Chapter 9: So much for taming Kelley

Timing is everything. I'll always remember July 1, 1992 as a watershed moment. Kelley and I reached a new understanding. She listened to the chauvinist way I'd treated Wanda, and yet she helped me write the fifty words that Mr. Oldham demanded. It was her desire for me to be the first man to sleep in her room and I was glad to oblige her.

Kelley was very much aware that her period was due at any time, but she took the chance. She was apologetic when it happened, like it was her fault. I consoled her and even got her to laugh about it. "It's a good thing we didn't wait until tomorrow night to catch up on our lovemaking."

"Do you see why I changed your travel plans? I wanted to have a night with you before you leave."

"You're going to be ready for action on Monday night?"

"I'll be ready for some kind of action before then. You may have to settle for oral or making do with my tits, but..."

"Shush," I stopped her. "I'll be back on Thursday night."

It was two A.M. on Thursday morning. We dozed off. I woke up at five and got dressed. I was kissing Kelley's forehead when she woke up. "Did you take the paper?" she asked.

I assured her that I had it. She offered to go downstairs with me, but when I told her to stay in bed, she gave me the security code and I was able to let myself out of the house without setting off the alarm.

On the way home, I thought about the progress we were making. Kelley was accepting me for who I was and I was accepting her. What could have turned out to be a precarious moment, my offering her services in helping Wanda shop for business clothes, had not only been accepted by her, Kelley had turned it into another reason for loving me. My order that she stop interfering with my travel plans had resulted in her saying, 'maybe I will and maybe I won't'.

Were we making progress or was she getting a stronger toehold on me? I'd known the moment our eyes locked that she had me. Her eyes had been hypnotic. They made me break my vow about sleeping in her room, but I liked the way her parents had accepted my presence in their home. Also, Kelley had avoided the subject of my free pass. That was encouraging.

What would Marcie say about these new developments? Would she call it a turning point or accuse Kelley of changing her tactics?

I let myself in the back door, placed the single sheet of paper on the breakfast bar and made it to my room without disturbing anyone. Should I try to get some sleep or get ready for work? I elected the latter and headed to the shower. Fifteen minutes later I was on my way out the back door.

"Don't lock it, Sammy," Penelope said, surprising me because I hadn't seen her approach. I stood aside to let her enter the house.

"Have you eaten?" she asked, and when I didn't answer, "Come in, I'll make something for you."

It was early and I didn't know what I would do at the office, so I followed her. She poured two glasses of orange juice and got the coffee started. "What brought you home at five A.M.? Did your girlfriend kick you out?"

"No," I laughed. "I had to make sure this was on the counter before Mr. Oldham got up this morning," I said, showing her the blue sheet of paper.

Penelope made scrambled eggs and toast for me before picking the paper up to read. I watched her raise her eyebrows, take a sip of coffee, and nod approvingly.

"This doesn't sound like you at all, Sammy. There's a woman's touch. Did you have help?"

"Is it that obvious?" I asked.

"Mr. Oldham may not be able to detect it, but Suzanne will see the female influence."

"I'll have to trust her not to tell him because I don't have time to rewrite it," I said.

"It's beautifully done. You're lucky to have such an introspective girlfriend, Sammy."

"I know," I said, taking the last sip of coffee and heading for the door. "Thanks for breakfast, Penelope."

"Are you going to be here for dinner, Sammy?"

I paused and thought for a minute. "I'll let you know later. Kelley may want to join us," I said and watched Penelope's eyebrows go up, questioning. She made me think, why do I need to ask Kelley if she wants to come to dinner? "On second thought, plan on four for dinner," I said. Penelope smiled, seemingly approving of the way I was asserting myself.

Was this another defining moment in my life? I've always credited Penelope's raised eyebrow with the change that came over me that day. Kelley would never be the obedient slave, but that's not what I wanted in a girlfriend. She respectfully complied with my wishes, but when she offered her advice, I listened. When I was at home we were inseparable and when I was away, we were in constant contact.

My paper was accepted by Mr. Oldham without question that I'd been the sole author. But Suzanne pulled me into her office for a quiet chat. "That girl's got her claws in you, Sammy."

"You better get to know her name, Suzanne, because Kelley's an important part of my life. There are fifty words in the paper and she only contributed a dozen of them."

"Forgive me, Sammy. I forget that you're not fourteen any longer. You know I only want what's best for you, don't you?"

"I know, Suz, but that's all Kelley wants for me, too," I said, stomping out of her office.

On Saturday morning I worked with Curtis and could see that he was following my direction when he worked out alone. "Tell your Mom you're on schedule to be in top shape when school starts," I said.

"You tell her," he said, and then adding, "Please, Sir."

I made a mental note to speak to his mother and went to pick up Kelley and Wanda. We had lunch and then the fun began. Kelley's idea of what the modern business woman should wear to work collided with Wanda's and I had to physically separate them.

"Let's try a different store," I suggested and Kelley said she knew just the place. She took us to a small boutique that specialized in off-beat women's business wear. Wanda was so pleased with what she found that she told the owner she would be back when the fall lines were in.

I mentioned that I knew a fashion writer and all three, Wanda, the owner of the shop and Kelley looked at me in astonishment, like they didn't believe me. "I'm having dinner with her next month," I said, thinking that I was supplying proof that I knew a fashion writer.

"What's her name?" the shop owner asked, looking skeptical.

"Hilda Honeycutt Hegg," I said, seeing immediately that I had said the magic words. The shop owner not only recognized the name, she produced fashion design magazines with Hilda's photograph next to her articles.

Wanda and Kelley looked at the photograph and commented that Hilda was beautiful. Wanda went back to trying on clothes and Kelley followed her. The shop owner held back.

"Do you think you could have Ms Hegg autograph a photo that I could hang in my shop?" she asked. I told her I thought it was possible and she said it would be good for business to have an autographed photo of Ms Hegg conspicuously displayed for customers to see.

Wanda was overjoyed with her purchases, promising to return often. Kelley told the shop owner she would be back when she didn't feel bloated. "I'll come with Sammy when he delivers the autographed photo of Ms Hegg," she said.

Nothing else was said about Hilda until after we took Wanda to her apartment. She insisted that we come inside and since she needed help carrying her purchases, we agreed. We toured the small apartment and exclaimed about how neat she kept it. Wanda thanked us for taking her shopping and then she gave me a spontaneous kiss and told me to have a good trip.

"She's enthralled with you," Kelley said when we were in the car. "She would never have taken advice from me if you hadn't told her it was what you wanted her to do."

"Wanda knows I only want the best for her. We have a mutual respect for one another. She respects my instincts and I respect her talent."

"Are you sure it isn't more than that?"

I looked over at Kelly, hoping she would see my displeasure in her lack of trust. She squirmed in the seat. "When were you going to tell me about your plans to have dinner with Hilda?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Look at me, Kelley," I said.

She turned her head and blinked her eyelids, a wistful expression on her face.

"Who am I in love with?"

"Me?" she asked.

"That's right. I was going to tell you about having dinner with Hilda before I go on the Newark trip. That's several weeks from now."

"Why do you keep secrets from me, Sammy?"

"I don't keep secrets. I told you that I plan on visiting Josh, Jeannie, Eddie and Celia one night next week."

"You don't keep me informed about our plans. I need advanced notice so I know how to dress. I don't even know where you're taking me now."

It was obvious that we were headed to her house, but I saw her point. I pulled over to the side of the road, unbuckled my seatbelt, and pulled her to me. "Please forgive me, Kelley. I've been really busy at work, but I think of you constantly and I do make plans for us. Right now, we're going to your house and I'll help you pick out what you'll wear the rest of the weekend. Tonight, we're going to a movie and tomorrow you'll come to my house to read the Sunday newspapers and hang out until its time to go to the club. We'll have dinner with our parents and I'll take you home early. Monday morning I'm going to visit Marcie, but I'll be back in time to celebrate the Fourth of July at a pool party at my house. After the party, we'll go to the condominium where we'll make love if you're up to it. The next morning you'll take me to the airport to catch my flight."

I kissed her on the forehead and settled back into my seat. I hesitated buckling my seatbelt because of the thoughtful look on her face. From the way she was counting on her fingers I knew she was planning what she would wear each day. After another minute she smacked her lips and turned to me.

"What movie are we going to see?"

"Scent of a Woman," I said and watched as her eyes light up. She held her arms open and I moved back for her to hug me. I wasn't prepared for the speech that followed.

"I'm so lucky to have you. You mean more to me than life itself. When I open my eyes I only want to see you. When I open my mouth it's only to tell you how much I love you. When I open my ears I only want to hear you tell me that you love me. When I open my heart it's to surrender it to you and when I open my legs I want you inside me."

My head was churning as we drove to her house. Where did that come from? Obviously, she had adapted Doug's analogy to fit her purpose, but it didn't sound to me like something she made up on the spur of the moment.

With two exceptions, our weekend went as I'd laid it out, which I'd done on the spur of the moment by the way. The first exception really wasn't one because she got my permission to add a scarf to the top I'd chosen for her to wear to the club the night we had dinner with our parents. The scarf was green, of course.

The other exception was the cancellation of the pool party on account of rain. It was pouring when I started my trip to Marcie's house and it rained all day. We had to change our plans of lying on the giant rock for the heart to heart I'd promised her. We shared an umbrella and made it to the horse barn, where we settled down in an empty horse stall.

"Don't you just love the smell?" Marcie asked.

"Yeah, horse shit is my favorite aroma," I quipped.

"No, silly, smell the straw, not the horse shit."

She lay on her side, facing me. She was wearing shorts, a shirt with the tail hanging loose and running shoes. I lifted the shirttail and looked at her tummy. Marcie watched as I leaned over and stuck my tongue into the indention of her belly button. She giggled. I pulled back and looked into her eyes. "I just felt like doing that," I said, clearly baffled at my actions as much as she was.

"You have no idea how erotic that was, do you?"

"It wasn't meant that way, really," I said, apologetically.

Her eyes swept over me like she was checking for landmines. I expected to explode at any moment. "I'm going to admit something to you that I never want repeated," she said, breaking the tension that I was feeling. I nodded to give her my assurance that I'd never repeat what she had to tell me.

"Sometimes ... sometimes when I hear your voice on the telephone ... I become ... orgasmic."

I tried to stop myself from laughing, but couldn't. "Only on the telephone? What about in person?"

Marcie rolled onto her back, giggled, and then rolled back to her side, propping her head on her hand. "Oh, Honey, why do you think I told you to smell the straw? I'm so wet it's flowing down my legs."

I slid my body over and kissed her on the lips. She responded by opening her mouth. The kiss became passionate and I felt her pussy humping my thigh, causing me to come to my senses. "I'm sorry, Marcie, but I can't do this," I said, feeling her pull away from me.

I believe that saying her name is what did it. If I had called her honey or baby she would have continued to hump my leg after I told her I had to stop. She looked up at the ceiling and began to laugh. "You don't want to roll in the hay with me, Sammy?"

There was no explanation that I could offer. Telling her that Kelley was coming off the rag would fall short of consoling her. "Let me do something to make you feel better," I said, reaching for the buttons on her shorts.

She stopped me. "I got off when you first touched me," she said.

"I wish things were different, Marcie, but they aren't."

"I know, we're committed to others," she said, playfully rolling me onto my back and bringing her lips down for a tender kiss.

I put my hand under her shirttail and pulled her upper body to lie against mine. She rested her cheek against mine and I ran my hand over her bare back. Minutes passed while I rubbed her back and felt the weight of her upper body rest against mine. "Do you ever think of using your free pass with me?" she asked in a barely audible voice that made me strain to hear what she was saying.

"Constantly," I said.

"Really?" she asked, raising her head and peering down at me. I pulled her down for a quick kiss before replying.

"I'm not going to use it," I said.

"Why?" she asked, incredulously.

I looked her in the eyes so she would believe me. "The free pass is for one time. If I started with you I'd never stop. That wouldn't be fair to you or to Kelley either."

Marcie rolled onto her back, as if she were contemplating what I'd said. I knew it didn't make sense to her. Hell, it didn't make sense to me. But it was the truth.

"Is being fair that important to you?" she asked.

"That's what I want inscribed on my tombstone," I said.

"What do you want inscribed on your tombstone?"

"Sammy K. Oldham didn't always tell the truth

He may have lied and been full of shit

He may have sinned and been uncouth

But whatever he did, he was always fair about it."

"Did you just make that up?" she asked.

"No, it's in my journal."

Marcie was still lying on her back, contemplating something, possibly what I'd just said or what she was going to say next or how she was going to get rid of me so she could go masturbate. "Have you ever lied to me, Sammy?"

"Is that something you have to ask?"

She got to her feet and looked down at me. "I believe everything you've ever said to me and I always will."

"That's fair," I said, getting to my feet.

The rain had picked up and the umbrella did little to keep us from getting soaked as we raced around the house to my car.

"I'm sorry that we didn't talk about Adam," I said as we hovered under the umbrella.

"You were more help than you'll ever know," she said.

I searched her face for a hint as to what she meant, but her stoic expression was indiscernible. We parted without more words, both knowing that what we felt was more important than what we said.

I drove to the Harvey home in the rain, thinking how I'd failed Marcie in so many ways. Did she know that I was no damn good when it came to advising her about Adam Corning, a person who had bested me in everything that mattered at Cromwell? I had hated his guts then and I still did. She was too good for him. Didn't she know that I was incapable of thinking logical when it came to her being with him? I think she did. Some things don't need to be put into words to be understood.