Chapter 15: The Pastor Strikes Back

June 1981, Milford, Ohio

“He what?” I asked, not believing what I had heard.

“My dad said that I can’t see you anymore,” Kara said, sobbing.

“What happened?”

“Sandy told her dad that I was dancing with you. She made it sound like we had our bodies mashed together. He called my dad and told him that such inappropriate behavior wasn’t to be tolerated and I shouldn’t see you anymore. Jake and Bill are in trouble, too.”

“And your dad told you that you couldn’t see me after the pastor called?”

“Well, he asked me about it and he was really upset. And he told me that all it could do was lead to trouble. I told him it was too late. He totally freaked out.”

Holy shit! She’d basically told her dad we were sleeping together! No wonder he was upset. No wonder he had told her she couldn’t see me anymore.

“That wasn’t smart,” I said as gently as I could. “I have no idea what to do about that. Did you talk to your mom?”

“No, I called you first,” she sobbed. “I need to see you!”

“Given what you said, I don’t think that will work right now. Go talk to your mom. She already knows, so just tell her everything. Hopefully she can get your dad to change his mind, but I’m not going to hold my breath.”

“Steve, I need you!” she sobbed louder.

“I know, Honey, go talk to your mom and call me back. I love you!”

“I love you too!”

We hung up.

“What did I just fucking say?” I raged. “My life has never been simple. God dammit!”

“What happened?” Stephanie asked, worried at my outburst.

“Well, Kara’s little friend Sandy took it upon herself to tell her dad, who’s the pastor of the church, that Kara and I were dancing close. Her dad called Kara’s dad and I guess Kara and her dad got into an argument after that and when Kara’s dad told her that dancing could lead to trouble, she said that it was too late. You can guess the result!”

“Holy shit!” Stephanie gasped. “She told her dad that you two were screwing? Oh my God!”

“Yeah. He told her she can’t see me.”

“What are you going to do, Big Brother?”

“Right now? There isn’t anything I CAN do. Her dad will never let me in the house and even if he did, what could I say? I told Kara to go talk to her mom because her mom knows we’ve been fooling around.”

“Her mom knows? And was OK with it?”

“I’m not as smart as I thought I was, Squirt,” I said ruefully. “Kara’s mom noticed her wet hair, and that she didn’t smell like her normal soap or body spray after our dates. Her mom put two and two together and told Kara, indirectly, that she knew and that she wouldn’t interfere. But Kara’s dad, well, you see what happened there. I can only hope that Kara’s mom can convince her dad to let us see each other.”

“Jesus! You’re right. Your life is NEVER fucking simple. Now, before you do something completely stupid, sit down right there. I’m calling Bethany and Joyce. Hopefully, they’re available. Is Joyce’s number in your address book?”

“Yeah, it is.” I said, sitting down as instructed.

My sister made the two phone calls and told me that Joyce and Bethany were both going to come over. Joyce would take a bit longer, of course, given she was in Loveland, but also because she had literally just walked in the door. I wondered if it would be possible for Joyce to see Kara, but I seriously doubted it. I strongly suspected that Kara was only going to be allowed to see friends from church.

It was unfortunate that Josh was in Sweden, because otherwise I might be able to enlist his help. The other option was Susie. I’d have to ask Kara for her phone number or tell her to have Susie call me. Even then, I wasn’t sure what she could do. Or Josh, for that matter. In the end, it would all come down to her dad. How he handled this and how she responded would determine what the next year would be like. Not being able to see her at all would, to put it mildly, suck.

Bethany arrived first, about thirty minutes after Stephanie called. She hugged me tight and sat down next to me.

“So, her dad knows you’re sleeping together, and he’s forbidden her from seeing you? I have to say it’s not totally unexpected. You had to know that if he found out, something like this would happen.”

“I guess I just assumed that he’d never find out. Since the incidents with Mary and Becky, I’ve never been caught and never had a parent find out about it and then freak out. Even with Becky and Mary, their parents didn’t go nuts about it. This is the first full-on disaster. And unlike with my mom, I don’t think Kara is going to get away with defying her dad. I can’t see her mom being able to convince him to change his mind.”

“And her mom knows?”

“Yeah. Kara coming home having damp hair and smelling of a different soap gave it away. Her mom wasn’t going to interfere, though. I told Kara to go talk to her. I’m just waiting for her to call me back, if she can. If she can’t, I’ll have to hope Joyce can talk to her, or try to find Susie’s number. Actually, Mary might have it, or worst case, I can call Josh in Sweden and get it from him.”

Joyce arrived, and I filled her in on what had happened and what Bethany and I had discussed. She offered to call Kara, and I asked her to wait until Kara called back so we could see what her mom might have been able to accomplish.

“You don’t seem to be losing control nor becoming overly emotional,” Joyce said.

“No, so far, so good,” I said. “In the end, the worst-case scenario is that I can’t see her until next Summer. That would totally suck, but I managed that with Jennifer while I was in Sweden, and I don’t see Kara deceiving me like Jennifer did. I will have to find some way to talk to her, but I think I can manage that, even if her parents monitor her phone calls.”

“Wow, you’re resigned to not seeing her? And you’re not losing it?” Bethany asked incredulously.

“No, I’m not resigned to that. I said it’s a worst-case scenario and I’ll deal with it if it arises. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m not going to go crazy over this. I’m not the same guy who lost control over Jennifer last year. I’m not the same guy who lost his mind every time some adversity cropped up. It’s not the end of the world. Does it suck? Yes. Will I miss being with her? Absolutely. Am I pissed at her dad? For sure. But that doesn’t mean I have license to be a fucking idiot, now does it?”

“Damn! Who are you, and what did you do with my brother?” Stephanie grinned.

“It’s an amazing transformation, isn’t it?” Joyce said. “I’ve been trying to get him to respond like this to bad stuff for years! I think he’s finally come to his senses. And I think he’s proving his Swedish girls and Bethany correct. He CAN commit. He CAN act like an adult. He CAN keep his senses. I was wrong. I admit it.”

“Well, for me, I guess it was more wishful thinking than being right,” Bethany said. “What will you do now?”

“Stick to the plans,” I said. “I’m going to Chicago. I’ll see Katt there, but we’re just friends at this point. Not to mention it’s my sister’s last fling, so to speak. You and I are going to Madison, and we’re still exactly where we were before. Karin will visit and nothing has changed there, really. Jennifer will visit, and I’m absolutely sure that nothing is going to happen there.”

“Are you really that sure?” Bethany asked. “I’m not trying to be a bitch or stir up trouble. Lord knows I don’t want Jennifer back in the mix, but you two had something amazing and it might be the case that you just need to say goodbye, so to speak.”

“I think that’s a singularly bad idea for a host of reasons. As I keep telling Stephanie, without trust, there is no way I can have sex with Jennifer. And trust won’t be rebuilt in a few days. It certainly wasn’t with you and Kara, now was it?”

“No, it wasn’t,” Bethany agreed. “And that’s a good point. What I’m trying to tell you is that at this point, don’t let your preconceived notions force you down a path. Take each day as it comes and do the right thing each day. That is how you’ve done so well for the past six months. The incident in January was a strange circumstance and so was the one when you first came home. Your entire judgment was clouded by your relationship with your little sister. Now that you two have that out of the way, except for a final five day fuck-a-thon in Chicago, I think you’ll be fine. If you hadn’t had that hanging over your head, you wouldn’t have done what you did last Summer or in January. At least that’s the way I see it.”

“Does this change anything between us?” Joyce asked.

“No,” I said. “I don’t think it does. Well, that’s not quite true — we probably can’t have Kara with us for our dinners, but a week from Friday, I’ll ask you.”

Joyce’s face lit up with a huge smile.

“Ask her what?” Stephanie wanted to know.

Both Joyce and Bethany laughed.

“Oh! Never mind,” Stephanie said. “I get it. And Kara was OK with that?”

“Not only OK,” I replied, “but told us that it basically had to happen.”

“Talk about transformations. I’m not sure who changed more, Steve or Kara,” Bethany said. “Both of them are not the same people they were in August of last year.”

“Very true,” Bethany said. “And I think Karin is going to see a very different person than she saw in Sweden, and a very different person than Birgit ever saw. And that may well change her mind about Steve.”

The phone rang, and I jumped to answer it. It was Kara, as I expected.

“It didn’t go very well, I don’t think,” she said. “In fact, it might be worse.”

“Worse? How the heck can it be worse? You’re not pregnant, are you?” I asked nervously.

“No!” Heaven forbid! I want your babies, but not yet! No, my dad wants to meet your parents. He’s going to invite them out to dinner with him and my mom.”

“Oh fuck!” I said. “Sorry, that kind of slipped out. That’s a really, really bad idea. It’s going to be a total mess. You need to find a way to warn your dad about how my mom will react. Tell your mom so they are prepared. I guess that means that there’s some kind of hope?”

“Well, if you gave me an engagement ring, that would solve the problem immediately.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now, Kara, given that Karin is coming to visit. Do you think it’s a good idea?”

“Yes and no. I want it, of course, but not if you feel forced to do it. That would be a disaster! I’d never know for sure why you were doing it. I’d rather it was on your timing. That means when you’re ready to give me the ring, not before.”

“Have I told you recently how much I love you?” I asked.

“Yes! But I like to hear it. I love you too! No matter what happens, I plan to be with you next Fall!”

“Good! When is your dad going to call?”

“Today, after dinner. Dad actually stayed home from work today because of the talk he and the pastor had yesterday and what I said. That’s how upset he was.”

“Well, I can understand. You told him you weren’t a virgin, and he flipped out. That’s no surprise, really. And he blames me. That’s a tough situation for me.”

“But it’s not your fault!” Kara protested. “You tried to stop me so many times. I pretty much made you do it!”

“He’s not going to see it that way,” I said. “He’ll say I should have stopped you every time. Trust me, he blames me. And he’s going to get an earful from my mom about the scores of girls I’ve been with. That’s not going to help at all. In fact, that’s going to make things even worse.”

“I know,” she sighed. “But I can tell him you gave up all those girls for me. Maybe that will help.”

“I think at this point, not much will help. Are we going to be able to talk on the phone?”

“He said I could call to tell you. I don’t know about after today,” she said, starting to sob.

“Let’s just take things one day at a time. Maybe your mom and I can talk tomorrow, when your dad is at work? And do you think Joyce can talk to you?”

“Maybe. He mentioned only letting me go to church activities and only talk to church friends, but I’m not sure what he’s going to do yet.”

“Give me Susie’s number then. She can get in touch with you for me.”

She gave me the number.

“If you need to get me a message, call Joyce or Susie. It’s OK to give Susie my phone number.”

“I’m a little concerned because she wanted to be with you,” Kara said.

“Don’t be,” I said, trying to sound reassuring. “I’ll make it damned clear that there is no way in hell that’s going to happen. It was true before, and it’s certainly true now. Sandy, on the other hand, is on my list of people who shouldn’t be walking the earth!”

Both Bethany and Joyce gasped at that comment. I knew questions would be forthcoming because of Josh Benton, Bethany’s rapist.

Kara and I once again expressed our love and hung up. All we could do now was to wait for the outcome of our parents’ meeting. That was going to be an unmitigated disaster, in my opinion. I needed to talk to my dad right away and make damn sure he knew the score, and that he talked to Mr. Blanchard.

“Please wait here girls, I need to talk to my dad right away,” I said.

“What’s going on?” Stephanie asked to my back as I left the room. I didn’t stop to answer her.

I found Dad in his office and asked him to come out on the deck. It was overcast and warm and a bit muggy from the morning rain, but I needed the privacy. I quickly filled him in on the situation.

“Oh, hell! That was foolish of her. Just the dancing part you might have been able to get past. But sex? Well, for an evangelical Christian that’s beyond the pale.”