Chapter 12

I woke up to the sound of some inconsiderate Philistine pounding on my door. Was that the right word? I answered the door in my boxers without really thinking about who it might be.

“Time to rise and shine, sleepy head. We didn’t set a time, but we’d like to leave for Old San Juan by ten thirty,” Mom said.

“What time is it?”

“Ten. Are you just now getting up? Pretty rare for you to sleep in. Did you sleep okay?” I nodded. She left, and I showered and dressed, still feeling groggy.

We met in the hallway and took the elevator down to the parking garage and walked across two aisles to our spot. Kim saw something before anyone else and stopped in her tracks. Mom and Veronica didn’t notice but Kim sure did. She started walking again and I knew she’d tell me when she wanted to. She didn’t need to. I saw it as well, and then Mom and Veronica. There was a dark green two-foot streak across the rear bumper.

“He grazed us,” Mom said. “I didn’t even notice it yesterday. Oh, my. That was even closer than I thought.”

“How close, Aquaman? Where would he have hit?” Kim asked.

I knew she wanted to know the effect of her speeding up. “I don’t know, Baby. That’s difficult math, even if I knew all the variables.”

“Just come close. This is what you do.”

“Maybe I can come close. How fast were you going?”

“The speed limit was thirty-five and I was doing that because I didn’t want to get a ticket in Puerto Rico. I was probably doing sixty before I slowed down to stop”

“Okay, this isn’t easy. Acceleration isn’t constant. It’s more of a...”

“I get it. Just come close.”

I tried to do the math in my head but it wasn’t easy. Thirty-five miles per hour was about fifty feet per second. Even if she was going fifty-five before she slowed, it wouldn’t have been anywhere near that fast when he passed us. More like forty and that would have been about fifty-eight or nine feet per second. If it was three seconds from when she hit the gas, we would have covered about ten feet more. I went to the side of the car and walked it off.

“This is just a rough calculation,” I said and everyone was waiting. “If the mark was made by the front of his truck and my math is even close, and eight-foot-wide truck would have hit from here to here,” I said, showing that it would have hit from Kim’s door to just behind Veronica.”

“We’d be dead. We’d all be dead,” Mom said.

“Maybe not. Kim might have seen him and hit the gas and he just would have spun us. It’s all just speculation. We got lucky,” I said.

“I wasn’t wearing my seat belt,” Veronica said. “I don’t want to think about it. Let’s go shopping.” That seemed like a good idea to all of us.

Veronica made the short drive and once again, we looked like passengers on a stagecoach, watching for trouble. I wondered how long that would stay with us before we stopped being so hypervigilant. The drive was short and we found a spot near the shops. When we got out of the car, Kim hugged me like she had the night before. I wanted to be big and strong and tell her that I’d never let anything bad happen to her but I couldn’t do that.

“I’ll always do my best to protect you,” I said. I simply couldn’t promise more than I could deliver.

“I know that. I’m so glad you saw that truck. So glad!” We held hands and started walking up Calle de la Forteleza, fortress street. Every shop deserved inspection. There were souvenir shops, T-shirt stores, jewelry stores, and specialty shops. A shop that claimed to be the wildest shop on the planet didn’t deserve our attention. The Carolina Restaurant was closed and somehow that seemed appropriate. A lingerie shop looked pretty interesting until Mom told me it wasn’t. Huh.

Mostly, I waited outside while they poked around at Caribbean knick knacks. I stuck my head in a watch shop but they carried the same stuff I could find back home. It was almost time for lunch when we were about to walk past a hat store. I went in and fell in love with about eighty percent of their inventory. I found one that I really liked and thought I would buy it until I saw the prices. Yikes.

“What’s the matter, Buddy?” Mom asked.

“Nothing. Nice hat.”

“You like it? You should get it,” she said.

“It’s a nice hat, Mom, but it’s almost a hundred dollars. For a hat.”

“It’s a Panama hat. It was handmade in Ecuador. It wouldn’t be cheap. It’s quality. And it looks good on you. Look to your left,” she said and then turned me the other way.

“I get it, but I don’t really need it. It’s just nice.”

“What have we done this trip that was just for you? We went to the rain forest and parasailing because Veronica and I wanted to, and horseback riding because Kim wanted to. You’ve been really good this trip and you never ask for anything. Get the hat.”

“I don’t know.” Man, it seemed like an extravagance.

“Twenty hours of work for Hector for you to pay for it, right?” I nodded. “Maybe twenty minutes of work for Ronnie. Perspective, Jack. We hire Hector to do our lawns because we can afford it and it gives him work. Whoever made this hat down in Ecuador, feeds his family because people like us can afford to pay for quality. Stop feeling guilty that we have money. It looks really good on you. Look in the mirror.”

I’d worn my linen slacks and floral print shirt and had to admit it looked pretty good. Mom pulled out her wallet and paid for the hat. We left the shop and when we did, Kim and Veronica gave me the once over. Kim’s face lit up and Veronica obviously approved. Forget about holding hands. Kim and I walked down the street arm in arm. I was her handsome man, she said.

We continued until it was time for lunch. One more lunch and dinner, maybe breakfast, and then we’d be gone. I had shrimp mofongo. I’d had so much mofongo the first couple of days that I’d taken a break. But I really liked it and doubted there was any place in the Lowcountry that made it. If there was, they probably made it as well as our hotel made southern food. Ugh.

The little café did a pretty good job and it was one of the least expensive places we’d eaten on the trip. As we walked back outside, I put my hat back on. It was a great hat. I thought I might need another pair of linen slacks and another shirt to go with it. And a mustache. I really needed a mustache.

We shopped for three more hours and I watched in amazement as they tried on sundresses and hats, then considered purses, and more. After all that time, Mom bought a sundress and a purse, Veronica bought a colorful purse and Kim bought a hat that went well with mine. I realized I would have spent the same time with them if they’d each bought ten things instead of just one. They were happy and that’s what counted.

Finished shopping, we walked to the Paseo de la Princesa for pictures. Paseo de la Princesa was the Promenade of the Princess. It was a beautiful wide walkway that ended up at the Bahia de San Juan. We took pictures and I found someone who took a couple of pictures of all four of us. The sun went down and we decided to go back to the hotel and eat at the café by the pool.

We had just ordered when the music started. It was karaoke night. I hate karaoke. Who wants to listen to amateurs butcher good songs? The ladies were having fun so I kept my thoughts to myself. The crowd grew and started to really get involved. When someone was good, they cheered them on and when they sucked, they really let them know. It was pretty funny. We finished dinner and dessert but were having a good time and in no hurry to leave. I’ll admit it. I was sort of enjoying it, not because of the talent but because of the audience. Maybe that was the attraction. There was a song list at each table and I picked it up and started thumbing through it, not giving it much thought. It was a lot of top forty stuff with some oldies too.

A couple got up to sing a duet. We hadn’t had that before. It was the song from Porgy and Bess, and she wasn’t half bad. “Summertime when the livin’ is easy, fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high. Your daddy’s rich and your ma is good lookin’, so hush little baby, don’t you cry.” The audience applauded and she deserved it. When it was his turn, he sang it just like Louis Armstrong did, with a gravelly voice. He started off, “One of these mornings you gonna rise up singing. Oh, you spread your wings and you take to the skies,” and the audience was silent. We were all in disbelief that this guy could sound just like Satchmo. They finished the song and everyone stood to applaud.

After that, they took a break because they had to. Who would want to follow such a good act? I kept flipping through the songs and was almost at the end when one song got my attention. I got this crazy idea. I knew the song really well but had never thought about the lyrics before. At least not how they might apply to me. Kim was watching the next performer and I was watching her. The song was perfect. Roger Daltrey belted out most of Bargain and I could do that, I thought. It would be bad because I just can’t sing, but so what? But when the song got quiet for Pete Townsend’s part, I’d have to figure something out. I’d really sound like crap and the music was too soft to disguise it. I had another idea which was probably just as stupid but I was going to go for it. It was our last night and we didn’t know anyone.

When the song was over and the singer got lukewarm applause, I stood up and started for the stage.

“Jack. What are you doing, Jack?” I heard from behind me but I couldn’t even tell who had said that. I spoke to the DJ and he queued up the song. I took the microphone and a deep breath. What an idiot, I thought. Here goes.

The music began, and I went for it. “I’d gladly lose me to find you, I’d gladly give up all I had; to find you, I’d suffer anything and be glad. I’d pay any price just to get you. I’d work all my life and I will; to win you, I’d stand naked, stoned, and stabbed.” I sounded terrible and everyone booed but then they realized I was singing to Kim and I didn’t give a rip what they thought. She was beaming. “I’d call that a bargain, the best I ever had, the best I ever had.” I could see the ladies liked it more than the men. Maybe. Kim did.

And then it got to Townsend’s quiet part, so I sang it in Spanish. “I sit lookin′ round, miro mi cara en el Espejo. Se que no valgo nada sin ti, sin ti. Ahora uno y uno hacen uno, Y estoy buscando, ese camino libre hasta mí, I′m lookin′ for you.” That got a bit of applause and by the time the song was over, everyone was sort of on my side. I started to hand the microphone back but quickly turned to the audience. I saw Veronica and I put my finger to my lips. She saw. “Le voy a hacer la gran pregunta el sabado,” I said and that got some applause. “Ella no sabe no le digas.”

I’d told a patio full of strangers that I was going to ask Kim to marry me on Saturday, and then, she doesn’t know so don’t tell her. Veronica knew what I’d said and so did more than half the people there. Mom and Kim didn’t. I walked back to our table and Kim tried to squeeze the life out of me and that was pretty cool.

We sat back down and I leaned close to Veronica and whispered, “Tenemos que irnos antes de que alguien le diga.” We need to leave before someone tells her what I said.

Veronica was suddenly very tired and wanted to get some sleep. On top of that, she needed to pack. We agreed and left. I got a couple of pats on the back on the way out but Kim didn’t notice.

“You’ve got more guts than talent, Buddy,” Mom said, and I couldn’t argue with it.

We stood in the hall outside Kim’s room. She simply beamed at me. “What in the world inspired you to do that?”

“Man, is that a good question. I guess it was the lyrics. You know, the song says all those things about what I’d do for your love and I just thought, singing in front of a bunch of total strangers wasn’t that big of a deal.” I shrugged.

“It wasn’t a big deal. It was a huge deal. I love you so much, plus, you’re a dufus. What am I thinking?”

“You have a soft spot in your heart for the dufuses of the world.” We kissed and hugged some more and then each went to pack.

I had a couple of things to wash before I packed so I ran a quick load in the washer on the third floor. I sorted a few things out and went back down to put my small load in the dryer. There was a chair so I sat and waited. I’d only been there for a couple of minutes when a lady about Mom’s age came in.

“Hey,” she said. Southern. Nice.

“Hey, back at you,” I said and she smiled.

“I was at Karaoke. Are you really going to ask her to marry you on Saturday?”

“I am. You speak Spanish,” I said, a little surprised that someone with an accent from home would also speak Spanish.

“The necessity of frequent business trips. I’ve been coming down here six times a year for more than ten years. You do, too. Speak Spanish. Savannah?”

“Charleston.”

“Ah. Augusta. How old are you, if it’s alright to ask?”

“I’ll be sixteen in February.”

“Got it all figured out, then.”

“Enough.” She wasn’t convinced. I didn’t need to convince her but I wasn’t doing anything else besides waiting for my clothes. “I love her. She loves me. We know each other well. I tried to think if there is anything else I’d need to know before making a huge commitment. There isn’t. I’m certainly not going to do any better, and as crazy as it sounds to me, she feels the same way. So, yup, I’ve got it all figured out.”

“Sugar, you’ve got it figured out more than my two exes ever did. She’s beautiful.”

“Yes, she is. Did you see her face while I was destroying that song?”

“As soon as I figured out you were singing to her, I watched her the whole time. The way she looked at you while you butchered that song was pure gold.” She’d been pulling her clothing out of a washer and putting it into a dryer. “You’re going home tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You wouldn’t ask her on vacation. You’re going to ask her someplace close to home. I like that. That’s the way it should be.” Her voice sounded like honey to me. “Well, I hope everything works out for you, beyond your wildest dreams.”

“Yes, ma’am. So do I.”

“And honey, do the world a favor. Don’t ever sing karaoke again. She knows you love her, and Lord knows she must love you,” she said, laughing and I laughed with her.

“You know, saying it out loud, explaining it to a stranger, that was helpful.”

“Made it a little more real, huh?” she said and left.

I gathered my dry clothing and went back up to my room. I folded what I needed to and packed everything but my clothing for the next day and my toilet kit. And my hat. I couldn’t pack that. I didn’t want to risk squishing it. Only one place for it when traveling. On my head. Satisfied I was ready to go, I grabbed Topaz and went out to the balcony to read.

Friday morning, we were on the plane by eight. We had a flight change at Dulles and would be home by four. On the flight, Kim and I talked, then read, then did that repeatedly until the transfer. Then we did it again. The stewardess served our inflight meal of chicken, green beans, and a little salad. It looked a little on the bland side. Mom tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a bottle. I didn’t recognize the brand at first. It looked real. Pique de Chocolate from Chocobar Cortez.

“No way,” I said.

“Yup. I figured you might appreciate that.”

“You’re the best,” I said, opening the bottle. I started to take a sniff until I remembered it was hot sauce and that might not be a good idea. The chicken with chocolate hot sauce was fabulous. Kim thought I was funny but she asked for some, too.

We were on the descent into Charleston when Kim suddenly brought up a subject we hadn’t talked about. She didn’t need to say much. “Vince’s MG? Let’s leave it parked.”

“Fun that one time but that’s enough?” I asked. She nodded. Neither of us could imagine being in an accident in it.

Dane and Mr. McTighe were waiting for us at the gate. Kim ran to her dad and gave him a big hug. He looked over her shoulder at me and gave me a double eyebrow raise. Fine. We walked to the luggage carousels together, found ours and loaded Mom, Veronica, and my luggage into Dane’s truck, and I rode with Kim. She sat in front with her dad and started to tell him stuff.

“Slow down. Mary will want to hear it all too.”

“Okay, okay. It was fun, though. What about here?”

“It rained. From Monday afternoon until yesterday. It rained almost the entire time you were gone. Downtown was flooded yesterday. The Post and Courier had pictures of people kayaking through the market.” I knew he meant the outdoor market. Still, that was a lot of water.

“It’s nice today,” Kim said.

“It stopped yesterday. I’m hoping we can dry out a little. The ground is soggy.”

It’s kind of funny but I knew that Art and the crew wouldn’t have had much work the last two weeks but they would make up for it on Saturday. Anything that needed to come out of the ground would come out tomorrow, since the ground was so soft.

When we got back to Kim’s house, I grabbed her luggage, while she ran ahead to greet her mom. I followed with Mr. McTighe, and before we got to the door, I said, “I’d like to talk with you sometime this afternoon. Privately.” He nodded and we went in.

Mrs. McTighe gave me a hug and all four of us sat in the sunroom. Kim recounted our week, elaborating on some things I didn’t think were that important and skipping other things that I thought were. She completely skipped parasailing. I didn’t mind. When Kim finally caught her breath, Mrs. McTighe said she needed to finish dinner and asked Kim for help. They both left.

“What’s on your mind, Jack?”

I changed seats to be across from him and took a breath. “I want to do things, right, sir. I plan to ask Kim to marry me, but I want to ask you, first. I want to lay out my plans and then ask for your blessing.” He nodded for me to go ahead. I took another deep breath.

“I love Kim with all my heart. I told you the first week we were dating that I would never do anything to hurt her and I screwed up the next day. I’m pretty good about not making the same mistake twice. I’ll do my best not to do that again. I think I’ve been pretty good about it since then. We’ve been making some plans and we both know that things change but if you don’t plan, then things just happen and neither one of us likes that. I turn sixteen next February and being fifteen is way too young to get married. We won’t get married until I’m eighteen. That makes for a pretty long engagement but that’s just what it will be. We’ll know and the world will know.” He was listening attentively, so I continued.

“I plan on finishing high school in three years. Kim will be eighteen but I’ll still be seventeen and we’ll graduate at the same time. We both want to go to college in Atlanta and it would be good if we were married before we went. But if we have to take a year of classes here, that’s okay. In fact, it might be a good thing. You know all about my trust. You wrote it, I think.” He nodded. “So, you know I don’t get anything until I turn eighteen. If I had to go to Trident Tech for a year, I could do that. It’s not very expensive. I’ve checked.

“Kim is planning on going to Emory for her undergrad. We’ll graduate at the same time. After that, our plans get a little murky. There are simply too many things we don’t know yet. She’ll probably come back to USC for her law degree, and I’ll be looking for work. I plan to be a biomedical engineer. When I first decided that, I had no idea how many different needs there were in the field but it’s pretty exciting. It seems like we’ve had a lot of doctors around lately, and they all have input on what the needs are. They all agree that it’s a growing field.

“At the start of last summer, Franklin gave me ten grand. It was from his trust and he did it so I could learn about money. I think I’ve been pretty responsible with it. At any rate, I just wanted you to know all that because I want you to feel good about it. I want you to know that we’re not just little kids and this isn’t a game for us. Anyway, that’s my best shot. I’d like to ask for your blessing before I ask Kim.”

He sat back in his chair and sighed. He closed his eyes for a minute and steepled his fingers. I tried to read his face. He wasn’t smiling but he wasn’t frowning either.

“How much of that ten grand do you still have? Do you know?”

“Yes, sir. I’ve got just over seventy-five hundred. I spent a lot on my home gym. I didn’t touch that pile of money to buy Kim’s ring.”

“And you use that regularly. Most young men your age would have burned through that by now. Your trust might not pay out until you’re eighteen but the trust is something you could borrow against if you needed to. Tuition, even at a fine university like Georgia Tech, is a pittance compared to what Mr. Pierce left you. Money isn’t an issue. Christie’s sure not going to slow you down for a year because of it. Neither would we. Timing might be an issue but there are ways around that. Where do you plan to live, when Kim gets done with school?

“Close. We have land on Fort Johnson Road that I’m thinking about using. Mom said it’s mine if I want it. Kim doesn’t know yet.”

“How much?”

“A little over ten acres.”

“That’s right. I remember now. Well, now we’re just talking about the details, aren’t we? I’ve been expecting this for a while. Son, I’ll never forget how desperately you wanted to see Kim the night of the accident. You’d been injured but she’s all you could think about. That spoke volumes to Mary and me. You’ve been working all summer and Hector says you’re a fine worker.”

“You know Hector?” I asked, a little surprised. I knew he had someone else take care of his yard.

“I made it a point to know Hector. I also know Art McClusky, and have spoken with him at length. Franklin, as well.” Holy crap. Kim’s dad was taking this as seriously as I was.

“Good,” I said.

“You like that, huh?”

“Yes sir. If you have any reason to say, ‘no’, I want to know why so I can address it.”

“I have no reason to say ‘no’. Not until you’re eighteen, is that correct?”

“Yes sir. We can’t do much legally before then, anyway.”

“Then you have my blessing. If I wasn’t prepared to say ‘yes’ you would have known about it before you went to work this summer. And if I said ‘no’ I’d never hear the end of it and I’m not stupid. I’d probably hear it from Mary as much as from Kim. It’s a foolish man that spits into the wind and Kim can be a hurricane. Speaking of that, you haven’t seen her angry. I’d advise you to avoid that at all costs. She’s Scottish, not Irish.”

“I’m not sure I understand the difference.”

“Briefly, Irishmen, drink whiskey and sing ballads. Scottish men wear skirts, and play darts with telephone poles. They aren’t the same.” He was talking about the caber toss. I’d seen it before. Big men lifted telephone poles, and threw them in the air, trying to flip them over. It took a strong man to do that.

“And I don’t want to be on the receiving end of that.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes sir. Thank you.”

“Now, let’s go see what they’ve got cooking,” he said, standing. “One more thing. I trust you’ve already bought a ring. That’s what you were working for.”

“Yes sir. Presumptuous?”

“No, no. Like I said, I would have told you if I had a problem before you ever started working. But hear me loud and clear on this. You bought a ring. You didn’t buy Kim. She’s not for sale at any price so don’t think she’s paid for.”

“No, sir. I mean, yes, sir. I would never do that. That would be presumptuous.”

“That it would. Smart man. Let’s eat. And, Jack, anytime you want to talk, I’m available. You didn’t just get my blessing. You get my cooperation, to whatever degree you want it.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. That means a lot.” Whew. That went pretty well, I thought. It was probably for the best that it hadn’t come as a surprise.

Mrs. McTighe knew what we wanted. She had plenty of Frogmore Stew and corn pone. Perfect. Frogmore Stew had only four ingredients; shrimp, andouille sausage, potatoes, and half ears of corn on the cob, with just a few seasonings.

Kim had been talking the whole time so I shared about the southern cooking we’d had in San Juan. Mr. McTighe told Kim he’d been out to the stables and spent some time with Diva while we were gone and she was happy with that. I would have loved to see him play polo and asked about it. He told a few stories that were pretty funny. They also made me want to see a polo match.

We talked for about an hour after dinner. I promised Kim I would call her the next day. She offered to give me a ride, but I told her I needed the walk. I was about to leave, when something dawned on me. “You didn’t say anything about our close call.”

“No, and I’m glad you didn’t either. If you would, let your mom and Veronica know that it would be best if we left that in Puerto Rico. I don’t want them worried. Even though it already happened, they would be thinking about it.”

I agreed and set off walking. They’d lost a daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter to a car accident, nearly lost Kim and their future son-in-law in one, and didn’t need to hear about another close call. I settled into a rhythm. Talking with Mr. McTighe had been easy. Like he said, if he was going to say ‘no’ he would have let me know a long time ago. The only roadblocks left would be those I made for myself. To me, asking her to marry me was every bit as important as saying ‘I do’ when the time came. Franklin had been right about using the word ‘love’. I didn’t play with that word, and I wouldn’t play with this proposal either.

When I got home, I found Mom unpacking. I told her Kim wanted our close call to be kept private. She understood and said she’d tell Veronica. I thanked her for the vacation. It was the best one I’d ever had. We talked about Veronica for a few minutes and some of the crazy things I learned about her. Mom said she was proud of her for recognizing the power of gambling. She was also proud of her for trying to rescue another woman from the same thing. I said that Veronica had changed a lot in the last year and Mom said it might have had something to do with getting over a bad marriage.

I went to the library and decided to call Karen. The phone rang and Franklin picked up. “Hey. Good time?” he asked.

“Really good. Thanks for getting married and going on a honeymoon to a good place, just so you could tell us about it. That helped a lot.”

“You’re not as funny as you think you are. Have fun?” He asked.

“Definitely. Mom says you’re coming for dinner tomorrow night and we’ll tell you about it then. Do you think I could talk to Karen for a minute?”

He went to get her and I could hear them talking in the background. “Hey, Jack. Good time?”

“It was. You guys helped a lot but we’ll tell you about it tomorrow night. I have a question.”

“Go for it.”

“I plan to ask Kim to marry me tomorrow afternoon. Am I crazy?”

“All the Pierces are crazy but not because of that.”

“I’m serious. Nobody knows my age better than me. But I also know that I want to spend the rest of my life with Kim. Am I crazy?”

“Jack, you’re one of the most sober people I’ve ever met. You’re not crazy. You’re a dufus sometimes but you’re not crazy and neither is Kim. You’re both smart and very mature. If you have used all that brain power and decided to ask her and she uses all of hers and says ‘yes’ then who would know better?”

“So, go for it?”

“That’s not what I said. That’s up to you. I’m just saying I don’t think you’re crazy. I think you two have a lot to figure out but you’ve already done a lot of that. You’ve also been through as much in the last, what is it, eight months, as an average couple would go through in years.”

“Okay. That’s a good answer.”

“You know that as soon as she says ‘yes’ and you put that ring on her finger, everything changes, right?”

I didn’t think so. What would change? We both already knew. “Thanks. We’ll see you tomorrow night.”

It was a little early but I hit the sack and fell asleep in no time.

Saturday morning, I was up early. I was pretty excited about the day but I really wanted to be calm. I went for a long run at an easy pace. I wanted to relax rather than wear myself out. I tried to make my mind find other things to think about but I gave up on that. It was my last chance to find objections. My last opportunity to tell myself ‘no’ or maybe ‘not yet’.

I tried to think of the characteristics I would want in a woman once I was done with school and possibly had kids. She would need to be encouraging and want to see me succeed. She’d need to be compassionate for our kids, especially if they had challenges we didn’t understand. Of course, we’d want smart, beautiful children but it didn’t always work out that way. I’d want her to respect me and she should want to spend time with me, even if it was doing small stuff. She should be honest and we should be able to talk to each other about anything. And it wouldn’t hurt if she were beautiful and fun to be with.