Chapter 7: Summer Plans and More Surprises

I got a few hours in over spring break at the brewery, and that helped restock the bank account. Dating Diane with the longer travel and other entertainment was costing more than dating Belle had, but it was worth every penny.

I had a nice surprise when Mr. French called me into his office and asked me if I was interested in a different job at the brewery this summer. He was very pleased with my work, but felt I was being wasted on the production line. He wanted me to work in distribution. I was to supervise and check outgoing loads to the various outlets. That included case stock as well as draft barrels. It would be a more demanding job, but it paid more as well, and the hours were regular weekdays only. I jumped at it.

When I worked out my summer budget, I figured I would have over fifteen weeks at $150 a week salary. That should net out to more that $2000. I was damn pleased with that. I knew the salary was based on what the union guys were paid, but since I was non-union, I kept that information to myself. I got along with the guys fine since I did my job, didn't make waves, and tried to be as invisible as possible. They knew I was a college student, so little was said to me about it.

I still had a hole in my gut about Belle. I finished my golf lessons just as we broke up, so I didn't see her at all afterwards. I was regularly commuting to New Westminster now, so I wasn't hanging around home very much. Again, that limited whether I would see her or not. I had a number of sleepless nights as I thought about the consequences of not being with Belle, but I didn't see any easy way to resolve the problem until she was older, and hopefully, a little more mature.

Diane had told me that she liked sailing, but didn't have the opportunity to get out very often. I liked sailing as well. I had a school chum who was allowed to use his parents' 36-foot sloop quite often. We had a lot of fun on that boat, even though we only knew the rudiments of sail handling.

I thought about Diane's wish and stored it away until I saw an ad in the paper about sailing lessons in Boundary Bay. They weren't cheap, but I had always wanted to have a sailboat and never had the opportunity. I drove down to the address in the advertisement and talked to the manager of the marina. I was looking for something that Diane and I could do together and as luck would have it, the lessons were based on two persons per boat.

I played the "poor student" card and we negotiated a rate I could afford rather than having to pay for two full sets of lessons. I got the impression he wasn't flush with customers. When I called Diane, she nearly jumped through the telephone.

"You mean we're going to be sailing together this summer," she nearly screamed.

"Yes, dear. Assuming one or the other of us doesn't drown. It might even be fun," I taunted.

"Oh god, Lee. This is wonderful. How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing. My treat."

"No, Lee, I can't let you do that. At least let me pay my share."

We argued back and forth and finally I gave in, and quoted the discounted second seat price I had negotiated.

"I can't wait. When do we start?" she asked, still on a high.

"Next weekend. Saturday afternoon at one."

"I'm going to go crazy waiting for next Saturday. Oh, Lee, I love you for this. You are so cool. You keep coming up with ways to surprise me. You're going to get a very big reward for this ... I promise."

"I don't know how the reward could be any bigger than being with you," I said, hoping she could hear my sincerity.

"I'll find a way. I promise," she crooned. "You are so good to me, I can't believe it."

"Well, hold that thought. This is only Tuesday and I have the rest of the week to work. Gotta get that beer to the hotels and taverns on time, you know. Then, Friday night ... and playtime."

"Yeah. Playtime for both of us. Two nights with my guy. I just wish you didn't have to drive so far."

"Me too, Babe. Why don't you ask your folks if I can sleep over with you? That would save me a lot of time."

"Very funny. But one of these nights, I might just sneak you in and keep you captive 'till morning."

"Don't tease me like that. You can't know how much I'd love to wake up next to you in the morning. We could make love, then have a shower together. I might even have some fun with you in the shower."

"Stop it, Lee. You're driving me crazy."

"I know. I'll trade my car in on a van. We can put a mattress in the back and play to our heart's content."

"Now you're talking. Just remember ... no windows!" she laughed.

"The way we'll have the van bouncing around, there won't be any doubt about what we're up to."

Our conversation went on for another few minutes while trading naughty scenarios for our trysts. It was fun for me. It was fun for me because it was fun for Diane. She enjoyed sex, but she absolutely loved our being together and pleasing each other. I had told her in the beginning that my definition of great sex was tied up in the ability to please your partner. Sex was the opposite of selfishness, I told her. She bought into my philosophy and we had the most delightful sessions any two people could possibly have. It was probably better than any sex I had experienced in my previous life, and I was loving every moment of it.

Diane wasn't interested in golf, so I kept that part of my recreational interests to myself. I would go to the driving range once or twice a week and work on my recollection of the lessons I had taken. I was pleased that I was hitting the ball more confidently, but I hadn't played a full game yet. I was wondering when that would happen.

As it turned out, I was invited to the brewery's golf tournament. It was held at a public course in Richmond, and the foursomes were made up of various staff persons. Union members were not invited. Several of our largest customers were, however. I got an interesting reminder of what the business world looked like in those days.

The tournament was scheduled on the July 1^st weekend, Dominion Day. Happily, it was on the holiday Friday, so I wouldn't miss my regular sail with Diane. I explained that I wouldn't see her on Friday night, and she wasn't pleased, but understood that it was one of those "business things" that were unavoidable.

If there was one thing you could count on at a brewery golf tournament would be the almost unlimited supply of beer available. Now I like beer as much as the next guy, and that had been true throughout my previous life. However, I had been taking it easy for the past year since my accident and it was a conscious decision that I hadn't chosen to break.

One of the things about being sober when everyone else around you is in some state of intoxication is the ability to learn things. People will reveal the most damaging secrets under the influence of alcohol. The golf tournament was no exception. I wish I had a mini-recorder to keep track of all the dirt I could have collected.

In the meantime, being sober helped my golf game considerably. I played reasonably well on a flat, uninspiring course that had lots of room for my mistakes. My new lessons helped my tee shots and irons, while my old skills with the chipping and putting kept me in the game. I'd put a couple in the water, but I wasn't that unhappy because they came when I had hit the ball much better than I expected on a pair of lay-up shots. What I wouldn't have given for my Ping irons and my Big Bertha driver that day.