Chapter 8: Shirley

Shirley didn't join the group for breakfast on Monday but she wasn't the only one that failed to show up. It was finals week and I guess we were all nervous. Eating and sleeping were neglected in order to have more time for last minute cramming. But not me; I made every meal, especially breakfast because I didn't want to miss seeing Shirley if she did come.

"It looks like we can get by with one table today," Freddy said on Thursday morning. There were only three of us, her, Millie and me.

We talked about which subjects our exams were on that day and how good it was going to be to have some time off. Like most of the other members of the group, they were staying at school over the break, so I didn't elaborate about Ned's wedding or the 'times' with Karen that I was looking forward to.

I only had one test scheduled for Friday and if it hadn't been for Shirley showing up for breakfast, I would have been able to leave by mid-morning. I had my car loaded with the few things I was taking.

"Have you heard from Olli?" she asked as she took her seat next to me.

"I saw him yesterday. They're not getting much sleep but the baby is fine and they are happy," I said. Olli had come to my room the day before, wanting to know why he hadn't heard from us. I tried to explain that it was finals week but I don't think he believed me. "I promised to stop by and see the baby when I get back from break."

She didn't comment, not that I expected her to say she would like to go with me to see the baby or that she would make arrangements to go alone.

"What's your schedule like today?" she asked.

"I've got a ten o'clock exam and then I'm free."

The way she took a bite of her cereal and chewed it thoughtfully told me she had something on her mind. I waited, knowing her well enough by now to know she would tell me what it was eventually.

"You're probably leaving as soon as you finish?"

Now it was my turn to be thoughtful. I was planning to be on the road before noon and be home before it got dark. She had to have a reason for asking that question. What was it? "I'm not sure," I said.

"I have two exams today, one is this morning and one is at one," she volunteered.

I nodded like it was interesting news to me, acknowledging that I understood her, wondering why she was telling me her exam schedule. What was I supposed to say?

"I was wondering..." she hesitated..."if you would mind if I use your computer while you're away?"

"Of course you can use it," I responded.

"Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?"

It occurred to me what she meant by too much trouble. She wanted to use my computer in her room, not mine. "It won't be any trouble. When do you want me to deliver it?"

A pained look appeared on her face and I saw the wrinkle come to her brow, like she hated what she was going to say. "About three?"

"I'll meet you at your dorm at three," I agreed.

"Are you sure it isn't too much trouble? I can help," she offered.

I assured her that I could break down the computer and load it into my car in a few minutes. The stand would be cumbersome to handle but it was not heavy. I told her I'd be at her dorm at three p.m.

'Shit! This was going to make me arrive at home four hours later than I'd intended. Why did I let her sweet-talk me into delaying my starting time? Could it be something I hoped to get to know between her legs? Why am I having that thought? I've changed, haven't I? Shit!'

Charlie was surprised to see me when I sat down to have lunch with him and Angie. She had a one o'clock exam so they couldn't leave until three p.m. either.

I told them about Shirley asking to borrow my computer and I believe that Charlie understood what a breakthrough this was for me, but Angie seemed mystified that I wasn't already on the road, heading for home.

Charlie also understood why I copied my journal onto diskettes and deleted it from the hard drive. He helped me pack the computer and load it and the stand into my car. I was waiting at her dorm door when Shirley got back from her exams.

It took us about fifteen minutes to lug the components upstairs to her room and for her to decide where she wanted the stand to be placed. I thought my desk was cluttered until I saw hers. There were stacks and stacks of books, labeled with project names and 'don't touch' stickers. Her bed was made neatly. The thing that struck me was the contrast between the two ends of the room. Her roommate was an obvious slob.

We got everything connected and Shirley took a seat in front of the screen to familiarize her self with my software.

And then she looked up at me. "I can't thank you enough, Sammy."

The look on her face was all the thanks I needed. Her eyes alone made up for the time I had lost. Her lips were not quite closed and there was a faint line across her forehead. What did she expect me to say? "Do you have any questions?"

She looked back at the screen, at the printer and clicked the mouse a couple of times. "I think I've got it under control."

I was backing toward the door when she stood up looking like she had something more to say. I stopped. Her eyes held mine, totally freezing my whole body. If the fire alarm had sounded right then I would have waited for her eyes to release me before I moved.

"When are you coming back?" she finally spoke.

"Uh, Sunday, the day before school starts."

"Oh." Was that disappointment I heard?

"Unless..."

"I was thinking..." Her lips were still parted. For a second I thought she was going to stick her tongue out at me. She ran it over her lower lip, her eyes unwavering.

"I could come back the day before if..."

"Could you?" It sounded like a question but we both knew it was a request I couldn't refuse. I was aware of movement but it didn't register that she was running toward me.

"Would you like to..."

Her arms were suddenly around my neck and her cheek was pressed to mine. I wrapped my arms around her and we swayed, silently holding each other. I wanted the feeling to last forever but she had other ideas. Our first kiss was no more than a peck but the next one was longer and the next one longer still.

"Robbing the cradle, are we Shirl?"

The voice behind me was filled with merriment but it reverberated around the room like a referee's whistle announcing the play is dead.

"This must be the freshman you're always talking about," the voice continued. The referee was separating the players from the pile. Shirley pulled away from me, her cheeks blushing and her brow furrowed again.

"Sammy, this is Tammy, my obnoxious roommate. Tammy, this is Sammy, the freshman I'm always talking about."

I turned and looked at the girl. Her wide grin told me that she was clearly enjoying herself, reveling in the angst her untimely intrusion had caused. I forced myself to smile at Tammy but I didn't say anything about being glad to meet her.

Shirley walked downstairs with me, holding my hand all the way to where my car was parked. We kissed again and again, until I noticed that she wasn't wearing a coat.

"I'll see you next Saturday," I said.

"Will you miss me?" she asked as she backed away.

"You know I will."

"Will you call me?"

"Every day."

Her face lit up as she reached for the door. I watched her go inside and look through the glass. She stood there staring at me, her face solemn. I watched her, not moving, not wanting the moment to end. She must have known the reason for my reluctance to leave. Suddenly, she grinned, her tongue came out, and she was gone.

I must have driven an hour before my mind stopped replaying those last few minutes with Shirley, the way her eyes held mine, her running jump into my arms, the feel of her cheek next to mine, our first kiss, followed by our second and third, the annoying interruption, meeting Tammy, seeing Shirley blush, holding her again, kissing her, hearing her ask if I would miss her and sticking her tongue out at me to signal that it was time for me to leave.

Shirley was still very much on my mind when I stopped for coffee at the half-way point of my trip. Tammy's interruption had been a major annoyance but it had also been enlightening. If she hadn't said that Shirley always talked about me, I might never have known that Shirley felt anything toward me. Her teasing Shirley had spoken volumes.

"Where's your girlfriend?" the waitress asked.

I gave her a blank stare. Did I know her?

"The cute brunette that was with you last time, isn't she your girlfriend?"

Ah, she was talking about Wanda. A funny thought crossed my mind. I wondered if Wanda had trimmed her pubic hair yet.

"I can see by the way your smiling that I'm right. She IS your girlfriend, isn't she?"

"Yes, I guess she is," I said, not wanting to explain my relationship with Wanda. "She wouldn't know what to do without me. She depends on me," I said to the waitress.

"Why isn't she with you? Did you leave her in the car?"

I laughed. "She's in graduate school. They don't get a break until the end of the month."

"And you're not in graduate school?"

The waitress looked to be in her mid-thirties, a little overweight, with a name tag that read 'Clara, ' probably a wife and mother, trying to pick up tidbits about customers to be shared with her husband later that night in bed.

"I'm a freshman," I informed her.

"You're a freshman and your girlfriend is ... older? Aren't you afraid someone will steal her while you're away?"

"No, I gave her something to do while I'm gone."

Clara looked at me strangely before I saw the corner of her mouth curl up. "Okay, I'll bite. What kind of job did you give her to do?"

"I told her to trim her pubic hair real short so I can give her a shave when I get back. That should keep her busy for a week at least."

Clara reddened before she turned and walked away. I saw her talking to the other waitress. I got up and walked to the cash register to pay my check and Clara came over to ring it up. "You are a fresh man, aren't you?" she laughed.

There were two strange cars parked next to the garage and two more parked on the street in front of the cottages when I got home. I walked in the back door and heard laughter coming from the dining room.

"We were getting worried about you, Sammy. I thought you were going to be here hours ago," Suzanne said when she saw me at the door.

"I'm sorry, I should have called to tell you I got hung up," I said, looking around the room at the ten visitors, only two of whom I recognized.

"Sammy! Look at you. John said you had grown and I see that he was right."

I glanced at Mr. Oldham and saw that he was smiling, proudly as I shook hands with Judge Clausen. "It's nice to see you again, sir," I said.

"Look at him, Mary. Would you have recognized him if you saw him on the street?" the judge asked his wife, "Do you remember when he visited us at the house? He was growing then but that was what, over three years ago?"

The judge released my hand and Ned took over the introductions. There were four couples, all about his age. I didn't even try to remember their names but somehow I knew the men had attended C.M.A. when Ned was there.

Suzanne made a space for me and I sat down to eat, answering questions about Pontiac College and my years at C.M.A. Many of the C. M. A. questions were about Colonel Travis and the football program. Ned's friends spoke with fondness about C.M.A., as if they had graduated with my class, not fifteen years ago.

"Does the bell still gong at midnight?" the judge directed his question to me. I didn't know what he was talking about.

"The bell tower's gone, Harold," Mr. Oldham spoke up. "Sam and I drove over to the school the summer before last to look around. They used the old bricks to build a walk around a flowerbed."

"That's a shame," the judge said. "I always knew it was time to put the books away when I heard the gong."

It dawned on me that the judge and Mr. Oldham had attended Pontiac College, probably at the same time. Was that where they met? Had they been roommates?

"You always were the study fanatic. If I heard the gong I knew I was out too late," Mr. Oldham quipped.

Penelope got my attention. "Sammy, are you bringing someone to the wedding?"

"Yes, my mixed doubles partner said she would be my date."

"Oh, that's good. Tonya's coming tomorrow. I thought you could ... wait a minute, does your doubles partner have something to do with one of your dominoes?"

Everyone looked at her, questioningly and Ned spoke up.

"Don't let them get started about dominoes. I promise you'll be sorry," he said, laughing.

This served to fuel everyone's curiosity and Penelope was happy to tell about my strange ability to forecast future events. This was quite a surprise to Mr. Oldham and Suzanne as I had never said anything about the dominoes to them.

Penelope gave two examples of the forecasts I had made based on dominoes I had seen, my advising Alice to come home rather than get married and my advising Trisha that she and Greg would see other people before they got back together. While this explanation satisfied the Judge and Ned's friends for the time being I knew there would be more questions about the dominoes from Mr. Oldham and Suzanne, especially Suzanne, later.

Everyone spread out after dinner, Ned's friends going to the cottages, Mr. Oldham and the Judge to the sunroom, and Mary, the Judge's wife, helping Suzanne and Betsy clear the table.

I was a little surprised when Penelope followed me up the stairs. "I'm in the room across from yours," she said. "It's going to be strange sharing the bathroom with the Judge."

"Who has the room next to mine? You could have had it," I said.

"Suzanne thought your lady-friend might be sleeping over. She held the room in case your friend ... well, she didn't know about your arrangements."

I laughed and winked at Penelope, letting her assume that Suzanne needn't have concerned herself with Karen's and my sleeping arrangements. "I don't know if she'll want to stay or if she'll want to go home. What's the schedule, anyway?"

"Tonight Ned and his friends will be drinking and talking over old times. Tomorrow night there's going to be a dinner party in the tent and Sunday we'll be married at ten a.m., also in the tent."

"Tent?" I asked, and Penelope pushed me toward my room.