Chapter 31: Summer Vacation, Part IV

May, 1983, Milford, Ohio

On Friday morning I swam with Stephanie while Stephie sat on the edge of the pool and dangled her feet in the water, then the three of us ate breakfast, with my dad joining us as he often did. Stephie and I hung out with my little sister until it was time for lunch, then headed to Frisch's where We met Marty and Tracey, and I introduced everyone. They had taken advantage of the school rules that said they didn't have to stay on campus for lunch, so we had to be careful not to take too long. We ordered immediately, so that there was no delay.

"How long have you guys known Steve?" Stephie asked.

"Since he was a Senior, so what, three years now, I guess," Tracey said. "He was the teaching assistant in my biology class when I was a Sophomore. And I asked him to the Sadie Hawkins Day Dance."

Stephie smiled, "I heard about that! Now I can put a name and a face with the story!"

"Did he tell you the WHOLE story?" Tracey smirked.

"No, I didn't," I said with a laugh. "And it's not necessary, Tracey!"

Tracey smiled, "I suppose not. In any event, your boyfriend gave me the confidence to change myself. I met Marty not long after and we're heading to Ohio State together in the Fall."

When we finished eating, I paid the check and Tracey pulled me aside to talk.

"How is Kara?" she asked.

"Not very good," I said. "I'm having lunch with her tomorrow, but it's going to take a lot of therapy to even get her back to a semblance of normal."

"That's just so sad," Tracey said. "I never got the chance to tell you how sorry I was at the way things worked out. I heard you had planned to get engaged that night."

"That's true. But at this point, that's all ancient history. I'm glad things are going well for you and Marty!"

"They are. Do you and Stephie want to come to my graduation party? It'll be like nothing you've ever been at before!" she smirked.

"I think I'm going to pass on that one!" I said, laughing hard. "Honestly, I'm changing my perspective on that kind of stuff."

"Wow! You're that serious with Stephie?"

"Yes, and no. It's not just Stephie. I have a friend with whom I have really deep philosophical and spiritual conversations and I'm discovering things about the world and myself that have changed the way I think."

"Are you and Stephie exclusive?" Tracey asked.

"No. But I'm much more circumspect about sex now. It's not that I don't have plenty, and it's not that I'm becoming a prude, it's just that it's taking on a different meaning."

"You're going to Sweden, aren't you?" she asked with a smirk.

"Yes, Tracey," I grinned. "And yes, to answer your next question, I'll fool around with my old girlfriends, plus Karin. I'm changing my attitudes; I'm not dead!"

"You really should come to the graduation party. Let's just say it'll be even better than all those old rumors!"

I laughed, "Liz, Kelly, Maggie, and Jessica? And you? Talk about tempting! I've only had five girls in one night once and that was my birthday last month!"

Tracey laughed, "So, the old Steve is still there! He's not dead yet! You know that Maggie and Liz would kill to have you!"

"I'm sure, but I'm going to pass, Tracey."

"I figured that would be the case, but I had to ask you!"

We rejoined Marty and Stephie, the four of us said 'goodbye' and Stephie and I went back to Melanie's house for a sauna. The house was empty when we arrived, but there was a note saying that Trudy would be back shortly. We turned on the sauna, got undressed, and went in.

"You and Tracey seemed to be having a fun conversation," Stephie said.

I chuckled, "Tracey is a wild-woman. She invited me to her graduation orgy."

"What?! An orgy?!" Stephie exclaimed, shocked. "But she's in High School!"

"Yes, she is. She has monthly parties where they play very, very risqué versions of 'Spin the Bottle' and 'Truth or Dare'. I went once, and it was a few steps beyond that game we played at the apartment. There were limits then, but it sounds like the graduation party isn't going to have any."

"Are we going?" Stephie asked nervously.

"I said no, but if you want to, I could call her and change my answer."

"Hell no! I mean, if you want to, I suppose I could go, but you know I don't want to do it with nobody but you at this point. Heck, I turned down Kurt!"

"Yes, you did, Peaches. I told Tracey that we wouldn't come for a couple of reasons — that's not me anymore and because of you."

"Not you? What about your birthday?" she teased.

"A special case, all girls I'd been with before and each one privately. That's a VERY different thing than you and me going to what amounts to an orgy."

"I'm relieved, Yankee. It's one thing for me and Elyse or me and Jackie or even me and Emily to do you that way, it's a whole different story just to do things with random people."

"Well, all those kids know each other pretty well. They've been doing this for a couple of years. I guess they decided on a last wild fling before college."

"Crazy. But then again, all your friends are crazy!" she exclaimed.

"Including you!" I smirked, and after a short pause I added, "And me, as well."

"True! ALL you Yankees is just plum crazy!"

We sat quietly for the rest of the time, then showered, dressed and went downstairs just as Trudy was coming in. We talked with her for a bit, and then I called Bethany and Kathy to confirm our dinner plans. We picked them up and headed to David's Buffet where we spent the next two hours eating and talking.

"How did you leave things with Bob?" I asked Bethany.

"Pretty much the way they were all semester — it's a casual relationship. We have coffee, go to dinner, and go to the movies. We've made out a bit, but we're taking it very, very slowly."

"Cool. Kathy, are you and Kurt seeing each other this Summer?" I asked.

"Yes! I'm going to Pittsburgh in June and he'll be here in July. I think he's going to propose!" she said excitedly.

"That would not come as a shock to me at all," I said. "He has one more year?"

"Yes. He's taking five years because he's getting a double-major in biochemistry and math. He's hoping to land a job in Chicago. A professor of his works at Abbott Labs and already told Kurt he wants to hire him. I hope that works out, because I'd hate to be apart from Kurt for a year."

"Wow. That's cool!" Stephie said. "Steve, it looks like the gang is going to stay together like you hoped!"

"It does. Now, if we just get my friends at Ohio State to find jobs in the Chicago area, we'll be set. I'm not totally sure where Larry is planning to go to medical school, but most likely it'll be UC, because that's where his mom has her connections."

"I heard that Pete and Melanie are coming to Chicago," Bethany said.

"Melanie is stuck at OSU for one more year. She's going to apply to a pair of law schools in Chicago. She has the grades, so all she needs is good LSAT scores and I suspect she'll get into one, if not both, of them. Of course, my question for you, Bethany, is where you intend to practice."

"We'll see. I guess a lot depends on who I'm with and where they are. I still have four more years, just like Stephie and Elyse do. You and Kathy will be working by then."

"I already have to start working, at least somewhat," Kathy said. "Student teaching and classroom observation start this year. I have to set my schedule to have my mornings free. I'm assigned to a local High School for four hours each morning starting in the Fall."

"Do you want to teach High School?" Stephie asked.

"That's the plan. My major is math, with an education minor, so I'll be teaching Algebra, Trigonometry, and Calculus, I guess. But I might go for middle school, where I could teach anything. You're on the engineering side of chemistry, right?"

"Yes. So I'll end up working for some major company in research and development. There's a ton of options, but I was hoping to live in Georgia. That means I have to convince the Yankee here to come to his senses and give up his Northern ways!" she teased. "Seriously, though, I'd say he looks like he's in Chicago to stay, so I'll have to reconsider where I want to live, I guess."

"Peaches, we have four years to figure things out. If my history tells me anything, it's that I can't say for sure what's going to happen next week, let alone four years from now! Let's worry about that when it comes time for you to decide, which is over three years from now!"

"I guess I shouldn't complain, should I?" Stephie said.

"No!" Bethany and Kathy said in unison.

"You both still love him to pieces, don't you?" Stephie said.

"Well, of course we do!" Bethany said. "We've known him a long time, we've both been his lovers, and he's always been good to us. In both cases, though, we blew it, or rather, Steve and me and Steve and Kathy blew it at some point. We're best friends, and he and I are occasional lovers, but that's where it ends. I guess Kathy is going to be completely off limits soon."

"She's been off limits ever since she and Kurt became serious, her offer to make love when I had my fight with Joyce notwithstanding."

"Your usual 'talk better after sex' situation?" Bethany smirked as Kathy giggled.

"It was tempting as hell, but I couldn't do that to Kurt, and I hadn't talked to Peaches about it, either. So as much as I would have liked to be with her, I turned her down."

"You've changed a lot, Steve, and mostly for the better. Stay that way," Bethany said.

"Can I ask what the issues were?" Stephie asked.

"Sure," Bethany said. "I think we've mentioned it, at least in passing. You know what happened to me and how Steve helped me. Well, in there, we were so focused on my recovery, if you will, that we didn't work on a relationship, and by the time we figured things out, we'd kind of fallen into a situation where we could be the closest of friends, wonderful lovers, but not husband and wife.

"Neither of us can really tell you why that is, but every time we got close to that, something just failed in our relationship. If we keep it like it is, everything is good. If we try to push it to a committed relationship, it goes wrong. Honestly, I wish it wasn't that way, and every time he calls me 'Sweetheart' it makes me melt, but I think all we'll ever be is best friends.

"As for Kathy, well, I thought he told you about that situation. If they hadn't been scared of each other and had gotten together in seventh or eighth grade, it'd be Steve and Kathy getting engaged now, instead of Kurt and Kathy. They crushed hard on each other, and could have really had something special, but they were both too young, too scared, and ultimately, too stupid. And because of that, you've got him now, Stephie!"

"I do!" she declared. "It's funny; I never thought I'd be with a guy who had girls as his closest friends. But it seems to be good for Steve."

"Peaches, who's been your best friend your whole life?" I asked.

She laughed, "Red. Never mind. Forget what I just said!"

"Red?" Bethany asked.

"His name is Jason," Stephie replied, "but he has this crazy red hair — redder 'n Kathy's. We've been friends since we was two. He was the first guy I ever kissed. That was in fifth grade. We never dated or nothin', and he's goin' steady with a girl named Rose. But he was and is my best friend in the world. Steve's met him and they get along great."

"And I'll see him when I go down to Georgia to the race this Summer," I said. "His girlfriend doesn't like racing, so it'll be the three of us and Stephie's cousin, Emily."

We finished our meal and Stephie and I dropped Kathy and Bethany at their houses and then went back to the Spencers'. We hung out with Frank and Trudy for a bit, then went up to bed.

"Peaches, remember what I was saying about getting to know each other on a new level?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well, part of that is figuring out our core values and what we can compromise on and what we can't, and making sure that the areas where we can't compromise are compatible. I'm wondering about this whole 'Yankee/Georgia Peach' thing and your desire to live in Georgia, and my desire to be with my friends. I guess maybe we have different ideas about what 'home' means."

"What does it mean to you?" Stephie asked, propping herself on her elbow.

"I guess because of the situation with my mom, and with all the traveling I've done, including living overseas, it's not so much a specific place as it is being where my friends are. Honestly, the only thing missing in Chicago is my little sister, and that's going to fix itself in a couple of years. Yeah, I have a house there, but look what I did. It's full of friends, including my girlfriend. And I do my best to have my other friends over all the time. I guess for you it's a place."

"Yeah, I think so. And even though I live with you, I call Dawsonville home. When you come to Milford, you never, ever say that you're going home. You're going to visit friends, not go home. I go home when I go to my house."

"But is it the place? Or the people? Is it that house and that town, or is it Red, Rose, Emily, Bill, Martha, and Old Man Jenkins?"

She laughed, "I think it's the place — it's the swimming hole, the barn, the town, my house. Everything is like it was when I was little. It's comforting. It's my place, I guess."

"My parents moved so much I never had a place like that. The house there in Milford is the place they've stayed the longest since I was born, and even then I lived in Sweden for one of those years. When I graduate, I'll have lived in Hyde Park for four years straight, which is the longest I've lived anywhere but Milford, and I lived there six years before I went to Sweden and one year after. So by the time you graduate, Chicago will be the closest thing I have to a 'hometown'."

"I guess we got different perspectives on that. But, Yankee, I could see living with you on the Moon, if need be. That's not going to get in the way."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said. "But could you live with all us Yankees?"

"I already do! You and our friends are pretty cool. None of them treat me badly and mostly they agree with me on important stuff like everybody mindin' their own damned business and the government keepin' its fingers out of my purse. Now, if they'd just accept that NASCAR is a real sport like you and me, they'd be perfect! Now, speaking of sport..."

We made love, and as we fell asleep in each other's arms, I felt a major impediment had been overcome. If Peaches really was willing to stay in Chicago, then she might well be the one. But that was still a few years down the road.

On Saturday we continued the routine, but late in the morning I dropped Stephie at Bethany's house, then went back to the Spencers' to change for my lunch with Kara. I was a bit early, so I drank a cup of tea with Trudy and we talked about Stephie and Kara.

"I've seen you with quite a few girls now, Steve, and I guess you could be happy with any of them — Jennifer, Karin, Kara, and Stephie. I know you told me that Stephie might win by inertia. Do you still think so?"

"It's possible. She and I got past a potential major hurdle last night talking about our ideas of home and where we would want to live in the future. For her, home is a place, for me, it's people. So many of my friends are in Chicago, or will be soon, that it's home. Not because I own a house there, but because my friends are there. Well, most of them. You and Frank are here, along with Larry and a few others, of course. For Stephie, home is a place, and I guess she's getting used to the idea of Chicago versus Dawsonville, Georgia."