Chapter 24

John Murphy, having been hired to replace Florence Zachary as a social studies teacher, started the second semester as assistant principal of Memorial High School. Wonder of wonders, the former assistant, Clarence Edwards who had spent the first semester attending meetings and conferences full time, had actually received a job offer and had accepted it. Ed Brennan might have broken all existing speed records in letting Edwards out of his Memorial contract and accepting his resignation.

Although Murphy knew Brennan from the Rangers, unlike Brennan, he had not stayed till retirement. For Murphy, the final straw fell in 1999 when the then-Secretary of the Army stated that the Army's primary mission was to provide career opportunities; national defense ranked second.

Murphy was quite different in another respect: Even as a Ranger, he had amassed a tidy fortune. From his parents he had inherited significant money and then invested it. While a great deal of attention has focused on investors who lost their shirts with Enron, World Com, and dot coms, what most people ignored was the fact that for every buyer there had to be a seller, and those were sellers at peak prices. Jack Murphy was one of them. He took the money and ran.

Finding himself out of the Army and with a great deal of money, he went back to school. He had always liked working with young people, and teaching seemed like the answer. When he learned that Ed Brennan had been hired as a high-school principal, he contacted him and was hired almost immediately.

In addition to being assistant principal, Jack also became an assistant football coach, and it was in this capacity that he found himself on the practice field talking to Ben Brewster. Like Brennan, Jack was amazed at the physical development of Ben and Mike Barnes over the winter. Both boys had added height, weight and strength. While talking with Ben, Jack looked over to the sidelines where the cheerleaders were practicing.

In the same way that Ed Brennan was still performing as football coach, his wife, Brandi, was still coaching the cheerleaders. And Melanie Brewster was assisting that afternoon. Although it was spring practice, there was only a half-day of school, and since it was Friday, the coaches elected to start the short practice at noon figuring the kids could eat lunch a little later than usual that day.

Ben Brewster had really come to like Jack Murphy. As a coach he'd provided valuable tips regarding the best way of holding his hands when receiving a pass and how best to carry it after a reception to try to reduce the chance of fumbling. Now he noticed that Jack was really eyeing his mother and Ben was pleased.

"Good heavens!" Jack murmured. "Who is that golden goddess over there?"

Trying to act blasé, Ben replied casually, "Who do you mean? The tall blonde with the great legs?"

"I sure do!" Jack replied enthusiastically. "Good grief, I sure would like to meet her."

"You want me to introduce you?" Ben replied as casually as he could manage.

"Do you know her?"

"Sure do. She lives nearby."

That was all it took. The pair walked over to Melanie who was wearing a tank top and a pair of Levi's cut-offs. Jack noted that she had a perfect overall golden tan; he noted that as the straps of her tank top moved and the cut-offs rode up and down, there was not a sign of any suit marks. "On the other hand," he thought, "if she were only wearing a bikini..."

Going up to the woman, Ben said brightly, "This is Jack Murphy. He really wanted to meet you." Turning to Jack he said, "Coach Murphy, this is my mom, Melanie Brewster."

Jack almost dropped his teeth. He was stunned and his jaw dropped. "But ... but..." he stammered, "you said she lived nearby!"

Trying to look as guileless as possible, Ben said, "Mom, down the hall qualifies as 'nearby', doesn't it?"

Trying to control her grin, Mel tried to glare at Ben. "Ben-ja-min!" she said in as accusatory a tone as she could muster. "Have you been teasing your coach?"

Before Ben could speak, Jack said, "Brewster, I will get even! You can bet on it."

Ben just shrugged deprecatingly.

Practice had just ended for the day and the rest of the kids were moving toward the locker rooms and Ben joined them, leaving his mother alone with Jack Murphy.

With a weak smile, Jack said, "I asked Ben who that golden goddess was. And the golden goddess is you!"

Jack had sandy hair and blue eyes. Our kids will all be blue-eyed blondes, Mel thought. Good grief! What am I doing? I'm already having his children and I haven't spoken word one to him yet! But when she first saw him up close, Mel had felt her heart roll over while her stomach was trying to do a somersault.

The pair chatted about nothing much for a while and then Jack asked if she was busy that evening. Mel's eyes widened as she realized she was being asked for a date. If that was so, it would be the first real date of her entire life. Her pregnancy had resulted from sex following the first — and only — meeting with her lover at a soda shop.

Thinking quickly, she suggested meeting at The Girl Spot. Although Jack had never been there, he had heard about it and knew where it was. They agreed to meet at eight and get a late dinner.

Mel wasted no time in returning home to tell Jill what had happened. It was only as she drove up the drive that she remembered that Jill would be at Styles all day. Feeling dejected, she went up to their shared suite and just flopped on the sofa. Snapping her fingers, she had an idea. Suiting her actions to her thoughts, she picked up the phone and punched in the memory code for Caitie in New York.

When Caitie answered, Mel wasted no time with pleasantries. "I have to get in touch with Susie right away! Can you contact her for me?"

Sounding bored, Caitie responded, "Call her yourself."

"But how?"

"What an airhead!" Caitie commented. "Sheesh! You contact Susie by calling, 'Susie.' Now that's not too hard, even for a dumb blonde, is it?"

"Look, Corcoran!" Mel retorted, "you're a blue-eyed blonde, too, so just shut up!"

"But I'm one of the tiny handful of blue-eyed blondes who has a brain," Caitie replied airily as she hung up.

Feeling bewildered after hanging up the phone, Mel called out tentatively, "Susie?"

Instantly the two-foot tall angel materialized. "You called?"

Mel's eyes widened as she looked at the tiny nymph. "I ... I guess I forgot that you're usually pretty small, aren't you?"

Susie just grinned, expanded to her full height of five feet six, and flopped on the sofa beside her. "Oh, well..." she murmured. "Since your twin sister has gotten used to the full-sized Susie, I suppose you might as well, too." But then her eyes widened as she added, "But please, please, please don't say a word about it to anyone else other than your sister, Caitie or Bill Corcoran. You're the only ones ever to see the full-sized me." Then with another grin she added, "You had a reason for calling me, maybe? Or did you just want to shoot the shit?"

"Susie Sloan!" Mel exclaimed. "Such language! And from an angel of the Lord, too. I ... I'm shocked!"

"You are like hell," Susie replied blandly. "Besides ... as your twin probably told you, I'm the most un-angelic angel there ever was!

"Now, the reason for this visit... ?"

Mel sighed, "Susie, I met the most incredible guy today—"

"Jack Murphy," Susie interrupted. "And... ?"

"And I'm pretty sure I'm in love. But ... but what about him? Is ... is he okay?"

Susie smiled warmly and then kissed Mel passionately. "And no, it's not nearly as powerful as the kisses you and your sister routinely exchange," Susie said, knowing Mel's thoughts. "But in answer to your question, Jack Murphy is more than okay." Susie then folded her arms beneath her tits but refused to add anything more.

They chatted a bit about nothing important and then Mel snapped her fingers exclaiming, "Oh, shit!"

"Yes, you really should think about having your hair done." With that the sprite disappeared.

Again picking up the phone, she punched in the number for Karen Williams' direct line. When it was answered, Mel said, "Karen, it's Mel. How's the salon business today?"

"Hectic, as usual," Karen replied. "Mel, we really have to expand! None of us have ever seen anything like it. Would you believe it? We're making day-long appointments for women from Louisville and Cincinnati!"

"Okay, we will," Mel responded. "But oh, shit... !"

"And what's that mean?" Karen asked.

"It means that I was hoping for a quiet day, is what 'oh, shit' means. I ... I sort of wanted..."

"Wanted what?" Karen prompted. But then, as if she could read Mel's mind, she continued, "You want the whole nine yards, don't you? Hair styling, massage, manicure ... Everything."

"Yes, but ... you can't possibly..."

In her most disgusted tone of voice Karen rejoined, "Look, Melanie Brewster, there's one minor fact you may have overlooked: You own the joint! For you, anything, at any time!" Her voice softened as she added, "You may not know it, Mrs. Brewster, but without a single exception the girls here all love you to pieces! You are just the very greatest!

"And you've provided us with equipment and facilities that none of us — and I mean none of us — have ever even dreamed of.

"Now how soon can you get your trim little ass in here?"

When she was finally finished at The Body Shop, Mel had to go to her office at The Girl Spot to take a nap on the sofa in her private office. And Karen Williams had had to walk along with Mel's arm over her shoulder to keep Mel from falling on her face. Her body was so relaxed after her incredible massage her legs would barely support her weight.

Before leaving to go back to the Farm to change, she told Sam Kramer to tell Liz Dunbar that she would be doing the shower number in the first show. By then, Liz was full time as the featured exotic at The Girl Spot, having quit her job with the state.

Returning home, Mel found Jill there. Her twin, hearing about Mel's meeting and date, quickly went through her closet to find the perfect outfit for Mel to wear. And since their coloring, size and shape were identical, they could — and did — share their clothing with happy abandon.