Chapter 3

1:30 p.m. Saturday

"Sorry," Regan said as they exited the dining hall. "I should have realized William Dalrymple was a simpering idiot. But I didn't think he would be rude."

"Well, you weren't exactly polite," Andy pointed out gently.

"I was polite until he was impolite," Regan stated.

Andy laughed.

"'He hit me first!'" Andy jibed. He found William Dalrymple to be a jerk, too, but Mrs. Dalrymple was pleasant, even if she did stare at him throughout the meal as she tried to place his face or name. He was happy to see that Joy was less like Harmony Wentworth and more like Regan Riley once she began to join the conversation.

"I should have picked a seat with someone I don't know well," Regan told him after chuckling at his joke. "I wanted to get to know you better, not to listen to you and Collette Dalrymple form a mutual-admiration society. You know, this means it's good I'm not rooming with Joy next semester. Her mom would try to pull you away from me so she could hook you up with Joy."

"You'll live on campus?" Andy asked, ignoring the other portions of the statement.

"I have to," Regan said. "All freshmen have to live on campus unless they are considered commuters. Mother thinks it will be safer for me and help me integrate into campus life better."

She rolled her eyes toward the sky.

"She might be right," Andy said.

"I'll never admit that," Regan answered with a smile. "But I'll point out that you agree with her. How's that? So, I figured out it is about a half hour from Palo Alto to San Jose. That means we can see each other a lot on weekends and maybe even study together of the evenings."

"I'll have a work-study job," Andy said. "I won't get that assignment until August. For freshmen, it's supposed to be 10-15 hours a week but it might be as many as 20. It could also be anything from sitting outside a professor's door to working in the physical plant so I might be smelly and grungy every day still. Besides, I'm sure you'll have activities on campus that will take up a lot of your time."

"Maybe, but I'm not much of a joiner," Regan answered. "Besides, I have another way to get you to visit me from time to time. Guess who I'm going to room with?"

Andy had no guesses. He knew only one other person – aside from Joy Dalrymple, it seemed – heading to Stanford.

"Elizabeth Pena?" he asked.

"She told you!" Regan said. "I made her swear she wouldn't mention it."

"I haven't spoken to her about that at all," Andy protested. "But she is the only person besides you I'm certain will go there."

"Oh, well OK then," Regan said.

"When did you set this up?" Andy wondered. "I thought you'd been incommunicado for weeks."

"Yesterday," Regan admitted. "Uh, you weren't the first call I made yesterday. I called Elizabeth first, you know, to check to make sure you hadn't started to date someone else or, God forbid, hooked back up with that Erin chick. I probably would have called you either way but I was certain I would call when she told me you hadn't even gone to hang out with her in a couple months – despite the number of times she tried to get you to go somewhere. Anyway, Paul is on the list for a single room so Elizabeth won't be staying in the room very often on the weekends. At least that is her plan. So you'll have to visit me during the week if you want to hang out with her, too."

Regan had gently led Andy away from the dining area and into a garden. They must have passed some unknown boundary at some point – although he couldn't identify it – because she moved her hand from the crook of his elbow down his arm until she latched onto his hand.

"This is officially known as the Visiting Gentleman's area," she said as they passed through a row of hedges into a square area set off by shrubs and trees. There was a large gazebo in the center. It was pretty, Andy decided. The area was empty and she led him to a bench. They sat side by side. "The unofficial name is the Courting Quad or just the Quad. This is where a gentleman of standing would profess his undying devotion for a young woman of breeding and ask for her hand in matrimony."

Andy nodded and looked around. When his gaze went back to Regan she was looking at him with a single raised eyebrow. It was eerily reminiscent of his mother and he laughed. Regan giggled along with him.

"Well, since you didn't take the opportunity when I presented it so gracefully, I shall have to continue on with my explanation, it seems," she said, smiling at Andy broadly. "Senior-level girls are the only ones permitted to bring non-related males on campus. This area is off-limits to all but upper-level students and the rules here are relaxed. For instance, it is permissible for us to hold hands and gaze longingly into each other's eyes but that is as far as it should go – at least here. The rules were set up when the school first opened. I guess until the 1970s, the visits would be chaperoned. That is what the gazebo is for. It allowed one person to chaperone more than one visit. Isn't that funny?"

Andy nodded and smiled. Chaperoned visits in the 1970s in an area as liberal as this one did make him chuckle slightly.

"Now, although you have not actively sought my hand nor publicly declared your desire for me, I think this area is appropriate," Regan continued. "Courting is simply a quaint word for dating. I think that is what we're doing, unless you disagree."

Andy could see her point and he nodded.

"Good, I like it when you agree with me," Regan said, squeezing his hand slightly. "Keep it up and your life will be a lot easier. According to etiquette, a first date is for seeing if you enjoy the person's company. I believe we had our first date eight weeks ago and this is actually our second date."

She continued before it was possible for Andy to disagree, not that he would have.

"The second and third dates are for getting to know the other person and seeing if you are compatible," she said. "Subsequent dates are to be undertaken if two people agree they enjoy spending time together and they agree that they are compatible."

"So we should agree to a second and third date if we like anyone?" Andy wondered. It was apropos of nothing and Regan dismissed it with a shrug.

"I don't think it applies here but maybe," she said. "What I hope is that during our second and third dates, we can learn more about the other. I think we should start by asking each other questions. Is that OK with you?"

Andy shrugged and then laughed.

"Are you always like this?" he asked.

"Like what?" Regan replied.

"So, uh, anal about rules and details and stuff," Andy clarified.

"Only when I'm nervous or unsure of myself," she admitted with a blush. "I think our first meeting should tell you that."

"Well, that much is true," Andy said, giving Regan's hand a reassuring squeeze. "OK, I'm game with a question-and-answer session. But first, let me just say something. I like you, Regan. I truly do. I had a great time with you while we were running around the city like madmen and I've looked forward to seeing you again since then. You don't have to be unsure or nervous around me. I like who you are when you're just being yourself. Just being Regan will always be enough."

Although it was against the unstated rules of the Quad, Regan put her head on Andy's shoulder and snuggled against him for an instant before pulling back to a more appropriate distance.

"Thanks," she said. "But, well, I'm not sure who I am. I know I liked the person I was for most of the evening I was with you and I want to be that person. But I'm not sure it's who I really am. I guess this is what I'm trying to find out."

"I understand completely," Andy confessed. "I go through the same things. I wonder if what I act like is really who I am. I hope it gets better as I get more mature."

The fact that Andy, who seemed so comfortable in his skin, had the same doubts and fears as she did reassured Regan. She gave him a grateful look and he smiled at her.

"OK, what is your first question?" Andy asked. "I should advise you that I am unprepared for this segment of the program."

"Good, that guarantees your answers will be spontaneous," Regan said. "We'll start small. What is your full name and is there any significance to it?"

"Andrew Ryan Drayton," he answered. "I guess my Mom liked it."

"Your Mom's full name?" Regan asked next.

"Camille Antoinette Drayton," Andy replied. "Hey, aren't you going to answer the questions you pose or do I have to re-ask them?"

Regan blushed.

"That's fair," she said. "I didn't think of it. OK, my name is Regan McKenzie Riley. I was named after my paternal great-grandmother. Although she pronounced her name 'RHEE-gan' my mother insisted mine be pronounced 'RAY-gen' after her favorite president, I suppose."

"Could be worse, she could have been a sci-fi fan and gone with 'Ray Gun, '" Andy quipped. Regan didn't react. "No sense of humor. I tell ya."

"I have a nice sense of humor," she countered, finally smiling. "However that wasn't funny. Anyway, my middle name is my mother's maiden name. She was Rita Suzette McKenzie before she married. What was your mother's maiden name?"

"My mother has never married," Andy said. "She has always been Camille Drayton."

There was no shame in his voice. Nothing could make him feel less about his mother. Regan simply nodded. She had thought his mother was divorced or widowed.

"Does that matter?" Andy asked.

"No, not to me," Regan said. "Uh, can I ask about your father?"

"You can ask but I can't answer," Andy related. "There is no father listed on my birth certificate. I asked Mom about him once when I was about 10 and she said we'd talk about it when the time was right. I saw it made her unhappy, so I've never asked again. She hasn't brought it up again either. As I've gotten older, it has made less and less difference to me. She loves me enough that I've never even missed him."

Regan smiled wider. The more she learned about Camille Drayton the more she adored the woman.

"I really can't wait to meet your Mom," she said. "Do you think she might adopt me?"

"Might make having a third date with me a little awkward," Andy said.

"Yeah, there is that," Regan answered, giving Andy a push with her elbow while she continued to hold his hand. "OK, my father is Robert Todd Riley. What is your birthday?"

"June 18th," Andy said.

"I'm dating a younger man!" Regan said. "Oh, what will the gossip magazines say? I was born June 16th."

"No kidding," Andy said. "That's pretty cool."

"It is," Regan remarked. "OK, where were you born?"

"Here," Andy said. "Well, not at the school but where I live."

"What hospital?" Regan wanted to know.

"City," Andy answered.

"Me, too!" Regan exclaimed. "Wow, you know what? This is probably our third date. I'll bet our first date was 18 years ago in a nursery. We might have spent the first few days of our lives side by side. Wouldn't that be cool?"

"It would be," Andy said. He was amazed that a society woman like Rita Riley would consent to have a child in the same hospital as a charity case like Camille Drayton.

"Do you mind if I call my Dad?" Regan asked. "I'm sure he will get a laugh from it."

"Sure, go ahead," Andy offered. "Just don't let my Mom know he talks on the phone while driving. It's her pet peeve."

"I'll be sure," Regan said, pulling out her phone and hitting a button.

Robert Riley would have been safe from Camille Drayton's ire. He was already home by the time Regan called him.

"Guess when Andy was born?" she said instead of greeting him with "hello."

"June 18th," Robert replied.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you probably knew that," Regan said, frowning.

"Yes, I did know that he was two days younger than you and that you were born in the same hospital," Robert replied. "But I thought you would enjoy finding out things for yourself. I take it you did enjoy learning that fact."

"Yeah, I thought it was cool," Regan said. "We were trying to determine if we might have had a date we didn't know about."

"Well, you were brought home from the hospital at about 10 a.m. on the 18th," Robert offered with a light laugh. "According to the newspaper, Andy was born at 3:37 a.m. So I would say you spent about five hours in the same room with each other. Although I'm not sure peeing in the same place constitutes a date and I suppose the conversation was somewhat limited."

"Daddy!" Regan said. "You're awful."

"Probably," he replied. "I take it things are going well."

"Very well," Regan said. "Although now I guess I'm going to have to give Andy another explanation about something. I've been explaining a lot of things today. Oh, and William Dalrymple is a jerk."

"Well, yes, that's true," Robert replied. "What are you explaining? I mean, Andy isn't exactly worldly but he didn't strike me as clueless either."

"Oh, nothing like that," Regan answered. "I've just been explaining my diabolical plan to get him to fall madly in love with me. That's all."

"Ah," Robert said. "Well, I hope you didn't put too much thought into the plan. He seems like a smart guy. He'll be more likely to fall in love with you if you just act like yourself. If he doesn't like the real you, he's not worth keeping around. I can say that from experience."

Regan sighed. She knew she was going to have to have a discussion with her parents about their own lives soon enough. But now it was time to get back to Andy.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Regan told her father. "Love you. Bye."

She closed the phone before Robert could add anything else to the conversation. He put down the receiver and laughed.

"My father knew when you were born," Regan told Andy. "He had you investigated. He said we probably spent our first morning together at City Hospital but that he isn't sure peeing in the same room constitutes a date."

Andy laughed. It was not the reaction Regan expected. She figured he would be as angry as she was about her father's interference.

"You're OK with him checking you out?" she asked warily.

"I don't have anything to hide," Andy said. "So long as he did it to protect you and not to try to discredit me, I think it's fine. If we had the money, I can almost guarantee you that my Mom would be checking you out right now, too."

"I will tell you or your Mom anything you might want to know," Regan declared. It hit Andy that she was telling the truth. It wasn't a quid pro quo because her parents looked into his background. It was because she wanted him to know everything about her.

"That is what today is about, right?" Andy said. "We're going to get to know each other better today and next Saturday."

"Well, not exactly," Regan said. She couldn't help but smile. "You see, I planned to have our second and third dates today. But since we already had our second date and right now is our third, I think this evening we can progress to our fourth date."

"This evening?" Andy wondered. He didn't have plans but he wanted to get home in time to visit with his Mom. He knew she would wait up for him and have a ton of questions.

"More like later this afternoon," Regan clarified. "Visitation ends at 7:30. But we're having a picnic supper by ourselves. That is our next date. At least that was my plan."

"OK," Andy said. The semantics didn't matter to him if it made Regan feel comfortable.

"Good, because I wouldn't want the 40 seconds I spent thinking this through to have been wasted," she answered with a laugh. "My time is very valuable."

3 p.m. Saturday

Regan and Andy spent the next hour talking and getting to know the other. Regan had heard parts of Andy's life story during their drive around the city but she got more details as they went.

Andy was in the same situation although Regan hadn't lived much of a life, it seemed to him.

"So, your Mom has a college degree?" she asked, after Andy explained that he hoped his Mom would go back to college at the same time he did.

"No, Mom had me," Andy corrected gently. "She was a sophomore in college when she got pregnant. That pretty much put her educational plans on hold. It appears that raising a child costs a lot of money and requires a lot of time. So she didn't get the chance to go back. I hope she does now."

"Maybe she'll go to San Jose State with you," Regan said brightly. "You guys might be able to keep living together."

"No," Andy quickly replied. "I mean, I don't mind if she goes to San Jose State. But I think she needs to have a life of her own. I wouldn't mind it if she lived across town or something. It would be nice to see her when I wanted but be far enough away I could avoid her when I didn't."

Regan was puzzled by the answer. She knew Andy and Camille had a strong relationship. It made sense to her that they wouldn't want distance between them.

"She and I grew up together almost," Andy answered Regan's unasked questions. "She was 19 when I was born and I guess she was naïve. My grandfather was a good guy and he let us live with them. My grandmother never forgave my Mom. She put us out on the street when I was about eight. I mean, literally, put us out on the street. I told you about that. But Mom's life has always revolved around me. If we lived in the same house, it would still revolve around me. I want her to have her own life. I also want to have my own life."

Chapter 4 »