Something else I’d done was to have a private word with my younger brother, Phil. I shared with him what Jill had told me in New York. He didn’t take it very well. No guy wants to hear they are useless in bed. I got him to agree to talk to Greg.
Dare getting a hickey was what finally convinced him. Greg had taken on Dare as his Padawan in the seductive arts. Even Phil had to admit that Dare getting a hickey was more than any of us had ever imagined possible.
◊◊◊
On the way to lunch, my phone rang. People knew that was the best time to get ahold of me because you couldn’t have your phone on during class.
“Hello, stranger,” I answered.
“I’m coming home for the weekend and want to spend some time with you,” Tami said.
“Tonight, I have a non-date date with Cassidy. Tomorrow, I have a baseball game. After that, I’ve been told I have to go to Tracy Dole’s lake house to help her clean it. We’re going to have our senior skip day there,” I said to lay out my schedule for the weekend.
“Do you think she would mind if we crashed your skip day? I would guess there are a few people from school here who would like to see you.”
“I don’t see why not. As long as you don’t invite Alan or Mike,” I quickly added.
“What’s a ‘non-date date’?”
“Cassidy finds herself single, and her dad won’t let her go out with me. She complained that she didn’t want to stay home, so I suggested she be my security while I went out for dinner. Sort of a loophole to appease her dad,” I explained.
“If it’s not a date, maybe you should take me, and Cassidy can watch us,” Tami suggested.
I barked out a laugh.
“I’ll let you suggest that one to her. If it works out, let me know. Cassidy says I’m supposed to take her somewhere nice.”
“I wanted to go to Monical’s,” Tami shared.
I hadn’t been there in a long time. That didn’t sound all that bad to me.
“Cassidy has her mind made up. I sort of told on her, and she didn’t take it very well. I’m still walking on eggshells right now.”
“Your mom told me. I’ll let you have your big non-date date tonight, but I get you tomorrow. Consider it like when we were glued at the hip 24/7 a couple of summers ago,” Tami said.
We’d gone through a rough patch when I’d imagined we were more than we were. Tami would always be important to me, but I’d figured out she wasn’t the main person in my life anymore. We’d grown up as best friends, and I’d simply assumed that would always be the case. Now several weeks passed between us talking to each other.
Reflecting on our relationship made me realize that when I graduated, it would be the same with most of my current friends. People I saw every day would be off living their own lives, just as I would. My grand plan for all my friends to go to college with me at the same school had fallen apart. I was down to just Tim and Wolf going to Oklahoma with me.
It was sad to think we would walk away and not see each other until a class reunion in ten or more years.
Then again, it was exciting. I had the bonus of filming all over the world after I left high school. I viewed it as a grand adventure. Chubby Feldman had sent me the tentative shoot locations. They included London, Barcelona, Hong Kong, and northern India, which was supposed to be gorgeous. Then, for my
In a way, it resembled what some folks called a ‘gap year,’ a chance to get away from school, have fun, and explore. And to figure out what you wanted to be when you grew up. After that, I would come back and start college.
“I’m not sure how much fun cleaning a house will be,” I warned Tami.
“Is it supposed to be just you and Tracy?” Tami asked.
That made me stop and think. Did Tracy want to spend time alone with me? She had been complaining I never saw her. To be honest, this was a prime example. Tracy was probably my best friend, and I had gotten busy and not spent time with her.
In any case, I was sure Tracy wouldn’t begrudge Tami if she horned in on our time together.
“Maybe, but Tracy would love to have you there. She hasn’t seen you in a while, either.”
“Then I’ll spend time with my mom tonight and be at your place first thing in the morning,” Tami said.
I looked forward to it.
◊◊◊
Downtown, a small restaurant had opened called the Green Door Bistro. They advertised fine dry-aged steaks cut in-house. Cassidy and I both agreed we could go for a nice steak. It wasn’t a large place. They’d taken over an old barbershop and the shoe store next door and had room for about ten tables.
I found it amusing that they’d paired white tablecloths with mason jars made into candles. I thought it was an excellent way to show a touch of whimsy that demonstrated they didn’t take themselves too seriously. Our server wore a lovely white buttoned-up blouse paired with a tasteful black skirt and cowboy boots. I started to think I might have found my new favorite place to eat.
