Chapter 38: An Exception

Mr. Olsen greeted me with his usual welcome, an eager grin and warm handshake. I came right out with it. "Mr. Olsen, if you saw a car parked at the end of your driveway would you allow a couple of teenagers to park there, or would you be inclined to shoot first and ask questions later?"

"It depends on who the teenagers were. But tell me Sammy, why didn't you make that boy pay for running at you in the third quarter?"

I had to think for a minute. "You were there? You came to the game?" I asked excitedly.

"My neighbor and I attended the first high school football game that we've been to in years," he said.

I had to explain the play he was asking about. "I thought he might veer off to the left. I had to wait for him to come to me. It may have looked like I was closer but there was plenty of space for him to go either way. That's why I played it safe," I said, thinking that's how Ned would have answered the question.

"You did all that could be expected of you," he said, making me wonder if he had been expecting more from me.

"Do you use a shotgun to chase parkers away Mr. Olsen?" I asked to readdress my original question.

"I won't shoot if I know it's you. What kind of car will you be driving?"

"It's a two year old Ford Pinto," I answered. "But it could be a Lincoln if her dad let's us use his car," I added, thinking how much more comfortable the back seat of the Lincoln would be than the smaller Pinto. Why hadn't I thought to ask Gina to try to get the Lincoln?

"Is it just the two of you? I don't want my driveway turned into a lover's lane," he warned.

"It's just the two of us," I assured him.

He seemed to be pondering the pros and cons of letting us park at the end of his driveway. "Drive up here by the barn and turn around facing the road. If I know it's you I'll turn the light off," he said, pointing to the light fixture above the barn door.

"I'll walk on my hands. That way you'll know it's me," I said, demonstrating how I would take a few steps on my hands.

"What time does the young lady have to be home?" He asked.

"We both have a midnight curfew," I said.

"I'll turn the light back on at a quarter 'til twelve. That should give you time to have her home on time."

"That sounds good, Sir," I said.

"Don't pick up any burrs on your backside," Mr. Olsen joked as we shook hands.

"Judge Clausen wants to see you," Miss Baker said when I returned her call.

"Today? What time?" I asked, thinking of my tennis date with Trisha. I didn't have her phone number. I didn't even know her last name.

"One-thirty. I thought we could have lunch on the way," Miss Baker said. She must have heard me groan. "Is having lunch with me distasteful Sammy?"

"It's not that. I was supposed to play tennis with someone and I don't have her phone number," I said.

Miss Baker sympathized with me and said she would see what she could do to change the appointment. She called back a few minutes later to say the Judge would see me at 4:30. We made arrangements for her to pick me up at the tennis courts at four p.m.

I watched from a distance for a few minutes before approaching the bench near one of the courts. Everything about Trisha was perfect, her tanned legs emerging from white socks, expanding to her knees tapering into smooth thighs before finally disappearing beneath the short skirt. Everything about Trisha was perfect, her tanned arms emerging from the sleeveless blouse, extending to flawless elbows and slender wrists. Everything about Trisha was perfect, her breasts expanding her sleeveless blouse. Everything about Trisha was perfect, her inviting smile calling my attention to her gentle disposition. She wore her hair bunched in a ponytail.

"I'm glad to see that you didn't get hurt last night," she said when I dropped my rackets and took a seat next to her.

"Did you go to the game?" I asked, thinking I knew the answer.

"You have guts to race down the field knowing you're going to collide with someone at full speed," she smiled, showing me that her family had invested heavily in her teeth.

"That's just how I was taught to play," I said, trying to stay calm. A goddess was actually talking to me.

"How tall are you?" She asked suddenly. "Stand up."

"Five eight and one-half," I said, getting to my feet.

"You're five nine, same as me," she said, moving her hand from the top of her head to mine and back. Not satisfied with the crude measurement, she stepped closer until our knees touched, and then our thighs, and then our chests, and then our noses and I was looking directly into her pale blue eyes. "We're the same height," she said, stepping back satisfied.

I fell back to the bench, concerned that she had detected my cock poking out the front of my pants.

"Are you ready to knock the ball around?" She asked. I wasn't ready, but I got up, selected one of my rackets and took my place on the court.

She beat me three games to one before an older couple showed up and we played mixed doubles. They beat us six games to three and six games to four. I blamed myself for making some bad shots but Trisha said we lost one game because of her double-fault serves. The other couple heard Trisha say that we hadn't done badly for playing together the first time.

"Is this the first time you're played together?" The lady asked to verify what she had just heard Trisha say.

"It's our first time together," Trisha said, making it sound lewd.

As winners, they got to take on the challengers, another older couple. Trisha and I sat down to watch them.

"Gina's taking you to the party tonight, isn't she?" Trisha asked casually.

"Yes, are you going to be there?"

She didn't answer my question. "I'm surprised she's dating you," she commented.

"Why are you surprised?" I asked, wondering if she knew about my background, where I lived perhaps.

"I suppose I'm not surprised. She probably feels safe with you because you're younger and not a threat. This way she can go out and keep her promise to Kelly too."

"What promise to Kelly?" I asked, thinking I knew the answer.

Trisha looked at me, sadly like she was sorry that I would never understand. "She's crazy about Kelly. He got her to promise not to have sex with anyone until he comes home at Thanksgiving. Didn't she tell you?"

"No, I guess she forgot to say anything," I said.

"You should find a girl your own age," she said.

"How about you? Are you my age?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"I'm a senior, way too old for you," she said, but so as not to hurt my feelings she added. "But if I were a sophomore I would be in line to date you. You do know about the line that's already forming, don't you?"

I laughed and looked around. All the courts were full and it didn't look like we were going to get another chance to play before Miss Baker was due to arrive. "I have to leave at four," I told Trisha. She looked at her watch and decided to leave.

"I don't want to hang around by myself. Can I drop you someplace?"

I told her I would wait for my ride and she thanked me for playing with her. I watched her leave and wondered what that was all about. Why had she invited me to play? Was it to snoop on Gina? Why did she tell me about Gina's promise to Kelly? Was she serious about getting in line to date me if she were a sophomore? I wondered if Trisha would invite me to play tennis again. I hoped so. Standing next to her to be measured was every enjoyable. I hoped she would measure us again.

The couple we played doubles with lost their match. "Where's your girlfriend," the lady asked.

"She's not my girlfriend," I admitted.

"She's very beautiful," the woman said, stating the obvious.

"She's too old for me," I said, saying so long when I saw Miss Baker's car arrive.

The judge lived in an older two-story brick home with vines growing up the sides and a wife who appeared to be just as attached to him as the vines were to the house. We sat in backyard gazebo and drank iced tea. It was very pleasant there. "I understand you're getting a reputation for gutsy football play," he opened the conversation.

"Thank you, Sir," I said, wondering where he could have heard such a thing. There was nothing in the newspaper that described me as gutsy.

"I hope your studies are not taking a backseat to football. Maintaining your grades is important to Mr. Oldham. I'm sure you know that?"

"Yes, Sir. I'm keeping up with my schoolwork and I know it's important to Mr. Oldham that I do well," I said, pleased with my self for the way I had assured the judge that I was in no danger of falling behind. "Football is also important to Mr. Oldham," I added.

He quizzed me about how I spent my spare time at the Oldham home. I described the house and the park across the street, how I was kept busy reading, learning chess, playing golf and tennis. I told him about the dance lessons and how my time was occupied during the summer, failing to mention the cottages and the use I had made of them. He seemed most interested in the two-week trip Mr. Oldham, Ned and I had taken.

"Is your home life satisfactory and are you fitting in socially?" He asked. I explained that I hardly ever saw my mother because of her work schedule but that she prepared my evening meal and my sister was coming to respect my need for quiet study and undisturbed sleep. I also told him that I was fitting in at school, both with the guys on the football team and with some of the females in my classes. I also mentioned the long distance telephone calls and the letters from friends.

"Are John and Suzanne getting any closer to marriage?" He asked, showing he knew Mr. Oldham better that I had suspected.

"No, Sir, I don't think either of them is ready to get married although I don't speak to Mr. Oldham about anything so personal as that."

"Does that mean you spoke to Miss Cummings about it?"

"Yes, Sir. We played golf on Tuesdays and talked some," I said, trying not to sound boastful.

He nodded, indicating that was all he needed to know. I thanked Mrs. Clausen for the hospitality, shook hands with the judge and we left, me wondering what the hell that was all about.

"He needed to know you're staying on course Sammy. He was very impressed with you," Miss Baker said when we were back in her car. She didn't need to explain the purpose for the meeting. I knew that I would have to endure eight or nine more such meetings with him. Looking forward to our next meeting would make me think twice about getting into trouble. I didn't want to have to explain anything to him.

"Was that a girl you were playing tennis with Sammy?" Miss Baker asked as she drove me to my house.

"Yes ma'am," I said.

"Is she attractive?"

Is she ever, I thought. "Yes, she is."

"Do you think I'm attractive Sammy? No, please forgive me. Forget I asked you that."

"I think you're very attractive, Miss Baker," I said, giving her a once over. I wondered how old she was. She was not very tall but I liked the shape of her short legs and everything else looked to be in proportion to her height. She could have done something with her hair but that was not for me to say. I guessed she was in her early thirties.

"Do you mind if I ask you something very personal, Sammy?"

"No ma'am. I don't mind."

"I shouldn't ask you. Forget I said anything, okay?"

"Ask me anything. Please tell me what it is you want to know," I said, trying to sound patient with her.

"If you were my boyfriend, just saying, and I seduced you," she stopped talking and turned her head to see if I comprehended what she was saying. "Would you think badly of me?"

"Why wouldn't I seduce you?" I asked without thinking. This seemed to baffle her and I decided she needed more explanation. "If I were your boyfriend I would seduce you, not wait for you to seduce me."

"You would?" She seemed astounded at my answer.

"What's your boyfriend's name?" I asked, wondering if she really had a boyfriend.

"His name is Aaron. You're saying it's up to him to do the seducing? Are you saying that I would be wrong for me to initiate intimacy?"

"How long have you known each other?"

"Oh my, it's been one year, two months and eleven days," she said. We were entering my street. Miss Baker parked across the street form my house and turned to me, wanting to hear what I had to say. I had trouble keeping from laughing. How many women had I been involved with in the past fourteen months and eleven days?