Chapter 21

Bonnie Simpson was a thirty-seven-year-old single mother who had never married. She was a young receptionist at a major distillery in Calgary when she met Eddie Parker. He was a salesman for a national label company calling on the distillery's purchasing department, and by all accounts was doing very well.

After he had been in a few times, he asked Bonnie out on a date, and she agreed. It was the beginning of her first serious relationship since high school, and they had sex on their third date. Eddie had a very nice apartment in a downtown high-rise and dazzled Bonnie with his charm, good looks and apparent success. Bonnie thought she could get used to this very easily.

Four months later, Bonnie discovered she was pregnant and revealed her condition to Eddie. He wanted no part of fatherhood and immediately broke off the relationship. Bonnie was unhappy, but as she thought about it more, she knew she was not in love with Eddie, and would not have married him. She went home to her parents to confess her condition, and while they were not pleased, they took her in and gave her the emotional support she needed.

Bonnie's father was not about to let it end there. He contacted their family lawyer and sued Eddie Parker for child support, and were granted a court order describing just what Eddie's responsibilities were. Eddie was angry, but could not deny the child was his.

Bonnie went back to work when her son, Timothy, was almost two. She had some experience in public relations with the distillery and she enjoyed it. She put in her application at several local P.R. firms and was hired on a contract basis by one of the larger ones. Her work produced an erratic schedule, but along with Eddie's support payments, and some generous neighbors filling in as babysitters, it gave her enough to re-establish her independence.

As young Tim grew, Bonnie resigned herself to a single life. She hadn't dated very frequently, and the men she was seeing weren't future husband material in her opinion. She had sex with several, but it was recreational rather than emotional. All that changed this past Saturday night at the Palliser Hotel.

Brent arrived home in Castlegar mid-afternoon on Monday and immediately flopped on his bed and fell asleep. He was tired from the show, as he always was, but the tension and excitement of Bonnie and the long drive from Calgary to Lethbridge and then home had finished him off. He slept for two hours before waking and taking a shower to bring himself around. He was back on Pacific time, an hour behind Alberta. He looked at the clock as he threw his laundry into the washing machine and wondered if it was too early to call Bonnie. She wasn't working today, he remembered. He started the washing machine, walked into the kitchen, extracting a beer from the fridge, and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Bonnie ... it's me, Brent."

"Oh, Hi Brent. You get home alright?" she asked in a bright voice.

"Yes, I'm fine. I had a short visit with Andy, and I got back here about three this afternoon. I took a nap and then decided I needed to call you."

"That's nice ... I'm glad you called. I've been thinking about you too," she admitted.

"Oh ... were they good thoughts?"

"Very good thoughts. Very satisfying thoughts."

"Me too. I don't quite know how to say this ... uhmmm ... These past few days ... they were very ... important to me. Something very nice happened. I'm not sure where it will go yet, but I want to find out. Are you OK with that?" he asked carefully.

"Brent, we had this discussion on Sunday morning. You know I do. Whatever happened, happened to both of us ... not just you. It was just as important to me ... believe me."

"Good ... I'm happy you still feel that way. I just wanted to make sure you didn't have second thoughts," he admitted.

"No ... no second thoughts. When will I see you again? You didn't tell me when you'd be back here."

"I'll be back the week after next. I'll let you know what my plans are. Do you have any conflicting assignments?"

"No, not yet. You never know, but don't worry about it. We'll find a way to be together," she said confidently.

"Good. I can't promise the Palliser again, but we'll find someplace nice."

"I don't care if it's a sleeping bag in a tent, as long we're together," she blurted.

"Oh ... well ... I think I can do a little better than that. Uh, unless, that's what you'd prefer."

"Now don't be a smart-ass, Mr. Gordon," she chided gently.

"OK, no smart-ass as long as you'll be a bare-ass," he laughed.

"Ha ha, very funny," she returned.

After Brent had hung up, he smiled to himself and took stock of his feelings. She had captivated him. She had grabbed him and held on and he was hers. He wondered if she realized that yet. His thoughts were interrupted by the bang of the screen door and Scott's arrival from school.

"Hi Dad. Did you have a good show?"

"Yes ... very good. I'll know exactly how much better than last year when the orders flow in, but it was worth the effort."

"Good. Are you home for a while?"

"No, down to Vancouver for Thursday ... back to Calgary the week after next."

"Calgary? How come so soon?" he asked, recognizing the change in pattern.

"Oh well ... I've got some things to do," he answered vaguely.

"Huh!"

"Everything OK with Mrs. Dubrinski?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yah ... except she feeds me too much food. No wonder Mr. Dubrinski is as big as he is."

"Now that surprises me ... you complaining about too much food," his father laughed. "Oh well, it doesn't seem to affect Tanya," he said slyly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked, surprised.

"Oh, come on, Scott. I know you've been seeing Tanya. This is a small town. You aren't invisible," he laughed.

"Oh ... is it ... I mean ... is it alright with you?" Scott asked carefully.

"Yah ... its fine," his father smiled. "Her mother knows and she approves. Just make sure you treat her properly and act responsibly. You catch my drift?"

"Uh huh," the young man smiled. He hadn't wanted to tell his dad about Tanya yet because he didn't know how he felt about her. She was very sexy, and a lot of the guys were envious, but he wasn't in the mood to get too involved just yet. He was only seventeen and heading for college next fall. A lot of the guys he went to school with were out looking for jobs, and some of them were even thinking about getting married. That seemed way too soon to Scott.

On the other hand, Tanya was a beauty and fun to be with. Her mom and dad were pretty strict, and worse than that, her mom was around Scott's house everyday. He wasn't going to be able to get away with anything, he thought. They had done some heavy petting in the truck a few times, but that was about it. She had let him feel her breasts under her bra. Tanya was already well developed there, and it was a very arousing experience for him to touch her there. Apparently, it was a very arousing experience for her too. Now his father had found out about her, so that was two sets of eyes watching. Just like parents to spoil all your fun, he thought.

Brent's trip to Vancouver had two objectives. He was unhappy with the performance of his Vancouver representative, Will Franzen. They hadn't been making the progress he wanted to see in comparison to their Alberta results. True, it was a different and very competitive market, but Will seemed more price conscious than Brent would have liked, and Will was quite upset early on when they disposed of the ClearSeal division. It represented the bulk of his sales.