Chapter 30: Pick-Up

Deirdre leaned back and pinched her nose. She stared at the paper sheets in front of her. Should she just return them now or try to find errors? No. At this point she was too tired. She would probably introduce more new errors than she could correct. Rotating her shoulders she sat straight. Then she exhaled and shuffled the forms into a neat pile before she put them in the folder and sealed it. Packing her writing utensils, her pack of tissues, her water bottle, and her box of Mars mini bars, she walked to the front and placed the sealed folder on the desk where James Parker eyed her with accusing eyes.

Parker was a sore loser. Deirdre knew that now. Two weeks ago she had received the acceptance letter from Hopkins. She had gone straight to the faculty office to withdraw her application for HSU's PhD program. The very next morning Parker had cornered her in the hallway demanding to know the reason. When she told him that she had been accepted at Johns Hopkins he became angry and accused her of being ungrateful.

She defended herself telling him that he himself had doubted her qualifications and he simply stomped away. The next day he offered a half-hearted apology but he had treated her like a non-person ever since. Now he looked at the folder that contained Deirdre's answer sheets. She knew that he died to open it but it was sealed and it would only be opened with three other faculty members present.

Taking advice from Maureen, Deirdre had lodged a complaint against Parker over the incident in the hallway, and the Dean had assured her that her final would not be graded by her erstwhile mentor. She shrugged and turned to leave.

"You could have had a great future here, Darling-Girl," Parker said, causing the whole class to perk up.

Deirdre turned, shaking her head. "Yeah, if I'd got you the student you really wanted. You know, I can have a great future at Hopkins, too."

After getting in the last word Deirdre left the classroom for the last time ever. With the grades she already had there was no question of her passing. She would pack her stuff at leisure in the next days and find a plane to Philadelphia.

She made a brief stop at Gwen Parker's office to say good-bye to her. Gwen had been helpful to her during that summer course and she had congratulated her honestly for being accepted at a prestigious school such as Johns Hopkins.

In a way, it was a pity that Parker had rejected Joey's offer to teach Parker's people the new technique he had developed. Deirdre had looked forward to four weeks with Joey. She shrugged. They traded phone calls three or four times a week, although those had petered out a bit in the last week. Nevertheless, they would join the same PhD program. They were friendly with each other again, sometimes even joking over the phone or on Skype. Deirdre was confident that they had a chance. The one thing that she really hated was that she would not be able to take Joey to the beach here on the Pacific Ocean, to show him what a great place Eureka was. She sighed as she stepped out into the sunlight.

Joey checked the schedule on the pin board once more, making sure that his tired eyes were not playing tricks on him. Deirdre was due to finish in an hour. That did not mean anything as he knew. In high school she had always walked out before the official end. He decided to take no chances. He parked himself in front of the lecture hall building with a folding table, two champagne glasses, and an ice bucket containing a $49 bottle of Moet&Chandon. He sat in a folding chair and watched the entrance, sipping tea to stay awake.

Driving twelve hours per day for four days had just about killed him. The driver's seat of the Volkswagen Camper was certainly a comfortable one, but sitting on your butt all day long with nothing to watch but the odometer as the van ate away at the 3060 miles from Philly to Eureka was mind-numbing. Plus, he had started this day at four a.m. to cover the last 350 miles.

He sipped more tea and blinked his dry eyes to moisten them. Just then the door of the building in front of him opened. Joey grinned. A good half hour ahead of the deadline.

Deirdre blinked in the sunlight and stretched her neck muscles. Two other girls and a young man approached giving her hugs. Joey held his breath but the man hugged Deirdre only perfunctorily before slipping his hand into the hand of one of the other girls.

"Hey, Dee-Dee!" Joey called out.

Deirdre's head snapped up and her eyes went wide. "Joey!" She came over, blinking her eyes repeatedly.

"It's really me," he smiled, tentatively opening his arms.

Equally hesitantly Deirdre stepped close and gave him a hug. They held each other for a minute or two before Deirdre freed herself. She remembered her surroundings.

Cheers and catcalls sounded from behind her. Her friends were laughing and whistling and Deirdre smiled at them waving at them to come over.

"Guys, this is Joey. Joey, these are my friends Claire and Ruth, and Claire's boyfriend Ed."

Joey shook hands with them with his left arm still around Deirdre's back. The girl Claire beamed at them.

"So that's Joey. Jeez, Deirdre, he really exists."

Joey looked at Deirdre who had her head down. He saw her flushed neck and knew her face would be beet red. He looked at Deirdre's friends.

"Hey, does anyone of you have more finals today?"

They shook their heads.

"Deirdre, what do you say? Should we invite your friends to toast your graduation?"

She looked up still blushing and squinted in the sunlight.

"Well, seeing that you only graduate once I brought some expensive bubbly. Let me get more glasses."

He ran for the van and grabbed the card board box with the champagne glasses. Luckily, he had bought and brought a set of six. Returning to his impromptu buffet table he removed the wire from the bottle and let the cork fly with a loud pop. The champagne bubbled up and Joey filled the glasses. Everybody took a glass and then Joey raised his.

"Folks, a toast to Miss Deirdre Darling, Bachelor of Science!"

"Woee!" Ruth exclaimed. "This is the real stuff! Deirdre, you better keep this guy!"

"I hope to," Deirdre answered, just a bit shakily. She gulped down more of the champagne. Then she squinted at Joey. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Giving her a smug smile Joey indicated the camper with a wave of his hand.

"You needed somebody to move you back east. I need somebody to show me the Pacific Ocean. I also need a companion for the long drive back. It's so damn boring alone. What do you say?"

"This is a camper?" Deirdre asked apprehensively. "You expect me to spend the nights with a miscreant like you?"

"We can always marry in Reno, if you doubt my honest intentions," Joey answered modestly.

"Hah! You wish!" Deirdre exclaimed, the champagne quickly going to her head. "Your ... What was that?"

Joey grinned. "Gotcha!"

A sly grin spread over Deirdre's face. She held out her glass. "You'll have to get me a lot drunker for that," she challenged.

"No problem."

He filled her glass, tipping off the other's glasses as well. Her three friends just looked back and forth between Deirdre and Joey. Claire shook her head.

"Ed, can I ask for asylum tonight? I suspect my roomy will get laid."

Of course, nothing of the sort Claire expected happened. Deirdre was a little tipsy but she sobered up over the afternoon. They walked the campus together but with the surprise of Joey showing up gone Deirdre's demons made an admirable comeback.

They were sitting at a vantage point, looking out at the Pacific Ocean.

"Wow! Now I know how why you liked it here," he grinned.

"Joey, really, why did you come here? I know I left you on friendly terms and I'm over my fears with you, but coming here to pick me up ... This is sudden."

"I don't know. It seemed like a great idea. You know, driving coast to coast, seeing stuff, getting to know each other again."

"Joey, I am not ready for what you may expect," Deirdre said earnestly. "I trust you, but in a small camper alone with a man, even you, I may panic again."

"Hey, give me some credit there," Joey answered. "I'm not expecting anything beyond talking and experiencing things together."

"How about sleeping arrangements?"

Joey nodded. "I thought that might bother you. We can both have our separate beds to sleep in. You can barricade yourself in the alcove."

"Damn you! I'm trying to get out of this but you take the wind out of my sails at each turn," Deirdre pretended to grump, but she smiled now.

"Deirdre, I'm aware of how difficult this may be for you. I also think that we have to have some time together, so we can both heal."

Deirdre took a deep breath and looked at Joey. "Can we take this one city at a time? I mean, what's the first major stop? Reno?"

Joey nodded.

"How about I sign on until Reno. If I can't ... If my fears get the better of me, can I take a plane from Reno? Please, Joey, this is not about mistrusting you as a person. It's me, not you. If I decide to fly home will you please not be mad at me?"

Joey nodded. "Reno's just a day trip. We'll spend the night at a camp ground and the morning after we either drive on to Utah or I'll drop you off at the airport."

"When do you plan to leave?"

Joey shrugged. "When you're ready. I suppose you want to visit the after-finals parties and say good bye to all your friends?"

Deirdre snorted. "You met Claire and Ruth. Ed I have to tolerate to be with Claire. He's not bad but he's..."

"A man, huh?"

She nodded, her eyes brimming. "God, I'm so fucked up!"

"So, you wanna leave right away?"

"I need a few days, to pack and for paperwork, but come Thursday I can leave. Can we fit all my personal stuff in your van?"

"Sure. It's quite roomy inside."

Indeed, the camper offered plenty of storage room, more than she expected to need for her meagre possessions. She shook her head. She wasn't getting out of this. Thankfully, reason came to her help. This was Joey. Didn't she want to make up with him? Didn't she think of his loving touches in her happy dreams? Even now, he was thinking of her sensitivities. If there was any man on the face of this Earth who could help her find a normal life again it was Joey. She exhaled. She had to give it a try.

"Okay, Thursday it is," she sighed. "Joey, don't get me wrong, I really appreciate what you are doing for me, what you are trying. I think I want the same. Just don't rush me."

"Promise!" Joey answered solemnly. "Now, how about some dinner?"

They compromised on an off-campus diner and when they got there, there were a number of people from Deirdre's Senior Class who were also celebrating the end of finals. It was obvious from their stares that Deirdre was not a common patron of the diner, nor of any other social gathering place.

They sat in their own booth. Joey ordered a pitcher of beer to go along with the burgers they ordered. The food was good and the beer was from a local micro brewery. Even Deirdre had two glasses and by the end of their dinner she was more relaxed. When they walked back to where Joey had his camping van she even slipped her hand into his and she was rewarded with a smile that gave her a warm feeling in turn. She hugged him once more before she slipped through the door of her dorm.

It was a little after nine o'clock when Joey arrived at the nearby campground he had picked. In no time at all he set up the van, pulled the blinds, and climbed into the alcove bed where he fell asleep within minutes.

Joey woke from a persistent knock on the sliding door window and he climbed down from the bed and opened the blinds. The sight of Deirdre waving two cups of coffee and a bag of bagels sufficed to wake him up. He quickly opened the big sliding door.

Deirdre's eyes widened a little when she saw him. He was only wearing shorts and his chest showed a growth of black hair. So did his legs. He was not so much muscular but sinewy. Most importantly he was the exact opposite of the steroid-inflated, shaven bodies of the Montalban brothers, her only other reference as far as men went. She set down the coffee and the bagels and tentatively reached out with her right hand to feel Joey's chest hair. He stood stock still while she played with the short curls.

"This feels neat," she finally said. "You've grown a lot of that in the last years."

Then her eyes went lower and Joey grimaced. Her innocent, gentle caress had caused an erection and the thin shorts were tented.

"I-I better get dressed first," he stammered. "Sorry, really."

Strangely the sight of Joey's arousal did not scare Deirdre at all. She'd expected to feel apprehension but her reaction surprised her. Joey desired her! Her little touch had been enough to make him hard. Somehow this made her happy. She smiled.

"Don't worry. I guess, this is something you cannot help." She let her hands rub his chest hair again. "Isn't this amazing? I can touch you. Give me your hand, Joey!"

She grabbed for his hand and pulled it to her face. She placed the open palm on her cheek. Again, Joey did not make a move on his own. He let her experiment with the touches knowing that any false move on his part might ruin this special moment.

"I always loved your touches, Joey," she said dreamily. "Your hands on my face or my boobs, you were so gentle."

She stared into his eyes, and Joey gasped. He could see something he had missed for four long years. There was a smoldering passion in her blue eyes. He slowly bent his head forward until his forehead touched Deirdre's. The contact was infinitely reassuring and he luxuriated in the feel. Then, Deirdre pressed his palm against her mouth and kissed it softly before she let go of it and stepped back.

"We better have breakfast before you make a mess," she said, not teasing him at all.

"Yeah," he answered hoarsely. "Lemme take a shower, too."

While Deirdre sat in one of Joey's folding chairs he dashed over to the restrooms. When he returned not ten minutes later his hair was damp from the shower and his erection under the shorts was gone. Deirdre allowed herself a smile, again surprised at herself. Somehow, seeing the half-naked Joey had alleviated almost all her fears around him. This was Joey, her soul mate, her lover, who had gently taken her virginity on her eighteenth birthday, who had kissed every square inch of her body, who had held her close as she fell asleep. There was no similarity between him and those two, steroid-crazed monsters.

While he was inside the van finding clean underwear and a pair of blue jeans, Deirdre looked at the dust covered flanks of the van. Realization hit her. He had driven over three thousand miles just so he could be with her on her graduation day. This was not some token gesture to show he was a sensitive guy, to show he did not think badly of her. Joey must still love her! The rush she felt almost took her breath away. Then, anguish hit her. Those fucking fears she had! How could she act on what she knew if she felt panic with him?

Did she really feel panic? Didn't she just assume it because that's how she'd felt with other men? She thought of the few men she'd given trial runs, like watching a movie or having dinner. Her eyes flew open in realization. All those men, good guys no doubt, sported the hip, ultra short haircuts and had tattoos on their arms or elsewhere, just like so many of the younger crowd. They had all looked like miniature versions of the Montalbans! Why had she even considered them? Was she attracted to that look? She shook her head. Not really. Okay, the movie stars sported the same look these days, but she did not care for it that much.

By contrast, Joey looked like an extra from an early eighties' movie. She had seen Serpico in a film seminar two months ago, and Joey looked like the young Al Pacino, only much taller. Honestly, who in these days let his chest hair grow? Still, it had felt nice under her palm she thought. Manly, in the old-fashioned, natural way.

There he was, wearing his perpetual blue jeans and a short sleeved, checkered shirt. She gave him a smile.

"Ready for breakfast?"

He grinned back at her, white teeth in the black growth of his beard, obviously enjoying her mood.

"Let's," he said.

Inside a minute he had unfolded an aluminum table and a second chair. The coffee had cooled but was still more than warm in the styrofoam cups. Joey produced cream cheese and strawberry jam, her favorite. Sitting in the morning sun they enjoyed their cream cheese and jam bagels.