Chapter 7: I Suggest a Solution for Both of Us.

I once again made the trip to Kay's apartment and this time I arrived right at six. When I reached her door she opened it before I could even knock. Was she anxious?

"Hi there," she started, "I was looking out of the window when you drove up. I told you I would be ready this time. Am I dressed alright?" she asked, stepping back from the door.

She was wearing a pair of form fitting jeans, they weren't too tight but they made her look good. She also had on a pull over sweater instead of a blouse and with the jeans, her outfit accentuated her trim physique very tastefully.

She turned and I followed her in, noting she looked just as good from the rear as from the front. "You look very nice, I'd take you anywhere dressed like that." The apartment looked a little different and it took me a moment to figure out why. "Things have been moved around," I said. "It looks like there is less here than there was when I was here last week."

"Yeah, my roomie, Robin, picked up her stuff over the weekend while I was at work. When I got back it was like she had never been here. I moved a few things around so it doesn't look as empty as it did. Her bedroom though is completely bare other than a stripped bed and the empty dresser."

As we walked out and down to my car, I asked her, "Is the same restaurant still good for you?"

"Yes, and thank you in advance for the dinner. It was very good last week and I am looking forward to the tiramisu again."

As before, her smile lit up her face and it made me feel good to at least seem like I was doing something to make her smile. Hopefully she would accept my offer and it would really make her smile.

We drove to the restaurant making small talk as we went. I didn't want to hit her with my proposal until we had dinner and could relax. When we stepped into the restaurant, the greeter recognized us from last week and offered us the same table again. It was quiet and out of the way so it suited my purpose. We had the same waiter and he too remembered us from our visit last week. Considering how well I tipped him last week, it didn't surprise me, he seemed to know what he was doing and that personal service was rewarded well. I've had waiters who didn't understand the concept and seemed to think I was doing them a favor sitting at one of their tables. The service they provided was crap, and the tip I left them matched the service they gave me. That didn't apply to this guy. He took our drink orders and left us to review the menu.

When he returned we ordered. Kay went with Veal Parmesan and I decided on the Chicken Alfredo. I also ordered a bottle of Chianti to go with the meal and just like last week, the waiter didn't question Kay's age. I didn't expect him to.

We talked about little things during the meal. I learned a little more about her life back on the farm, how she got along with her brothers, that they all helped out just as soon as they could move around on their own and didn't have to be watched constantly. She and her brothers each started on little things and as they grew they did more and more of the routine chores that make up farm life with less and less supervision.

"The most significant difference between me and my brothers is what we each want out of life." She said, "My brothers are more than just satisfied with farm life; they enjoy it and the challenges that come with it. Their lives are totally consumed by the farm and all that goes into it. Not just the farm itself but the farming community and culture. I don't see how they would be happy anywhere but on the farm."

"What about you? What brought you to SDSU and how did you get involved in the Aerospace program in the first place?" I asked her. The more I got her to talk, the more comfortable she seemed to be with me.

"I worked on the farm growing up, just as my brothers did but I never felt attached to it the way they did. I did what I did on the farm because we each had chores to do and I did what was expected of me. I'm not the rebellious type, I never have been and I always did what I was supposed to do."

"Unlike my brothers, I never saw the farm as a permanent way of life for me. I realized, early on, if I stayed on our farm it would mean staying single. Once I married I'd be expected to move with my husband onto a farm of our own. Neither of those two options appealed to me. I was never drawn to the kids on the other farms in the area or in school with me. I didn't see anyone with both the interest and the drive I had to move beyond farming so I didn't date much in school."

"My guidance counselor took an interest in me when I was consistently at the top of my classes in math and the sciences. He was the one who pushed me to look hard at the Aerospace program at SDSU. He is an alumnus but his degree is in education. I actually came out to SDSU during the summer break before I started my junior year and I loved it. SDSU has a recruitment program they run every year and my guidance counselor made some phone calls so I was invited. It was my first time in a big city, the first time I had anything at all to do with people who weren't directly or indirectly connected to farming and the farming community and the first time I left Kansas. It opened my eyes; I was fascinated with SDSU and aerospace. When I was back home and got back together with my guidance counselor, we put together what I would need to do in the next two years to qualify for the program at SDSU. It included not only my class work but some on-line courses to make up for what wasn't available in my high school so that, when I sent in my application, I would stand out more to the SDSU program administrators and they would notice me. The preparations worked, though I had to work hard to do the on-line courses and my counsellor helped. The program administrators not only noticed me but offered me a scholarship, much to my surprise and to the relief of my parents. They didn't see how they could or why they should afford advanced schooling for me, the girl of the family, in some curriculum that didn't apply to farming."

Once I got her started talking about school she just ran on and on. Her enthusiasm was obvious and made it clear she was a serious student working hard towards her goal of a degree from the program and a job within the industry it supported. It further reinforced my opinion of her as a person I could trust to have in my home. I was pretty sure I knew the answer but I had to ask her a question. "I hope you don't find this too personal but what about a love life? You've told me a lot about the program and how you got into it. On the boat you told me you don't date much. I understand why but are there any prospects out there you are even interested in?"

She looked at me a little funny before she spoke again. "I don't know where this is going, I don't see how it relates to my roommate or housing problem but I'll answer the question. No, I don't have any prospects right now and just to settle the issue I am straight. When I do go out, those infrequent times, I try to keep it to group dates for a meal or a movie or the like. I let whomever I am with know I'm not looking for anything long term and that has been a problem sometimes. It's misinterpreted to mean I just want a good time fling or something like that."

I felt I knew that if she took me up on my offer I wouldn't have to worry about her disrespecting me or my home by staying out unreasonably late, drinking excessively or doing drugs. Nor did I think she would have parties if I wasn't there or if she hadn't discussed it with me. In short, I felt she wouldn't flake out on me.

We talked also about what I did. I described my typical workday and workweek. I told her I traveled a couple of times a month and would be gone usually less than three days before getting home again. I explained how I tried to exercise a few times a week because I didn't want to get fat.