asks the teacher to stand on the end of the mats while he has three other team members stand a metre and a half behind Vanessa. The rest of the team join the teacher.

This time they get the full effect, three cheerleaders are standing there when Jenny bursts into sight flying over them to land in a forward roll and jump up. The next twenty minutes is spent with Jenny and three other girls practising this while Vanessa and Tom toss them into the air with Ernie and the teacher acting as safety catchers.

The last practise is of the four girls to line up in two rows of two a pace apart while Vanessa and Tom throw them up in pairs so they burst over the wall as a pair. It’s very spectacular to watch.

After they pack up and everyone has a shower they’re off home. Vanessa walks with them part of the way, and Ernie asks her to think about some gymnastics routines she and Tom can do to work with the cheerleader routines, either as individuals or as a pair. She promises to do so. Ernie spends a little time with Melissa then he’is off home to do his homework, have dinner, and his tutoring with Lisa.

The tutoring isn’t like most tutoring lessons. Ernie goes through the week’s lesson material with Lee and they discuss it, what it means, and how to do the exercises while Lisa listens and watches to correct any errors and also add anything extra she thinks they should know. Her job isn’t so much to teach them as to correct and guide them. It takes Lisa an hour or so to pick up on this style of tutoring. It’s more like three students discussing the lesson after classes than like a normal tutoring session.

Life moves into a sort of good routine: classes, cheerleader practise, play rehearsals, martial arts training, tutoring, homework, and time with Melissa. The Cable Company grows to include the cheerleaders and the PA Club members, except Jason - as he soon leaves the PA Club. The Cable Company also sets out to identify and help settle in other students who are new to the area. The week passes. Friday night Ernie is at the Watson house for dinner and an evening with the whole family.

Saturday

Ernie is woken up early by people arriving to set up for his birthday party. He gets up and goes through his martial arts exercise routine, has a shower, breakfast, and finishes some homework. He goes downstairs to check his lab experiments, but he does not start any new ones today. He makes sure the lab door is well locked and the windows are locked too.

He walks around the yard. Ernie finds three spit roasts set up and already cooking, they’re double units so another big roast can be started when needed to take over from the first. Several tables are set out for food and drinks while the caterers are all over the place getting ready. Some vans and trailers of food and drinks are parked in the driveway. A portable dance floor is set up near the back of the house with a disc jockey set up nearby, and another disk jockey set up near the middle of the back fence, speakers are spread throughout the yards, portable lighting is set up in both yards for later, a couple of inflatable things are set up in Aunt Mary’s yard with a two metre high Life Guard tower by the swimming pool. This all looks very interesting. Walking into Aunt Mary’s yard Ernie also sees a donkey ride off to one side and a face painting table with four teenage girls setting things up.