Chapter 44 -- Seventeenth Birthday Part 2

When you hold my hand,
I understand
The magic that you do,
You're my dream come true,
My one
And only you,

--Only You (The Platters / Ringo Starr)

Kristen noted that I was no longer very cheerful on the ride home. It was obvious that my mood changed after I talked with Sherry. Kristen knew Sherry's problem, and I think she understood my mood.

Despite the fact that I decided that I was going to take charge of my life, it was evident that there were still some problems caused by the tickets that I was clueless how to fix.

For some reason, I was reminded of a short story I read when I was in junior high called The Monkey's Paw. It was a story of unintended consequences when people interfered with fate. The ending reminded me of the kind of stories you'd see on the old Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Twilight Zone T.V. shows. I think it was the influence of that particular short story, though, that now made me hesitant to try to "fix" Sherry's problem using the tickets.

For the past year, I was quite ineffective in using the tickets to remove Kristen's addiction. The explanation I was given (by Kristen under influence of the tickets), was that no ticket could be more powerful than any other. I thought about this limitation, and I had some questions about the inadequacy of that explanation. For instance, if no ticket was stronger than another, then how could the first wish prevent the second or any other subsequent wish from undoing it? Didn't that make the first wish more powerful?

The magic behind The Monkey's Paw, however, did not have this particular limitation. It was the traditional "you have three wishes" story that was made famous by the genie in Aladdin's lamp and the Irish leprechaun stories.

The tickets I had weren't limited to three wishes. Apparently, a couple of hundred wishes had already been granted, although the majority of them hadn't been granted to me. However, they still had that stupid limitation.

Patty once told me that this limitation on my tickets made it nearly impossible to fix any rash decisions made. "You need to think very hard before you use them, Jim," Patty told me. "If you use them when you are in an emotional state, you'll regret it."

Patty's explanation tied back in to The Monkey's Paw. After all, the person who knew about the paw actually explained in the story that sorrow would befall anybody that used it.

On the other hand, the tickets were responsible for Kristen and me being together, even if indirectly. That would be a good thing, wouldn't it?

I took a deep breath, and realized that we were just driving past the gate at the Swift's residence.

"I'm sorry, Kris. I'm not good company right now."

"You've got a lot on your mind, Jim," Kristen said softly. "I understand."

"Yeah, I know."

"If it makes you feel better, whatever you decide with regard to Sherry is all right with me."

"Thanks, Kristen. Can we talk about something else?"

"Like what?"

"Like, what are we doing tonight?"

Kristen smiled as she parked the car. "What do you want to do?"

"Kris, I know you have plans. I've already had a surprise party. So, why the surprise now?"

"A girl has got to have her secrets, Oogie!"

I laughed, and Kristen joined me.

The burden of the tickets had been temporarily lifted.

Lynette was already at the apartment, having stayed home the entire day to bid Camille and Will off instead of attending cheerleader practice. Harry drove Camille and Will to Chicago about an hour before we got home to catch their flight to Boston.

In the apartment, I could smell that Lynette was cooking up one of her meals that would make a gourmet salivate.

"What's cooking, Lynette?" I called into the kitchen.

"Your favorite, Oogie."

I had grown quite partial to Lynette's schnitzels. By far, my favorite was Jgerschnitzel, served with a burgundy-cream gravy with wild mushrooms. "Schnitzel," I said, making a yummy sound. "Sounds great."

"I've made some spaetzle and some butternut squash as well."

Lynette and Kristen were trying to get me to eat more vegetables and we found that I liked most of the various squashes, especially the way that Lynette would prepare them, lightly spiced.

The dining room table had Kristen's good china set, the ones with the gold trim. She inherited this set from her grandparents after her grandfather died when Kristen was very young. This was the first time that I saw them set out.

There were two unlit candles in shining silver holders on the table.

"How long will it be?" Kristen asked.

"That depends on how hot you can make Jim," Lynette called back.

Kristen sighed. "You've been hanging around Camille too long this week. She's a bad influence."

"Maybe you should pun-ish Lynette, huh?" I asked.

A groan from Kristen was my response.

"We've never used these plates before," I said, changing the subject back to what I was thinking earlier. "I mean, I've seen them in the china closet."

Kristen had lit a candle lighter and was lighting the two candles. "It's a special occasion. Lynette asked if she could set them out, and of course I said yes."

"Those were your grandmother's, right?"

Kristen nodded. "On my father's side."

Lynette came out with a platter containing the veal. I started to head inside the kitchen to get the rest of the dishes when Kristen stopped me, and pointed to the chair at the head of the dining room table.

"The birthday boy sits there."

I took my seat, and Kristen and Lynette went into the kitchen to retrieve the rest of the dishes. Kristen had a bowl with the spaetzle in it, and Lynette had the squash and a china gravy boat with some extra gravy.

After setting up the dishes, Lynette approached me and gave me a big kiss. "Happy birthday, Oogie!"

That wasn't the first time I heard that particular expression all day, and I smiled.

Kristen was next, and did the same, and afterward, the two girls took the seats on either side of me. The girls looked at me expectantly, and I reached out and took a piece of veal and placed it on my plate. I then helped myself to the noodles and vegetable, and then put a generous helping of the mushroom gravy on top of my noodles.

Once I was done, Kristen and Lynette did their own plates, and we ate.

The meal was excellent, as was anything that Lynette cooked. I talked about the cheerleaders' little game of having the entire school greet me by nickname.

"I thought Sherry's idea would be cute," Lynette said.

"You knew, too?" I suspected as much when Lynette said "Happy birthday, Oogie," at the table.

"Yeah." Lynette looked a bit concerned. "Of course, Sherry hasn't been looking well over the last few days. I'm sorry I missed the practice today, but on Tuesday, something seemed a bit wrong with Sherry. She was easily distracted."

"She looked weird today, too," Kristen said.

Of course, Kristen and I knew Sherry's problem. We agreed a while back not to let Lynette know about the tickets, and this meant that we sometimes had to keep other things from Lynette as well. Neither Kristen nor I liked this situation at all, since it was sometimes hard keeping secrets from somebody who was such an intimate part of our lives.

"Maybe it's problems at home," I suggested.

Lynette shook her head. "Sherry would tell me if that was the case."

I shrugged. "Maybe I'll talk to June to see if she has any idea."

Kristen shrugged off the matter, but then said, "I've decided on my birthday present for you, Oogie."

I remembered Kristen's last birthday suggestion, and hoped this wouldn't be a repeat of it.

"Yeah?" I said, a bit warily.

"I'd like to go shopping tonight. We need to pick you out a nice accessory."

"Accessory?"

Lynette giggled. "Kristen wants you to learn to accessorize, Oogie."

This discussion was a bit over my head. I thought "accessories" in a fashion sense meant gloves or a purse. Those didn't sound like things I needed. "Whatever you think is best, Goddess."

Of course, my response earned me another kiss from Kristen.

At the mall, we went to a place named "Sky Catchers." The place seemed to contain a lot of specialty stuff, and I had never gone inside the store before.

Once inside, I was sorry I hadn't visited this place sooner. This place had all sorts of outlandish clothes for just about every occasion, from safari hats ("pith helmets") to thickly insulated parkas.

I found myself instantly drawn to the aviator section, and was admiring a pilot's helmet with goggles that looked like it came straight out of World War I. The sign said it was made from genuine calf's leather.

As I attempted to take the helmet into my hands for a closer look, Kristen stopped me.

"That might be fun, Oogie, but I came here for a purpose." Kristen had a dark brown hat in her hand. "Here, try this."

I looked at the hat with dismay. It looked a bit like something that would be worn by the depression-era thugs that Chicago was famous for. Upon further urging by Kristen, I put it on. It was very tight.

"Hmm, let's try a quarter inch wider."

Lynette fetched another hat that looked identical.

I put on the second hat, and it fit much nicer.

Both Lynette and Kristen shook their heads when they looked at me with the hat on. "Nope, definitely not a fedora."

The two girls had me try on more than a few hats. The derby looked too much like Lou Costello, the cowboy hat made me look like I was a kid playing dress up, and a top hat made me look like a magician. I liked the stetson, but both Kristen and Lynette didn't like it. Finally, the two girls found another hat that appealed to me. It was black and, as soon as I put it on, I looked in the mirror and smiled.

"Hey! I like this one!"

Kristen sighed. "It figures. He likes the porkpie."

The "porkpie" was a darker and smaller hat, and had a folded ring around the top of the hat. The material was very soft.

Lynette gave me a closer look. "With a mustache, he'd look like a jazz musician."

Actually, I think that's what I liked about this particular hat!

"Is this your present, dearest?" I asked my Goddess.

"Do you really like it? We can buy a couple and it could be like, your trademark."

I didn't think I could walk around the school wearing this hat, but it might make in impression during jazz band.

"Yes. This whole place is great! Look at those hats over there with the corks on the brim!"

"Those are brush hats," Kristen said, smiling. "The corks are to keep the mosquitoes and other bugs from landing on your face."

"Cool! Let's get that one!"

Kristen shook her head. "Oogie's right. There are worse hats than the porkpie!"

We spent about an hour in the store, although we only purchased a couple of the porkpie hats.

From the mall, it was a quick ride to Vaughn's. Since we already had supper, I was curious until the manager met us. "Kristen, Lynette, and Jim! We've been expecting you!"

In the dining room was a larger table than our normal one. My parents and Merry were already sitting there.

As soon as we got to the table, a waitress came out with a birthday cake, and the entire staff starting singing the birthday song. They were quickly accompanied by nearly the entire dining room!

I blew out the candles, and the cake was cut.

I gave all the females at the table a kiss and a hug. The cake was devil's food with dark chocolate icing. Even Merry had a slice--and this was the first time since she decided to become a cheerleader that I ever saw her eat dessert!

The waitress brought us some iced teas, and we sat around the restaurant, gossiping with my family.

"How does it feel to be seventeen?" Merry asked.

I shrugged. "I don't feel that much older, Shortcake."

"I remember when you were first learning the piano," Mom said.

I sighed. My mother sometimes waxed nostalgic. I tried to deflect this. "Speaking of the piano, Mom... I know you love Chopin, right?"

My mother smiled a bit. "Yes. He's one of my favorite composers."

"Do you remember Amy Grant, the girl who played the piano in the jazz band last year?"

My mother nodded. "Cute girl," she said. "She seemed very shy when we went to see you after the Christmas performance."

"She's going to be featured doing an adaptation of Chopin's Prelude in C Minor during the talent show in a few weeks."

"Really?"

"She loves classical music, but we're also teaching her jazz and rock riffs. Roy Fennel will be accompanying her."

Merry smiled at this.

My mother looked confused. "Isn't Roy a singer?"

"He's in the chorus," I answered. "He's pretty talented, musically. I taught him to read music back in junior high. Don't you remember?"

Mom nodded. "He wasn't that good on the piano back then. Has he improved?"

"Why don't you tell me after the show?"

It was all that Merry could do not to laugh at my mother's confusion. Somehow, Mom thought that Roy would be doing a piano duet with Amy, but I had said nothing of the sort.

That night, after Kristen and Lynette went to bed, I went down to my studio ostensibly to play and record, but in reality to consider my options with Sherry.

I needed to somehow get rid of Sherry's need for me to take her virginity. At the same time, I didn't really want to make love with Sherry. After all, she still might have a crush on me. I didn't feel any romantic attraction toward her, and I knew that going to bed with Sherry would just be taking advantage of her.

Sherry was a real friend to Kristen and me, as well as to Lynette. I owed her something for that loyalty, even if it didn't mean taking her to bed.

I felt that I was indirectly responsible for Sherry's situation. I didn't make the wish that currently had her bound to me, but I was the person who destroyed Tim Hawking's tickets, which was apparently why I was now the target of her need.

Earlier that afternoon, I had given up any thought of using the tickets to fix Sherry's problem. After all, one ticket couldn't cancel the effects of another one.

Actually, I reasoned, that might not be the case!

I was able to keep Sherry from having to orally service me daily until my birthday by extending the wish so that playing with herself would achieve the same end. That had the effect of canceling her original compulsion.

I wished that I had talked more to Sherry earlier. She said she felt it bad, but I never asked her what she was feeling. Was it the need to fuck me, or the need to blow me?

The idea of extending a wish rather than canceling it came from my idea of having Kristen eat a chocolate covered peanut instead of having to blow me. Now that I was thinking about it, Kristen had a difficult time staying away from me for very long; she could stave off her need with the confection, but at the same time, her need for me seemed to continue to build up over time. Almost every time that Kristen and I would make love, her sucking my cock would be a part of it.

Was this what Sherry was feeling earlier? If so, then any idea of extending her need to fuck me would only work for so long until her need for me to do so would overpower anything else within her. I might turn Sherry into a walking time bomb!

Still, something inside me told me that I might be able to fix Sherry's problem somehow with the tickets.

The only question was how.

More than a few ideas came into my head, but all of them had problems. I needed to find one that would satisfy Sherry's needs, but be fair to her emotions at the same time.

I woke up after three thirty in the morning when I fell off the piano bench. I didn't realize that I fell asleep, and I realized that at this hour, there was nothing else I could do.

The next morning, Mr. Proilet pulled me aside when I got into band class.

"Sherry Jordan asked me for a hall pass so she can work with you here during fifth period."

"Yeah, Mr. Proilet," I said. "I've asked the cheerleaders to help with the talent show, and I had an idea of something to do with Sherry."

That wasn't an out and out lie, actually. It's just that the first part of the sentence had nothing to do with the second part. I was starting to get good at misleading people. Idly, I wondered if this was a good thing.

"I understand, Jim," Mr. Proilet said with a smile. "I'll be in the faculty room eating lunch during that period."

"Would you want to help out?"

My question earned me a laugh. "There isn't much that I can teach you, Jim. Helping a student is something you excel at, unless there's something you specifically think you might need me for."

"Well, no," I said. "Playing piano is easy enough for me."

"OK, Jim," the teacher said. "Have fun."

"Thanks."

I was in the music room, patiently waiting for Sherry.

She arrived a few minutes after the bell rang.

"Hi, Oogie," Sherry said nervously.

"Let's go into one of the practice rooms," I suggested.

Inside the practice room, I casually reached into my pocket and handed Sherry a ticket.