Part 2

Chapter Five: Happy Days

Liz should have qualified that summer for her national team but she just missed it. The selection committee decided on the proven team members and she was left off. She didn't get that trip to Rome she had dreamed of and I could see that it hurt her. We were getting closer and closer to each other and I wondered when we would finally make love for that very first time. It was very frustrating to be necking and having our hands all over each other and yet not go all the way. We talked about it a lot and she said she knew that some of the girls on the team had done it. As far as the guys went, most of them claimed they had "nailed" some girl, but I had my doubts about some of the boasts. Besides, it was too important to me that Liz be confident and really want to do it without my pushing her into something we would both regret. All the same, I had a supply of Sheiks just in case.

Zoltan was my roommate again for our third year and we had become very good friends. We didn't have a lot in common except that we respected each other and we liked and trusted each other. I think Zoltan was a bit envious of my closeness to Liz. He had a girlfriend as well, but she was not quite the beauty that my girl was but she was very nice. I guess Zoltan had brought his European attitudes towards women with him and I'm not sure they went over so well with the American girls. He was no virgin and I know he had "relations" with a couple of women in town who weren't students. His girlfriend, Darleen, was nice enough but she wasn't very mature and Liz and I found we didn't have much in common with them when we occasionally double-dated. I was guessing that Darleen wasn't a virgin either, but I didn't know that for sure.

As anyone who lives in a dorm would tell you, trying to get some privacy with a lady in your room required planning and cooperation. I was always happy to oblige Zoltan because he didn't impose on my good nature very often. We figured out a system for ourselves that shared the time equally and if something unexpected came up, we almost always found a way to make it work. Liz and I would go to the movies and come back to my room and make out for an hour or so without fear of interruption. Zoltan and Darleen would go out somewhere and I would meet Liz in the library or in the Common Room until the agreed time.

Liz's roommate was a real pain. She was one of those straight-arrows who wouldn't dream of doing anything naughty. Needless to say, she didn't have a boyfriend. She was on the women's basketball team and that was because she was about eleven feet tall and ugly. I was almost afraid to see a picture of her parents. I told Liz they shouldn't have been allowed to breed. After she stopped choking and sputtering and trying to snort Pepsi through her nose, she nodded her head in agreement. About the only time we were able to use her room was when the basketball team was on a road trip.

Like I said, these were the best days of my young life. I had this beautiful girlfriend and I was doing well both on the swim team and in my courses and if I wasn't rich and didn't have a car, I was still doing pretty good. We got to travel together to the meets and we became regulars in the back of the bus. Many a dark night on the road coming back to Corvallis we slept in each other's arms and it was just like being married in some ways. I started to think about my future after college and I wondered if I was ready to ask Liz to be my wife and be with me forever. There was only one problem; I had absolutely no idea of what I was going to do to earn a living after I graduated. Considering that I only had a year to go after this one, I had better start thinking about it.

I spent that third Christmas with Aunt Hilda as promised and we had a really great time. She told me that she had placed an ad in the Portland newspapers looking for my Mom, but got no response. I thanked her very much for trying and wondered what else we could do to find her. In the end, the best we could hope for was that Mom would somehow get in touch with Aunt Hilda and we could find her from that.

I bought a couple of small things as Christmas presents for her and she gave me a nice sweater and jacket that I really liked. I had been dipping into my small cash reserves for clothes and any addition to that was gratefully received. I only had one more summer to earn some money and I knew I was going to need more for my senior year. Besides, I now had Liz to think of and I couldn't let her down. I had given her a nice locket and chain for a Christmas present before she left for home and she was very pleased and I got a big kiss as a reward. I would have to hold onto that as a memory while she was away over the holidays.

Aunt Hilda and I took her car and travelled around the area. We drove all the way to Cottage Grove and then back to Eugene. We stayed overnight in a motel which Aunt Hilda paid for and had a great time visiting the usual tourist spots. She insisted on paying for the meals too since she knew I didn't have much money. I promised her that I would find a way to thank her for her generosity but she just waved me off, saying she hadn't had this much fun at Christmas in a long time. We even went to one of her neighbors New Years party and despite the fact that I was the youngest person there, I still had a good time. I guess it was just a case of being around people and feeling some of those familiar things about what it was like at home a long time ago.

Chapter Six: Another Lost Love

By May, 1962, I had nearly finished my third year with really good marks and a solid place on the swim team. I was never going to be an Olympic athlete, but I was plenty good enough for the usual competition we faced and I was now regular anchor on the relays. I had found a new job that would pay better during the summer and it would mean I finally had a few dollars stashed away for a change. I should have been happier than hell, but that wasn't the case. My girl, Liz, told me she wasn't coming back to school next year. She was now a full time member of her national team and they wanted her to train nearer to home. She was going to the Commonwealth Games in Australia next November and I knew when she told me that I'd never see her again.

It was like losing Penny all over again except this was worse. On my 21^st Birthday, Liz gave me a very special present; her virginity. It was a complete surprise and I was overwhelmed by her gift. I must have asked her fifty times if she was sure and each time she said she was. From that moment until she gave me the bad news about moving back to Canada, I was in heaven. I had become a man in my mind and although our first couple of times wasn't very satisfying, we got better with practice; much better. I felt like my whole life had changed and I needed to think about the future more. I began to daydream about Liz and I getting married and having kids and finding a good job and looking for a place to live. I was in a state of perpetual optimism until the day Liz gave me the bad news.

She had shed some tears, but I knew the National Team was a dream she had held for a long time and that she would be going to the Olympics in Tokyo two years later. There wasn't any place in that dream for me. I tried to handle it like a man or at least a mature adult, but I was hurt and angry and all the other emotions. Our last week together wasn't the best. She was leaving school early for some National Team meet and I would be on my own even before my junior year was over. I told her I loved her but she couldn't say those words to me and in the end, I had to face it; we were just close friends who had become lovers. The two years that she was with me were the best of my school days and nothing would replace them.

Chapter Seven: Finding Mother

We had an end-of-school meet at a little college in Washington just before we broke up for the summer. It was in Bellingham at Western Washington University. Bellingham was just south of the Canadian border and if it hadn't been for Liz having to leave early, I was hoping I could meet her parents and tell them how I felt about their daughter. All that turned to dust when Liz left. On the other hand, something even more unexpected happened. I found my mother.

We were staying at the Mt. Baker Hotel in the middle of town. Since I was one of the co-captains, I got first choice of room and I got one on the top floor that looked out over the bay towards some islands. It was fairly clear and I could see mountains in the west with lots of snow on them even though it was almost June. Bellingham was right beside Mt. Baker, a 10,000 ft. extinct volcano. It looked a lot like Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood and Mt. Shasta; all of them in a row running down into California. It was a beautiful setting and I could see myself living in a nice town like this with the ocean right there and the mountains and the forests.

Our room had a phone and I jumped a bit when it rang unexpectedly the Friday afternoon before our meet. My roommate answered it and then passed the receiver to me.

"It's for you." he said with a surprised look.

I took it tentatively and finally spoke: "Hello?"

"Is this Ron Francis?" a man's voice asked.

"Yes."

"Are you originally from Aberdeen, Iowa?" he asked in a firm voice.

"Yes." I answered in a cautious voice. Who knew I was here? It must be someone from my hometown I reasoned.

"My name is Frank Trimble." he said, still with a confident tone. "You don't know me, but I'm calling on behalf of your mother."

"You are? Where is she? I've been looking all over for her. Is she OK? Can I see her?" I blurted out.

"Hold on Ron." I could hear a chuckle in his voice. "She wasn't sure you would want to talk to her. I had to convince her to let me call you and see how you felt about ... well ... about what had happened."

"She doesn't know ... I found out what really happened. I have to see her. Can you take me to her?" I was becoming unglued and almost desperate to have him tell me where she was.

"Ron ... your mother and I ... we're married. I know she will want to see you and talk to you if you want that too. She was just afraid you would still not want to see her." he said apologetically.

"No! No! ... I do want to see her. I have to tell her. I have to tell her what happened." I was getting excited. "Can you bring her here? I don't have a car." I tried to explain.

"Son ... why don't I pick you up and bring you out to our home? You can meet her here where it's private and you won't be disturbed." he offered gently.

"Sure ... Sure ... that's great! When can you come?" I asked quickly.

"Well, how about now? I can be there in a few minutes and pick you up at the front door. You can stay for dinner if you like. I'm sure you and your mom have a lot of catching up to do." he said kindly.

"That's great. I have to tell my coach, but I'm sure he'll understand. I'll see you out front in a few minutes then?" I asked in confirmation.

"Yep ... see you in a few minutes."

I grabbed my jacket and headed out the door. I was pretty sure my roommate had picked up the thread of the conversation and since he knew I had been looking for mom, he had a big grin on his face as I hung up the phone and gave me the silent 'thumbs up' sign. I raced down two floors to the coach's room and banged on the door. One of the assistants answered and I spewed out what must have been an almost incomprehensible blast of words that caused nothing but a mystified look on his face. Fortunately, the coach heard most of it and came to the door. He had just gotten out of the shower wearing a towel around his waist. He smiled and said he knew how important this was to me and wished me good luck. I told him I'd be ready for the meet tomorrow and quickly beat it to the stairs and down to the lobby.

I didn't know what Mr. Trimble looked like but I was wearing my OSU Letter Jacket and I figured that would help him spot me as I stood on the sidewalk in front of the hotel. I wasn't there very long before a big gold Studebaker Hawk rolled up and the driver honked the horn and waved at me. I walked over to the nice new car and crouched down to look in the window opening.

"Are you Mr. Trimble?" I asked.

"Yep ... I'm Frank Trimble. Hop in and we'll head to the house."

He was wearing a black leather jacket that looked a bit like a bomber jacket and it had an insignia on the front that I couldn't quite see. He had brown hair with some grey at the temples and he was otherwise fairly good looking guy who I guessed was mid-forty-ish. He had a bit of an accent but I couldn't quite place it. Mom had done all right for herself, I thought. He looked professional and if the car was any indication, was OK financially.

"How did you know I was here?" was the first question I asked him. It had been bugging me since I had put down the phone.

"Your picture was in the paper." he explained. "Your mother thought she recognized you and when she saw the name underneath, she was pretty sure it was you."

"How did my picture get in the paper?" I asked. I couldn't figure that out.

"I guess this swim meet is a big deal locally, so they printed a few stories about it and during the week, they printed some of the team pictures. You'll have to ask your mom how she came to be reading the sports pages." he laughed. "Anyway, your team picture was printed yesterday. Your mom's been stewing about it for a day now and I'm glad I finally got her to tell me what was bothering her."

I was watching him as he explained the events that led up to the phone call.

"She was afraid to call you. She was sure you were still mad at her and wouldn't talk to her. She had never really told me the whole story about her marriage to your dad, but last night, she finally let it all go." Frank looked at me and smiled. "I'm really glad she did. I gather that you're not mad at her and that you have some important things about those days that she needs to know." Frank was obviously a smart guy. "I'm really glad you're here. I think it's really going to help her a lot."

"Yah ... I had almost given up looking for her. My Aunt Hilda hadn't heard from her and we put an ad in the Portland paper looking for her but we never heard a word. I didn't think I was ever going to see her again. Talk about luck ... huh?" I smiled.

"Yes indeed ... lucky for you and lucky for me." he said looking at me with that slow grin that seemed to be his natural face.

"Ron ... there's something you need to know and be very sure of." he said in a very serious voice. "I love your mother very much and I will never ... I repeat never ... treat her the way your father did. You can absolutely count on that." He had said it with such emphasis that I couldn't help but believe him. Besides, I really wanted it to be true. She deserved some happiness after what she had gone through. I guess I must have smiled my acknowledgement of his declaration because he put his hand on my arm and squeezed it and I knew what he was saying was true.

I hadn't been paying much attention to where we were going, but we were moving up into the hills over the south side of the bay as far as I could tell. With all the trees and the nice houses, I got the impression that this was the more ritzy part of town. I was lost in my thoughts, wondering what the first thing I would say to my mother would be after all these years and I couldn't get a grip on anything. I finally decided I'd just wing it.

We'd been driving for about ten minutes when Frank turned into the steep driveway of a big, modern home with huge windows all across the front of it and a big deck running the full width of the house. The house was set into the side of a steep hill and the back seemed to be all evergreen trees. I'd seen houses like this in magazines, but I'd never been in one. Frank pushed a button on a post in the driveway and the huge wooden garage door started to open. Inside, I could see what looked to be a new Valiant and the empty space for Frank's car. Everything about the place was neat and orderly and I wondered to myself what Frank did for a living. I was sure I would find out as the day passed.

We got out of the car and walked through a door in the back of the garage and up a few stairs into the laundry room. It was bigger than my dorm room in Corvallis. Next to that was the kitchen; a big "L" shaped space with all stainless steel appliances. The room was paneled in some light colored wood and it had big windows in the back, over the range top and in a little nook that looked out over the bay. I noticed how quiet it was and I was about to ask Frank where mom was when we walked into the dining-living room and there she was, standing in the middle of the room, waiting for us, her hands folded in front of her. I stopped when I saw her and blinked. She had changed and I was astonished at how much she had changed.

Chapter Eight: Reunited

I always thought my mom had been pretty good looking, but in a mom sort of way. Seeing her now, I was unprepared for how nice she looked. Her hair was shorter and styled; her dress was very smart and somewhat sexy; if you can say that about your mom. She looked younger somehow, even though it had been five years since I had last seen her. Her face looked a bit tanned as did her bare arms and I wondered if she had been down south or somewhere during the winter. I guess I just stood there for a moment not saying anything. Finally, I came to.

"Hi Mom." I said softly as I started to walk toward her. "Good to see you." It was pretty lame but it was all I could think of. Besides, I just wanted to hug her and hold her and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I reached for her.

"Oh Ronald, I'm so happy you're here. I have been hoping for this day for so long." She was in tears too and we held each other closely and just stood there for a while. Somewhere along the way we lost Frank, but that wasn't a surprise. We had a lot of catching up to do. We walked over to a big, long sofa and sat down together. We were still holding each other and sniffling and trying to get ourselves together. Finally, Mom pulled back and looked at me.

"You've changed so much. You're a man now and it shows." she said proudly. "You're a star on the swim team, I see."

"Well, not exactly a star, but I am a co-captain. Anyway, I'm just glad you saw my picture in the paper. I've been looking for you for a long time. I'd almost given up hope." I was feeling calmer and I was anxious to tell Mom all the things that I had learned.

"Mom, I learned some important things that changed everything about what I thought. I hurt you and I don't know to make it up to you. I thought I was being so smart and I was really being so stupid. I was the one who let Dad know about your ... thing ... with Mr. Robinson." I knew I had to confess and I hoped she would understand that I did it without knowing all the truth.

"I kind of guessed that Ronald. How did you find out?" she asked.

I began by telling her the story of my discovering her car at the Robinson house and spying on them. I told her Penny and I typed a letter to Dad that just about told him what to look for. What we didn't think about was how he would flip his wig and throw Mom out and get a divorce. I told her Penny and I felt bad about that but we thought we had all the information. I told her about him bringing his girlfriend Jeanine into our home and then marrying her when the divorce went through. Finally, I told her what Jeanine had said about having an affair with Dad way before he knew about Mom's thing.

Mom sat through all this without much expression on her face. It was as if she already knew it and all I was doing was confirming everything to her. Finally she turned her head away and then looked down at her hands.

"I guess I knew it all along but couldn't prove it. I knew he couldn't be like that to me because of something I did. I thought he was trying to get me to go ... to run away so he could divorce me. I finally gave him the excuse he needed. You just speeded up the process for him. Funny the way things turn out, isn't it. I'm the lucky one. I just didn't know it at the time. Look around you, Ronald. Does this look like I'm struggling to get my life back? The only thing I've been missing is you." she said with a big smile.

"Even after I told you that I was the one that told Dad?" I asked.

"Of course, my dear. You couldn't know. Your father is a nasty man when he wants to be. I'll bet you haven't heard a word from him since you've been gone. Am I'm right?"

"Yah ... yah ... that's right. But then ... I wrote him a letter telling him what a rotten thing he'd done." I said with a hint of anger.

"You told him you knew about him and his girl?" she asked.

"Yes, I did. I figured Little Mrs. Dimwit would tell him soon enough. She had no clue that what she told me was important. No clue at all." I stated with an amazed look.

"Sounds like they're made for each other." Mom laughed. It was the first time I'd seen her laugh in a long, long time. It was a wonderful sight. I laughed with her.

We started to talk about all the things that had happened since she had left. I told her about Penny and me and accepting the Oregon State scholarship and then I told her about Aunt Hilda. Mom jumped up when I mentioned her and she gasped.

"I lost her phone number and address. I feel so terrible I haven't kept in touch with her." she exclaimed.

"It's OK. I have all that and I've been keeping in touch. She told me you were in rough shape when you stayed with her. She's not upset, but she'll be really happy to hear from you." I said confidently.

A look of relief passed over Mom's face and I smiled as she relaxed again.

"Mom, tell me what happened to you. After you left, did you come out to Aunt Hilda's right away?" I asked.

"Yes. It was the only place I could think of. I had enough money for train fare and it was as far away from Aberdeen as I could get." she explained. "After I was there for a while, I knew I had to find a job, but there wasn't anything in Salem so I headed for Portland and then Seattle. I finally ended up here when I answered an ad for an assistant at the Bellingham Airport Administration. That's were I finally found a decent job and that's where I met Frank."

"How did you meet Frank?" I asked. "He's an interesting looking guy and obviously successful." I offered.

"He's a darling. I am so lucky. What's amazing about him is that no one snagged him before I did." he said with a look of triumph.

"What? Do you mean he was never married?" I asked incredulously.

"Nope! I was number one." she grinned. "He's a pilot and I first met him when he was filing his flight plans each day."

"He flies planes?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes. He's the chief pilot for North Island Airways. They fly over to the various islands you can see out here. They also fly to Victoria on Vancouver Island and down to Seattle plus some private charters. The good part is, he's home every night most of the time." She talked about Frank like he was just another guy who went to work every day, but I could tell she was really proud of him.

"Wow! A pilot! That's really cool." I said sincerely. "How did you two get together?" I asked.

"Well, we saw each other almost every day and we seemed to hit it off and one day, he asked me out on a date and I was so surprised, I said yes. I hadn't been out on a date since I met your Dad when I was a teenager." she laughed.

I had completely forgotten what my mother looked like when she was happy. I couldn't remember those times and I just marveled at how much younger and more beautiful it made her look. It took a big load off my shoulders, I can tell you. I found I was feeling more relaxed and the tension of seeing and meeting my mother after all this time had drained out of me.