Chapter 13: Sue Interrupted

Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011 11:15pm

Jesse and Sue were lying together in her bed having made love just as they had each Saturday evening for the past six weeks. They had become very comfortable with each other. Jesse was realistic and knew he wasn’t in love with the lovely young lady, but she was a wonderful partner in bed and a delight to be with at any time. He had managed to accept a second invitation to dinner at the Chens two weeks earlier and this time, all had gone well. He did not suffer a reoccurrence of his fainting spell, although the memories that brought it on were still with him. It was a personal test he knew he had to pass, and in doing so, his success relieved a great deal of pressure.

Monday, December 5, 2011 4pm

“You did it! You did it, Jesse! I got a top mark ... a 93. I’ve never got one that high before,” she cried in glee.

Grant chuckled at the enthusiasm and happiness of the young woman, while Jesse beamed with pride at her accomplishment.

Sue had talked about testing out early for her BSc and was looking at whether she was ready or not. His help with her English Lit paper brought her a very high mark and some complimentary notes from her professor. She beamed with delight and excitement at the paper, unable to wait to show Jesse. She met him late one afternoon at the store and danced around him and Grant, waving the marked paper in front of them.

“I didn’t do it, Sue ... you did,” he said, still smiling at her happiness. “You wrote the paper. I just fixed the typos.”

“Oh no, Mister Peterson. You did much more than that. You convinced me to pare it down and cut out the unnecessary duplication. That was one of the reasons I got such a high mark. Professor Thomas said I avoided using words to fill spaces. She said it was economical and to the point. That’s what you did for me.”

“Well, I’m glad it turned out well for you. Congratulations, Sue,” Jesse smiled.

“There’s only one problem I wanted to talk to both of you about,” she added in a serious tone. “I might be able to begin my master’s program in January. I’ve applied to UVic for acceptance based on my current marks. There’s a good chance I’ll be granted enrolment, but I won’t know until nearly Christmas time. I hope that doesn’t cause either of you a problem. I’ll still be here for the Christmas to New Year period.”

Jesse looked at Grant. “I was planning on asking for a week at Christmas if it wasn’t going to cause you a problem, Grant. I’ve been invited to Whistler for that week by my landlady.”

“Oh ... Eve’s your landlady now, is she?” Sue giggled.

“I don’t know what to call her,” Jesse admitted. “She acts a bit like my mother, but she’s not.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jesse,” Sue said. “I’ll be happy to cover for you that week. That okay with you, Grant?”

“That will be fine. That week isn’t terribly busy anyway. Usually just the odd return,” he assured her.

“Thanks, Sue ... and you too, Grant. I’ll be ready for a break by then.”

Saturday, December 10, 2011 11:15pm

“You really got a surprise tonight, didn’t you,” Sue stated as they lay in her bed.

“More than you realize,” Jesse agreed. “I had no idea you and Eve had conspired to put on that birthday party for me, even if it was a day early.”

“I thought you would want a day to recover since you had more than a couple of glasses of wine,” she teased.

“Yeah ... that was a first. I think that water you suggested I drink helped. At least I don’t have a headache.”

“Your official birthday is only a few minutes away and I have an idea of how to celebrate it,” she smirked.

“If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, then I’ll be a very happy birthday boy,” he grinned. He was appropriately wearing his “birthday suit.”

What he couldn’t tell anyone was that Eve had given him a very special private gift that caught him completely by surprise. Somehow, she had obtained a copy of Jesse’s 1960-61 high school yearbook. It was new and unsigned by anyone, but Jesse prized it as the most significant gift he had ever received. A quick look confirmed his picture was as he remembered it on page 38, among the other 300 graduates that year. There were also several pictures of him playing baseball. Of course, he couldn’t tell anyone about it but it would bring back a lot of happy memories. When he had the time, he would go through it page by page and reminisce about happier times gone by.

Jesse had made significant progress in his studies, trying to catch up to where he should be as a high school graduate in the early twenty-first century. He had three subjects that presented the largest challenges. History, particularly in the past fifty years, science and the multitude of discoveries and developments in that half century, and mathematics, which had pushed him further into university level courses than he expected.

He was persistent, however, and with Sue and Eve’s help, he gradually began to catch up. History was the most fascinating subject of the three. The Vietnam War, the Arab Israeli conflicts, the emerging power of China and India, the declining power of Russia, and the intrusive foreign policy that ebbed and flowed in the United States. He was surprised that the US was vulnerable to attack, but when he read about the guerrilla-like actions of Arab and other terrorist organizations, he could see how no major power was really equipped to deal with this type of unpredictable attack.

A new leader in Russia was attempting to restore that country to its previous powerful state, but so far it was a shadow of its former self. Gone were several of the states that it controlled outside its borders, along with several that were inside. Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia had broken up into separate entities and were now developing democracies. South Africa had shucked off apartheid and its leadership was now native African. Spain had escaped from Franco’s dictatorship and was now a modern democratic state. The changes were mind-boggling to Jesse. It was as if the world had been made anew in just a half-century.

He was very careful about asking Sue for help, knowing that he had to keep his questions logical for someone who had memory loss. Eve was the most helpful, of course. She knew where to get answers and not arouse suspicion. As far as history was concerned, Jesse didn’t really need any help that he couldn’t find on the Internet. Eve’s strength was in science and she was a big assist in tying together basic development with the resulting technology. Jesse was fascinated with micro-surgery as practiced now. Eve’s father’s development was particularly amazing, but then, when he saw the kinds of photographs that could be taken by his cell phone, it gave him some idea of just how far miniaturization had come. The touch screens were equally fascinating. The digital age almost overwhelmed him.

Over the months, Jesse had been collecting car magazines. What interested him the most were the vintage sports and grand prix car races that were now common in North America and Europe. They brought back fond memories, even though he didn’t recognize all of the vehicles.

For his birthday, Eve had given him a subscription to Vintage Motorsport magazine. It not only featured the various races and concours events, but the history of a number of famous cars that were active in the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. He had cut out a picture of an Austin Healey 3000 that was the same colour as his father’s car and pinned to the wall in his bedroom. The car was still stylish and sleek in appearance more than fifty years later. He wondered if he’d ever be able to own a car like that.

As he lay that evening with Sue, he thought about the coming months and the next year. Sue would be gone and he would be on his own once again. She had taught him how to please her and he was incredibly grateful for the experience. He liked Sue a lot as a friend and lover, but he knew they weren’t going to be together permanently. She assured him that he was a very attentive lover and would undoubtedly please any woman he chose to be with. Her words gave him a great sense of satisfaction and confidence. He was catching up with his contemporaries.

With money in his pocket and some time to spend, he began shopping for Christmas presents. He included Sue and Kirsten on his list, but Kirsten’s would be a small token. They were friends but with the hockey season in full swing, they saw each other infrequently. Kirsten would be playing steadily from mid-September through to the third week of March, not including the December break for exams, and the spring playoffs if they made it that far. Their travel would include all three Prairie Provinces as well as Ontario and Quebec. It was a gruelling 45 game schedule with the month of December the only open time.

Even now, Jesse could see the toll it was taking on Kirsten as she tried to combine her hockey with studying for mid-term exams. She had reduced her exercise and fitness program and dedicated herself to passing her exams. She would resume her hockey the second week of January. He had thought of inviting her to his birthday party, but thought it might be awkward with Sue there. He hoped she didn’t feel slighted and discussed his concerns with Eve.

“Don’t worry about it, Jesse. I understand the problem and it’s not like you two have been dating lately. Perhaps in January or when her season ends you might try to see if she’s interested. I know she thinks highly of you.”

“Yeah ... I guess that makes sense. She looks pretty busy right now, so even the Christmas break is only going to be a couple of weeks for her after exams.”

“She’ll be in Whistler for those two weeks, so you can get together with her then,” Eve suggested. “We always invite the Gustafsons to dinner at least once while we are there. My father and Tomas get along very well, as do my mother and Anika. I’m sure Kirsten would be happy to have someone of her own age to ski with.”

“Okay, that’s what I’ll do then. Thanks, Eve,” he smiled.

With Sue bound for Victoria in the next few days, Jesse was facing the fact that he would be without a weekend date once more. He had become used to the idea that they would have sex each time and he knew that he was going to miss that part of their relationship more than anything. The only other potential girlfriend on the horizon was Kirsten.