Chapter 7

Monday night I was downstairs making a sandwich when the phone rang. I licked my fingers clean of mustard, then picked it up and said, “Hello.”

“Petey!”

I grinned. “Hey Paul! What’s going on in Pittsburgh?”

“Just got back to the dorm from Three Rivers.”

I leaned up against the wall, facing the phone and stove. “Huh - went to see the Bucs without me? Just called to rub it in?”

“Oh, for sure - but it would have been nicer if they would’ve won both games.”

“Damn Carlton with a one-hit shutout.”

“Thank God Nicosia has his number. So what are you doing?”

I carried the remaining lunch meat to the fridge, the long spiral phone cord trailing behind me. “Down in the kitchen getting ready to watch the Steelers on Monday Night Football. Have I ever told you how much I hate Howard Fuckin’ Cosell?”

“Many times. Oh, by the way, how are things going with Miss Hannah? Still got the blue balls?”

I glanced at the stairs to the second floor, where my parents were watching television. Lowering my voice, I said, “Well, in fact, she’s taken care of those quite nicely.”

“She what?”

“Well, you can say that we have consummated more intimate relations.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah, that’s about what I said.”

“So - what? Are you guys like officially going steady now?”

“Guess so, except neither of us has told our parents yet.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of important. Well, I guess you’re a man now.”

I chuckled. “After all these years.”

“I’m serious.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve joked around, orange jump suit and all - but now you’ve gone and done it. That’s responsibility. A part of her life is in your hands now. Don’t blow it.”

I paused to think about that. “Hmph. I guess you’re right.”

“I didn’t mean to get you all bummed out - but think about it. Now go get your Terrible Towel.”

After my last class on Tuesday I headed over to Pineland. I had to walk over to the gym to get inside the fence surrounding the football field and track. Fifteen or twenty kids dressed skimpily in nylon mesh tank tops and matching shorts, half in green and gold and half in the home team’s red and blue, milled around the far side of the field. As I got closer I heard a voice call, “Joe!” and saw my aunt waving at me.

I greeted her a minute later. “Hi, ey, Aunt Janet.”

“They’re getting ready to go - got back a few minutes ago from walking the course.”

“Did you get to talk to her?”

“No, just a quick hi. She did look a little nervous though.”

Both teams finished their stretching at the sound of a whistle. They gathered around their respective coaches, then into one large group behind the start line. An adult held his arm in the air and called out, “On your mark ... get set...” and then blew his whistle.

Everyone ran to the far end of the track, then back our way on the far side. There was already a spread of thirty yards or so from first to last, with Hannah near the middle. At the end of the straight-a-way, instead of continuing in a loop, they went through the gate and into the parking lot.

My aunt turned to me and asked, “What now?”

“I think they’re heading into the woods. They should start coming back in around fifteen minutes.”

“You want to sit on the bleachers?”

“Yeah, sure” I said, as I took a spot next to her.

“So your mom tells me you switched majors.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry, I don’t want to sound rude, but I’ve explained it so many times - really, my grades sucked and I need to get a fresh start in something that was closer to what I really wanted to do.”

“And Hannah told me about your grades. I always thought you were the smartest kid in the family.”

‘She hears about a lot.’

“It gets frustrating. High school was easy, but then I could do everything in my head and never developed any good study habits. I got up here and that didn’t work anymore. I got way behind. I needed a reset.”

My aunt put her hand on my knee. “Speaking of resets, I really want to thank you for all you’ve done for Hannah. The few years we were in San Antonio were the longest she’d ever been in one place, and then after Tom died I yanked back here, leaving her friends and going someplace new again.”

“I’ve got a million cousins, and none of them are within fifty miles. I mean, I have friends, but there wasn’t any family to hang out with until you guys showed up. That’s been nice.”

She leaned back, looking at the school. “And now she’s at the age where I have to start worrying about boys. With her starting ninth grade, she had one more year of junior high - but now with cross country all her teammates are guys from the high school. I’m afraid I’ll have to be beating them off with a stick.”

I started giggling and then her eyes went wide. She smacked me on the arm and said, “Oh you’re so bad - you knew what I meant.”

“Oh, and now I hear your son has a girlfriend. Did you meet her yet?”

“Just briefly, but she’s supposed to come over to watch the Steelers on Sunday. You’re still coming, aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah, free food!”

Soon a runner in red came through the gate, followed closely by one in green, headed in the opposite direction from when they had left. We got to our feet and made our way to near the track.

Green was gaining, but red still had a ten yard lead and both runners were obviously laboring. As they headed into the curve several more came through the gate behind them.

The red-shirted Pineland runner crossed the line for the win a few steps ahead of his pursuer. They slowed to a walk and moved to the grass inside the track where they continued to do slow circles, not completely stopping, while the trainers brought them drinks.

After four more runners finished, Aunt Janet grabbed my arm, pointing and squealing, “There she is!” Yes, I could see Hannah rounding the bend.

She was a few steps behind one of her teammates when they hit the straight. She was closing the gap when he glanced over his shoulder. He grimaced but went no faster as she gave an extra burst and edged past him. Only a few strides to go ... and Hannah beat him acrossed the line.

She stumbled to a stop, hands on knees and gasping for air. A trainer handed her a bottle of Gatorade, and after chugging nearly half of it she started a slow walk.

Her mom and I walked towards her as the remainder of the runners crossed the line. When we were only a few yards away Janet said, “Hannah!”

She turned and bolted over, crying out, “Joe, Mom! Eighteen minutes and forty-two seconds” as she threw her arms around my midsection.

Instead I held my arms in the air. “Ooh, you’re all ... sweaty and sticky and smelly.”

She quickly released me and stepped back. “Well at least my Mom will give me a hug.”

“Uh, think again. Maybe after you shower.”

She grinned at both of us and shook her head. “Well, anyway - that was so intense. When I ran track this spring, we went all out the whole race and everyone started and finished pretty much together. Here, we have to pace ourselves early so we don’t wear out before the end - I was surprised I was able to kick like that the last fifty yards or so.”

Members of both teams were wandering around and some found family, but one guy from Pineland was by himself and looking towards us.

Hannah continued, “And then, we were out in the woods, and you could barely pass anyone on that little path...”

My aunt noticed it too, and asked, “Who’s that kid on your team over there?”

She glanced around. “Where?”

“The one that keeps looking at you.”

“Oh. That’s Larry Thomas. He’s a junior.”

“He’s kind’a cute.”

Hannah shivered. “He’s a dork. That’s all he does is look. Creeps me out.”

“Sounds like he’s shy. Maybe you should just go talk to him sometime.”

“No, mom. And besides, I think he’s ticked off that I beat him.”

I asked Hannah, “What place did you finish?”

“Tenth.”

Aunt Janet looked puzzled. “So?”

I replied, “The paper prints the names of the top ten finishers. Hannah knocked him off.”

Janet looked at him again. “Huh. Or maybe he doesn’t like getting beaten by a girl.”

Hannah waved at him and smiled. “Hi Larry!”

His eyes grew wide, and he quickly turned and walked away.

When I came down for breakfast on Saturday morning, Mom asked, “Are you ready for bowling tonight?”

I replied, “Yep” as I dug into the cupboard for the box of Quaker Oats.

She sipped her coffee. “Are you sure? I don’t recall you getting over to the alley for any practice.”

I placed a small sauce pan of water over the flame on the stove. “I’ll be fine.”

“You know if you get your average up to one-seventy you can get into the Wednesday night league with me.”

I stirred some oatmeal into the boiling water. “I only need to come up five more.”

Mom put her cup down. “Joe, anything worth having is worth putting the effort into. Do you want everyone to know your mother is a better bowler than you are?”

“No?”

She walked over to the stove and kissed me on the cheek. “Good. I’ll have supper ready at four and we can leave at six-thirty. If we’re there a little early it’ll give us a chance to meet the new people.”

Mom pulled my Pinto in a parking spot at six-forty. I got my bag out of the back and headed into the sea of people already inside. On Saturday night nearly every one of the twenty-four lanes was reserved for a league. I felt the weight of the fifteen pound ball as I made my way past the pinball machines and then the front desk to where our league would be occupying the last six lanes, down at the far end near the restrooms.

Once there I pulled out a chair and sat. As I pulled my bowling shoes out from the zippered space in my bag, under where the ball was stored, I glanced around at the various faces. Many were familiar, a few new. I smiled and nodded at those who did the same to me as they passed by.

Laces tied, I lifted the ball out of the bag and replaced it with my tennis shoes. As I was walking towards the wooden floor, Mom was talking to one of our teammates from last year, Craig Yoder. Standing next to him was a rather attractive young lady. Medium height at most, she had dark brown wavy hair that hung down over her shoulders and onto her ... big fat, round tits.

I tried not to stare as I walked by. I stepped onto the lane, checked my mark and made a practice throw.

‘Shit, my arm is stiff.’

I stretched my arm and rotated my shoulder, took the second throw, then moved over to the right lane for two more. As soon as I finished, Mom called out, “Hey Joe.”

I looked up and shuffled over. As I shook Craig’s outstretched hand, he said, “I want you to meet my daughter Katie. She’ll be on our team this year.”

I turned to her and got a close look at her big brown eyes, slightly freckled cheeks and closed-mouthed smile. And big tits.

‘Wow.’

I forced a nervous smile and held out my hand. “Hi, I’m Joe.”

“Pleased to meet you. Like he said, I’m Katie.”

Her hand was soft and warm and slightly moist. So very briefly glancing down, I saw she had a little extra on her thighs and hips, but they were very well proportioned with her... big, juicy tits.

‘Damn it!’

I looked into her eyes again as I took my hand back. I asked, “So, I guess we’ll be seeing each the rest of the year. How long have you been bowling?”

As the first bowlers for each team stepped up to the lanes, Katie took a seat on the bench and motioned for me to join her. She replied, “Just whenever. This is the first time I’ve been in a league. How about you?”

“It’s my third year in this league, ever since high school. Before that I was in a Saturday morning youth league.”

Katie leaned forward and placed her hand on my knee. “Oops, my turn to bowl, be right back.”

She didn’t have much of a follow through, letting the ball hang from her fingers, and she pulled the ball left for only three pins. Her try for a spare went right and landed in the gutter.

As Mom went up to take her turn, Katie passed her on the way back. She shook her head at me and said, “Well, that sucked!”

Mom buried the ball in the pocket for a strike and it was my turn. I stood at the ball return, holding my hand over the fan for a few seconds to dry off any sweat, then sat my ball in my left palm. I stepped to the front set of arrows, placing the tip of my right shoe at the second mark from the right. Looking at the same mark a few feet down the lane, I slipped my fingers into the ball and transferred it to my right palm, holding it by my hip.

Left step forward, my arm swung back, right step, the arm came forward, left and slide as the ball slid off my fingers. I held on a touch too long, the ball travelling too far down the lane before it landed with a dull thud. It sped down the lane and started to hook left, but ended an inch or two too far right, leaving the five pin standing. The second throw was smoother, smashing the pin into the back wall for a spare.

Katie said, “Wow, you’re pretty good” as I sat down.

“Not as good as my mom.”

I followed it up with an eight and a spare in the second and a solid strike in the third.

Katie asked, “Are you still in school?”

“Yeah, I’m a junior now – up on the hill. How about you?”

“Me too, but I’m a sophomore.”

“Huh, I don’t recall seeing you around campus.”

“I’m taking nursing so I spend a lot of time down at the hospital. My turn again!”

She dropped the ball short and it slowly made it’s way down the middle of the lane. It appeared to fade left, then right, then left again before it impacted straight on. As Katie bounced up and down behind the line, the pins tumbled in slow motion until only the seven remained wobbling, then it too fell to complete the strike.

She pumped her fist in the air and came bouncing back to the bench. “Yes!“

Mom got a spare and then I was up again. The ball came in a little high and left three pins standing on the right. I again pulled the second ball and it clipped off only the leftmost of the three. I clenched my jaw and stared at the machine as it swept away the two remaining pins.

I walked back and threw myself on the bench, not saying a word. Katie put her hand on my knee and squeezed. I looked over, glancing at her cleavage then bringing my eyes up to hers. “It’s okay Joe, you’re having a great game.”

Her hand moved again on my thigh. I was rapidly getting hard. I tried to smile and said, “Thanks ... I’ll be right back.”

My heart was pounding. Leaving the seating area I turned towards the rest rooms. I ducked inside, looked around to make sure that I was alone - and drove my fist into the paper towel dispenser.

‘God damn it! Just stop it! You have a girlfriend!’

My hand stung, but I pulled back and threw another punch – then grimaced and shook my hand as I felt a sharp sting near my pinky. There was a crack down the front of the plastic casing and blood oozing from a small slit on my knuckle.

‘Son of a bitch.’

I hurried to wipe off the blood and get back to our lanes. My mother was looking towards me, hand on hip. “C’mon son, we’re waiting on you.”

“Sorry, had to go.”

Not yet concentrating, I rushed and only got seven.

I told myself, ‘Calm down, relax’ as I held my hand above the fan, waiting for my ball to return. The ball was dead-on to convert the spare.

I walked behind the benches, standing as I watched the others bowl. Katie came back and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just ... sometimes I get frustrated when I don’t do as well as I want to. I need to concentrate.”

For the rest of the night I continued to avoid the bench area and Katie kept a polite distance, sometimes exchanging brief comments as we passed.

After the last game Mom walked with me back to my bag and shoes. “You looked a little rusty, son. The one eighty-three in the second game was good, but only a five-oh-two for the night.”

“Yeah, I’ll have to see if I can squeeze some practice games in.”

“I’m going over to talk to Ruby – come and get me when you’re ready.”

As I was changing shoes Katie came up and stood in front of me. She asked softly, “Are you in a better mood?”

I stopped and looked up at her. She had a shy, nervous look. I nodded and said, “I’m sorry – I was being a real jag.”

She was still fidgeting. “Well, besides that, it was nice to meet you and I enjoyed talking.”

I stood and smiled as I saw her father approaching. “Same here. I’ll work on my manners for next week.”

He rested his hand on her shoulder and asked, “You ready, Katie?”

She waved as she turned away. “See you next week, Joe.”

In the car on the way home, Mom said, “Katie seems really nice. You two seemed to hit it off.”

“Yeah, she is.”

I was up late putzing around on nothing in particular and didn’t open my eyes until nearly eleven on Sunday morning.

‘Two hours ‘til the game.’

After showering I dug through my dresser drawers and pulled out several polo shirts, but unsatisfied I went to the closet and selected a light blue short sleeve button up dress shirt. Along with the khaki slacks and leather shoes, I was quite pleased with my appearance.

Just as I was about to go downstairs, I pulled out my wallet to make sure the condom was still tucked inside – not that I had used any of them yet.

Dad was in his chair watching Meet the Press and I found Mom in the kitchen reading the paper. “My, aren’t you all decked out – you’re only going to your aunt’s house.”

“Eh – I don’t know. I’m in a good mood and didn’t feel like being sloppy.”

“I guess you’re not going to eat anything now? Wouldn’t want to mess up your nice shirt.”

“Supposed to be lots of food – she’s cooking Mexican. I probably won’t need anything for supper either.”

“Okay, well you be good. See you tonight.”

Heading down the street, I flipped on the car radio. It was still a few minutes before the pre-game show started at noon and Sheriff Joe was on playing polkas. I twirled the dial to find polkas, country, polkas and oldies. I turned it off and drove the rest of the way in silence.

I let myself in the back door of my aunt’s house. She was at work in the kitchen while everyone else was in the family room.

“Hey, Joe – good to see you.”

When I saw the tray of food on the counter I asked, “Are you going to do this every week?”

“Pfft. Feel lucky you’re getting it the first Sunday of the season.”

“Well, it looks delicious.”

I poked a finger into the layer of white cream that she was spreading around the metal cookie tray, only to get my hand smacked away. “Now you just keep out, it will be ready soon enough!”

Licking my finger I asked, “What’s all in it?”

“Guacamole with sour cream, diced tomatoes and shredded cheddar cheese on a layer of bread.”

“Jeez, now I really can’t wait. Anything else?”

“This is the appetizer. I have some chili on – it’s got chuck roast, tomatoes, onions and peppers.”

“At home Mom only makes it with ground beef and tomato sauce.”

“Huh – maybe I need to give my sister some cooking lessons.”

Hannah yelled from the other room, “Hey Joe – are you going to come see us or are you going to spend all day hanging out with my mom?”

I whined, “Yes dear – I’ll be right there.”

My aunt chuckled. “Oh yes, go say hi to the kids. This’ll be ready in a little bit.”

Mickey was sitting in his lounging chair, and as I entered the family room lifted his martini glass and said, “Hey Joe, how ya doin’?”

I nodded in reply, and coming around the end of the sectional couch which faced the TV, I saw that Dave had company. As I approached they both stood, and she extended her hand to me. “Hi, I’m Susie.”

I took her hand and held it gently. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Joe – Dave’s been telling me about you.”

She was taller than the other girls and had a great smile, wavy blonde hair over her shoulders, and slightly plump but very well proportioned body. Audrey Landers with a few extra pounds. It was easy to see what attracted Dave to her.

Susie nudged Dave closer to the end of the couch and said, “Here, sit down” as she motioned to the just cleared space between her and Hannah. My legs were rubbing up against a girl on either side. Susie continued, “So where do you go to school? I don’t think I’ve seen you around Pineland.”

“Right next door at the college. Used to go to Walnut Heights.”

“College?” She leaned forward to look around me and shoot an evil glare at Hannah.

“Yeah, I’m a junior.”

“And how’d yunz guys meet?”

“I played baseball with Dave this summer.”

Hannah smiled and looked down at her lap, while her sister let out a hacking cough and said, “Uh, excuse me – I have to go get something to drink.”

As Donna was headed into the kitchen her mom was on the way out, carrying her Mexican pizza thing-a-muh-jig. Mickey followed Donna into the kitchen and called over, “Hey honey, do you want another drink?”

Aunt Janet replied, “No, I’m going to work in a little bit – and so are you!”

As she placed the food on the coffee table in front of the couch I asked, “What were you drinking?”

“A frozen lime margarita – and you can’t have any!”

“I wasn’t asking for one, but with all those times you warned me about drinking I thought that maybe you didn’t.”

She faced me, hand on hip. “I am a thirty-six year old grown-ass woman. You and all my children – are children! That is the difference.”

“Got it.”

“Good. Now enjoy your food.”

As soon as his mother was out of ear shot, Dave leaned over and whispered, “Yeah, but I know where they hide the key to the liquor cabinet.”

I smiled but shook my head, then reached for some food. I let the cool blend of the guacamole and sour cream melt over my tongue. In a voice loud enough to be heard in the kitchen I called out, “Wow, this is really good!”

Hannah smacked the back of her hand on my thigh. “You are such a suck-up.”

I licked some cream off my lips and whispered to her, “But it is – almost as good as Brussel sprouts”, then smiled when I saw her blushing.

As I grabbed more food, Dave announced, “Hey guys – kickoff’s after the commercials. Let’s get ready.”

Susie asked, “Who we playing?”

I had barely opened my mouth when Hannah leaned around me and, “Houston Oilers, same team we crushed in the A.F.C. Championship game last year.”

I softly added, “Yeah, what she said. Who’s got the Terrible Towels?”

Hannah stared at me and stuttered, “Uh – we don’t have any.”

“What? I left mine at home, figuring yunz’d have some.”

“Well, you figured wrong. Mom didn’t get up to Giant Eagle.”

I softly shook my head, then looked back into the kitchen. “Hey Donna, can you bring over a couple of dish towels? You know, the kind hanging over the handle on the stove -and don’t eat all of that second tray!”

I stopped midway through reaching for a third serving when I saw Susie trying to stifle her laughter. “What?” I asked.

She patted my knee. “You crack me up.”

Dave looked at both of us and said, “Simmer down guys, the games about to start.”

A towel dropped onto my head and fell down over my eyes. I pulled it off to see Donna smirking as she retook her seat on the right end of the couch. I stuck my tongue out at her, then spun the towel over my head until Hannah pulled my arm down and said, “Enough!”

My aunt called over from the kitchen, “Who wants something to drink?”

I replied, “Yeah – what kind of pop you got?”

Hannah went to stand and pulled on my hand. “C’mon, they’re in the fridge in the basement – you can go with me.”

Still on the couch, I nervously glanced at the commercial on the television. “But ... it’s almost time for the kickoff.”

She dropped my hand, frowned and shook her head. Aunt Janet walked towards us and said, “It’s okay – I’ll go get them. We got Coke, Sprite and Red Cream Soda.”

I said, “I’d like a Sprite please.”

The others made their requests, and as soon as her mother left the room Hannah grabbed my nipple through my shirt and twisted.

“Owww – what was that for?”

“Too late, you’ll never know.”

As I was rubbing my own breast, they finally they came back from commercial and the Steelers kicked off. We were all yelling as they tackled the Oilers’ return man near the thirty.

Earl Campbell ran for a first down, and on his second attempt was sweeping around the right end as Donnie Shell closed in to make the tackle. It was if Campbell had hit a brick wall, instantaneously reversing direction and driven onto to his back.

Dave moaned, “Aw, fuck!”

Mickey called from the kitchen, “Language, young man!”

“Sorry!” Turning back to us, Dave continued, “That’s why I don’t play football. It’s fun to watch, but I’ll watch the otherI don’t want to be the guy who gets jacked up.”

My aunt returned with an armful of pop cans, passing in front of the TV to place them on the coasters spread acrossed the end table. “Joe, here’s your Sprite.”

I muttered, “Thanks” as I leaned over to see around her. Just when I was reaching for my can I jumped up instead, as Pastorini’s throw was picked off by the Steelers and returned to the ten. Two plays later the ball was run into the end zone and we were up seven to nothing.

As soon as the yelling died down, Mickey walked over to Aunt Janet. “Hey honey, time for me to go.” They gave each other a peck on the lips before he said to the rest of us, “I’ll be back from the hospital around seven or so, depending if I get stuck with a patient – don’t destroy the house.”

I nodded while my cousins replied, “Yes sir” in unison.

The game settled down. On my left, Susie was leaning into Dave. I suddenly glanced to my right, getting a grin and raised eye brow in return, when I felt Hannah’s knee press into my thigh.

The Steelers took a ten-nothing lead into half-time. My aunt announced, “Chili’s ready. Come out here and fix it yourselves, I gotta get going too.”

Hannah ran over and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Bye mom!”

Her mother looked up and said, “Joe, Susie – here’s some more cheese if you want, and there’s a pot of mashed potatoes on the stove.”

I asked, “Uh ... do you have any crackers?”

“Crackers?”

“Yeah, to smash up and put in the chili.”

My aunt stared at me for a second, then pointed to the cupboard. “Sure, over there.”

“Thanks.”

“Okay guys, I’m not off until eleven, so Mickey will be home before me. Y’all be good.”

“Yes, mom.”

With that, she was out the door and the house was left to five teenagers – well, four and one who was almost. I poured three scoops of chili into my bowl, added some diced onions (despite the cooked ones already in the mix), then a handful of crushed saltines and proceeded to blend it all together with my spoon.

Hannah slid in beside me and said, “My, are we hungry?”

“I’m a growing boy.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna be right here” and she patted my belly.

As we walked back to the couch, with the half time segment reaching an end, I said, “Eh, I can’t ever see myself getting fat. I’m always getting lots of exercise.”

“You keep telling yourself that.”

Very quickly everyone was busy filling their face and not much was said for several minutes. Then Susie tapped my leg and asked, “So Joe - Hannah’s parents don’t mind you being older than her?”

I suppressed a smile and glanced at Hannah, who looked down and was barely shaking her head. I turned back to Susie and said, “I guess so – they’ve been nothing but great to me.”

She relaxed back into the couch. “Well, my parents weren’t quite as understanding the first time I brought home a college guy. Dad said he was only looking for one thing ... and he was, but hey - I didn’t mind.”

“The first time?”

“Yeah, but I just stopped bringing them home after awhile. Let’s see, the oldest guy I was with? Must have been Donnie, guess he was about twenty-five.”

Dave stopped eating and had a worried look on his face. In a hushed voice he said to Susie, “I don’t think you have to be sharing everything!”

She waved her hand at him. “Oh, don’t worry – that was a couple years ago!”

I asked, “But you’re only, what, seventeen now? How many guys you’ve been with?”

Susie looked at me for a second, then asked, “Joe, you calling me a...”

“No, no! I was just wondering.”

I

She leaned towards me and asked sternly, “Let me ask you – what do you call a girl who likes to have lots of sex?”

I hesitated and glanced around at the others. “I, uh...”

“Her name! I like to have lots of sex, and you can call me Susie!”