Chapter 5: Endings and Beginnings

We got out and dried off and were getting dressed when I noticed that my necklace suddenly had two pendants on it. Both of them were little silver cherries. It got me to wondering how long had they been planning our little romp in the bed? I guess when dealing with females I will have to get used to being the last to know what's going on. When we got downstairs for breakfast mom looked at my necklace and with raised eyebrows just said, "Two?" I just blushed and nodded my head.

Things at school were moving along famously. Final exams were being held and most of the student body was in a tizzy studying to get the best grades they could. Some of them couldn't care less about good grades and were anxious to just get out of school. I fell in between those two groups because I had already taken those very tests in my alternate existence and did pretty well; in fact I had qualified for a free ride scholarship at the local university then. I still had desires to do the same so I did hit the books some to kind of blow out the cobwebs and have a clear mind.

All through high school I had a burning interest in technology of one sort or another. I was a member of the ham radio club and spent some time talking to stations all around the world. I was even far enough into it that I built a lot of my own equipment. I had some fairly innovative approaches to design and construction and managed to win top prizes in some of the science fairs. One project I had was to send microwave signals across the room. With people in the way I had a problem to solve. My system was based on a couple of WWII APS-4 radar antennas to transmit the signals. My solution was to tape a piece of tinfoil to the ceiling and bounce the signal off the foil over the heads of the people in the room. That project caught the eye of an engineer from the local General Electric light military electronics department. He spent the better part of an hour as I described my system to him. He gave me his card and told me to contact him after I graduated from high school. He said he could put me right to work in their microwave department.

It took a week to get through the finals and I am glad to say that not only did Jean and I pass but we got good enough grades to qualify for the National Honor Society. We even got our pictures in the newspaper and on TV. Mom and dad teamed up with Jean's parents to throw a big graduation celebration bash. Since it was June and we had a pool in our backyard it was held at our house. Jean was very familiar with our house since she was invited by Sandy (wink wink) to sleepovers almost constantly. Mom and dad never ventured upstairs during the sleepovers so they had no idea who slept where. I think mom though had a pretty good idea.

I went to work for General Electric right away and Jean landed a job at a law office as a secretary. With my experience in electronics I moved up the ladder at GE pretty quickly. I was making a very good salary and had some patents the company compensated me for. My bank account was growing to obscene proportions so I decided to invest in some tech stocks. I bought some shares in a little startup company called Microsoft. I figured their founder Bill Gates was going places and I was going for the ride with him. I also dumped some money into a couple of fast growing companies that I knew were going to crash when the tech bubble burst. I knew from my other existence when that would happen so I could be one of the lucky ones to bail out just in time and still make a killing.

Jean and I were virtually inseparable in spite of all the guys lusting after her body and hitting on her. She fended them off like swatting flies. I decided that the time was right so I asked Jean's dad if I could propose to her. He had a good time putting me through the third degree and finally relented and gave me his blessings. We had several get-togethers with jean's family and it was at one of them that I suggested a little scavenger hunt. Everybody except Jean was in on it so they were all scurrying around making like they were finding clues. I hid notes all over the place to lead Jean around the yard and house. Step by step she found the clues until she read the last note.

This is your last clue.

Your prize is located under a big box.

That box must be lifted to reveal your prize.

--Enjoy—

There were several boxes of various sizes located on the patio. Jean dashed around lifting each one until she got to the biggest box of all. She had a little trouble handling it but lifted the box and inside was her prize. It was me, down on one knee, dressed in my best suit and tie, holding a ring box containing an engagement ring. Jean was standing there with her mouth hanging open unable to believe what she was seeing. I took her hand and asked, "Jean Allison Parker, will you marry me?"

Jean almost fainted and had tears in her eyes as she hollered at the top of her lungs, "YES, YES, YES." I stood and put the ring on her finger and we were almost blinded as no less than five flashes went off taking our picture. Jean grabbed me and gave me one of the hottest barn-burner kisses I have ever had. I swear that kiss even curled my toes. It also affected another part of my anatomy that Jean was used to feeling pressed against her. Mom and Sandy dashed into the house and returned with an ice bucket containing a bottle of champagne and a tray of crystal glass stemware. The champagne was poured and everybody lifted their glasses high to toast the new couple. I glanced over and sure enough Sandy was holding hers the highest of all. My little sister was thrilled that her big brother was going to get married. She was so happy that she proposed that Jean stay for a sleepover with her. (wink, wink, again) It took a long time but I had finally pulled off a surprise for Jean and I was not the last to know about it.

Jean was literally the center of attention that evening. Everybody had to see her ring and congratulate her. I guess you could say that happiness was the word of the day. At bed time I decided to forego any deception. I picked Jean up and climbed the stairs to my room. Sandy had been busy setting up our little love nest. There were candles burning and soft music was playing. I stood Jean by the bed and we undressed. We climbed into the bed and made slow and gentle love for the remaining hours of the evening. We fell asleep around midnight and spent the whole night wrapped up in each other's arms.

I started college nights so I could get my bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. During that time Jean was studying to become a legal secretary. We set the date for our wedding in the fall and moved into a house we found on a nice quiet street not far from mom and dad's and close to Jean's parents house. Jean made it clear to Sandy that she was always welcome at our house and didn't even have to ask. For her it was an open door policy. If we were being intimate when she came over she was invited to join in with us.