Chapter 58: Three Birthdays, Two Jobs, and a Play, Part II

April 1981, Milford, Ohio

On Saturday morning, after swimming and breakfast, Stephanie and I started setting up for Bethany’s birthday party. We were doing it at lunchtime because I would be in the play that evening. Stephanie and I were invited to her house on Sunday for her family celebration as well. I was happy the day had turned out nice, given we were planning on grilling hamburgers. I loaded the charcoal into the grill, and then Stephanie and I formed the hamburger into patties. I sliced onions and tomatoes and Stephanie shredded some lettuce.

Dad was doing me a huge favor by taking Mom out to lunch. He said he’d try to keep her out until at least 2:00pm, which would help. They left at 11:00am and I went to pick up Kara. I was back just before 11:30. Larry was already at the house, and Bethany arrived just as I pulled into the driveway. Kathy, Mary, and Josh arrived a few minutes later. Tracey and Marty arrived about 11:45am and Joyce, who had told me she might be a bit late, arrived just before noon, bringing a homemade cake with her.

Everyone gathered on the deck while I grilled the burgers and once they were done, I piled them on plates and took them inside. Stephanie had put all the fixings on the table and everyone sat down to eat. I looked at Josh to let him know that he should pray. I saw Tracey roll her eyes and smiled at her. She and I had the same opinion, but it was something I tolerated for Kara’s sake.

We had a great time eating and talking, and Mary was once again in fine form.

“Hey, Kara, can I ask you a question?” she inquired with an impish smile.

“Mary!” I warned.

“Oh, shush!” she responded.

“Sure, Mary, go ahead,” she said, sounding a bit nervous.

“Did your boyfriend tell you what he owes me?” Mary giggled.

“Mary!” I said sternly.

“I actually want to hear this,” Kara said with a smirk.

I sighed.

“He owes me 24 straight hours of sex as a thank you for, uhm, services rendered,” she said, laughing.

Everyone at the table cracked up, but Kara turned beet red.

“Kara, she’s just upset that she can’t collect!” I said, laughing. “At the time, she was steady with Ben, and now I’m steady with you. She’ll just have to fantasize like Melanie does!”

“Oh, poo!” Mary said, causing even more laughter.

“I’d be willing to sacrifice myself trying to match that, Mary!” Josh said theatrically with a big grin, and holding his hand to his chest.

The table exploded with laughter. I was laughing so hard tears formed in my eyes.

“That sounds like a much better idea, Mary.” Kathy said. “Remember, Steve is strictly off-limits. No exceptions. You know that!”

“Exactly. He wouldn’t even let me thank him properly for the lessons he gave me!” Tracey smirked.

“OK. Now we’ve had enough, thank you very much!” I said, still trying to stop laughing.

“And what lessons were those, Tracey?” Mary asked, stirring the pot further.

“Do NOT answer that question, Tracey!” Kathy said sternly, though she was laughing almost as hard as the rest of us.

Kara gave me a look that told me I was going to have to explain. I told her with a look that I’d tell her later.

“I think it’s time for dessert before this goes even further off the rails,” Stephanie said between giggles, trying to regain her composure.

Stephanie and Kara cleared the dishes, and I brought the cake into the dining room. After we sang, Bethany made her silent wish and then blew out the candles. Once we had our cake and ice cream, Bethany opened her gifts. Kara had bought her a shawl to go with the Prom dress that Bethany had picked out. The dress was strapless, which was daring for Bethany, and the shawl would let her be more conservative and she could take it off if she felt comfortable. Stephanie gave Bethany hair ribbons and a scarf, Larry gave her a shoulder bag similar to the one he had given Kara, and the rest of the group gave her small gifts.

I handed Bethany a small box. She opened it and squealed loudly. I had, with Kara’s blessing, bought Bethany a necklace with a purple spinel gemstone. It was not nearly as expensive as what I had bought Kara, but it still conveyed the emotions I felt for Bethany as my closest friend. She asked me to put it on her and I did. She looked at Kara, who nodded and gave me a deep, hard, sexy French kiss.

“Thanks, Steve! I love it!” she said when she broke the kiss. “And thanks for letting me kiss your boyfriend, Kara,” she said with a big smile.

“Well, you are going to Prom with him, I suppose you can kiss him goodnight then, as well.”

“Going to Prom?” Kathy asked in surprise. “What about you, Kara?”

“My parents don’t allow me to go to dances. Steve took his friend Elyse to Homecoming, and he’s taking his best friend, Bethany, to Prom.”

“That sucks,” Larry said. “You can’t go to his Senior Prom? And he can’t take you to yours?”

“No. We asked my dad about Homecoming and he said ‘no’. He won’t change his mind. Steve did get him to change my curfew to 11:00pm, but even that was a huge change for my dad,” she sighed.

“Somebody should tell your dad that if he’s afraid that dancing will lead to sex, he’s a bit late!” Mary said.

“Mary!” Kathy, Bethany, and I all said at the same time.

“Mary, stop, please. That’s not fair,” Josh said gently.

“Kara, I’m sorry,” Mary said. “That was over the line.”

“It’s OK, Mary. I know you were just teasing.”

Stephanie and Joyce got coffee or tea for everyone and we talked until just before 2:00pm when I saw my parents’ car in the driveway. That was the signal for the party to break up and everyone but Larry and Kara said goodbye and headed out. Larry and Kara helped Stephanie and me clean up, wash the dishes and make sure everything was spotless, lest my mom find some fault. I was happy that Dad had managed to keep her away from us, because I didn’t want a confrontation in front of Kara.

When everything was taken care of, Larry said goodbye and I drove Kara home.

“Thanks again for letting Bethany have her kiss, and for letting me give her that necklace.”

“Steve, of all the girls, Bethany is the one I worry about the least! With Joyce, I’m comfortable, but there’s a small risk. There is no risk with Bethany. None.”

“You don’t trust me fully yet, do you?” I asked gently.

“No, Steve. I don’t. You’ve proven yourself so far, but I still worry.”

“I understand. I love you and I want you to trust me.”

“I know,” Kara replied. “I know. We’re getting there. It just takes time.”

I kissed her and then headed back to my car.

That night, at the play, Bonnie hugged me again after we took our bows, this time a bit tighter than before. I wondered if there might be something to what Kara had said about Bonnie being after me. Saturday, when we finished, everyone was invited to a cast party at a cast member’s house. It was just for cast members, so I couldn’t bring Kara. That presented a problem because none of the Triumvirate would be there. I had talked to both Kara and Bethany about it and had permission to go, though Kara had been a bit reluctant.

I gave a couple of cast members rides to Nancy’s house where the party was, but their parents would pick them up, so I didn’t have to worry about taking anyone home. There were fourteen of us, which included the cast, stage crew and director, with a few more guys than girls. Everyone went to the basement where there were snacks set out, music was playing and the room had been made for dancing. I’d heard rumors that drama cast parties could get wild, but I’d never been to one. Of course, if by ‘wild’ they meant anything like Kathy Will’s party, well, that was really pretty tame by my personal standards.

My first indication that things would be different was the bottle of Southern Comfort that was being passed around. I was driving, so I declined, but quite a few of the kids took big swigs. A bit later, one of the stage crew, a guy named Jack, who I barely knew, pulled out a couple of joints and several kids went outside to smoke.

While I didn’t really care if they did it or not, I was a bit concerned about being at a party with drinking and pot. It really wasn’t my style. My friends and I had all agreed to stay away from drugs and we were very limited in how much we drank — mostly a glass of wine, and then only with meals. Kara’s family didn’t drink, but that was another area where she and her dad didn’t see eye to eye.

At first I was mostly hanging out with Joe Caldwell, just drinking Coke and talking, though I noticed Bonnie was staying close to wherever I was. Eventually, she asked me to dance. It was a moderately fast song, which seemed safe, so I put my Coke down and we danced. When the song finished, she grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.

“If you liked those kisses on stage, we can go somewhere,” she whispered.

“Bonnie, I’m going steady with Kara Blanchard,” I said quietly.

“So what? This is a cast party. Nobody cares about girlfriends or boyfriends. That’s why it’s just cast and crew! We just do whatever we want, and nobody talks and nobody cares.”

“I care. I’m not part of the drama clique. Miss Alvis asked me to be in the play, and I thought it would be a fun thing to do.”

“You’re here now, so you’re part of the group. Let’s go somewhere! I promise it’ll be worth it!” she said, taking my hand and putting it on her cute butt.

“I can’t. I told you,” I said, moving my hand.

“Steve, just shut up, let’s go somewhere and fool around!” she whispered.

“No,” I said firmly, stepping away from her.

I knew at that point I really had to leave. I walked away from her and told Joe I was heading out. As I walked up the stairs, Bonnie followed me.

“You have no clue what you’re missing!” she exclaimed. “Stay and have a good time!”

I turned around, “Bonnie, trust me, if circumstances were different, I’d take you up on that offer and show YOU what YOU are missing. I can pretty much guarantee you’ve never had an experience like I would give you. But I’m going steady and I simply cannot cheat on Kara. Good night.”

I turned and walked purposefully upstairs and out to my car, leaving Bonnie standing on the basement stairs. I started the car and pulled out of the driveway. I looked at the time and figured that it was too late to show up unannounced at Kara’s house, so I headed to Bethany’s. When I knocked, she answered and was quite surprised to see me.

“I needed to get away from the party. Kara was right. Bonnie did have designs on me. All those rumors we hear about the cast parties? They appear to be true. They had booze and pot and Bonnie wanted a one-time fling. It seems cast parties are a no-strings kind of thing where nobody worries about boyfriends or girlfriends.”

“Did you do anything at all, Steve? Even a kiss on the cheek?”

“Well, the on-stage kiss at the performance, but otherwise, no. I danced with her once, a fast dance. That’s when she propositioned me. I told her ‘no’ a couple of times, and finally just left. I came straight here because I know that 10:15pm isn’t too late to stop by your house on a Saturday night.”

“True. Mom and dad are still on their usual date. Come in for a bit.”

We sat on the couch drinking Sprite because I didn’t want any more caffeine.

“I have to say, I’m impressed. ‘Old Steve’ would have taken her up on her offer and fucked her brains out, and left her begging for more. It looks like ‘New Steve’ is figuring out how to make and keep a commitment. There’s hope for you yet as husband material!” she said with a smile.

“You aren’t the only one who thinks so, Bethany.”

“Very true. And I still don’t trust you, Steve Adams. Nobody should. Not yet.”

“Kara said the same thing earlier today, basically. That’s why you three have me on such a short leash.”

“And I’m the only one not fucking you!” Bethany smirked.

“That’s true. But I thought that’s how you wanted it.”

“It is. First of all, I told you that when we first stopped being intimate. Now, of course, you’re with Kara. The thing with your sister is a completely different thing. But, as long as you’re with Kara, nothing can, nor will, change. You know that.”

“Yes, I do. And I agree, Bethany. As much as I enjoyed everything we did together, as much as I might want to do it in the future, I absolutely cannot do it and it will not happen so long as I’m steady with Kara, or anyone, for that matter.”

“Good. Very good. As I said, there’s hope for you yet. Now, I just have to eliminate all the competition, and then I can have you for myself!” she giggled.

“So you’ve changed your mind, then?”

“Oh no. Making love requires trust. It’s not there yet. Kara’s taking a huge risk, but she’s doing it knowing the situation.”

“So I’m risky?”

“For anyone who wants a committed relationship, yes, you are. For Mary, or Tracey, or some random girl like Bonnie? No.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

“I am really happy with how you’re doing. Don’t be discouraged about us not fully trusting you at this point. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

“Thanks, Bethany. Thanks for talking.”

We hugged, and I headed home.

On Sunday morning I called Karin. I hadn’t told her about Stephanie and me, but decided it was time to do so.

“Karin, you remember that thing I talked to you about with my sister?” I asked.

“Yes, I do,” she said apprehensively. “Did you actually do it?”

“Yes.”

“So now what?”

“In a year or so, I’ll be in Stockholm and we can figure things out. That is, if you still want me to come after what I’ve done.”

“Yes, I do! Of course, dear Steve!” she answered quickly. “This year has gone really fast. I was surprised. It will be June of next year, right?”

“Yes. I need to find out from my friends Torbjörn and Elizabeth when graduation is at Schillerska, and then I’ll firm up the plans.”

“Good! My parents will be very happy to see you!” Karin said.

“Just your parents?” I teased.

“No, you dope! Me too!” she giggled. “By the way, your Swedish is still very good!”

“Thanks. I talk to you every week, plus I talk to my friend Katt and occasionally to other people as well, and I write letters as well.”

We talked for a few more minutes, then hung up. I decided to call Pia, because I hadn’t spoken to her in a while. She was home and was happy to hear from me. She and Johan were still together, and she implied, but didn’t say, that she had slept with him. I was convinced that Pia was, at this point, a long-term friend. And that was a good thing.