To my readers: My apologies for being away so long. Work has me by the shorthairs and I just haven't had the time.
I still owe you a few more installments on a couple of storylines and I haven't forgotten them. I hope to jump back on them shortly.
In the meantime I finally put this story to pen.
I still have the scar on my elbow and, unfortunately, Laura used our liaison as a way to get back at her husband, rather than as a long term relationship. Still it brings back some fond memories and makes a hell of a story.
Hope you enjoy and would love to hear from you if you do.
Thinking of you!
Don
*
I think it is most important for my readers to understand that I had no intention of hitting the son-of-a-bitch. I had planned on simply speaking with him and expressing my displeasure with how he had spoken about his wife.
I'm getting ahead of myself though so, before you determine whether I'm a bad guy or not, I'd better tell you the whole story.
I was attending my 30th high school reunion. Not normally my kind of thing but I'd skipped the twentieth, and the tenth was still way too clique-ish for my taste.
So here I was nursing a CC and soda, while Jenny Waters babbled on incessantly about how much money her husband made when he sold their last house. Of course only after she had painted the rooms and redone the drapes. Sponge-on, sponge-off, twin roll, texture paint, blocking, stitching, sewing, blah, blah, blah, drone, drone, drone, and so forth.
It's not that I wasn't happy for Jenny and her husband. It's just that I didn't have a clue who she was. Hell, I'd gone to school with Jake Waters, and if we exchanged three words in four years of high school it was three too many. Jake was a jock and I was in the silent majority.
I was seriously thinking of excusing myself and heading for the bar when SHE walked in.
Laura Clark was my fantasy dream date throughout high school. Problem was I never could muster the courage to ask her out. Like so many high school kids I never understood that "no" wasn't going to kill me and, if I'd only taken the chance, the answer probably would have been "yes".
The other guys didn't see her the way I did. They would snicker over her glasses, or the way she dressed. They would make stupid remarks about her weight. In gym class she was always the last to be picked. She sat at lunch with a couple of girlfriends, never any guys. She wasn't at the prom. (I know because I went alone hoping she would show up.)
Laura was not an ugly girl. By her senior year she was responsible for every wet dream I had, and though the other guys didn't admit it, I'm sure she was responsible for a fair share of theirs too.
After school we both ended up at the same local college and I started to realize that if I didn't ask her out I would miss my chance. So just about the time I started to realize that I had "balls" and that I could muster the courage to ask her out, she meets John Carter.
Whirlwind romance, marriage, and three kids later she's about to walk back into my life. What a friggin' waste of my life I think to myself. If I hadn't been sitting down I'd have kicked my ass from one side of the room to the other.
Fortunately, Jim Thompson, my best friend from high school, was on the reunion committee and made arrangements for Laura and her husband to sit at my table. I couldn't have been happier as I watched her walk towards me.
My happiness was shortlived though when I saw that she was extremely upset and had, in fact, been crying recently.
I had gotten up to hug her and couldn't help but notice how warmly she reciprocated.
"Are you okay Laura?" I asked, genuinely concerned.
"I'm fine Don", she said, still hitching at her breath. "I just need a couple of moments".
I realized that we were still holding each other closely, and briefly, mentally, kicked my ass again for losing her.
We broke apart and I pulled a seat out for her.
"Would you like something to drink?" I asked.
"Just a glass of white wine, thank you", she sighed heavily.
I noticed the look of annoyance from Jenny as I headed towards the bar without asking Jake or her if they wanted anything. (Jenny. If you're reading this. Sorry.)
I was back to the table in record time with two glasses of wine.
"Here you go", I said with as much gallantry as I could summon. "Are you feeling better?"
Laura sipped at her wine.
"I'll be fine Don", she said with the definite tone of resignation in her voice. "I'll be fine. It's not something you need to be concerned about. Same shit. Different day."
Sad or not, just looking at Laura brought back every good and bad memory I ever had of her in a sudden, jarring jolt. She was still her voluptuous beautiful self and I felt like a high school kid all over again.
The change in Laura's face was almost miraculous. A beautiful smile broke through and caught me by surprise.
"You used to look at me like that in high school", she laughed. "It feels good to be looked at like that."
I know I blushed crimson as I could feel the heat in my face.
"I'm sorry", I murmured. "It's just that I was thinking about... about... ummmm... high school."
"That's what I said" she continued to laugh. "You used to look at me like that in high school. What we're you thinking?"
I know I blushed even harder as I had a pretty good idea that she knew what I was thinking. I never got a chance to answer though because at that moment her husband, John, came up to the table and sat down next to her.
He looked over at me and then to the drink in Laura's hand.
"What did you get me?" he asked Laura with a hint of contempt in his voice.
"I'm sorry", I said. "I got her a drink when she came in."
"I don't remember asking you what you did or didn't do", Jake said in an aggravated tone. "I was speaking to my wife. Now are you going to get me something or not?"
I could see the dark cloud forming on Laura's face.
"I'm not", she said calmly. "I'm not the waitress. If you want a drink you can order one at the bar."