Chapter 70: Happy Birthday!

Percy Jones was a little tipsy when he and Dr. Koskowski came home from the awards dinner. His tux jacket was draped over one arm and his tie was missing. He stared at us for a few seconds before heading down the hallway. Dr. Koskowski was thanking us for watching the kids when we heard Percy's voice.

"They're still here," he said. "Both of them are still here."

"Thank you dear," Dr. Koskowski called to her husband and then, alarmed, "Perce, go to bed before you fall down."

We knew it was time for us to leave. We heard Dr. Koskowski thanking us again as we closed the front door behind us.

We were still laughing at what we had just witnessed as we got into the car. It was after one a. m. but I drove slowly, wanting to prolong the evening as long as possible.

"Do you think we'll ever get called back to baby sit?" Cindy asked.

"Not if Curtis tells his mother what he saw."

"Maybe he'll forget," she speculated, making me laugh at her wishful thinking.

"I can hear the conversation tomorrow morning. 'Mom, I saw Cindy on top of Sammy. They said they were wrestling but I don't think that was what they were doing. Cindy has nice boobs.'"

"He wouldn't say that. We really were wrestling. I had you where I wanted you. I was winning," Cindy laughed.

"Dr. Koskowski won't be able to believe her ears. 'How do you know Cindy has nice... breasts?' she will ask and Curtis will say 'I saw her naked.'"

"Do you think she will call you? Will you call me and tell me what she says?" Cindy asked.

I assured I would call the minute I hung up from Dr. Koskowski but we both knew that would not be necessary. Since my phone line was installed we were on the telephone together several times on weekends. Her mother had my number and often called to remind Cindy it was time to come home. As far as I knew, Mr. Baldwin didn't even know I had the phone in my room.

Since getting the computer and the telephone I was spending more and more time in my room.

"What are you doing?" Cindy asked when she called the next morning.

"Waiting for you to call."

"You're working on your journal, aren't you?"

"Yes," I admitted. I had become obsessed with transferring my notes to a file named 'Dominoes.'

"Read the last paragraph you typed," Cindy said. Her voice was pleading but I suspected her plea to hear what I was writing was a ploy to prolong the conversation. I knew she wasn't really interested in my journal but I didn't care. I liked being on the phone with her, even if she had to pretend.

'They were both smart kids and analyzed everything they did before they actually went through with it. They knew they liked each other. They liked kissing and touching each other but the next step was a big one. They were sensible kids. They talked about how they felt, how it felt to touch each other and how they felt afterward. They decided the sensible thing to do was to wait.'

"Why are you writing about Celia Johnson and Eddie Maize? I thought your journal was about things that happened to you," Cindy said.

"This is about something that happened to me," I said in retort. "Eddie trusted me enough to tell me how it is between him and Celia. His trusting me is something I want to remember."

"Celia trusted everyone at Speedwell, too," Cindy scoffed. "She told us all about her affair with Eddie before he told you. He may have said they discussed having sex before they actually did it but according to Celia, she knew from the beginning that she was going to do it. They may have talked about going all the way once or twice but she said it got so hot between them they stopped being rational and just did it."

"Are you saying Celia let Eddie believe they were being sensible but she knew all along that they were going to do it?"

"That's precisely what I'm saying. We girls let you think you're leading us around by the short hairs but if we make up our minds to make something happen we know how to push a guy's buttons."

"How about coming over and pushing my buttons?" I asked, just to be playful. I knew it was impossible.

"I wish I could but we have to get ready to go back to school. See you Friday?"

I told her I was looking forward to Friday night and went back to making journal entries but found it difficult to concentrate. For some time I had been on the verge of telling Cindy I loved her. But something in what she had said made me reconsider. Something that took place a couple of weeks later made me glad I had held my tongue.

There had been talk about Spence and Gloria spending a weekend with us, Spence would stay with me and Gloria would stay with the Baldwin sisters. Cindy had mentioned it to me and Spence had mentioned the idea also. He hinted that he and Gloria were fascinated by our description of the cottages. I hadn't told him of our new freedom to use my room on Friday and Saturday nights but he may have heard that from Gloria. Nothing we did together remained a secret at Speedwell.

My seventeenth birthday was approaching and Suzanne said she wanted to plan something special. I said I would like to invite a friend from school to spend the weekend and that is all it took for Suzanne to put the wheels in motion. We would have the party on Sunday, March 20, 1988. She asked if I wanted to invite other friends and I said no, only Josh and Jeannie in addition to Spence and Gloria.

When we arrived home on Friday night we discovered the room adjoining mine had been made ready for Spence. We would share my bathroom. Spence didn't say much but I could tell he was in awe of the house, my room, my computer and the fact that we had servants. He did remark that Gloria's house was very similar, except that she didn't have a computer in her room. I took that to mean that she did have a phone in her room.

As was her practice, Cindy arrived a few minutes later with Gloria in tow. They left their parkas and boots in the back hallway and joined us upstairs. Cindy had slippers stored in my closet but we couldn't find anything for Gloria to wear on her feet. Suzanne solved that issue when she got home, loaning Gloria a pair of slippers.

Talk at dinner was mainly about third quarter exams and how we thought we had faired. I had my fingers crossed, hoping that I had done well enough to retain my top five ranking. Spence was reserved, saying little about his aspirations. Cindy was also quiet but Gloria went out of her way to engage Mr. Oldham in a discussion about her father's business, making sure we all knew he was the king of auto parts. Mr. Oldham tried to draw Spence out, asking where he intended to go to college. When Spence said he wasn't sure Mr. Oldham urged him to start thinking about where he would like to go.

"Sammy's decision is all but made, isn't it, son?"

When I looked at him, startled, he said we would talk about it later. Shit, I thought. What's he got up his sleeve now?

"Where's Jeannie tonight?" Suzanne directed her question to Cindy. "I hope you didn't think she needed a special invitation."

Cindy looked at me and smiled. I knew what she was thinking, 'the little gnat would fuck things up.' "She's coming to the party on Sunday," Cindy answered, politely.

Cindy offered to help clear the table and load the dishwasher but Suzanne said it wasn't necessary. I shot a glance at Gloria to get her take. She was looking at Cindy, aghast, like she couldn't believe her ears. I had heard that her family had live-in servants, not like Betsy and Molly who went to their own homes every night.

There was no objection when I made a move to go back upstairs. Gloria had the good manners to tell Suzanne she had enjoyed the meal and Spence followed suit with a similar comment.

My telephone was ringing when we entered my room. "If that's my mother tell her we have all our clothes on," Cindy said before I answered the phone.

"Oh hi Curtis," I said to let Cindy know it wasn't her mother.

"Sure, when would you like to toss the ball around?" I asked Curtis and saw Cindy shaking her head.

"Sorry Curtis, tomorrow's out. I have company this weekend. Anyway, there's snow on the ground." Cindy nodded her agreement with how I was handling the call.

"That sounds good. Maybe the weather will be better next weekend," I said, watching Cindy frown her objection.

"Okay, see you then. Say hello to your mom for me. So long."

"The little creep is blackmailing us," Cindy said when I hung up the phone. I walked over and threw her on my bed. She giggled and I sat down next to her. Spence took a seat in my desk chair and Gloria sat in my computer chair.

"Is that the little kid that caught you fucking in front of the TV?" Gloria asked. I looked at Spence and back at Cindy. Neither of them seemed surprised at Gloria's remark.

"The little shit is going to milk this for all its worth if we don't do something. I say we tell his mother that he's blackmailing us and be done with it," Cindy said.

"That's the ticket," Gloria agreed.

"How much did he see?" Spence asked.

"I don't know. I was on the bottom," I said and found myself being bowled over by an aggressive girlfriend. We started to fool around and Spence reached for Gloria's hand. We heard her say, "Neat!" when they entered the other bedroom.

"We're going to have to tell his mother he's blackmailing us," Cindy said. I wasn't in favor of that approach but I didn't want to discuss it either. I started peeling her clothes off and she soon dropped the subject.

With Spence and Gloria in the next room I tried to take it slow and easy but once Cindy got warmed up there was no stopping her. We made 'Friday night' love like we had been apart for a month, not one week. We were relaxing, stretching, cuddling and grinning at each other when we heard it.

"SPENCER! AHHH!"

I jumped out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Cindy called to me. "It's all right. She does that."

"SPENCER!"

I looked at the bathroom and back at Cindy. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. She screams like that for Spence. He likes it."

I shook my head and started to get back into bed. "SPENCER!"

The strangest thing happened later that night; all four of us wound up in the bathroom at the same time. Spence and I were more embarrassed than the girls. They were quite comfortable with it. I couldn't help but compare them. Cindy was lean with a slender neck, long legs and arms and her breasts were erect. Gloria was thin but shorter all around and her breasts were not erect. Cindy's round ass protruded delightfully. Gloria's little bottom looked flat by comparison. Cindy's bush was near blond and neatly trimmed. Gloria's bush was dark and bushy. Cindy had an after-sex glow about her. Gloria looked strained and bedraggled. Cindy lips were uncovered but very kissable; Gloria, after an evening of loud, thrashing sex, was wearing bright red lipstick that matched her fingernails.

Spence was looking at Cindy the same way I was looking at Gloria. I wondered if he was making the same comparison.

My telephone rang and we got tangled up trying to make room for Cindy to go answer it. I may have touched Gloria's bare skin and Spence may have touched Cindy. He and I were too busy making sure we didn't touch each other to know for sure.

We dressed hurriedly and took the girls home.

"Man! I can't believe the setup you have here. You get to bang Cindy every Friday and Saturday night in your own room and her mother calls to wake you when its time to bring her home. We're lucky if Gloria's parents go out once a month and we get to be alone in her room. Man! You don't know how lucky you are."

He was wrong; I did know how lucky I was. He didn't know where I was from and he didn't talk about where he was from but I suspected his home life was much like the one I had left behind. The dominos had fallen better for me. A burr had changed my life. He didn't have a burr.

I went for a run the next morning but Spence preferred to stay in my room and play solitaire on my computer. I wasn't concerned about him finding any of my files. Who would read a file named 'Dominoes?'

It was the nineteenth of March and there was a wind sweeping over the park but the snow was almost melted. I had to watch my step so I wouldn't slip in the slush. Green grass was showing on the grass courts and there was a half-inch of water standing on the clay courts. I said hello to Percy Jones who was clearing slush from his sidewalk.

"I hear you're going to play catch with Curtis," he said. I slowed and ran in place.

"Yes Sir, but not today. We'll see if the snow is all gone next weekend.

"I'm glad you're going to show him some attention, Sammy. He needs to get some exercise. He's getting a little pudgy from too much TV and playing computer games."

"I know what you mean. I tend to stay in my room on weekends," I said, stopping short of telling him about my journal. We waved goodbye and I got away without informing him that his son was blackmailing me into spending time with him. I wondered why Percy didn't toss the ball around with his son.

We took the girls out for lunch and shopping afterward. Josh and Jeannie came along. Since I was driving I made Josh sit up front with us and had Jeannie sit in the backseat with Spence and Gloria.

"I don't see why we're the ones that always have to split up," Jeannie complained.

"It's because you're a young brat. Be thankful that we let you come along," Cindy said.

"If you were my sister I would be nice to you. Would you like to come live with me?" Gloria offered.

"Please take her, please," Cindy said, laughing.

I knew everyone else wanted to shop for a birthday gift for me so Cindy and I hung out together and let them go their own way. We walked around the mall, holding hands, window shopping and bumping into each other.