Chapter 7

"Gee, that wasn't awkward," I said to Carrie when Kasey went to call a couple of her friends.

"It wasn't terribly awkward," she said. "I mean I wasn't uncomfortable."

"You have to admit it was a tad bit embarrassing," I asserted. "Now you're going to lose your new best buddy if you don't go to dinner with me on Valentine's Day."

I tried to turn the conversation to another line.

"What's this Cee and Kay about?" I asked.

"Kasey said her friends call her Kay," she said. "I told her I do the same thing with some of my friends. My friend, Dana, was just Dee. Erica was just E. So she started calling me Cee."

I pursed my lips and nodded. It made as much sense as anything else.

Carrie and I sat in companionable silence for a while. It was a nice feeling to be so comfortable around someone that we could share something as complex as nothing.

Kasey has never learned to appreciate the value of silence. Perhaps it is a learned quality — like drinking scotch. Or perhaps her personality lends itself to constant movement. Or maybe she just likes annoying the shit out of me.

Personally, I lean toward the last.

"I'm going over to Sarah's for a while," Kasey said. "I'll be back around midnight."

"You'll be back by 11 p.m.," I said. "They don't plow after 11:30."

"Yes, Daddy," she said in her ingratiatingly sweet voice. "I'll be home by 11. Don't wait up."

"I'll be on the couch and I'll know if you're a minute later than 11," I reminded her. "Let's keep that in mind. You know the rules."

"If I'm going anywhere but Sarah's I'll call to let you know," she said. "If the weather gets bad I'll be home early. Am I forgetting anything?"

It was a routine we went through every time she went somewhere: the Curfew Try, the Negotiation and the Recitation of Rules (yes, we had done it so often that the stages had their own names in my mind).

"Just one thing," I said as I pointed to my cheek. She gave me the requisite kiss and I told what I always tell her. "Have fun. I love you."

"I love you, too," she said.

Then she turned to Carrie.

"Did I tell you," she said with a laugh. "We need to expand our repertoire, Dad. See ya, Carrie. You two have fun, too."

I heard her say, "Ah, variety" as she walked away — but not fast enough before I swatted her behind for her.

"Hey," she said after she jumped. "What was that for?"

"Something I missed in the past that you deserved it for," I said. "There, how's that for variety."

"I could do with less variety if that is the form it takes," she said as she rubbed her cheek. But she was smiling and laughing as she left.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Carrie asked.

I shrugged. My social calendar was pretty barren.

"How about you?" I asked.

"Well, Kasey and I went to the movies today," she said. "I realized how long it had been since I'd done something like that. I started to think about other fun things that I haven't done in a while. Do you ice skate?"

"Oh, hell no," I said. "You would be trotting me to the hospital in about 10 minutes."

"Spoilsport," she said. "You don't run and you don't skate. I thought you were a sporty type."

"Baseball, basketball, soccer, maybe even football," I said. "Running and skating are not sports. They are activities — and I will deny I said that if you ever repeat it."

"It'll be fun," she said. "I promise."

"Ice skating? I really don't think falling on my ass a hundred times will be fun," I said. "But OK. If that's what you want to do, I'll give it a shot. But if I'm too sore to move tomorrow..."

I was about to make mention of kicking her ass but I caught myself. I think she knew what I was going to say because she stuck her tongue out.

"Are you any good?" I asked.

She bit her lower lip and nodded. It was about two steps above adorable.

"Look at this way," she said with a sultry smile. "You get to hold my hand and I bought a pair of tights to wear. Every time you fall you will be on eye level with my butt. Does that sound more interesting now?"

She had a good point.

I had a couple of ankle braces from my basketball playing days so I made sure I had them on before I laced up my skates. I'm proud to say that I only fell twice before we hit the ice.

After that, well, after that I spent more time at eye-level with Carrie's ass than I spent at eye-level with her eyes. After an hour I was a little better — but by that time my behind was so battered that my legs were numb.

After a series of cramps in my calves, Carrie had mercy on me.

"God, you are hopeless," she said as I sat gingerly beside her. I could only nod.

"But your butt looks great in those tights," I said.

At least that earned a chuckle.

"You should know," she answered. "I think you're really a good skater but you just wanted an excuse to check me out."

"Yep, that's it," I said. "I am willing to stand for a solid week so I can spend 20 minutes staring at your rump."

I let Carrie drive home — without a driver's license — because my legs still were cramping periodically.

"Wanna try horseback riding tomorrow?" she joked. "Maybe we could hit one of those country-and-western bars with the mechanical bull. I've always wanted to try that."

"You're evil," I said simply. "Absolutely unredeemable."

Carrie laughed manically.

"You pegged me," she said. "That was my nickname growing up: Unredeemable."

"Catchy," I laughed. "I would have thought it would be Carry-All, Carry-Over. But I was never very clever as kid."

"As a kid?" she said. "Times haven't changed much. I mean, Kelly and Kasey, Mike and Mark. Clever passed you by a long way."

"We have the same middle names, too," I said. "Kelly Renee and Kasey Renee; Michael Anthony and Mark Anthony. What's your middle name?"

"Lee," she said.

"Carrie Lee," I said. "Cute."

"Thanks," she said. "Michael Anthony — were you named after that 80s actor?"

I couldn't place the reference. I knew I should be able to but it evaded me. Probably the pain in my ass.

"He was in The Breakfast Club," Carrie said. "Michael Anthony Something."

"Anthony Michael," I corrected. "And no, I wasn't. In fact, I would guess we're about the same age. So bite me. Were you named for the snack cake?"

"Probably," Carrie joked. "But the nurse misheard. My mom said Sarah Lee and the nurse heard Carrie Lee."

"Is Walton your maiden name or have you been married?" I wondered.

"Maiden," she said. "But I'll have to warn you, I'm no maiden. Well, maybe I'm a maiden again. God knows it's been a while. My hymen probably grew back."

She blushed.

"Sorry, Mike," she said. "That might have been out of bounds."

"I'm probably in the same boat," I said. "Luckily I wasn't very good in the first place so no one would even notice."

"So you haven't been with anyone since Kelly?" she asked.

"Well, not exactly," I answered. "I had a friend for a while a few years ago — about a year after the split. But she wanted more than what I had to offer."

"Marriage?" she asked.