Chapter 22: Labor Day Weekend, Part I

September 2, 1983, West Monroe, Ohio

"Thanks for the lift, White Boy!" Clark said as he, Clarissa, and I climbed out of my Mustang.

"You're welcome," I replied. "Remember, we plan to head back around 8:00pm on Monday."

"Cool! I'll make sure Mom has me here by then."

Clark's mom was sitting on the porch, so we greeted her, and they left. It was early, so my parents weren't home, but Liz was home from school. Clarissa went to use the bathroom, so I took her bag up to my room and then stuck my head into Liz's room.

"Hey, Lizzy."

"Hi, Mikey! Sleeping on the couch?"

"I have enough trouble with Dad that the LAST thing I need to do is try to explain sleeping with my lesbian best friend!"

"Awkward!" she laughed.

"To say the least! Anything exciting going on?"

She shook her head, "Not really. First week of school and all that. What are you doing tomorrow morning?"

"I didn't have any specific plans other than Vespers tomorrow night, Matins and Liturgy on Sunday morning, and dinner at Tasha's house on Sunday evening; why?"

"Maggie is allowed to be at Hannah's house for an hour on Saturday mornings. Hannah's parents will be out. Hannah said if you come over, you can talk to Maggie."

"That seems dangerous," I replied warily.

"Hannah lives two doors down from Mindy, and Maggie's backyard runs up against Hannah's. If you get to Mindy's by 7:00am, you can hang out, and then when Maggie gets to Hannah's house, they'll call, and you can walk over. The way the fences are, nobody will see you."

"This sounds like a VERY bad idea," I said.

"Hannah told Mindy that Maggie was basically begging. She misses you, Mikey."

"And if we get caught?"

"How could it be worse? She'd lose her hour at Hannah's house, but there's nothing else to take away."

"Yeah, but wouldn't Hannah get kicked out of her church?"

Liz laughed, "I don't think Hannah cares about that any more than Maggie did. She has a full scholarship to Dartmouth that her grandpa arranged for her. As soon as she graduates, she's moving to her grandpa's house in New Hampshire and telling her parents to fuck off!"

"I take it her grandpa doesn't go to the same kind of church."

"No. Hannah said he's Methodist and was really pissed that his daughter, Hannah's mom, turned into a fanatical Bible thumper."

"And her parents don't know about this?"

"Not the important details. Hannah said they went to visit her grandpa over the Summer, and that's when she talked to him and made the arrangements. He went to Dartmouth and has friends in the administration. He teaches philosophy at the University of Massachusetts."

"So she has her escape plan! But still..."

"Mikey, see Maggie. She really wants to talk to you."

"You should," Clarissa said from behind me. "Just to keep your options with her open."

"At least SOMEONE agrees with me!" Liz declared.

"He hasn't ruled Tasha out just yet," Clarissa replied.

Liz rolled her eyes, "He should. She's not the right girl for him."

"I'm not so sure," Clarissa said thoughtfully.

"If you two are done discussing my love life, I think Clarissa and I are going to Rutherford to play mini-golf and have root beer floats."

"Can I come?" Liz asked.

"Only if you promise not to talk about my romantic relationships!"

"He's no fun, you know?" Liz asked Clarissa.

"There are a few girls in McKinley who might dispute that!"

"Oooh!" Liz squealed. "Do tell!"

"Did you two not hear me?" I asked.

"Relax, Petrovich!"

Clarissa and Liz both laughed. All I could do was shake my head. We went downstairs, Liz wrote a note for Mom, and then the three of us got into my Mustang for the drive to Rutherford.

September 3, 1983, West Monroe, Ohio

"I'll hang out with Liz while you go see Maggie," Clarissa said.

"Great," I said, shaking my head. "So you two can talk behind my back and conspire against me?"

"Yes, because we both have such evil thoughts about you!" Clarissa said with a soft laugh.

"And setting up this thing with Mindy, Hannah, and Maggie isn't conspiring?"

Liz laughed, "Now there's an image! Mike with Mindy, Hannah, AND Maggie! He wouldn't know whether to shit or go blind!"

"You might be surprised," Clarissa said with a knowing smile.

Liz gasped, "What?!"

"Lissa..." I sighed.

"Go see Maggie, Petrovich! It's just girl talk!"

"That's EXACTLY what I'm afraid of!"

With more than a bit of trepidation, I hugged them both, then headed out to my car. Sneaking to see Maggie gave me pause, but not nearly as much as leaving Clarissa and Liz to talk. I headed towards the subdivision where Mindy lived, and about ten minutes after I left the house, I pulled into Mindy's driveway. I got out of the car and walked towards the front door, which opened before I got to it.

"Hi, Mike!" Mindy gushed. "Come on in!"

I walked into the house, and Mindy shut the door behind me. We hugged, and she led me to the kitchen, where she offered me a cup of coffee, which I accepted.

"I'm not sure this is the best idea," I replied.

"It's cool; it really is. Nobody will find out."

"How the heck did Maggie's parents let her out of her cage to go to Hannah's when Hannah's parents aren't home?"

"They didn't! Maggie's parents and Hannah's parents are on a church retreat. Maggie's aunt is staying with her, and Maggie told her aunt that she was allowed to go to Hannah's for an hour on Saturday mornings, which she is."

"OK, but what happens when they find out?"

"Maggie's aunt won't say anything. She doesn't agree with how Maggie's parents are treating her."

"OK, so why did they let this aunt watch Maggie then?"

"Because her aunt doesn't want to fight with her brother, so she just nods and agrees with what he says. But the few times she's stayed with Maggie, Hannah has been allowed to visit. I promise it's totally cool."

"I can just see all three of you getting in huge trouble."

Mindy laughed, "My parents? They won't care at all!"

"And having me in YOUR house when they aren't home?"

"At this point, I think they're pretty sure I'm not a virgin, and they like you."

"And do they know..."

"No. I mean, they might have guessed, but they haven't said anything. So, did Liz tell you the deal?"

"Deal?"

Mindy smirked, "In order to see Maggie, you have to spend an hour with me and Hannah and do anything we want!"

"I don't THINK so!" I protested.

Mindy smirked, "Two sexy seventeen-year-old girls? One of them a 'goody-two-shoes' from the Bible church?"

"No deal," I said flatly.

Mindy laughed, "Boy, you're no fun to tease!"

"So, my dear little Mindy, what would have happened had I said 'OK' to your little scheme?"

She shrugged, "With me? Duh! With Hannah? You'd have to ask her!"

"I'll pass. I'm asking for enough trouble as it is."

"I swear it's cool. Nobody will snitch. Well, assuming you spend that hour with me and Hannah!"

"So now we're resorting to blackmail, are we?" I asked with a grin.

"Oh, right, I forgot. You hated getting my cherry and hated having sex with me! Not!"

"It's not the sex; it's the tying the things together!"

"Oh, so you'll do it with us just because?" she smirked.

"And how the heck do I explain that to Maggie? 'Sorry, but your friends wanted to fool around before I talked to you. Hope you aren't angry with me'. As if THAT would go over!"

"She knows we fucked!" Mindy laughed. "That's not exactly a state secret!"

The doorbell rang.

"Saved by the bell," I laughed.

"It's Hannah, so I wouldn't bet on THAT!"

"Tell you what," I grinned, playing a hunch, "if she's willing to have a threesome with you and me right here, right now, I'll do it!"

Mindy laughed, "Good one! But what if she WAS?"

"I'm actually pretty confident about my assessment. And I could always back out because I don't have any rubbers, and I HIGHLY doubt she's on the Pill."

"I have no idea, actually. And please don't say anything to her about me teasing you. I don't think she'll appreciate it."

"So I was right!"

"Yes, yes; you're a genius!" Mindy laughed, then hurried to the front door.

She was back a few seconds later with Hannah.

"Just go down two doors and knock," Hannah said. "It's the house with the Buick in the driveway. Maggie will let you in. I'll be back no later than 8:10am. OK?"

"OK."

I left the house, walked quickly to Hannah's house, and knocked. Maggie opened the door, grabbed my arm, pulled me inside, then quickly shut the door. I barely had time to breathe before she had me in a bear hug. I put my arms around her and held her tightly to me.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Better because you came to see me," she sighed. "Kiss me?"

We exchanged a soft kiss, and then she led me to the living room, where she had me sit on the couch and then sat on my lap, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Did Liz and Mindy tell you everything?" she asked quietly.

"I think so," I said. "They told me about your dad finding the prayer books and the other books and your prayer rope and then grounding you."

"I can't believe he burned them!" she said, choking up. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," I replied. "And all of them can be replaced. I'm sorry it got you into so much trouble."

"It was bound to happen," she said, weeping. "I knew there was a chance I'd get caught. And now I can't see you!"

"Uhm, you're sitting in my lap right now, and I have my arms around you!"

"You know what I mean!" she sniffed. "By June, you won't even think about me anymore!"

"That's not true, Maggie," I replied.

"But it means not getting to know you better or going to church or anything!"

"I'm not going to ask anyone to marry me before June," I replied, stroking her red hair.

"No," she said, a hitch in her voice, "but I wanted more time with you before I graduate."

"I know," I replied. "But I don't know how to make that happen. Is your dad going to lighten up?"

"Never," she sighed. "Even if I agreed to their dumb statement of beliefs, I'd still be in pretty much the same boat because he's afraid I'll try to see you."

"You mean like right now?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I like it when I'm in your arms."

"And I like holding you."

She sat up, smiled, and we exchanged a soft kiss. After a bit, Maggie parted her lips, and our tongues met, gently dancing with each other. We kissed for a couple of minutes before Maggie broke the kiss with a deep sigh and rested her head on my shoulder again.

"I wish I could run away with you," she whispered. "Somewhere, my dad could never find us."

"He'd have the entire Air Force and every cop in eight states looking for us. And if we actually left Ohio, I could go to jail."

"What?!"

"Take your pick," I replied. "Kidnapping? The 'Mann Act'? Some other trumped-up charge?"

"Seriously?"

"Until you're eighteen? Sure. Even after that, it's technically illegal to go across state lines with a woman you aren't married to for any 'immoral purposes'. My friend Melody said that's not defined anywhere, and so it could mean as little as a French kiss."

"But if we were married, it would be OK?"

"Yes. But you need to finish High School before we think about that."

"I know," she sighed. "It just seems like forever. And I probably won't be able to see you except maybe for a few minutes like this. It stinks!"

"I won't forget about you!" I replied.

"But you could meet somebody else before I even have a chance," she sighed.

"That would be true even if we were seeing each other occasionally. Can I ask you something bluntly?"

"Sure."

"Do you think we've agreed to be together? That, in effect, I've made a promise to you?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "But if I can't see you, how can I even try to be your girlfriend? It's like I have no chance at all now."

She had a reasonable concern, and I wasn't quite sure how to address it. The one thing I was sure I couldn't do was make any promises to her. I was in no position to do that, and as much as I liked her, we still had a long way to go before I got to the point of making a commitment of any kind. If I wasn't ready to commit to Tasha, I certainly wasn't ready to commit to anyone else.

"I can't promise anything right now, but I think you should know I'm not actually dating anyone right now except Tasha, and that's complicated."

"Complicated?"

"Yes, but I can't really say more other than to ask you not to worry about her. Nothing like what you fear will happen anytime soon, if ever."

"And if you meet some other girl?"

"That could always happen," I replied.

"Yes, but it's different if I see you every week or every two weeks!"

"I don't know what to say or do, Maggie. We're stuck at the moment."

"I know, I swear, my dad is the biggest ... jerk on the planet! When will you be home again?"

"Thanksgiving, most likely," I replied. "And then Christmas."

"Will you see me if I can find a way to make it work?"

"I'll do my best," I said.

"Thanks. We have like twenty minutes left. Wanna make out?"

Before I could answer in the affirmative, Maggie pressed her lips to mine, and we shared a very sexy French kiss. We kissed until Hannah interrupted us about fifteen minutes later. I hugged Maggie tightly, gave her a soft kiss, promised I'd see her if she could arrange it, then thanked Hannah and walked back to Mindy's house. I thanked her, then got into my car and headed home.

"How did it go?" Clarissa asked when I walked into the house.

"OK. She's obviously upset and concerned about our relationship, but there isn't much I can do. She's going to try to arrange the same kind of meeting when I'm home at Thanksgiving and for Christmas, though Liz, you'll need to make sure she knows about my ski trip."

"I will," Liz said.

The doorbell rang, and I walked the few steps from the living room to the front door and opened it.

"Dale?! What are you doing here?"

"An intervention. Come on."

"What are you talking about?"

"You heard him, Petrovich," Clarissa said, coming to stand next to me. "This is an intervention. Let's go."

"Go where?" I asked.

"Jocelyn's house, you idiot!" Dale growled. "I've had enough of this bullshit between you two, and I'm putting a stop to it!"

"No chance," I said firmly. "She made it VERY clear she didn't want to see me."

"We'll see about that. Come on."

"No," I declared, shaking my head.

Clarissa grabbed my arm and began pulling me through the front door. Dale grabbed my other arm and pulled me, and Liz pushed me from behind. I tried to resist, but it was futile with the three of them coöperating, unless I wanted someone to get hurt.

"Please don't do this," I pleaded. "Jocelyn will have a fit."

"Tough shit," Dale declared.

Dale, Clarissa, and Liz basically manhandled me into the front seat of Dale's car, then Clarissa got in the back seat and Dale into the driver's seat.

"Mike and Clarissa, meet Clara Brown. Clara, my friend Mike Loucks, and his friend Clarissa Saunders."

"Hi!" Clara said.

"This is a really bad idea, Dale," I protested.

He ignored me, and Clara and Clarissa talked to each other. About a million gallons of adrenaline had dumped into my system, and flight was winning over fight, but I could hardly jump out of a moving car. My stomach was doing flip-flops and my knees were shaking despite the fact I was sitting down. The closer we got to Jocelyn's house, the more I was tempted to actually simply jump from the car and run. When Dale pulled into her driveway, Clarissa put her hands on my shoulders.

"Just sit, Mike," she commanded firmly.

"But..."

"Just sit," she repeated.

Dale got out of the car, went to the front door, and rang the bell. Mrs. Mills opened it, and they spoke briefly, then Dale went inside. A moment later, to my surprise, Mr. and Mrs. Mills came out of the house. They waved and walked to their car.

"OK, Mike," Clarissa said. "Let's go."

"Clarissa, please, don't," I begged.

"Get out of the car, Petrovich. Now!"

I resignedly unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car. Clarissa hopped out, grabbed my arm, and led me towards the door, with Clara following close behind. We went in through the front door to find Dale engaged in a heated argument with Jocelyn, whose face was red, and I thought for a moment I saw steam coming from her ears. Dale turned when he saw us come in.

"You two children play nice," he said. "We're going outside, and you two are not to come out until you make up!"

He quickly turned and walked out, followed by the two girls. They closed the door behind him, and I looked for something to hide behind.

"Get the fuck out of here!" she growled angrily.

"Gladly. Tell Dale and Clarissa. They literally dragged me to the car and then forced me to come into the house."

"I don't want to talk to you!"

"I know. Convince them, and I'll leave."

She stormed to the front door and threw it open to find Dale standing there with his arms crossed and his face set.

"Go back inside and work things out," he said firmly. "I'm not fucking kidding when I say neither of you are leaving until you do. Your parents agree with me."

"Well I don't!" Jocelyn spat.

"Tough shit! That's the same thing I told Mike. He didn't come here willingly. I drove down from Madison after I talked to your parents. This is an intervention. Go back inside. Talk. Beat each other senseless. Fuck each other senseless. Whatever it takes to get past this insanity. Now!"