Chapter 4

I'm not the kind of guy that gives up easily. If I'm interested in something, I usually stick with it until I'm satisfied I've got as far as I can go. With Dana, it was different. First of all, she was occupying my thoughts far more than I expected. I kept thinking about how I could find out more about her. What was her secret? The most obvious conclusion was that she'd been burned by some guy and she was just protecting herself from getting hurt again. That was the most obvious conclusion. I had a hard time coming up with other reasons.

I told you early on that I just scraped by in high school and never went any further with my education. That doesn't mean I wasn't smart enough. It means I just didn't care. When I look back now, I wish I had cared. Anyway, my point is that I'm not dumb. My reasoning skills were tested years ago and they were in the "fourth quartile," whatever that means. I could read plans and do calculations and estimates for my jobs with no problem because it was important to me. I guess that comes under the heading of motivation.

Having convinced myself that I have at least reasonable intelligence, I continued to wonder and try and think of ways I could get to the bottom of Dana McNabb. Well, to be truthful, I wanted to get to the bottom, the top and all the parts in between. I mean, I may be partly reformed, but not yet completely reformed. She was a stone cold fox and smart to boot, the perfect ingredients for the "new Vinnie" as I liked to think of myself.

I gotta tell you about my Mom. Ever since Tom got married, she's been nagging me about finding "someone" and getting married. Now, she makes it sound like any old girl will do, but I know better. She thinks the sun shines out of Jenny's ass, especially since she and Tom have produced twins. Jenny has a daughter Nikki from her first marriage and she's going to be a real beauty. She'll be a teenager in a couple of years and I can already see the worried look on Tom's face. He thinks he knows what's coming. Hah!

If it sounds like I'm a bit jealous of Tom and Jenny now and then, it's true. I've never met two people who were so perfect for each other. The way they talk, I think they figured that out about thirty seconds after they met. It's like they were almost brother and sister without the fighting. I guess the jealous part is they have what I want, that perfect match.

Anyway, I know any girl I get serious with is going to have to pass the "Mom Test," so I have to think about that as well as making sure I'm happy too. The worst thing that could possibly happen in our family would be a failed marriage. I don't have to worry about Dad. If it's okay with Mom, it's okay with him. He may have had a stroke and have trouble talking and getting around, but there's nothing wrong with his mind. Now there's another perfect couple!

It never dawned on me to talk to Mom about Dana until one night I was thinking about all the changes in our family since Tom got married. It's like we turned the place upside down. Dad was only sixty when he had his stroke and he can live a long time if he sticks to his diet and gets some exercise. As long as Mom's around, he'll be on the straight and narrow, that's for sure. Anyway, Mom's always been a good thinker and she been very supportive of me, particularly when I was going through those bad times. The more I thought about it, the more I figured I had nothing to lose.