Chapter 74: Give Me A Break!

March 30, 1984, McKinley, Ohio

"Sorry about earlier," she said. "My roommate was being a bitch."

"Something specific?" I asked.

"She's been on the rag ever since our second week here. Guy trouble. I guess she thought you were trying to use me."

"I can see why she would think that," I replied. "You and I don't know each other except basically by sight and name, I sang to you, and you came to my room."

"If I were totally clueless about life, I could see it. But I knew what was going on! She's basically still pissed about getting dumped after she gave it up to a Senior during the second week of school, thinking the guy wanted more than just some fun."

That, indeed, had 'disaster' written all over it, especially given that the way Charlotte said it made me think Stacy had been a virgin.

"That kind of misunderstanding can cause serious problems," I said.

"No kidding! Can I pick an album?"

"Sure."

She moved over to the shelves and, after a couple of minutes, selected I Love to Sing the Songs I Sing by Barry White. She handed me the album, and with my back to her, I grinned and rolled my eyes in amusement. I put the vinyl platter onto the turntable, set the tonearm, and adjusted the volume as the title track began flowing from the speakers. I turned and held out my arms, and Charlotte and I were back almost where we started. We remedied that almost immediately when we started kissing. I moved my hand under her blouse to the soft skin of the small of her back, and her soft hand moved under my T-shirt to rub the small of my back.

When I Love to Sing the Songs I Sing yielded to Girl, What's Your Name, I decided to test the waters a bit more and slowly slid my hand down, past the loose waist of her baggy jeans, and cupped her butt cheek, now covered only by thin cotton panties. Charlotte pressed her body more firmly against mine, signaling approval, so I slid my other hand under her blouse, then moved it to the opposite hip.

Charlotte flexed her hips and shoulders, rubbing her body against mine, and moved her other hand under my T-shirt, then slid them up to my shoulder blades. She pulled tightly and moaned softly into my mouth, her hard nipples boring into my chest, trying to tear through her bra and blouse and my T-shirt. She wasn't small like Kimiko or Clarissa, but she also wasn't huge like Janey or Kristin. I almost laughed as I thought of Goldilocks, and the words 'just right' popped into my head.

I was just about to take another small step when there was a loud rapping on the door. We broke our kiss and disentangled ourselves.

"Sorry," I said, breathing hard, "it's Grand Central Station here tonight!"

I went to the door and opened it.

"Sorry," Miles said. "But Laura is sick now, too. Two of the girls are helping her. They couldn't find the female RA, so I came to see you."

"I think you and whomever the other girl is should just go to the infirmary right now. I don't know for sure, but it seems like something you guys ate. Do they need help getting Laura to the infirmary?"

"I don't think she can walk," he said.

"She's that tiny dark-haired girl with brown eyes who's always smiling, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm sure I can carry her," I replied, then turned back to Charlotte and said, "Sorry."

She laughed, "It's not my night!"

"You can stay if you want," I replied. "This shouldn't take too long."

She smiled, nodded, and went to sit on the couch. I grabbed my last plastic grocery bag and followed Miles to the door of the girls' bathroom. After calling out the prescribed warning, waiting thirty seconds, calling out again, and waiting another thirty seconds, I went in. Laura looked like death warmed over, so I handed her the bag, scooped her into my arms, and told Miles to find the other girl. Laura's two friends followed me as I carried her to the elevators. It was faster carrying her than it had been walking Teddy, so it only took about five minutes to get from Rickenbacker 8 to the infirmary.

"Food poisoning," the nurse said when I explained. "Has to be."

"I guessed," I replied. "I suggested to Miles that he and the other girl just come here now."

The nurse laughed, "You walked the first one, carried the second, so I guess a stretcher, and then an ambulance?"

"I was hoping to avoid that," I chuckled.

"The on-call doctor will be here in a couple of minutes. We'll probably send all four of them to Moore Memorial Hospital. What I can do here, on my own, is somewhat limited, though I can get a saline IV started. I'll do that now."

Miles and Sarah, a girl I knew vaguely, came in just then, followed almost immediately by a doctor wearing a Moore Memorial Hospital ID. He asked a bunch of questions, and when I had nothing to add, he thanked me for bringing them in and sent me back to the dorm, where Charlotte was waiting on the couch in my room.

"Is it always like this?" she asked as I shut the door.

I chuckled, "No. Mostly there are very few problems on this floor because we're all very serious students. Teddy and Miles are good students, which is why I believed Miles when he said they weren't drinking. The nurse suggested food poisoning, which sure makes sense to me. Could be the burger joint or the bowling alley."

"The bowling alley," Charlotte suggested. "We had burgers tonight before the concert, and none of us are sick."

"I'd say that's a reasonable assumption, given how popular the burger joint is and that I know some other kids went there tonight as well."

"You ate in the cafeteria?"

"I take full advantage of my meal plan," I replied. "I'm trying to save money for medical school."

"I hear that's like totally insane."

"That rumor appears to be entirely accurate," I replied.

"Think we'll get interrupted again?"

"I have no idea. This isn't normal. And Fate appears to be working on Stacy's behalf."

"She made her bed," Charlotte said with a smirk.

"So to speak," I chuckled, getting up to change the album which had finished. "What do you want to hear?"

"Moans, groans, and heavy breathing?" she said, sounding silly.

"I don't think I have that particular album!"

"How about Piano Man," she suggested. "You seem to like Billy Joel."

"I do," I said, putting the Barry White album away and then setting up the new album.

Once Travelin' Prayer started, I went to sit next to Charlotte and put my arm around her shoulders. That was all it took for her to move into my lap so we could kiss. I was reasonably sure, based on her coming back AND staying while I'd gone to the infirmary, that it was safe to continue. I slipped my hand under her loose blouse and cupped her firm breast through the soft cotton material of her bra. As I moved my other hand under the back of her blouse, the phone rang.

"Give me a break!" Charlotte groused, breaking the kiss and moving from my lap.

Completely annoyed, I got up and went over to the phone and picked up the handset.

"Mike Loucks," I said.

"Mike, this is Ann. Is Charlotte there?"

"Yes," I sighed. "One moment."

I turned to Charlotte and held out the phone.

"Who?" she asked.

"Ann."

Charlotte sighed, got up, and came over to take the handset from me.

"What?" she growled into the phone, then a few seconds later, "Oh, give me a break! Seriously? ... No ... Yes. I'll be right down."

Charlotte roughly put the handset into the cradle.

"My roomie is threatening to kill herself."

"What?!" I gasped.

"I think she's a drama queen, but she wants to talk to me. The two RAs are there, and they want me to come talk to her."

"They're required to call the paramedics," I said. "Even for a threat."

"Wonderful. I guess you shouldn't wait up."

I shrugged, "I'll leave that to you."

She nodded, then left my room. I closed and locked the door behind her, and making an assumption, I decided to just go to bed. I brushed my teeth, emptied my bladder, turned off the stereo and the main lights, undressed, and then climbed into bed. I reached over, turned off the light by the bed, put my head on the pillow, and fell asleep.

March 31, 1984, McKinley, Ohio

Clarissa laughed uncontrollably when I told her what had happened the night before.

We were having breakfast alone, with everyone else electing to sleep in after the stressful week of midterms.

"Now that's just wrong," she said when she was finally able to stop laughing. "And I wasn't laughing at the suicide threat, by the way."

"Oh, I know," I replied. "I'm betting it wasn't real, just a way to stop Charlotte from doing what I suspect we were going to do."

"Suspect? She came back, AND she waited for you. And that comment about the album? It was a sure thing!"

"Probably, but you never know, as was perfectly demonstrated last night!"

"You really were going to go for it, weren't you?"

"She met all four major criteria so far as I could tell, and despite my plan to just get her attention..."

"So now what?"

"Who knows? I won't pursue her, but I won't avoid her, either."

"I think she'll be back!"

"We'll see," I grinned. "Kimiko came to see me last night, too."

"Oh?"

"She was worried about having invited Brandon without asking me first."

"What's up with that?"

"Nothing, as far as I can tell. She says they're friends, but I got the impression it's friends like friends, not friends like she and I were friends."

"She hasn't come to visit since sometime before Spring Break?"

"She has, but just to talk or study. I don't think you should read anything into that other than she's respecting your time with me. Sophia is doing that, too."

"You're seeing Tasha tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, Lissa; I'll get laid tomorrow!" I chuckled.

"I'm just looking out for your mental health! Or what passes for it, anyway!"

"Ha-ha," I deadpanned. "Seriously though, I'm fine."

"You can't tell me you don't get sexually frustrated being naked in bed with me, especially after something like last night."

I shrugged, "That's never really been a problem; well, not since Jocelyn."

"You're serious?"

I nodded, "Yes. I told Angie I could refrain from physical affection for as long as necessary, up to our wedding night. And I believe I could."

"Masturbation?"

"Occasionally," I replied. "But I just don't have that kind of burning desire."

"No 'pon farr'?" Clarissa asked.

I chuckled, "Vulcans mate anytime they want to. That particular thing is every seven years when they have to mate or die, or in the alternative, fight a ritual battle of some sort. And it wasn't just mating with anyone — there had to be an empathic bond. You know, like you and me."

Clarissa laughed, "Seven years since puberty?"

"Closer to eight," I replied. "To be honest, my first time with Tasha was about seven years!"

"Now that's just too funny!"

"Except SHE was the one who needed to mate or die!" I chuckled. "Or rather, I'd have been the one to die if I'd refused to mate with her when she decided it was time!"

We both laughed, then finished our breakfast before returning to the dorm. There was a note on my corkboard from Miles asking me to stop by, so Clarissa went into my room while I went down the hall to Miles' room and knocked on the door.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm the only one who wasn't affected," Miles replied. "Sarah got sick about fifteen minutes after we got to the infirmary. They're all at Moore Memorial for observation because the nurse put in IVs. She's reasonably sure it was food poisoning. And most likely from the bowling alley. I guess they're going to notify the Health Department."

"But they're all OK?"

"The doctor said the real danger was dehydration because they couldn't keep anything down. Not even sips of water. They gave them antibiotics in addition to the IVs."

"How long will they keep them?"

"Until they can eat something. The doctor thought tomorrow."

"OK. Keep me posted, please."

"Will do," Miles said. "Thanks for helping."

"You're welcome."

I headed back to my room and let Clarissa know what Miles had said, then put on the soundtrack to Footloose and adjusted the volume as loud as I reasonably could at that hour of the morning.

"What time are you leaving?" I asked.

"About 9:00am," she replied. "Thanks for lending me your car. You could still come along if you want."

"I'd rather you didn't feel rushed. You'll be back in time for Vespers, and I already arranged to borrow Sophia's car if, for some reason, you aren't."

"Are you going to talk to Doctor Mercer about us next weekend?"

"I don't see how I can avoid it," I replied. "Especially with you seeing her today."

"Should I tell her about our agreement?"

"I'll leave that up to you," I replied. "Just let me know what you say to her about it."

"I'm not sure, really. I guess I need to wait to hear what she says about what's already happened. What are you doing today?"

"Father Nicholas and I are having lunch, and then we'll go see Deacon Grigory. Father is picking me up, so there's no issue with the car. And Liz should be calling not long after you leave."

"Status update?"

"Just to let me know everything is OK. I'll stop in to check on Paul next Saturday when I head to Cincinnati. That will probably be the last time I do that until Liz is at a point where she has to tell my parents what's going on. And all I'm going to do is be her advocate."

"You're sure they won't find out that you helped Paul?"

"It's highly unlikely they could. Mr. Zhuravlyov is my grandfather's friend, not my mom's. Well, now he's my friend, and that means he keeps the confidence. What favors are owed and why is always kept between the two men involved. So when Mr. Orlov talked to Mr. Sokolov, nobody besides them knew what the complete agreement was. All I knew was that Mr. Orlov had made a request of Mr. Sokolov. If my parents were to complain to the government, the government can't reveal my involvement via the halfway house. That privacy is to ensure churches don't get harassed for helping ex-cons."

"It just seems as if there's some kind of weak link."

"Only Emmy's cousin, really. And she and Liz talked it through, along with Emmy, before she let Liz use her name. And the letters were supposedly vague enough that there's nothing there. Basically, so long as Liz and Paul keep their wits about them, Melody's plan is going to come off without a hitch."

"She's going to be a good lawyer!"

"She wants to get to know Jocelyn; that was true when Jos was going to come here for Sophomore year."

"How is this going to affect the current gang?"

"Jos will spend time with us, but she'll want to hang with the pre-law and criminal justice study group as well. Tasha and Maggie are going to be an issue because they won't be students, but we'll work it out. And in little over a year, we're going to have a major reset when Sandy, you, and I start medical school. At that point, Sophia, Robby, Lee, José, Rebekah, and Kimiko will be either Seniors or Juniors."

"I think we need to map our study times once we start medical school and map out time for our friends. If we don't, we'll burn out AND lose our friends."

"I think you're right."

We listened to the rest of the album, and then I walked Clarissa out to my Mustang, handed her the keys, and after a quick hug, she got in and drove off. I returned to the dorm, and a few minutes later, the phone rang. I answered, expecting it was Liz, and my expectation was correct.

"How are things?" I asked after greeting her.

"Do you know how frustrating this is!" Liz complained.

"Just be patient," I counseled.

"Oh, I know. He's probably going to ask me out the week after graduation. I guess he reported that he met me, and he'll tell them he ran into me at breakfast again today."

"I plan to stop in to see him on Saturday on my way to Cincinnati. That'll be before you guys have breakfast."

"What time will you be back?"

"I'll be home around 1:30pm or so."

"OK. Mom and Dad are going to be in Cincinnati for the day with Mr. and Mrs. Nikatopolis. They'll be home sometime late that evening. Are you staying or going back to school?"

"I need to be at church on Sunday morning," I said. "I'll probably drive back on Saturday evening so I don't have to get up at 5:00am on Sunday to get to McKinley."

"OK. See you next weekend?"

"You bet! And hang in there!"

"I will."

We said 'goodbye', and I hung up, then put on The Game by Queen and got the packet from Milena's class. I made some tea, then sat down on the couch to read. I'd just finished when Charlotte came to the open door.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey. How is Stacy?"

"Acting out, of course. She's meeting with the school psychologist now. I guess there's some kind of policy about suicide attempts."

"The school has to evaluate her for fitness to be on campus," I replied. "It's mostly about covering their butts. But she didn't try, did she?"

"No, just threatened, but that counts, I guess."

"That makes sense," I replied.

"What are you doing now?"

"Prepare to be aggravated! In about twenty minutes, I'm meeting my pastor for lunch, and then we're going to visit a deacon from church who had a heart attack and who's having a tough recovery."