Chapter 1

Let me begin by telling you that I moved to Detroit a year or so ago. I don't know if I really fit in. You see, I have always been more of a country boy. I wasn't really all that used to the larger cities. The people just don't seem as friendly. Other than a few people in my apartment building, I don't know many of the neighbors around me. I guess most people like to keep to themselves. Back home I nearly knew the whole town.

I was born and raised a country boy in Kentucky and West Virginia. In our small town, everyone knew everyone. I was the youngest of eight kids in our family. There are eighteen years separating me and my oldest brother. Of course, we got into trouble like most kids and fought with each other.

Even though we fought a lot, we were also very protective of each other. If someone picked on any of us, they would have to deal with the rest of us. We were all born in Kentucky; good old Carter County. It was great living out in the country near small towns. Among the woods and streams, we always had something to do. We always had enough of us to make our own sports teams. I can't tell you how many times we toured the caves and fished in the streams. It was a lot of fun, but always scared mom.

When I was younger, I remember doing things with my parents. Then all of a sudden, it seemed to stop. I would go to church or shopping with mom. Dad might take me hunting or fishing, but we didn't do a lot as a family. My brothers and sisters still did things with me; but just not mom and dad together with us.

I brought the subject up to my sister, and she told me mom and dad had an argument, and were hardly speaking to each other. It was odd because they were both nice to me but not to each other. I didn't like them being mad at each other but didn't understand. This went on for a while and then they seemed to be civil to one another again.

It was when I got older my sister, Sue, explained the situation to me. Dad was a pretty heavy beer drinker. He worked hard at his jobs and he would always go to the club and have some drinks before coming home. According to Sue, dad had an affair of some kind with one of the waitresses at the club. She didn't know the particulars but she told me how mom found out.

Mom got suspicious of dad always being late. A few times, he would call and tell mom he would be later than usual. We always ate dinner as a family at the same time each evening; it was kind of the time where we all talked about our day and stuff like that. Dad was late at least once a week; it just wasn't like him. Mom knew something was up. She still made him up a plate and set it aside for him to eat later.

After about a month or so of him being late, mom made us dinner and said she would be right back. According to Sue, mom went to the club to see if dad was there. The bartender looked worried as mom walked in and said dad wasn't there. Mom knew better since dad's car was parked outside. She walked into the back office where dad had this waitress bent over the desk and was pounding her from behind.

She called him a bastard and turned around, and walked out. Mom came home and went into the bathroom. We figured it was to cry it out but we don't know for sure. Mom came out and said she was going over to her sister June's house and would be back in a little while. About twenty minutes later dad came in.

Mom never told us anything about that night. Sue picked up the information through different arguments that she wasn't supposed to hear. Mom had gone over to Aunt June's because she needed to talk to someone. Mom is really a strong willed woman.

When dad came home, he asked where mom was. Sue told him she went to Aunt June's. We could tell there was a problem but had no idea what it was. Mom returned about an hour later.

When mom told us kids to go outside, we knew they were going to have a big argument. We've had to go outside before. Mom had this theory that you never argued in front of the kids. So, we did as we were told and outside we went; we could hear yelling and screaming inside. Nosy Sue had her ear to the window.

About an hour later, dad came out and didn't say a word. He had a small suitcase and got into his car. When we went back into the house, mom told us that dad had some things on his mind and wouldn't be staying at the house that night. We could tell she was hurting bad inside but was trying not to break down in front of us kids.

Dad returned two days later. Dinner was ready every night right on time and we discussed our days just like we used to. Mom and dad didn't talk a lot except for asking questions and telling us we were good kids.

Mom was a stay at home mom. She kept very busy with all the washing, cooking and cleaning. She made a house a home. She was a religious woman and I figured that's why she gave dad another chance. Dad still stopped and had a beer or two but was always home for dinner. He joined a different club; you can figure out why.

We moved to West Virginia when I was around thirteen. There were only four of us kids still at home: me, two of my sisters and one of my brothers. The rest of the family was living all over the place. My dad got a job at the steel mill in Weirton. He first worked in the coal mine just like my grandfather did. My granddad came down with black lung and eventually died from it. I think it bothered my dad so much that he looked for work elsewhere.

Mom and dad still slept together. I figured they still made love but I really don't know. They hardly even talked to each other, except when they had to. It went on this way for nearly two years. When we moved to West Virginia, mom seemed to change a little. My sister Mary was getting married. Mom and dad had to talk about the wedding. Maybe that got them talking to each other again.

At the wedding, it was nice seeing dad walking my big sister down the aisle. After the ceremony, we had a big reception. Mom and dad were actually dancing with each other. Watching them, you could tell they belonged together. Maybe, just maybe things were getting better.

Between songs dad walked up to the band and singer and requested a song. He then walked over to mom and asked her to dance. She said yes and then they played the song, 'Shame On Me', as the singer belted out the words

A lot of people thought it was a strange request song at a wedding, but watching mom kiss dad in front of everyone we all understood.

"Shame on me for hurting you. What can I say? What can I do?
Last night I was blind but today I see I did you wrong, shame on me.
I know that just saying I'm sorry doesn't sound like a lot.
I'll admit I shouldn't have given into love's wild temptation.
With someone that I cared nothing for. I was blind and I hurt you.
Can you ever forgive the fool, a fool who really loves you?"

I'm not going to say that one song brought them back together, but it sure didn't hurt. I have to agree with dad when he told me later that some songs say what we are unable to say or just can't get the right words together.

From that day forward, our family seemed more back to normal. I liked to see dad give mom a light kiss whenever he arrived home from work. The smile on mom's face spoke volumes.

I started my dating in high school. My first girlfriend was Darlene. We dated on and off for a few years. I went out with a lot of other girls also. I was rather active in sports so I kept my body in shape. I wasn't any kind of a superstar but I did play all sports. I guess I was just athletic. I didn't get any scholarships; I wasn't that good, but I did get a lot of dates.

I was dating Darlene when I graduated from high school and started working at the mill. My dad and one of my brothers got me on there. It sure was some hellish hard work. It paid well but I couldn't see myself doing this for the rest of my life.

I wasn't a drinker but I did stop and have a beer or two with my dad after work. It was just a way to unwind a little after a hard day of sweating my balls off. A lot of the guys from the mill would meet there. I wasn't old enough to drink but no one questioned it. They always said anyone working in the mill should be able to have a beer now and then. Besides, I was usually with my dad.

I still lived at home but I didn't have any kind of curfews. I did help out, and give money for living there. It was a lot cheaper than living on my own. As far as dates go, most had their own places or we'd go to a motel. The college girls were about the easiest. Darlene was now one of them.

I guess Darlene was my sweetheart but we argued all the time. It was about my job and not moving out of my parents' house. I honestly didn't know what she wanted. I was happy and everything seemed okay between us. Lately when she asked me to a few of the college parties, she would flirt in front of me. She knew I didn't like it but did it anyway. She would tell me how these guys were going to be businessmen, like I gave a shit what these guys did.

As I mentioned, Darlene and I were always on-again, off-again. This time I really didn't like the way she let other guys feel her up when they were dancing. I figured I'd get even with her and did the same things with one of her girlfriends.

Her girlfriend didn't mind. I wasn't sure why I was doing it, probably to get even with Darlene. What Darlene was doing was way beyond flirting. I asked Amy if she wanted to step outside for a few minutes. She agreed and we went and got in my car. I screwed her royally. I later found out that the guy Darlene was with was Amy's date. So Amy just said, "To hell with it," and we had sex.

I drove Amy home. She told me she didn't want anything more to do with Brad. I went back to the party to see Darlene. I figured we had to talk this out. When I got there, I was told she had left with this guy Brad. I was pissed but really didn't have the right to be.

I went to the bar and was thinking about my situation. It sucked. Darlene was my on-again, off-again girlfriend, but I was tired of a relationship like this. We had been going together like this for four years. I thought I'd give it one more try and called her. I knew it was late but I needed to give it a try

She answered the phone, "Hello."

"Hi, Darlene, it's me. We need to talk. Do you have a minute?"

"I have company right now. We can talk another time," replied Darlene.

"I'm alone here at the bar. I dropped Amy off at her house and went back to see you. I was told that you left with Brad. This is the last chance for us, Darlene. If he stays with you tonight, we will be done forever," I replied.

I got my answer when Darlene said he was going to stay.

I now knew it was over; probably for the best. I cheated on her and she was cheating on me. It wasn't the best relationship on which to build a future. I continued to work at the mill while trying to figure out where I was going from here. I got a call from my uncle in Detroit. He told me that if I wanted to move there he had a good job offer for me.

He was my mom's brother. He of course went to college and moved to Michigan and got this really great position at Ford Motor Co. He was the main man in human resources. He did the hiring and tried to help family out whenever he could. One of my brothers got in up there and made a nice life for himself and his family.

I guess mom had told him that I wasn't happy in the mill and that I broke it off with my girlfriend. I decided to take him up on his offer. I wanted a new beginning. I saw Amy the week before I moved. We went out and got a bite to eat, and then went to her apartment.

I can't say it was love but we sure did have sex. It was much better with both of us being sober. I mentioned to her that it was too bad that we didn't meet earlier in life. Who knows how we would have gotten along. She was a fun girl but other than sex, I don't think we had much in common. Now of course I was moving away and this was her goodbye present for me.

Before I left her apartment, she told me that Darlene and Brad were already separated. They were two of a kind and were always flirting with the opposite sex. I was glad we ended our relationship when we did. I now knew it was for the best.

About two days before leaving for Detroit, I got a call from Darlene. She wanted to know if it was true that I was leaving town for good.

"I made a mistake not staying with you, Jeff. Is there any chance I can see you before you leave?" asked Darlene.

"Darlene, I really cared for you. I think this is for the best. We had a nice run while it lasted. I'll always remember you and the good times we had."

"Jeff, I feel so sad. I don't want you to leave. I made a mistake and I want you back in my life."

I couldn't meet her again. It would just start all over and I wanted away from that merry-go-round relationship. I was sad it ended, but life goes on.

I made arrangements with my brother to stay at his place till I got an apartment of my own. Bob was my eldest brother and we had eighteen years between us. He had teenage kids. He met his wife Mary after he had moved to Detroit. She was really a nice woman. I was hoping I could get as lucky as Bob.

I was glad that I, at least, had a little family around. Even though we were much different in age, it was somewhere I could visit once in a while. I stayed with them almost two months before finding myself an apartment. It was a few miles away from where Bob lived but was fairly close to work.

It was different living here in Detroit. Most everyone seemed to keep to themselves. Other than saying hello, I didn't talk much with my neighbors. I went to work and then spent time at the bar. I really didn't drink much but I guess it gave me people to talk to. I drank ginger ale most of the time.

My agreement with my uncle was after getting my ninety days in that I would take a course in pipefitting. He was going to get me in on his maintenance program as a plumber/pipe fitter. I would take courses twice a week and work toward a journeyman card. I would take courses in ten-week intervals. It would go on for at least two years.

I would be a maintenance helper till I completed my studies. The money was great even as a helper. It's just that I was naive for my age and it got rather lonely. I could only visit my relatives just so often.

I had a few friends at work and we went to a few nightspots, mainly bars, and met women. Most were nice enough, but it wasn't what I was looking for. Most women seemed to be divorced. Some were married and if I found that out, I didn't go out with them again. I remembered how much it hurt my mom when my dad did it. I wasn't going to mess-up any marriages.

Even with the female companionship, I still felt lonely. My brother Bob told me that he felt the same way for about a year when he first moved here. It was after he met Mary that everything seemed to change. He said when I found the right woman everything would change for me too.

I kept taking courses and hoping to someday meet the right woman. I just figured I wouldn't find her in the bar. I wrote home often and told my family everything was going well. I didn't really want to tell them how empty I felt inside.

I remember the song 'Detroit City' where the singer says, "The folks at home think I'm big in Detroit city. From the letters that I write they think I'm fine. By day I make the cars and by night I make the bars, if only they could read between the lines."

There're times I just wanted to go home. I guess it's a combination of being homesick and lonely. I just hope my brother Bob was right and the right woman was out there for me.

I started my fourth class, which was supposed to be more of a hands-on application. We would be repairing pipes, not just reading about them. This was quite different from my previous classes. I walked in and we had twenty students. I say students but they were all adults. There were eighteen men, counting me, and two women.

Most seemed to be in their twenties like me and some were a lot older fellas. I found out that this was also a refresher course for plumbers. The latest plumbing ideas and equipment were taught. I figured I'd like this class a lot more seeing we would actually be doing plumbing jobs.

After talking to us for about an hour, the instructor said we could take a short break and meet back in about fifteen minutes. I walked out to the cafeteria and got myself a cup of coffee, and was just sitting there.

As I mentioned we had two women in our class. One was dressed rather sexy with a low cut blouse and tight jeans. The other had on a pair of coveralls and a ball cap on backwards. The one with the ball cap came and asked if she could sit at my table.

"Sure, have a seat. I'm Jeff," I said.

"Hi, I'm Sam. It's short for Samantha. Glad to meet you, Jeff." She held out her hand for me to shake. "So what brings you to this class?" she asked.

"It's part of my job requirements," I said, as I shook her hand. "I need it to get my journeyman card. What brings you here?"

"My dad sent me for the latest updates. I'm a plumber," she laughed.

I looked at her for a moment. She was a really pretty woman. Beautiful green eyes and nice dimples when she smiled; I could see she had blond hair even though she had on a ball cap.

"Jeff, the reason I came over here is to ask you to be my partner." I know I had a shocked look on my face.

She smiled. "Not that kind of partner. Mr. Atkins, our instructor is going to team up the class. I've taken his classes before. We work as partners on the different projects. I know a lot of the guys in this class and I don't care to be teamed up with them. So, do you want to be my partner?"

"What about the other woman in our class? Wouldn't you want to team with her?" I asked.

"Believe me, Jeff, Sheila and I go back a long way. I can guarantee she doesn't want a female partner. In fact, before this course is over she will probably have teamed up with at least four different partners. In fact I can guarantee she will ask you," smiled Sam.