Chapter 6: Going Steady

When they arrived at school on Monday morning the hallways were abuzz with the news. Mike Helmond and Paul Burrows were in the hospital. They had played basketball on a public court on Sunday and there had been an argument with other young men, so far unidentified. The quarrel graduated from verbal insult into a full blown fight, and the two young men were in the hospital now having suffered broken ribs and dislocated joints.

Joey and Tess turned pale hearing of this. They knew in an instant that Burrows and Helmond had experienced the Di Rosa brand of punishment for a first offense misdemeanor. They had obviously received an expertly administered beating, done by professionals who knew how to avoid an unplanned lethal outcome.

"That was a bit heavy for a few paint scratches, don't you think?" Joey whispered to Tess.

"It's something I overheard them discuss when we stayed at Uncle Vince's," Tess whispered back. "After what happened to us Uncle Vince announced a 'zero tolerance' stance. You mess with a family member and you're up shit creek, miles away from the next paddle."

Joey's face showed his displeasure. "Fuck! Felix could have told us. This is not what I want. What if some professor gives me a 'C'? They'll whack him!"

"Naw, don't panic. You have to see it from Uncle Vince's side. It was vandalism, but things like that can mushroom and then people may get hurt."

"People were hurt, Tess."

"Yeah, well, maybe you can bring it up with Felix over Christmas. Maybe we can have a veto right for actions planned on our behalf."

"Uncle Vince doesn't believe in democracy," Joey sighed.

Joey did not see Deirdre all morning but they sat together at lunch.

"Did you hear about Paul and Mike?" was the first thing Deirdre asked. When Joey nodded, Deirdre continued. "I feel so bad. When I heard what happened to them I felt relief at first. You know, now they won't talk about me. Does anybody know what that fight was about?"

Joey shrugged. "There are rumors. The guys they played against made fun of them all the time, and Paul snapped. Turned out the others were not only better players."

"Well, at least my Friday night escapades are out of the headlines," Deirdre said in a low voice. "Anything is welcome that keeps the spotlight away."

"It'll be hard for you to avoid attention completely," Joey answered with a grin. "The 'new and improved' Dee-Dee is currently the Topic Nº2 among the male population."

Deirdre groaned under her breath. "What are they saying?"

"That you are a major babe, of course. Umh, some descriptions were a bit more colorful, but that's the gist."

Deirdre sat with her eyes downcast, and Joey could see that her ears were burning. "And, what do you think?" she asked under her breath.

Joey decided to take a risk. He placed his left index finger under Deirdre's chin and lifted it up, forcing her to look at him. "I like your eyes. They are the most lively blue I've ever seen, and the contrast with your dark hair is just stunning. When I look at your lips I want to kiss you, and when I look at your body in that sweater I get thoughts that would make Karen break out her castration gear."

"She said you're not afraid of her."

"You're worth any risk, that's all."

Deirdre's eyes widened in understanding, and then a smile spread over her features. "I thought a lot about you last night, Joey. I told you I have no clue, but it feels right to be with you."

"Same here, Deirdre. Christmas break is coming next week. We could spend some time together, you know, getting to know each other. If you want, we could work on a few projects in my upstairs lab to get ahead on the material."

"I'd like that. I'll have to clear it with my mom but I guess she'll see no problems. She likes you." Deirdre paused. "Umh, Joey, there's something else: You know, I'll be eighteen in February and I've never been kissed. I mean really kissed, not aunt-type kisses. Think we may get to kissing before I'm eighteen?"

"What about last night at your door?"

"That was a peck, not a kiss. I mean, a real kiss."

"A scorcher," Joey stated, and Deirdre nodded. "I get similar thoughts when I see your lips."

Before Joey could answer a shadow fell over them and they looked up. It was Deborah.

"Hey, you two," she smiled tentatively. "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Oh please! Sit!" Deirdre answered immediately.

"You sure? You two seemed to be in a different place."

"We had stuff to talk about ... about our lab work," Joey lied. Then when Deborah grinned sardonically, he added sheepishly. "And other stuff, too."

"Hey, Deirdre, are you okay? You're not in trouble with your mom?"

Deirdre smiled shyly. "No, she was cool. She gave me a little lecture about alcoholic beverages, how I should avoid mixed drinks and stick to other stuff. As penance she made me go to the hair dresser and for clothes shopping."

"Inhumane punishment," Deborah giggled. "You should report her to Child Services. You know, I told my father everything."

Deirdre winced. "Oh shit, Deb! I'm sorry. This was all my fault."

"Ssh! Easy! You know what happened? He had heard some rumors already. He said that because I told him everything, he knows now that he can trust me. It was great. Oh, and he said to thank Joey."

Joey smiled. "Tell him I did it for egoistic reasons. I want Deirdre for myself."

This time, Deirdre's face assumed a tomato-like complexion.

"Joey, really, you shouldn't..."

"Oh, pooh! You think you fooled me?" Deborah laughed, but then she turned sober. "Seriously, guys. I'm sorry about all this stuff. What about your car, Joey?"

For the third time, Joey replied with his standard words. "It's only paint and some glass. My uncle will fix it and we're insured."

"Well, those two jerks will take some time before they can pull shit like that again," Deborah said. "And it'll be a cold day in hell before they get invited by anybody again."

"I take it you spread the word?" Joey asked.

"Socially speaking, they're walking corpses," Deborah responded grittily. "Janine and Reba too, for that matter. What they did was just mean."

Janine and Reba were the girls who had dolled up Deirdre. Deirdre made a face. "If they're your friends, Deb, give them a chance."

Deborah gave Deirdre a smile. "I did. I told them to apologize to you and they got all huffy. So I told them they're not welcome anymore. You see, I know my reputation, but I'm not a bitch and I don't like bitches either. What they did was mean and it reflected badly on me. All right, this being settled, tell me about you two!"

Joey groaned inwardly, but he kept a friendly facade. "There isn't much to tell. Deirdre's mom invited me for dinner on Saturday. We had good food and a good conversation. Deirdre and I went to the movies yesterday and we had an Italian dinner with my sister. After that I drove her home. Curtain."

Deborah made a show of looking Deirdre up and down. "Be patient with that girl. I'm telling you, she's worth every bit of patience."

Deirdre was confused and Deborah explained. "Liz and I had to change you out of that bimbo outfit and back into your own clothes, or your mother would have had a coronary. Joey here studied the pattern of the wallpaper while we did it, but Liz and I got an eyeful. I'll have to think twice about inviting you to a pool party next summer. You're bound to cause riots, girl!"

Deirdre turned pink again but she looked at Joey. "You didn't peek?"

Joey shook his head. "Not while you were changing. When Liz and I helped you sit on the john I couldn't help seeing a bit of skin."

"Oh, I can't remember that. You helped me?"

"Had to. Liz couldn't manage you alone. It's no biggie. I had to help Tess, too, in the beginning."

"Oh my," Deirdre sighed heavily. "I must've been totally wasted."

Joey smiled. "That you were."

Deborah looked at her watch. "I better get a move on it. You two have fun!"

They both watched Deborah as she walked over to the counter to drop her tray.

"I think I like her," Joey remarked.

"Yeah, she's nice," Deirdre concurred. "Let's go. I need to get some stuff from my locker."

Together they headed for the lockers and then stopped dead in their tracks. Two uniformed police officers were going through Mike Helmond and Paul Burrow's lockers, wearing rubber gloves and packing things into Ziplock bags. Mrs. Harlow, the principal, was standing with them, dismay written all over her face. She looked up at Joey and Deirdre.

"Nothing to see here. Do what you came here to do, and don't you spread stories!"

Joey shrugged. "I guess their blood testing in the hospital came back positive for banned substances," he told Deirdre casually.

"Mr. Di Rosa! No rumors!" Harlow snapped.

Joey shrugged. "Get your stuff, Deirdre, and let's split."

Deirdre quickly opened her locker and retrieved her lab coat and her lab journal while Joey dropped off a few items in his own locker.

They left without another word being said, but once in the hallway Deirdre pulled Joey aside. "What if it wasn't just rum they gave me?" she asked.

Joey raised his eyebrows. "If they find stuff like that in their locker the shit's gonna hit the fan! I guess whatever the cops find we're rid of the assholes."

Deirdre was a little green again but she willed it away. She gave the surprised Joey a hug and a kiss. "Thank you! I'll never forget this."

"Hr-hm!" Mr. Joyner uttered from behind them. "When I said 'Get to know your partners', that was not what I meant."

Deirdre turned and from somewhere she pulled a big smile. "That's your fault, Mr. Joyner. You paired up two matching nerds. Now you have to deal with the fallout."

Joyner's boisterous laugh could be heard all along the hallway.

"So, Joseph, I hear you and that girl Deirdre are getting friendly?"

"Yes, we're getting along fine. She's a great lab partner and I like her as a person."

"You be careful with that girl. Be respectful! Do not force her into anything, capiche? She's a good girl?"

Joey sighed. His great uncle had taken him aside after the family Christmas banquet to grill him about the previous months.

"She is a good girl. As a matter of fact I am her first boyfriend ever."

"That's good, Joseph. I hear good things about her mother, too. She is smart and principled, a rare thing for a public servant. Bring the girl along next time you visit. Don't be ashamed of us!"