Chapter 36

I got back to school just in time to be there for all of the drama of Nigel finding out that his whole family was going back to England, and that, they were planning on leaving him behind to finish out the school year. Nigel's father had been promoted, and was heading back to run the marketing department for the entire auto company. Naturally, this news was devastating to Nigel. He had felt rejected by his family before any of this happened, but hearing the news made it seem far worse. He was actually afraid that they meant to abandon him in America, for good. All of us tried to make him feel better, but we didn't succeed. Nigel went to his classes all that week, but stayed in his own bedroom, brooding and alone, most of the rest of the time.

I called Emily on Tuesday night, and again on Thursday, but all she could talk about on Tuesday was Brenda's hurt feelings because I had gone so far out of my way to avoid her at the dance. On Thursday, she started out with more of the same, but I managed to warn her that I was going to start avoiding her if she didn't stop bringing Brenda up every time we talked.

"She's my friend too, Kenny. It makes me feel bad to be caught in the middle like this. She likes you, and you like her. I don't know why you want to pretend that you don't like her anymore."

"I'm not. I told you I still like her. Why is it so hard for you to understand that I don't want to keep getting into trouble with her? Why do you even care? Every time I talk to you, you keep bringing Brenda's name up, and talking about her. I don't want to talk about Brenda."

"You don't have to bite my head off, you know? I see her everyday, and she asks me if I talked to you or not. What am I supposed to say to her when she keeps asking me if we talked about her or not?"

"Tell her I don't want to talk about her, and that I'm not interested in anything having to do with her anymore. That's what you should tell her."

"I can't say that to her, she's a friend of mine."

"Emily, it costs me money to phone you like this. I hate spending my money just to have you talking about Brenda. I'm going to hang up and stop calling you if you keep on bringing her up to me when I call you."

"Can I tell you one more thing about her, and then we can talk about other things?"

"No."

"She spending the whole weekend at my house. She wants you to take us both for a ride in your limo."

"I said no, but you talked about her anyway."

"I wanted you to know that. I can't not take her with us, not if she's my guest for the weekend, can I? That would be rude, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, it would be. Fortunately, I'm going to be very busy this weekend with other stuff, so you won't have to do that because of me. Someday I'd like you to tell me why you think it's okay for you to just go ahead and do what I asked you not to do. You and Brenda both do that, and I think that's really rude."

"I can tell you right now, Kenny. It's because you're stubborn, and you refuse to do what's best for you. People who like you are just trying to help you with that."

"What you're saying, is that I should do what you want, because what I want to do, I only want because I'm being stubborn?"

"Not everything you want. No one is stubborn all the time. You are being stubborn about Brenda though."

"All right. You and Brenda enjoy your weekend."

"What are you going to be doing?"

"I'm going to try to find someone who doesn't know either you or Brenda, someone I don't have to be stubborn with."

"See, you're being stubborn again. Besides, you'll probably just stay home, wishing you were with us anyway."

It turned out that Emily was half right. I did mostly just stay home, although Mama and I played golf on Saturday and Sunday. My father was still in New York. He was spending all of his time in meetings, waiting to find out what Consolidated was going to decide to finally do. He still hadn't made them any offer, because he said they weren't at a point where any of them knew what they wanted to do yet. He spoke with Mama and Uncle Bunny everyday though, on the telephone. I could hear Mama telling him not to wait too long. Whenever Mama finished talking to my father, she'd call Uncle Bunny, and they'd talk business too.

Emily was wrong about me wishing that I was with her and Brenda though. What I was wishing was that I had a girl like Bea again. I had been thinking that I hadn't appreciated what I had with Bea before, when she was still living with us, and before I fell in love with Brenda. With Bea, it wasn't all complicated. I didn't need to think about her all the time, and she didn't try to make me do a lot of things I didn't want to either. Gerta still hadn't found anyone to help her with my mother. On Sunday, while I was waiting for Hans and my mother to get back from a meeting she had with one of the golf learning center people, I was keeping Gerta company in the kitchen.

"Gerta, how are you doing with getting a girl in to help you with things?"

"Not good yet, Kenny. I've talked to some people, but very few people are looking for a live in situation today. It can't be just anyone either. You mother is very particular. She doesn't want another Bea or even Elena."

"You should get someone who can really help you, Gerta, and then you would have more time to help Mama. If Mama isn't eating or doing well, it wouldn't matter how bad the cooking was. Hans could eat out if she wasn't cooking good enough. You could teach someone to cook easier than you could teach her to know what to do with Mama."

"I do more than cook, Kenny, but I see what you mean. You want me to make taking care of your mother my highest priority."

"I wish we had Bea back."

"For your mother?"

"No."

"I hope you aren't asking what I think you might be?"

"I'm not asking anything. I was just thinking about Bea, that's all."

"Bea wasn't like most girls, Kenny. You can't expect someone new to do what she did with you."

"That isn't what I meant, Gerta. I was just thinking about Bea, and the way I treated her after I met Brenda. That's all."

"I told Hans they were making a big mistake sending you to an all boy's school. You should go to the regular high school, so you can meet lots of different girls. The back of the big car is no place for a boy to be learning about young girls."

I was sorry I'd brought Bea up to her. I was actually relieved when Hans and Mama came back at about five thirty. We all had dinner together in the kitchen, and at eight o'clock, Mama drove me back to the school herself. On the way there, she told me about some changes she was making in the golf learning center plans. One of the changes was that she was going to have a green built with sand traps all around it, except for a narrow walkway to get up on the green. Golfers needed to learn sand play, and even more, she said, they needed to learn how to pitch the ball over a trap and onto a green, without putting the ball into the trap because of nerves. She said the new sand practice area would take up more than three acres. I asked her why she didn't just make it part of the short game area, and she told me that there wasn't room where she had decided to locate the short game area, and she didn't want to move it away from where it was. If Mama had a weakness in golf, it was her touch, when pitching or lobbing over sand. I had a pretty good idea of who would get the most use out of her new sand play green.

I waited until Wednesday night to call Emily. We talked for thirty minutes, and she didn't bring Brenda's name up the entire time we talked. I told her that I was planning on going to the dance at the club on Saturday. She wanted to know if I wanted to take her out for something to eat earlier on Saturday, but I told her that my dad was coming home Friday night and we were planning on playing golf together on Saturday.

"Do you want to go to the movies Friday, after I get back from school? We can get Hans to drive us there, and then he can pick us up afterwards. My dad is flying commercial, and he's going to rent a car at the airport because he's not coming in until late."

"Which movie is playing?"

"I don't know. Why don't you check on that?"

"Why can't I come over to your house instead? We could watch television. You can show me your room too, if you want to?"

"Would your parents let you go to a boys house?"

"Sure, why not? Your mother will be there, right? You can invite me for dinner too."

"All right, you're invited for dinner, Friday night. What time can you come over?"

"Aren't you going to come pick me up? That's how people normally do it for dates."

"I won't be home before about five thirty, at the earliest, and then I'd want to change into better clothes for dinner. We eat at around seven, usually."

"Come get me on your way home. I'll visit with your mother while you're getting dressed."

"What do you like to eat? Gerta's a great cook, and she can make almost anything. Do you like lobster?"

"Can she make Italian food? I'd like a baked zitti, or veal parmigiana. Almost anything Italian other than spaghetti."

"I'll call her and tell her what you want. Don't worry, she'll probably make three or four Italian things, then you can eat just the things you like best."

As soon as I hung up with her, I called home. I told Gerta about having company on Friday, and told her what Emily had said about wanting Italian food. After I talked to Gerta, I spoke with my mother and asked her permission to have Emily over for dinner, and to watch television with me.

"Of course, sweetie, this is your home, and you are free to invite whomever you wish. Is this that girl from the Christmas dance?"

"Emily. Yes, and we're going to stop off and pick her up when Hans comes to get me on Friday. Is it going to be all right if I show her my room after dinner? I don't know whether that's allowed or not."

"Kenny, this is your home. You don't have to ask permission to bring a guest over. It would be thoughtful to inform Gerta so she can plan her menu, but, other than that, who you entertain, and how you entertain, these things we'll leave up to you. Of course, we'll expect you to act like a gentleman with your guests."

"Like a gentleman. What does that mean, because I've never had to act like a gentleman before?"

"Use good manners, and don't act boorish with her. Perhaps you should discuss this with Uncle Bunny. He has a good understanding of gentlemanly behavior. It is more an attitude than anything else."

As soon as we got off the phone, I called Uncle Bunny. He and I talked for about fifteen minutes. The main thing he told me was that I shouldn't take advantage, or try to force my attentions if they were unwanted. I asked him if it would be all right if I locked my bedroom door when Emily was in there with me.

"Are you planning on requiring that level of privacy, Kenny?"

"I don't know yet. She talks one way, but all I've done so far is kiss her a few times."

"Do you really like her, or are you just responding to the hormonal pressures of someone your age?"

"I like her, but I also want to do things with her. Things like I did with Bea."

"Is she similarly disposed towards you?"

"I'm not sure. I think she would be more likely to if she knew that no one could come in and catch us. We might not do anything, like before, but, I want to be ready, just in case."

"Ready. By ready, do you mean that you've thought about protection from disease, and unwanted pregnancy. This is something that the man should treat as his concern too, not just leave it up to his partner."

"I can get rubbers from Hans, but I don't think we'll get that far, not right away."

"Kenny, with young people, there is always the possibility of things getting quickly out of hand. Remember that, if you remember little else. It is better to be prepared for any eventuality. Gentlemen always think of their partners happiness and welfare first."

I talked to Emily on Thursday, telling her that everything was arranged for Friday. I told her to expect us to pick her up around five thirty. She said she was looking forward to it, and would be ready when I came to get her.

Friday, when I rang her door bell, she opened her door right away. She gave me a big smile and told me she was ready, but I was looking behind her at Brenda, who was standing not five feet away. Emily saw the look of surprise on my face and turned around to see what I was looking at.

"Brenda, you promised! Kenny, she's here to watch Gary until my parents get back. You weren't supposed to even know she was here."

"Let's go then, I've got some stuff I want to get done before dinner."

In the car, Emily looked nervous, waiting to find out what I was going to say to her about Brenda. I didn't say anything. I knew that she was Brenda's friend too, and as long as she didn't try to get the two of us together, or talk about her, I had no problem with Brenda being at her house. I was trying to think of some way to explain the difference to her, but I didn't want to bring up Brenda's name.

"I expect you to have your own friends, Emily, just like I have mine. As long as you don't try to go against what we've already talked about. Tonight, I just want to spend time with you and talk about our things."

She had been sitting on the other seat, just looking at me, but when I told her what I wanted to say, she relaxed and hopped over on my seat with me. Of course, Hans was already pulling the limo up into our driveway, by the time she did that. We got out and I took her into the house with me.

I found my mother waiting in the living room for us, and, after kissing her, and getting a big hug in return, I introduced her to Emily. After the introductions were made, I excused myself, heading up to my room to change out of my school uniform. As soon as I was dressed for dinner, I came back down the stairs, but Mama and Emily were no longer in the living room. I checked for them in the library, but they weren't in there either. That's when I heard laughter coming from the kitchen. I found them in there with Gerta and Hans. All four of them were speaking in German. I was starting to think I was the only person in the world who only spoke English. I'd never heard Mama speaking German before, but, she was speaking it when I walked through the kitchen door. I went over and gave Gerta a kiss, just like the one I'd given Mama in the living room.