Chapter 34: The Big Goodbye, Part II

August 1981, Milford, Ohio

I kissed Stephanie on the cheek and headed out to my car, taking my overnight bag with me. I drove to Bethany’s house to pick her up. She was wearing the exact same dress she’d worn for our first date Freshman year, and if anything, it looked even better on her now. We headed downtown to The Maisonette on 6th Street.

When we arrived, the valet took my car, something I was getting used to, but still didn’t particularly like. We walked inside and were greeted by the maître d’. He found our reservation and led us to a private table for two. A busboy pulled the table out and we sat on a red canapé. The busboy pushed the table back in front of us.

We looked at the menu and ordered Caesar salads to start, Chateaubriand for two as the main course, with broccoli and baked potato as our sides. While we were eating our salads, my dad’s friend, Mike Comisar, came to the table to say hello. He had the wine waiter bring us each a glass of red wine, on the house. I thanked him and he said I should thank my dad for asking him to do it.

The service was even better than at the country club that Bethany’s dad belonged to, but that wasn’t really a surprise given The Maisonette was arguably the best restaurant in the United States, having had a Mobile ‘Five Star’ rating for seventeen straight years. What was a surprise was that it was in Cincinnati. The food was, without question, some of the best I’d ever had, though a few of Grandmother Grossi’s dishes could give it a run for its money.

When we finished eating, I paid the check, and we retrieved my car from the valet. We drove the short distance to the hotel and once again I turned my keys over to another valet and we went inside and checked in. Luck was with us and we had the exact same room as we had on Prom night. Bethany squealed when we stepped off the elevator and she realized which door I was unlocking.

“The same room! Awesome!”

“And I have champagne for us as well!”

“Steve Adams, you are a romantic at heart!”

I quickly grabbed the urn for the champagne bottle, filled it with ice from the machine in the hall, and came back to the room. Bethany had the tap on to fill the Jacuzzi and had already stripped down to just her pale blue lace panties. I whistled at her, put out the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign, and locked the door. I took off my clothes and when the tub was full, Bethany removed her panties and we climbed in. We soaked in the tub for a bit and I got out to pour champagne and took the glasses back to the tub. We toasted and sat cuddled together.

“What do you want to do tonight, Bethany?”

“Sleep in your arms,” she sighed. “Anything else is just a bonus.”

“Well, I think I can manage to make love to you tonight. Of course, only if you really want. I wouldn’t want to disturb your beauty sleep!” I smirked.

“Oh, you know damn well what I want!” she giggled, squirming in my arms.

Eventually, the water cooled, and we got out of the tub, dried off, and got into bed. We made love slowly and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

When Bethany and I woke in the morning, we made love again, then showered together. We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, then checked out and headed to my house to pick up my little sister.

Stephanie had helpfully put together a box with cleaning supplies and was sitting in the living room waiting for us. She saw the car and came bounding out of the house with the box. Bethany got out of the car and let Stephanie get into the back seat. We headed to the apartment.

As I went through the cabinets and drawers and put things that I had brought there into a box, the girls started cleaning the bathroom. My intent was to leave the place cleaner than when Andreas had given me the keys. I carried the box down to the car, then came back for a couple of cartons of empty soft drink bottles that I needed to return for the deposit. Once I’d taken those to the car, I started cleaning the stove and oven.

When the girls finished the bathroom and I was done with the kitchen, we dusted the furniture and then swept the floors. When I was finally satisfied, and with the girls’ approval, we filed out of the apartment. I took a final look at the apartment where I’d had so many adventures over the past years, then closed the door and locked it, with no regrets. I chuckled to myself; it would be Ed’s apartment very soon! We made a stop at Fazio’s to return the bottles, dropped off the keys with Andreas, then headed home.

My dad had already left with my mom, most likely under protest, given what Stephanie had said. I went to my room to place a call to Josh to see how he was doing. I was lucky to find him home on a Friday evening, though he told me that he had company. I took a guess and asked him to put Sofia on the phone. He laughed and handed her the receiver.

I switched to Swedish.

“So, is he a nice boy?” I teased once we’d said hello.

“Wouldn’t you like to know!” she giggled. “We’ve gone out a few times. He reminds me of you, but he doesn’t seem quite as needy.”

“That’s an understatement!” I chuckled. “As I told Josh, it’s up to the two of you. As much as we meant to each other, we could never get to the point you needed.”

“That’s true, though I did get what I needed right before you went home!”

“That is burned into my memory, Sofia. It was a huge sacrifice on your part, and I’ll always appreciate it.”

“And I’ll always appreciate our friendship!”

“Me too,” I agreed. “I’ll see you in less than a year!”

“Oh! Maybe I should not be steady with Josh,” she teased.

“Sofia Katsaros, you know better than that!”

We talked for another minute and she put Josh back on the phone. I switched back to English.

“I don’t want to cause any trouble, but how did you leave things with Mary?”

“Oh, I know exactly how she feels,” he said. “She never said it, but I know. Let me put it this way, that thing she did for you when you were depressed? She did that with me that last day.”

“She told you about that?”

“Yes. She told me pretty much everything. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. I’m leaving for Chicago tomorrow, so I’ll have a new phone number.”

I gave him the number and after wishing him good luck with Sofia, we hung up.

Stephanie, Bethany, and I ate an early lunch, and about 1:00pm Larry and Mary showed up to help Stephanie set up. Bethany and I drove to her house to get Ed. When we got back, the three of us started loading the U-Haul and station wagon. We had almost finished when the guests started to arrive at 2:00pm. Pete helped us finish loading my stuff and at last, all that was left was my bag that I’d put my toothbrush and stuff in, along with a laundry bag for the clothes I was wearing.

Stephanie had invited pretty much everyone she could think of, and most people had said they’d attend. I was surprised and extremely happy to see Donna Woody and Marcus arrive just after 2:00pm. She had turned sixteen in the Spring and had her driving license. She greeted me with a nice kiss and a whisper that she’d be happy to spend some time alone with me. Debbie C walked over from her house, and brought Alexa with her.

Of course, all the girls fawned over the babies. I was glad my mom was not home because those two girls alone would have set her off, not to mention Debbie V and her sister, Tracy. Of course, given that there were more than fifteen girls at the party that I’d had sex with, Mom would have had a stroke if she’d been home. In fact, when I thought about it, of the girls who would be at the party, only Krista, Susie, and Kara’s mom were girls I had NOT had sex with!

Of everyone who was attending, I was happiest to see Kara. She and her mom arrived around 2:30pm. They’d only stay for an hour and a half, because Mrs. Blanchard wanted to be home before her husband arrived home. I was happy that Kara was here, and Kara was happy that she could be with our friends. She hadn’t seen most of them for some time because her dad had grounded her. Kara spent time talking to Bethany, Joyce, and Stephanie. Her mom talked to several of my friends and I felt good about that.

Pete and Ed fired up the grill around 3:30pm and started cooking burgers and brats. They could barely keep up with the demand given the more than twenty hungry teenagers at the party. I ate with Kara and her mom, and they were ready to leave just after 4:00pm. I reminded them that I’d pick them up at 5:45am the next day. I kissed Kara goodbye, and they headed out.

Just after Kara left, my sister came up to me and pulled me aside.

“There’s a whole bunch of girls here who want a last chance. I could make a list and send them to your room one at a time,” she giggled.

“Cute, Squirt. It would be a lot of fun, but I think it’s a bad idea.”

“I was teasing, Big Brother, though in all seriousness, Donna would love to have half-an-hour of your time.”

“Did she put you up to this?”

“She did. She didn’t want to ask you because she heard from a couple of the girls you were with Kara.”

“I’ll talk to her, Squirt. As much as I would love to, it’s a bad idea.”

I went to find Donna and asked her to talk to me. She left Marcus with Bethany and came with me to the deck.

“As much as I would love to,” I said as gently as possible, “it’s really a bad idea. Kara and I are pretty much planning our future together.”

“It’s OK,” Donna said with a smile. “I just asked Stephanie to find out if you were interested. I totally understand. Can I have a hug?”

“Of course!”

I pulled her into a tight hug and then released her. I reconsidered and pulled her to me and gave her a soft, loving French kiss.

I broke the kiss and whispered in her ear, “Thanks for everything. I’ll never forget you.”

She smiled and kissed me on the cheek, then went back to find her son. That was the first in a long line of girls who wanted to say goodbye at some point that afternoon and evening. Around 6:00pm most everyone got into the pool and there was complete and utter chaos. For about an hour, I was constantly mobbed by teenage girls, all of whom seemed hell-bent on dunking me, splashing me, or otherwise making mischief.

Eventually I had enough and got out of the pool and went to take a quick shower and get dressed. When I came out, I sat down with Marty and Tracey and drank a Coke. We had a good chat and both of them thanked me. Tracey gave me a kiss on the cheek and Marty told her to give me a real kiss, if I’d take it. I laughed and pulled Tracey to me and gave her a nice kiss, and then let her go.

A bit later, Susie came up to me made one last attempt.

“You know, I wish I could get a chance to be with you.”

“And you know, as much fun as it might be, I can’t do that to Kara and I don’t think you could, either.”

Susie sighed, “You’re probably right. Are you as good as the girls say?”

“Ask the girls!” I chuckled and pulled her into a hug.

She hugged me back and kissed me on the cheek.

“I’m glad I got to be your friend,” she said. “You’ve made a real difference for me and a bunch of my friends. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, Susie.”

I spent some time playing pool with Larry, Bethany, and Ralph. Later on, I agreed to play chess with Larry, knowing that I’d get beaten pretty badly. I did. Mary gave me a hard time about it, though my sister came to my defense; well, sort of.

“Come on, Mary, guys can only do so many things really well. My brother does computers and cooks! Well, I hear he does other stuff as well,” she smirked.

I was happy she didn’t say what I was sure she was thinking!

“Oh, he does one other thing really, really well!” Mary declared.

“And what might that be?” my sister teased.

“Fuck!” Mary laughed. “What the hell else? He sure can’t play chess worth a damn anymore!”

“OK girls, that’s quite enough!” I said firmly, but I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh, poo!” Mary said.

Debbie C and Donna left about 8:00pm and I hugged both of them and gave them both a quick peck on the lips. I wished them both luck and told Debbie I was looking forward to getting a wedding invitation in less than two years. She promised to send one. I stood on the front porch to watch Debbie walk home across the street and when I saw her go in the front door, I went back inside.

The party began seriously winding down around 9:00pm because everyone knew I had to be up by 5:00am. That wasn’t really much earlier than I usually got up, but given I was driving, I wanted to be in bed at a reasonable time. As the guests left, I shook hands with the guys and hugged the girls. With the exception of Beth, Janet, and Susie, all the girls also got a soft kiss on the lips. Beth, Susie, and Janet got kisses on the cheek. Krista was surprised by the kiss on the lips, but she smiled and winked at me when I let her go.

Finally, only Joyce, Bethany, Stephanie, Ed, and I were left. I was told to relax while the rest of them cleaned up, so I went to my room and read The Stand. About 10:00pm they all came down the hall to my room. Stephanie looked at me and I just smiled and gave approval with my eyes. She grabbed Ed’s hand and dragged him into her room while Bethany and Joyce laughed.

“Let’s go out to my parents’ office. The walls are kind of thin and I really have no interest in listening to my sister and her boyfriend screwing!”

“Ewww! NO!! I do NOT want to hear my brother at all!” Bethany said, almost running from the room.

Joyce and I followed her, and we sat on the couch in the office to wait for Ed so that Bethany could take him home. I was surprised when he was back twenty minutes later.

“I’ll shower at home!” he grinned, winking at Bethany.

“You pig!” she laughed. “We’re driving with the windows open!”

They left, but Joyce stayed behind. I wouldn’t see her in the morning like I would Bethany. Stephanie came out in her robe and said she was going to bed once she had showered. I smiled, stuck my tongue out at her, and we both laughed. She disappeared into her room.

“So, this is it,” Joyce said.

“It is. But we’ll see each other again.”

“I’m sure of it. You’ll need to come and see Grandfather at least once before Christmas. Maybe I can come up to Chicago like we talked about.”