Chapter 5

I sat in the balcony with Bobby's parents. I was so excited I was literally trembling all over. How could his folks be so calm, didn't they realize what it meant; didn't they understand what was happening? My man, the love of my life, their son was graduating from college; it meant we were one giant step closer to being married and being together forevermore; how could they just sit there like that?

Oh my God, I thought; I had to catch my breath as the band started playing 'Pomp and Circumstance, ' that meant they were coming; I had to dry my eyes so I could see. I searched the auditorium through the telephoto lens of my dad's expensive camera. The way he coveted that thing I was surprised he loaned it to me.

They came from two directions; one by one they appeared from behind a large curtain that stretched behind rows and rows of chairs that spanned along the floor, all the way to the stage. I zoomed in as close as possible and watched in anticipation as each graduate emerged.

"There he is," I squealed, "I was so proud of him. Mr. Kilpatrick put his arm around me.

"Take it easy," he said calmly, "I don't want to see a young girl like you have a heart attack."

"I'm sorry," I said, he smiled and I saw him give Mrs. Kilpatrick a small nudge. They were both amused at my antics but I just couldn't help myself.

I looked again through the camera lens and started snapping pictures. I was sure most of them would be blurred but I didn't care, maybe one or two would turn out good. God, he was just so handsome. Everyone was dressed in the same long, black gowns but my Bobby stood out. I could see his beautiful blue eyes combing the massive crowd. I waited until I saw him searching in our direction before waving my arm in the air. I caught his eye; he stared right at me and made my temperature rise with his beautiful smile.

For the rest of the ceremony I sat in proud silence. I lost track of everyone and everything else while simply concentrating on Bobby. When he walked up on that stage and was handed his degree I couldn't help my tears of joy. Mr. Kilpatrick put his arm around me again; Mrs. Kilpatrick reached across her husband and patted me on my leg.

"Take it easy," she soothed. I just nodded my head and wiped my eyes of their moisture, some of which reappeared when the graduates moved their tassels to the other side of their caps. I looked around and was a little embarrassed to see a few people looking at me, but I didn't care; all I could see, all I could visualize in my mind's eye, all I could think of was loving and spending the rest of my life with Bobby Kilpatrick.

When it was all over I followed his parents out to the hall. Everyone was milling around waiting for their graduates to find them. Bobby's mom pulled a few tissues from her purse and handed them to me. As I said thank you I looked and saw I wasn't the only one who had been crying, her eyes were just as red as mine.

"They'll be coming from that direction," said Mr. Kilpatrick pointing down the hall, "Why don't you see if you can find Bobby, we'll wait for you here."

"Okay," I said still very excited, "I'll be back in a few minutes," I told them as I left in search of my love.

I moved quickly, zigzagging in and out of the hordes of people waiting in the hall. I thought I caught a glimpse of his black, wavy hair ahead of me. I side stepped a group of people and stopped in shock. It was Bobby, only he was standing with a beautiful young woman who had her arms around his neck.

They say before you die your whole life flashes before you; when I saw Bobby with another woman it was my parent's lives that flashed before me; you might say I felt like I was dying. I watched as she stretched and kissed Bobby, not on his lips, but on the cheek.

Just then Bobby saw me out of the corner of his eye; he seemed to have no guilt over letting another girl kiss him as he ran over and grabbed me around the waist picking me up and twirling me around before setting me back down and kissing me hard.

I was confused; this girl couldn't possible mean that much to him if he displayed his affection for me in front of her.

"Honey, you've never met Meagan," he said taking me the hand and moving in the direction of the pretty woman, "Brea, this is my cousin, Meagan."

Cousin; I couldn't even describe the relief I felt.

"We were inseparable when we were kids but she has a job down town now, so I hardly ever get to see her anymore."

"Meagan, this is Brea," he said, "the girl I've been telling you about."

She gave me a friendly smile and a hug. "So you're the one who has stolen my cousin's heart. It's so good to finally meet you."

We talked for a few minutes; I was still shaking from seeing them together and getting the wrong idea but I hid it well. I led them back to Bobby's parents.

They both had tears in their eyes as they embraced Bobby and told him how proud they were of him. Finally they looked over at his cousin.

"Meagan, you did make it. When we didn't see you we assumed you couldn't be here," Bobby's dad told her.

"Are you kidding, miss my cousin's big day ... never; but you know me, I got lost. By the time I found my way here everybody was already seated. I looked around for you guys but couldn't find you so I just grabbed a seat where ever I could. I was on the opposite side of the auditorium."

Mr. Kilpatrick looked at me; "Did you two meet?" he asked. Before we could tell him we had, he continued with his own introductions. "Brea, this is Meagan, my brothers daughter; she and Bobby practically grew up together," he said.

"Yeah, dad;" Bobby spoke up, "I already introduced them."

We talked a little more before heading back to Chicago. Mr. Kilpatrick had reservations for dinner at one of the better steak houses that evening for all of us to celebrate.

They also had a party planned for that weekend. I had traveled with Bobby's parents on the way down there but rode with Bobby on the way back. We mostly talked about the future, but the whole time, I couldn't get rid of that feeling I had when I saw Bobby and Meagan together. As irrational as I knew it was, I couldn't help but wonder if Bobby would ever cheat on me; it scared me.

The more I observed Bobby and Meagan together that night at the restaurant the more I could see they were like brother and sister; there was absolutely no reason in the world to feel any jealousy, so why couldn't I shake that nagging feeling?

It was no surprise to anyone when Bobby and I excused ourselves after the meal; everyone, including Meagan, knew we would be headed to a motel for our own celebration. I tried to forget my moment of terror and just concentrate on loving my man but I guess I wasn't that successful. We were lying together, still breathing a little hard after our first hour of passion.

"Honey, is something wrong?" Bobby asked.

"No," I lied, "why?"

"I don't know, you just seemed to be a little preoccupied that's all."

I was about to lie again and say everything was fine; that's when I remembered my conversation with Eileen when she said to communicate with your mate from the very start, so even though I was afraid of how Bobby would react to my jealousy, I decided to lay it on the line and tell him what was bothering me.

"Honey, please don't get mad, but when I first saw you with Meagan's arms around your neck I thought you might be cheating on me," I admitted.

"Cheating on you," he responded sounding upset, "how could you even think that? God, honey, I would never cheat on you ... never!"

"Promise?" I asked still sounding insecure.

"Yes, honey, I promise," he said emphatically. I thought he was pissed at me by the tone in his voice but then he rolled on his side facing me. He touched my face tenderly with his fingertips. "You know, the thought of you not trusting me really ticked me off for a second, but I really don't have a right to be angry, not after everything you went through with your parents."

He reached over and kissed me lightly. "Honey, I still feel somewhat responsible for what happened there." I started to say something but he shushed me by putting his finger to my lips.

"I know, I know; everyone tells me it wasn't my fault, but the fact of the matter is you had a happy family until I made those phone calls. After seeing the pain your family has gone through, please believe me, honey, I would never, ever put you through anything like that. I also know you would never do it to me either. If there are two people in this whole world who could be any surer of their spouse's fidelity, I don't know who they would be."

He was right, I knew he was right and I knew how silly I was being. I threw my leg over his hip and starting grinding my pussy into him. Almost instantly I felt his cock hardening between us. I swung over further forcing him onto his back and positioned myself over that beautiful love pole of his, then settled down, taking it all the way inside me. I closed my eyes and smiled thinking about what he said, I felt so warm, so secure; any residual feelings from seeing him with Meagan were gone; I heard him moan as I moved my hips. Soon we were on our way to another euphoric orgasm.

We spent all night in the motel and it was almost two o'clock Saturday afternoon by the time we returned to his folks place. I was a little scared that dad was going to be pissed so Bobby offered to come home with me but I said it would be better to face him alone.

The day before had not only been Bobby's commencement but it was my first day of summer vacation as well. Char, Linda, and I said our teary goodbyes Thursday night because I had to leave early the next morning. I drove straight to Bobby's parents and left my car, then drove down with them to see him graduate; dad knew I was going to do that, but I think he probably expected me home some time Friday night. I didn't think to look in the lot for Eileen's car; I'd hoped she'd be with dad, if so maybe he wouldn't be so angry.

Bobby's graduation party was on Sunday and I would see him again then; I would spend that evening with dad. I prepared myself for dad's wrath as I unlocked the door and walked in. A reprieve; he wasn't home. I went back out to my car, got my stuff and started to unpack. I was just getting settled in when I heard the door.

"Well, it looks like my wandering daughter has finally come home," I heard from the living room.

"Dad," I yelled maybe showing a little too much exuberance but I was going to try and curtail the tongue lashing I knew was coming. I ran from my room and into dad's arms giving him a big hug and plastering the side of my face to his chest. There were still times when being 'daddy's little girl, ' had its advantages.

He hugged me back. "So, how was it?" he asked, "exciting?"

Wow, I thought, he's not even going to bawl me out? I'm really getting to like all this freedom. "Oh, dad, it was fantastic; he was so handsome walking up on that stage. Just think, dad, next year it'll be me."

"I know, honey, it doesn't seem possible; I still remember the day you were born like it was yesterday."

I swear I saw a tear in his eye. "Your mother was holding you in her arms; you were the two most beautiful ladies I had ever seen." I stood on my toes and kissed him on the cheek; he could be so sentimental sometimes; so sweet.

The next day, since Bobby's party didn't start until four in the afternoon, I had plenty of time to say hi to the rest of my family. I stopped in at Denny's and saw mom for a while, she of course, was happy to see me. She told me Donna was still seeing Derek, the guy she went to the New Year's Eve party with. Mom seemed to like him and said she thought he and my sister were getting serious. We had a great visit and I promised we would see a lot of each other again just like the year before.

The next stop was the house to see my brother and sisters, and of course, get the low-down on Derek. As usual, neither Steve nor Gwen were home but Donna and I talked for quite a while. At the end of last summer she found a job in the marketing division of a firm that made medical instruments. She was designing brochures and catalogs showing their products and she loved it. They seemed to love her as well. She had received two raises already and they were sending her to Texas for two weeks to train for some new software the company would be using.

"The only bad part about it is, I won't see Derek for two weeks," she told me.

"Yeah, I saw mom on the way over; she says you two are getting pretty tight. Are you serious about this guy? I asked.

"Brea, he's ... well, he's a special guy that's for sure." I could see her eyes light up at just the thought of him.

We talked some more about Derek and it was easy to see she was in love, even if she didn't know it yet. Then I asked if anything had changed as far as the way my younger siblings were treating mom; she said a little but not much and mom just continued to take their abuse with no attempt to censure them in anyway.

"In her mind she deserves it," Donna said, "I've tried talking to her but it doesn't do any good, Brea. To tell you the truth, I'm worried about what happens when we're all grown up and she doesn't have any more responsibilities other than herself."

"We just have to keep showing we still care about her, sis, that's all we can do."

We talked a little longer but I had to get to Bobby's party. I really did have to give my sister credit; she wasn't even quite nineteen years old yet and she was already getting her life together.

Between his friends and relatives, I met a lot of people I hadn't met before at Bobby's party. Meagan and I hung out a lot; she was really very nice and I could see her and I having a lot of fun together in years to come.

The party was still going strong at eight o'clock when Bobby came looking for me.

"Hey, gorgeous," he said with a big smile, "I need some fresh air, want to go for a walk?"

"Great idea," I said with a small kiss to his cheek.

We walked around for a little while hand in hand. Mid May evenings can still be pretty cool in Chicago sometimes, but that night was just perfect. "I'm going to have to have a talk with mother nature," Bobby said, "I ordered a full moon tonight and it's not quite there."

"It's pretty close, honey," I said looking up into the clear night sky.

Bobby seemed to be walking in a certain direction and I smiled when we reached our destination. I always loved the little park by his house; it had a beautiful little lake with benches all around. We had been there before but never after dark. We sat down and watched the reflection of the moon glimmering along the calm water. Bobby put his arm around me and I snuggled up to him. I laid my head on his shoulder; it was so romantic, as far as I was concerned, we could stay there forever, just like that.

"Have I told you I love you yet today," Bobby said sensuously.

"Honey, you tell me every time you look at me," I replied, "but I never get tired of hearing you say it."

He turned his head and started to nibble on my earlobe; he knew damn well that drove me crazy. "Still," he said softly, "there must be a way of proving it to you ... I know," he said as if suddenly having an epiphany. He slid off the bench and dropped to one knee in front of me while reaching into his pocket; he pulled out a small box and held it up for me to see.

This was the moment every woman dreams of all her life; tears filled my eyes instantly and I put my hands to my mouth. I heard myself shriek like a little girl. Bobby flipped the top of the box open to reveal the most fantastic diamond ring I'd ever seen; at least it was to me. I felt myself perspiring; I couldn't sit still, I started bouncing up and down on the bench while shaking my head with excitement at the same time.

"Brea Cooper, I have loved you from the moment I first saw you in high school," he said, "I want to live the rest of my life with you at my side; I want you to be the mother of our children and I want us to grow old and share a life-time of memories together; will you mar..."

I knew it wasn't very nice to interrupt him; he'd probably been practicing his speech all day, but I just couldn't wait any longer, "Yes, oh my God, yes, honey," I jumped up from the seat and literally started bouncing up and down while holding out my left hand. Bobby stood and slipped the ring on my finger.

I guess I surprised him. "Whoa," he cried out as I jumped into his arms. He held on to me with one hand while putting his other one behind him to brace our fall as he stumbled backward, tumbling into the grass and laughing.

"Are you okay," I asked.

I don't think I ever saw his smile so broad. "I am now, "he said. He wrapped his arms around me and rolled me over onto my back. He hovered over me for just a few seconds looking deeply into my eyes then slowly pressed his lips to mine. We kissed, passionately, for several minutes. I also felt something else pressing against me and wanted to rip his clothes off right there in front of God and everyone but I knew I couldn't. For a moment he grunted as I locked my arms around him again and squeezed with all my might.

"So, you want to get married tonight?" I asked only half kidding, "Maybe we can find a J.P. some place."

He grinned; "I'm afraid we need a license honey ... and, you still have to graduate first."

"I know; a girl can dream can't she? Besides, I always wanted to be a June bride."

"Okay, it's settled, a year from this June it is," he said, "How about it?"

We kissed again and I confirmed his proposal, in just a little more than a year from then I would be Mrs. Robert Kilpatrick. I almost had an orgasm right there just thinking about it.

When we walked back to the party Bobby told me to take my shoes off then held my hand as he had me step up and stand on the coffee table. "Excuse me everyone," he said loud enough to get everybody's attention, "I would like to make an announcement, "Miss Brea Cooper has just agreed to become Mrs. Bobby Kilpatrick." I stuck out my hand displaying my ring as he finished.

People several blocks away must have heard the uproar. The women screamed and the guys yea'd, everyone was enthusiastically happy for us. Meagan came running up, kicked off her shoes and jumped on the coffee table giving me a big hug, then jumped down and gave Bobby one; "congratulations you two," she screamed, "Oh my God, I'm so happy for you guys."

Bobby's parents came over and gave us both warm hugs. Our announcement also seemed to give the party new life. It was after ten before it started breaking up. As much as I hated to leave my fiancée, I wanted to get home before dad went to bed and show him my ring. There was no way I could wait until the next day; if he was sleeping when I got home I'd simply have to wake him up, that's all there was to it.

I didn't even remember driving home; all of a sudden I was in the parking lot. I rushed in to find Eileen and dad sitting on the couch watching the last of a movie. I put my hands behind my back and walked up in front of them, putting myself between them and the boob-tube with what must have been a Cheshire cat grin on my face.

"Dad, Eileen," I tried to sound very serious, "I want to say something to you two." They both looked at me strangely. I stuck out my left hand and waved it around in front of them as I proudly proclaimed..."I'M ENGAGED!"

They both jumped up and hugged and kissed me. "Who's the lucky guy?" my dad asked with a laugh. It took about five or six minutes before we all calmed down enough that I could tell them how and where he popped the question. It was after one in the morning before we all went to bed. It was also the perfect excuse for dad to have Eileen spend the night since, 'he would worry about her on the road so late at night;' as if they needed an excuse.

The next day I should have checked right in with Mrs. Weller but I had to show my ring off to mom before doing anything else, so I went to Denny's first. Mom went ballistic and had every one of the other waitresses all hovering around for a better look; even some of the customer's asked to see it. Since the rest of my siblings were either at work or still in school, they would have to wait until later.

I shot across town to the boutique. I was surprised when Mrs. Weller told me she knew I didn't take drugs of any kind, so since they no longer needed a sample of my hair, I could start the next day. I went back home after that, took a picture of my ring with my cell phone, and sent it off to Charlene and Linda. It took only a couple minutes after that before they both called. I set up a three-way conversation, put the phone on speaker and spent the next two hours gabbing. What a way to start the summer, I thought after hanging up.

Since Bobby wasn't just summer help at Vidycom anymore, he was making much better money and was able to afford quite a few more visits to the lumpy mattress palace; at least that's what we started calling it. It was turning out to be an even better summer than the one previous, and I didn't think that was possible.

As someone once said, time is relative; as the summer marched on, each day was measured in terms of being one day closer to becoming Mrs. Bobby Kilpatrick. Bobby and I worked during the days but spent almost all of the warm, summer nights together; of course, we still had to make time for others as well. I still tried to spend time with mom and my siblings, as well as dad. Eileen and I rekindled our luncheons two or three times a week.

Days turned into weeks and before we knew it, my summer vacation was coming to a close. That's when reality hit me; Bobby would remain at home while I would be going back to school and we would be separated, yet again. The only saving grace was that he would actually be a little closer than he was while going to I.U. but still...

"This guy isn't feeling well so he goes to see a doctor; after the exam and several tests the doctor breaks the bad news to his patient. 'I'm afraid you're suffering from a very rare disease called, sifaidaria.'

'Gee doc, that sounds serious, ' said the concerned patient.

'Oh it is, ' replied the doctor. 'It's a combination of Syphilis, Aids, and Gonorrhea.'

'Oh my God, Doc, is there anything you can do for it; can I be cured?' asked the now terrified patient.

'Well, we're going to put you in the isolation ward at the hospital and feed you a steady diet of pancakes and pizza, ' answered the doctor.

'Pancakes and pizza?' asked the patient sounding confused, 'and that will cure me?'

'Oh no, ' the doctor replied, 'but it's all we can get under the door, '" said my comedian father, delivering the punch line with a perfectly straight face while everyone else erupted in laughter.

It had been another one of those nights. I swore, between Bobby's dad and my father, I had no idea there WERE so many jokes. I had only a week left before going back to school so dad got everyone together for a kind of going away party for me.

This time; however, in addition to Bobby's folks, my dad, Eileen, Bobby and me, Donna and her boyfriend, Derek, were also invited. This was actually the second time I had met him; the first was only for a minute. It was easy to see why everyone was impressed. In spite of only just turning nineteen, he was very mature and really seemed to have a good head on his shoulders.

After talking with him, I learned he wanted to become an electrician like his dad and was attending trade school. He was also crazy about my sister. I had been watching Donna and saw the same look in her eyes as I had in mine whenever I looked at Bobby. She was in love, just like me; it was so cool.

Over the course of the next week, Bobby and I were able to get together three more times before I found myself, once again, on the interstate heading toward DeKalb, Illinois.

As I drove, I remembered the first time I made the trip. It was so exciting; I was heading toward a whole new world, a whole new life; one with new friends, new challenges, fun, parties, and sex. I was leaving my anger and the troubles of my broken family behind me.

Wow; what a difference, I thought as I examined my life and how it had shifted. Now a whole new world was in my rear-view-mirror instead of my windshield; one of my dad's favorite axioms is, 'The only constant in life is change.' I guess I never really appreciated how true those words were until then.

One thing that never seemed to change though, were those two crazy friends of mine; they were just as nuts as ever. Yup, you guessed it, I walked in the door of our dorm room and there they were, in their pajamas with a bottle of wine and three glasses. They sure knew how to welcome a body home.

I pretty much picked up where I had left off the year before, with my nose to the grindstone. I was working toward my degree and it seemed the closer I came to getting it, the harder I worked for it.

Between Bobby having to work some Saturdays and weekend homework for me, we didn't get to see each other as much as I had hoped; we did still get together once every five or six weeks but those times seemed like a life-time apart. I couldn't wait for Christmas vacation.

When it finally came I was anxious to get on the road, all I could think of was being with Bobby and I wanted to hurry and get home. I noticed Char and Linda acting strange as we were all getting packed. Char kept checking the time on her cell phone and it almost felt like she was trying to delay me in getting out of there; in fact, they both kept stalling. I was starting to get a little aggravated; I wanted to get home. I was just about to say something when Char got a text and all of a sudden she was helping me out the door with my suitcase. I thought they were acting very bizarre until we got to my car and I just about fainted. There, leaning against the fender, was Bobby with the biggest, shit-eating grin...

"Hi, gorgeous, going my way?"

"Bobby," I yelled dropping my suitcase and running into his arms, "how did you get here?" I asked in between kisses.

"I took a day off from work and caught the train," he told me, "I wanted to surprise you."

"Oh, honey, you sure accomplished your mission," I said still breathing heavy. I looked back at his two accomplices. "You guys knew all the time, didn't you?"

"Of course," Linda said, "We've been trying to stall you all morning. We couldn't let you go before he got here."

And to think I was going to yell at them for making me late. Bobby put my bags in the car as I hugged them both very tightly. There never was a time when we three separated without all of us getting teary eyed; this was no exception. As Bobby turned out of the parking lot heading for I-90, I looked out of the back window and waved at the two of them still standing there.

Bobby drove me right up to my front door and helped me in with my stuff. Dad wasn't home yet so I ran Bobby back to his place. We had spent the whole trip from Northern making plans for the upcoming two weeks. He told me he tried to make reservations at that bed and breakfast for New Year's Eve but they were booked solid for two years in advance. I told him I didn't really care where we went as long as we were together.

Naturally, between the excitement of being home, all the visiting, the parties, and nights together with Bobby, my Christmas vacation was over in the blink of an eye, and I found myself with my two friends sitting on the floor of our dorm room in no time.

It was the week after a very romantic Valentine's Day with Bobby when my phone rang; I looked and saw the number to our house phone. It was after nine o'clock; that's normally a little late for a call from there but I didn't really think too much about it as I answered.

"Hello."

"Brea, it's Donna." At first I thought she sounded excited; I was expecting some good news, but soon realized I had misinterpreted. "Sis, I'm scared; I was going to call dad but I remembered he's out of town on a business trip."

"Honey, what's wrong?" Donna wasn't the kind to panic; I knew something terrible must have happened.

"It's mom; do you think you could come home? I think mom might have hurt herself."

"What; what do you mean, hurt herself; what the hell is going on, Donna?" I heard her sniffle as she started with her synopsis.

"I was doing some work on the computer in dad's old office when mom came home tonight. Steve and Gwen were both doing homework at the kitchen table when she came in. I could tell right away something was wrong by the sound of her voice so I went out there to see what was up; she looked terrible. She was literally trembling all over and I could see by her eyes that she'd been crying."

"She asked if dad was married. We all just looked at each other; I think we were all wondering where she would get an idea like that, but before any of us could answer her she asked again, 'Is he; somebody please tell me, is he married?' she was almost frantic."

"I told her no, dad wasn't married and asked who told her that, but she was so upset she couldn't even talk. I'm not sure she even believed me at first. She sat down and cried some more. I tried to comfort her and find out what was going on but she was crying so hard I thought I'd wait; she was just starting to calm down when our dear little sister piped up."