Chapter 37: Encounters

October 9, 1981, McKinley, Ohio

Author's Note: This chapter has been modified to comply with site guidelines as of 2025-03-29

"You're really going to cut back your hours to just the six-hour Saturday shift?" Nancy asked.

"That's what I told Mr. Sokolov yesterday, yes. And he can reduce the hours whenever he finds someone to take them."

"What happened?"

"The Biology Department secured a grant for $1500 per semester for me. I explained my situation to Doctor Stanton, my advisor, and he talked to Doctor Norris. I'm starting in the Honors Program next semester, and there is a small amount of money available for honor students. It's enough so I don't need to work at all, but I want to work at least one shift. It'll give me a bit of extra money, and those morning hours on Saturday aren't really going to interfere with anything. The other thing it lets me do is take karate again. If you add all of it together, I feel like I'll have enough money to be comfortably poor during my last two years of medical school."

"Welcome to my world!" Nancy declared. "I guess this does help with one potential issue."

"Which one?" I asked.

"Sometimes you are even more clueless than usual. We work together."

"Oh. I guess I didn't think about it because it won't change how I act."

"Are you sure?"

"Work is work. I made a promise to Mr. Sokolov, and I'll keep it."

"I don't think it's going to be that easy," she sighed.

"For me, it is. I'm sure."

"I'll take your word for it, but we do need to be careful."

"Have I kissed you or anything like that at work? Even hugged you?"

"No."

"There you go. Don't worry about it."

"OK. Can we see True Confessions tonight?"

"Sure. Whatever you want!"

"I do have a request for next weekend."

"You already asked for THAT!" I teased.

"Duh! On Monday, will you walk me to the bus?"

"So you can show me off to 'Miss Delicious'?" I chuckled.

"They thought I was messing with them! They don't believe I have a boyfriend in college."

"Boyfriend?"

"What should I call you?"

"That's fine, I was just surprised you used the word."

"There really isn't a good option besides that which I can think of. Is it a problem?"

"Not at all. Have you thought more about the 'play' versus 'make love' question?"

"It's tough," she sighed. "I'm worried that you'll be hurt just like you're worried that I'll be hurt."

"True."

"Would it ruin things completely if I said I just wanted to play for now and see where things go?" she asked nervously.

"No," I replied.

"No?! What?!"

"I had a very good talk with Jocelyn last Monday. I didn't tell you about that part of it because I wanted to think it through. I had to come to terms with what happened between Jocelyn and me. I have."

"So casual sex is OK?"

"I don't think I'd put it quite that way. It's not like you and I don't know each other or are having sex on our first date. Or even our second or third one. It's an important distinction in my mind."

"That actually makes sense. I wouldn't have done it with you after the first date or even the second."

"Exactly. But playing does have a condition. It means we're not a couple."

Nancy nodded, "I know. That's actually what scared me. Being a couple. It seemed so ... so, permanent."

"And you don't trust me to keep that commitment. At least not yet."

"No, I'm sorry."

In the end, whatever words she wanted to use, what we were doing amounted to the same thing — seeing if things between us would work. I was willing to make the basic commitment to her — to not see anyone else after we made love — but she was so scarred by her dad and Chet that she couldn't accept even that. And that made me wonder if she'd ever be able to make a commitment. But it was very early on, and there was plenty of time to find out.

"Nancy, we're fine. I'm not going to run away."

"Ask me again at graduation."

"Count on it. Do the rules at your school allow me to take you to Prom?"

"I have to ask specific permission each time, but as a Senior, I'm allowed to request to bring a date who's a Freshman in college to any dance."

"Do you want to go to any of your dances?"

"Just Prom. We missed the Fall dance already, which is OK because I wasn't interested in going. The same is true for our Spring dance."

"What are we doing next Friday?"

"Pick me up at the store, and we'll have dinner, then go to my house, and you can have me for dessert."

"Now, there's an offer no sane man could refuse!"

We arrived at Frisch's and, as creatures of habit, sat in our same booth and ordered the same meals as we had the previous few weeks.

"You decided to come back on Sunday?"

"Yes. I'll go to church and then come back to McKinley for work. I need to study on Sunday for mid-terms. This will be a tough week, but by Friday, I'll be ready to be away from school for a few days and spend them with you."

When we finished our meal, we headed to the theatre to see True Confessions. We both enjoyed the movie and when it finished, I took Nancy home, where we exchanged a soft kiss.

October 10, 1981, Rutherford, Ohio

"Turn left here," Emmy said, her voice full of anticipation. "Then park in spot 207."

I did as she directed, and the minute I stopped, she hopped out of the car.

"Come on!" she insisted, pushing the car door shut.

I turned off the engine, put the car in 1st gear, and set the parking brake. I deliberately took my time doing that and getting out of the car. Emmy was already at the door of the building, putting her key into the tumbler to open the door.

"Come on!" she begged.

I walked towards her, not showing any sense of urgency because, from the second I'd arrived at her house, she'd been almost beside herself with impatience. It was obvious she'd been looking forward to this day, and now that it was here, she didn't want to waste one second of it. I, on the other hand, had second, third, and fourth thoughts.

As I'd thought about it, I came to the conclusion that part of my pushing for SOME kind of commitment with Nancy was about NOT being with Emmy. Or anyone else, for that matter. Even a simple 'going steady' situation would have allowed me to gracefully back out, though I would certainly have upset Emmy by doing so.

I considered the situation with Angie, which my friends had completely misread. When I'd agreed to study with her, I'd had no intention of doing what they'd suggested, even if it had been offered. I'd been relieved when it hadn't, and she'd come right out and said that when Freshman year was over, we'd know if this was more than just studying. To me, that seemed like the right approach.

My talk with Jocelyn had jarred me, and I had, finally, made peace with having made love with her and had truly considered what she said. I'd talked with Nancy about it, and we'd both agreed that the idea of truly casual sex just wasn't appealing. And despite Jocelyn's prescription, I just didn't see it in the cards for me.

Emmy and Nancy were different — I got to know them and spent time with them before we reached that point. I had no idea what would happen with Angie, but it was clear we were going to get to know each other first. Even with Becky, I'd spent time with her. Heck, even Paula wouldn't technically qualify, as we'd talked quite a bit while working.

So, here I was, with Emmy, and I knew that I couldn't behave the way I had with Jocelyn. I had, on my drive to West Monroe, concluded I really DID want to be with her. I did my best to analyze my feelings, and I was confident I wouldn't have any regrets. I was also confident that Emmy wanted this and that she would have no regrets, either. Her behavior confirmed that beyond any shadow of any doubt.

Where I had doubts was with Nancy. But that wasn't something to think about while I was with Emmy. I pushed the thoughts from my mind as I reached the door. Emmy grabbed my arm and tugged, encouraging me to follow her up the steps, then down the hall to the door marked '2G'. She inserted the key into the lock, opened the door, and dragged me inside.

"Emmy, relax," I soothed. "We have more than seven hours!"

"I wanted to do this with you YEARS ago!" she declared, closing and locking the door. "And that night at the lake? I was ready to rip our clothes off and just do it!"

"Well, now you have me for the rest of the day to do whatever you want."

"I told you what I wanted!"

...

"Did you like it," she asked. "Was I OK?"

"I liked it very much, and yes, you were awesome!"

"I'm sorry I spit. Leslie said I should swallow, but I just couldn't."

"It's OK," I said. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

"I think it had to happen," she said. "Otherwise, you couldn't get that monster in me!"

"It's not THAT big," I chuckled.

"It sure seems huge to me! And it felt like a telephone pole or something!"

"But you want to do it again?"

"Are you kidding," she giggled. "You have two more rubbers!"

"How do you feel, you know, down there?"

"It hurt at first..."

...

"Oh, wow!" she sighed. "I really don't want to get up, but I need something to drink. Should we get some drinks?"

"Sure."

We got out of bed and went to the kitchen, where Emmy poured lemonade for us, and we stood naked in the kitchen to drink.

...

We finished our lemonade, and Emmy hunted for a measuring tape in Leslie's sewing kit. She found it, took my hand, and led me to the bedroom.

...

"I think we should dress," I chuckled.

"Uh, yeah," she giggled. "But we're both really messy."

"Let's take a shower together!" I said.

"Yes!" she said, practically dragging me into the bathroom.

...

When we were clean, we dried off and dressed. The pizza arrived about fifteen minutes later, and after I paid the deliveryman, we sat down at the kitchen table to eat pizza and wash it down with lemonade. When we finished, I pulled a small box from the pocket of my jeans.

"Happy birthday!" I said, pushing it over to her.

"Mike! You didn't have to! Today was my present!"

"I wanted to," I said.

She opened the box to find a charm bracelet. I'd debated exactly which charms to put on it and, in the end, settled for an 'E' and a cat, as she had a cat she loved very much. I'd debated adding an 'M' but didn't want to send the wrong signals.

"Oooh! Thanks! I love it!"

"You're welcome!"

She put it on her wrist, then got up and came to sit on my lap. She put her arms around my neck and looked deeply into my eyes.

"Do you think we can do this again?"

"I do have one more rubber," I said.

"No, I meant after today?"

"I think so. You talked about coming to visit sometimes, and I'll be home for Thanksgiving. I'm sure I'll come to see Jocelyn, and, hopefully, Liz will come home soon, and I'm sure I'll come to see her."

"Good," she sighed, leaning against me and resting her head on my shoulder.

I held her for a couple of minutes.

"Mike?" Emmy said quietly.

"Yes?"

"I love you."

My heart raced, and I thought it might explode. That was the LAST thing I'd expected to hear from Emmy today. My mind raced, and I quickly understood that it really shouldn't have come as a surprise. Emmy had liked me for years and had wanted to make love for almost as long. All the things she'd said lined up, and I'd taken her comments about a commitment to mean she didn't have those kinds of feelings for me. She obviously did. And I did for her, but not ones I could express with that word. And so I was quiet.

"Mike?" she asked after a minute. "Did I scare you?"

"I was just surprised, and I realized I shouldn't have been. But I'm not sure what to say now."

She sat up and looked at me.

"Can't I just admit how I feel for you and leave it at that?"

"I'm concerned, obviously."

"That I want you to be my steady boyfriend? I would, you know, if you were a Senior or you were working around here instead of at school in McKinley. I know it's only an hour away, but I can't see you every day or do things with you all the time. And it's more than two years before I graduate. So I really can't have that. Remember, I said I was realistic about the situation. And I am NOT ready to get engaged or anything like that. I just love you. OK?"

"OK."

"And I know you're seeing Nancy, and I guess you two will do it. I'm not mad about that if it's true. It's, well, maybe I should have told you how I felt a long time ago."

"You mean earlier this Summer?"

"No, when I was thirteen."