Chapter 6: Did someone brainwash my girl before Christmas?

I went to classes and didn’t see her all week, but she did call me every night. On Thursday, she asked what we were doing Friday night, and I replied, “I figured we could go to the library and study. Midterms are coming up.” I thought I was being funny.

Click. I laughed. But Liz didn’t call back.

I drove to her condo on Friday night, but she didn’t answer when I knocked. I was a little miffed but went home, microwaved a frozen dinner, and ate while watching the news. With nothing else to do, I called it an early night and went to bed alone. I was still awake, thrashing around in my bed when my cell phone rang.

“Hello.”

“Marty? It’s Chase.” My high school friend Chase was pre-med at Stanford, so I didn’t see him in school much, even though we were 3000 miles away from the same hometown. He received some partial scholarships, and his grandfather left him a trust to pay for the rest of his education.

“Hey, Chase. How’ve you been?”

“Good. Marty, since we first arrived here, we haven’t talked much, but I have seen you and that blonde goddess at some of the meat factories, Club Fox, and South Bay Fusion, among others. Tonight she’s at Coyote’s Keep, and you’re not, and I wondered if you broke up?”

“No, we haven’t. I’ll be there in about an hour.” It only took me forty-five minutes, and when I got out of my car, I spied Liz coming out of the club with a guy on each arm. I got back in my car, waited, and watched. All three got in a Toyota SUV, and I followed as they drove toward campus. They pulled into an apartment complex and had to park at the far end of the parking lot, so I illegally parked close to the apartment building entrance and waited. When they were a hundred feet from the door, I accelerated and stopped between them and the steps to the building.

I rolled my window down and stared at Liz. There was no recognition until she was about ten feet away, and It seemed like she recognized the car before me.

“Marty! You weren’t home. I couldn’t find you. It’s not what it looks like.”

“That’s what they all say. I have to go. Have a good life.”

I drove home, and my phone was going crazy, getting phone calls and texts, so I powered it off.

It was 8:00 AM Saturday when I awoke and decided to go to the beach. So I went out the side door to my Chevy Tahoe and drove away from my house and problems. I found a room for the night a few streets off of Ocean Beach and spent the rest of the day walking barefoot on the sand while the surf was soaking the bottom of my pants legs. The beach was deserted except for multiple seagulls picking up food, perhaps, every time a wave receded, and I wished I had a dog.

I tried my best not to think about Liz, but that was impossible. She knows I joke around, so why did she flip out at my lame joke and end up with two players on our date night?

Waking up Sunday morning, I stopped for breakfast before leaving the beach. Then, I took the scenic route home, driving down the coast on Highway 1 to San Gregorio and then sightseeing on Highway 84 through a State Park near Palo Alto.

All that driving relaxed me, and I arrived at my house after sunset. After a light dinner, I studied for a

few hours and went to sleep early.

Monday night, when I turned into my driveway after attending a lecture, Liz was sitting on the ground at the top of the driveway, and it appeared she had been crying. I parked before I hit her and got out as my pulse increased. “Hello, Liz. What can I do for you?”

“Marty, Can we talk? Please.”

“Sure, Liz, what subject should we pick? The weather; looks like rain. The football team; could go undefeated. How about the psychology of women? It appears I don’t know women as well as I thought.”

“I’m sorry, I was overwhelmed by the speed things were moving forward. I panicked, and my mind went away for a while. Then, after you caught me, my sanity returned. Please forgive me, Marty; I’m so sorry.”

“Fine, you’re sorry. Apology accepted. Is that it?”

“Can I come in and talk to you?”

I didn’t ask her in, just said, “Look, I have exams this week, as you probably do, and then I’m flying home on the 19th for Christmas. I’m coming back on the 27th, so how about we talk on Monday the 29th?”

“Okay. I’m sorry, Marty, I’ll call you on the 29th. I love you.”

Her body language told me she wanted to hug me, and my body language, with my arms folded in front of me, conveyed that I did not want any contact. I believed she loved me. Damn, I could barely sleep at night because I loved her so much. I had planned to bring her home with me and spend Christmas with my family, but not now.

Exam week went well, and I was satisfied. The woman I hired to house-sit picked me up and dropped me off at the airport.

After an uneventful flight to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and a long cab ride, I walked through the front doorway, dropped my bags, and gave my momma a big hug and a kiss. She seemed almost happy to see me, unlike the last two times I came home.

“Um, Marty. Please sit down and let me finish talking before you cut in.”

Uh Oh. What did I do now? I sat my butt on the sofa, totally clueless at what was transpiring in front of me.

“Marty, don’t be mad at me for, um, interfering in your life and um, making decisions I have no business making. She called me to find out, um, how to apologize to you, and, um, before I knew it, I, um, invited her to come here for Christmas.”

Who or what is she babbling about? Is she talking about Ruth? Ruth doesn’t need to apologize to me. Women, they’re driving me nuts. Maybe I should play for the other team?

Momma looked down the hallway and said, “Come out, dear.”

I expected Ruth to walk in but was shocked when Liz strolled into the living room. Both women started talking, and I had to stop them because my headache exploded behind my eye, probably caused by my blood pressure going up. I waved my hands and shouted, “Quiet.”

Both of them shut up, and the silence in the room helped me calm down. Finally, I pinched my nose and spoke, “Liz, you go first.”

“Our first weekend together, um, you know when we, um, do you remember your phone, um, you couldn’t find it?”

“I was there, Liz, remember? Were you the girl I spent two days in bed with or the woman with a guy hanging on each arm at Coyote’s Keep? Sorry, Mom, I know, TMI.”

Liz paled, and I thought she would faint, but she rallied and said, “I don’t know why, but I took your mom’s telephone number off your phone while you were asleep, that first weekend we spent together. Then I dropped it under the bed.”

Her eyes were red from crying, her hands were shaking, and she couldn’t stand still.

“After I got stupid that Friday night and you caught me, I called a cab and went home. I tried to apologize after classes on Monday, but you were so angry and cold toward me that I felt you hated me. I was afraid that if we were apart until the 29th, some other girl would get her hooks into you, and I’d regret my stupid mistake the rest of my life. So, I panicked and called Mom, explained what I did, and asked for her help apologizing to you.”

“You call her Mom?”

Momma cut in, “The poor child has already lost two mothers. After the third call, I asked her to call me Mom.”

“Third call? The last time I called you Mom, I got a lecture. Quote, ‘I’m your Momma, not mom.’”

Momma frowned at me, so I shut up.

“Liz called, crying, introduced herself and told me what had happened and that it was her fault. You know how I get when someone cries, especially a female. So, I called her back, and we talked some more, and she sounded so sweet, so I invited her here for Christmas. We spoke every day until she flew here two days ago. Your father fell in love with her, and she’s been a big help in getting the house ready for Christmas. She’s such a wonderful girl, even though you never said a word to your Momma. She’s perfect for you, so smart, and that’s all I’m going to say about the subject.”

I looked at Momma, and I looked at Liz. What should I do now? In her mind, Momma already thought of us as being married.

“Momma, if you ever have to work for a living, get into advertising because you’d be the perfect spokesperson for any product on television.” I flashed a big happy smile at them to hide the turmoil in my mind.

“Did she tell you anything about the first weekend, Momma? Did she tell you how we clicked and how perfect it was? Did she tell you we both said I love you?”

“Marty, I don’t remember word for word what she said, but she was so sad and sounded so sincere. Can’t you forgive her this one time?”

She had a dishtowel in her hands and was wringing that towel like a chicken’s neck. I don’t think she fell for my fake smile.

“Maybe,” and I sighed deeply. Is it time to surrender and make my momma happy?

“What are the sleeping arrangements?”

“Well, Dixie and Brad are staying with Brad’s parents, so her old room is free, and I thought the two of you could stay there. When they fly in on the 23rd, Dianna, Joe, and baby David can sleep in her old room, and Julie and Rose can sleep in your old bed. Danni is bringing her latest boyfriend Cliff up on Christmas Eve, and they are sleeping in her old room.”

“Alright, I give up. If you’ll excuse me, I need to take a nap. Flying tires me out, and I have a bad headache.” I grabbed my suitcases and took them into Dixie’s old room, and I could see some of Liz’s clothes were already hanging in the closet. I crashed on the bed, put a pillow over my eyes, and fell asleep.