Chapter 8

Jill and Wanda finally stopped talking about our adventures in the pool and the charcoal was ready for the meat.

I went into the house and told Dr. O'Hara. He went into the kitchen and brought out a big rectangular Pyrex dish covered in tin foil. He set it down on the table next to the barbecue and took off the foil. It was filled with chicken breasts. They had obviously been marinated with a sauce of some kind.

"OK, Jack. Now you get to see what chicken's supposed to taste like. Why don't you spread out the charcoal and rotate those cobs of corn so they don't burn."

I had it ready for the meat in about a minute. He reached behind the barbecue and found a grill a little larger than the one the charcoal was on. It fit a groove in the kettle so we had a raised platform above the charcoal to cook on.

"Go ahead and lay those babies on the grill. Is everyone hungry today?"

"Yes, Daddy." "Sure am, Doc."

Jill whispered something into Wanda's ear and they both broke up.

"What's so funny?" I said like a damned fool.

Wanda stopped laughing long enough to say "Jill was just telling me she was hungry enough to eat something. And it wasn't a horse."

"Well, maybe hung like one."

It was my own damn fault. I didn't know enough to keep my stupid mouth shut. I turned back to the barbecue.

"You're never going to win, Jack. You might as well get used to it. Jillian's bad enough but once you team her up with Wanda you take your sanity in your hands every time you open your mouth."

I learned how to check the chicken to make sure it was cooked all the way through and how to barbecue without drying the meat. I guess chicken is particularly susceptible to drying out when cooked too fast and too hot.

We ate at a picnic table. Jill and I sat next to each other, Doc and Wanda were on the other bench. Dr. O'Hara was across from me.

The chicken was excellent. There were spices in it I didn't recognize that gave it a slightly sweet taste. I'd never had corn cooked over charcoal and it was different than I'd ever tasted, really good. We also had some potato salad that wasn't as good as what I'm used to.

"One of these days you guys should try my Mom's potato salad."

"She makes good potato salad Jack?"

"Yes sir. She makes her own mayonnaise and adds lots of hard boiled eggs and black olives. It's creamy and when you get an olive it's like when you find an M&M in your Trail Mix."

"That sounds good, Jack. You know we barbecue every Sunday. Why don't you invite your mother over next week. Do you think she'd mind bringing some of her potato salad with her?"

"For the chance to lay out by the pool, swim and eat food like we had that somebody else cooked, I'm sure she'd consider it a bargain. She could always make it ahead of time. It's better if it sits in the refrigerator a day or two. I just don't know if she's off next Sunday."

"Where does she work on Sundays?"

"She's a nurse over at Fernmont Hospital. She puts in a lot of hours."

"Maybe I know her. I do a lot of deliveries at Fernmont. What's her name?"

"June Hill. Same last name as mine."

"Maybe I've seen her. The name doesn't sound familiar."

"If she comes, do you mind if I invite my sister? Mom would worry if she had to stay home by herself."

"By all means. What's your sister's name?"

"Mary."

"How old is she?"

"She's 15, Daddy."

"Well, I'll look forward to meeting June and Mary next Sunday."

We all ate in silence before the doctor spoke again.

"Well, Jack, I see your team fared better against Highpoint last week than the football team."

"Yeah, I guess. We were pretty lucky."

"You know, Jack, you're way too modest. I know your record. I'd say luck didn't have a whole lot to do with it."

Jill and Wanda had been looking at each other, puzzled about our discussion.

"What are you talking about, Daddy? What team?"

"You don't know that your boyfriend is the captain of Fernmont's swim team?"

"No way. I kicked his ass in the pool today." She looked at me. "Jack?"

"Yes, Jill?"

"How come you let me beat you when we were swimming earlier?"

"I just didn't want to embarrass you and make you look like a fool."

Jill and Wanda looked at each other. They both had guilty looks on their faces.

"How long have you been swimming?"

"Oh, a long time. Mom always says I swam before I could walk. I don't know if it's true or not but I've been swimming as long as I can remember."

"Why do you think he's wearing racing swim trunks, Jillian? Shit, they've got the big 'F' on them for Fernmont. What did you think it meant?"

"I don't know, Daddy. I guess I didn't notice the letter. How good are you, Jack?

"I get by. I've got a really good team, to help me out."

Wanda impatiently broke into the conversation. "He's not going to tell us anything. How good is he, Doc?"

"Well, when he swims against other teams in the district, he doesn't lose. He's been in the program for two years and has yet to lose an event. He usually enters in three individual events and a couple of team events. Last year he placed third in the state final in his three events. He's the youngest team captain Fernmont has ever had, he was elected captain in the middle of his sophomore year. And he has a lot of colleges offering him scholarships, including Stanford. Is that about right, Jack?"

"I guess. Mom takes care of that scholarship stuff. I just go to school and swim. I'll worry about college in a year or so."

"Tell Jill your grade point average, Jack."

"It was 4.0 but that's just for the early grades. I hear the classes the last year can be a lot tougher."

"He's in all honors classes, Jill."

"Why didn't you tell me this stuff?"

"You don't need to know a bunch of junk like that. I was going to invite you to a meet sometime. It doesn't make that much difference what my grades are."

"Daddy, how do you know all this?"

"It's in the paper, dear. Don't I always tell you you should read the paper so you know what's going on?"

"Oh, those are just sports stories, Sir. They tend to exaggerate things."

"They do? What have I said about you that was untrue, Jack?"

"Um, nothing, I guess."

"Doesn't sound like exaggeration to me. You've gotten yourself hooked up with a rising star, daughter of mine. If I were you I'd start treating him a little better or he'll figure out he can get some respect elsewhere."

"I'm treating Jack good, Daddy."

"Really? Jack, how did you feel when Jill was telling Wanda everything the two of you did within a half hour of doing it? And the two of them giggling about it?"

"I didn't feel real good, Sir. But Sir? I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I think I'm perfectly capable of fighting my own battles."

"Of course, Jack. I apologize. My only excuse is it made me mad to see my daughter purposely try to embarrass you..."

"Dr. O'Hara. Please. I insist. Let me take care of this in my own way. This is between the two of us."

"Jack, I feel as a father I have the right to tell my daughter how to behave."

"Excuse me, Dr. O'Hara. I know you're probably going to kick me out for saying this but I have to say something. You had that right. In fact, it was a responsibility, even a duty. From what I see in your daughter, you didn't exercise your right or your duty very much. Now I come on the scene and you attempt to teach some manners to a girl you've apparently let run wild her whole life, free to do whatever she wanted. And able to talk you into or out of anything you had the audacity to disagree with her about. I'm sorry sir, but it's a little late for you to start. Jill wants to be with me and I want to be with her. There are some behaviors I'm not going to tolerate in order for her to do that. Once again, let me take care of this my own way. I insist."

He stood up and started around the table. I got up and stood behind the bench, waiting for him. He smiled and put his hand out. I took it and shook it. He didn't release but pulled me to his chest, reaching behind me with the other hand, clapping me on the back.

"You're right. I should have put her over my knee years ago and kept doing it whenever it was needed. Her mother's leaving us was probably the cause but it's no excuse. I'll leave her in your hands. Good luck, Son."

"Thank you, Sir." I hugged him back before we released each other.

Wanda spoke up. "I'm involved, too, Jack."

"Wanda, the only reason you're involved is that Jill involved you. If she didn't say anything or if she told you it was private when you asked her, you wouldn't have been involved in anything."