Charley (19 page)

“I wanted to marry your mom, but my father and mother were against it. They didn’t think your mom would be a good match for their son. I’m not proud of it, but I gave in to them. Helen was a good woman, and I liked her a lot and my parents approved. We got married, of course. But I couldn’t stay away from your mom. Kate was the most understanding and sweetest woman I knew. I could talk to her about everything. We got pretty serious, and unfortunately she got pregnant. I offered to divorce Helen, but Kate wouldn’t let me. She married Russ Howard, who had a crush on her, and then you were born.”

“What about Helen? And Teresa?” I was barely whispering, but in the deathly silence of the office, it sounded like I was shouting.  “What about them? Do they know? Do they think I’m the little bastard child of the mighty Loomis family? What about them? How can I even face them again? My God Shelby, I was in Teresa’s wedding and she was in mine!”

“Charlotte, I got the nerve to tell Helen before you were born. It put a real strain on our marriage, but Helen forgave me. She is such a fine woman. She went to see Kate and they talked, even became friends. Helen insisted we do the right thing, so we helped Kate care for you from the beginning. Teresa was another story. We told her after your wedding, and she has frozen me out of her life. She doesn’t blame you. It’s me she’s mad at Charley. I love you. I made a mistake, and I’ve been paying for it for the last thirty-two years. I am so sorry.”

“What about my daddy? Did he know?”

“Russ found out when you were about two. You had the blondest head of hair of any child I’ve ever seen. But both he and Kate are brunettes. He got suspicious, and hounded Kate until she admitted you were not his child. At first he was okay with it. He loved Kate and he was the one she married.  As the years passed, and they were not able to have any children, Russ couldn’t stand it. He began drinking and abusing you and your mom.”

Ronnie picked up the story. “When you were twelve, Russ had tried to rape you whilst you were sleeping, after a long session drinking. Kate hit him with a broom handle, he ran off and she drove to the Bar hysterical. Jimmy, Shelby and I went over to talk to Russ when he sobered up and convinced him to leave Nashville and never return. Not surprisingly, a little money and the promise of a real butt-whipping kept him away. Your mom divorced him six months later.”

“So you drove my daddy out of town?”

“We didn’t have a choice, Charlotte. If he had stayed, we were afraid he would kill you both.” Shelby paused. “We had to protect you and your mom.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt. I was thankful they wanted to protect us, but I was mad that they split up me and my daddy. I loved him, even when he was drunk and mean. I was just twelve for goodness sake, what did I know?

“Don’t expect me to call you dad or daddy, okay?”

Dark thoughts were running amok in my head. The man I thought was my daddy was not. The man I trusted most had lied to me, and the man who was my real father was a coward and would not admit it for thirty-two years. On top of that a group of men were trying to take over my business, and the one man I thought loved me could be in on the plot to cheat me out of Jimmy’s … I felt just like I did when I lost Randle … all alone and at the mercy of the world. I felt screwed!

I left the bank and wandered out of the building, but didn’t go toward Jimmy’s. I headed up Church Street. It was another hot day, but I didn’t mind the heat, it actually felt soothing to my skin. The sidewalk was alive with people heading to lunch, or to do a little shopping. I couldn’t understand why they seemed so happy. Didn’t they know my life was upside down? But they didn’t pay attention to me, and just walked around me as I stopped in front of the McKendree United Methodist Church. I went up a couple of those steps and sat within earshot of several folks having their lunch on the marble steps. I listened to the women talking and complaining, and laughing about their work, their home life, and their kids. And, of course, their husbands or boyfriends. Seems that all of them had difficulties of some sort, but they all seemed to be okay with it. They laughed and joked and carried on with their lives. But my troubles were more important and more difficult to solve.

I hate it when my mind has a pity-party. That was when it suddenly struck me.

Everyone has trouble. It’s not a matter of having troubles, it’s how you react to them that matters.

I got up, straightened my skirt and headed back toward Jimmy’s with a different attitude. The mantra that Dr. Cox had taught me during those years in therapy came to mind in a real way.

‘I will pull myself together. I will not live in the past, I will live for today. I will be happy.’

The flight was due to land at 11:50, but the pilot announced a new arrival time of 12:30. I was nervous about seeing PJ again. This weekend had put me in a crazy mood, somewhere between depressed and elated. But I needed to see PJ again. I needed his touch and his soft voice. Focusing on seeing him again gave me a warm sense of well-being, kind of a light headedness.

I knew I needed to ask him about his involvement with the Player’s Investor Group. Was he a member of this group? Was he seeing me for non-personal reasons? And the potential answer to that question depressed me. I understand now why some people look to alcohol or drugs to take the edge off their worries. That is not my style, but I understood.

The landing was easy, but the taxiing to the terminal and the wait for other passengers to file out was agonizing. I waited calmly for my turn to walk into the terminal waiting room and down the long walk to the non-passenger waiting area.  

Good! There he is. Be cool girl, be cool. Oh, forget being cool!

Like a school girl I raced to his open arms. “PJ, I told you I wanted to see you.” Eagerly, I jumped into his arms and planted a big wet kiss on his lips. I knocked the roses he was carrying out of his hands and almost sent both of us sprawling on the floor.

Fortunately, a grandfather type reached out and kept us from falling. He kindly picked up the roses and graciously gave them to PJ. “I think you want to give these to your young lady.”

Your young lady, I love the sound of your young lady.

PJ recovered enough to hand me the battered roses. I expected some romantic words, but all he could come up with was, ‘how was your flight?’ It didn’t matter. I was back in his arms, my problems forgotten for the moment, my depression gone and my faith restored.

“Let’s get your bags first, my car is right outside.”

We walked hand in hand to the baggage claim area, and over to his car in the short term parking lot. “Wow, is that your car?” I couldn’t help myself.  “Sure beats my old SUV any day. And it is so red too! I love it.”

“Let me help you in and we can be on our way.”

As he opened the door, I put my arms around his neck and pulled his tall frame to me, and proceeded to kiss him with passion.

“Was that for the car or for me?”

“For you, you dummy! I know it’s only been a few days, but I’ve missed you.”

I kissed him again and slipped into the passenger’s seat. I could see him give a little pump shake of his arm as he took the luggage to the trunk, and came around to the driver’s side.

“Hit the green button, it’ll open the top.”

“This is a convertible? I thought it was a hardtop. Let’s do it, maybe I can get a tan while we’re riding.”

We rode off in silence. PJ eased onto I-71 toward Cincinnati, while I relaxed in the cushioned tan leather seat. The wind was blowing my hair and the sun was beaming; not a cloud in the sky. I couldn’t help thinking that this is the way things are supposed to be. Isn’t it?

“How long before we’re there?” I shouted over the wind.

“Maybe an hour and a half, quicker if we miss the Cincinnati traffic,” he shouted back. “If that wind is too much for you, I’ll raise the window.”

The wind was a bit strong. “Why don’t you stop up here and put the top up? Convertibles on the Interstate are not good for conversation.”

After we got back on the Interstate with the top up and the air conditioner going, I reached over and put my hand on his thigh. “PJ, I’m tired from the trip. Do you think I could take a nap when we get to your house before we go anywhere?”

“Sure,” he replied and continued happily driving.

After a few silent miles, I could tell that he didn’t have a clue what I was hinting at. I thought … he may be a mastermind basketball coach but he hasn’t got a clue about flirting. He’s probably sulking because he thought we would fall into bed when we got there. And here, he thinks I want to take a nap. It was at that moment that I realized PJ was as nervous as I was. He has no idea what has gone on, and he hasn’t been in the relationship market for a long time. After last weekend, he probably is only thinking sex and nothing else.

I reached for his right hand that was resting on my hand. I pulled it over to my thigh and caressed it slowly. I gently pulled his hand up my thigh. Sweetly I purred. “You look tired as well. Why don’t you lie down with me, and we can take a nap together?”

He sat up in the driver’s seat. “Huh?”

I was like I hit him with a two by four. He glanced at me with one of those stupid grins, and I blew him a kiss and pulled his hand further up my leg and opened them slightly. Now that he had finally gotten the message, I replaced my hand on his thigh and squeezed.

I swear the car sped up once I touched him. And so we rode, with our hands active on each other’s leg, talking and laughing in our own private and air conditioned cocoon speeding up the highway. I’m a toucher, I have to admit it, and I just wanted to connect with PJ physically.

I needed to get back to where we were last week. “Have you told anyone about me and that I’m coming to visit?”

“Not too many people,” PJ replied. “I’ve told Mary Lou, my secretary. And I told Jerry Mason and Ron Winters, my closest assistant coaches. By the way, their wives suggested we have dinner with them tonight at 7:00 at the Country Club. They want to meet you. They also invited Mary Lou. Then I told Doug Damson, a professor at the English department. He’s helping me develop my creative writing skills.  I want to write a book about basketball someday, or perhaps articles for one of the sports magazines. He tells me that I’m in pretty good shape now. In fact, I already have a couple of articles published in some of the sports publications.

“That sounds amazing, PJ.”

He continued as I lay back and just enjoyed listening to the texture of his voice.

“Janet Stockman is Head of our Drama department, and her husband Darrell is our football coach. When I started doing our team show on the local TV station, Janet was appalled, and instantly agreed to help me with my on-stage presence. She said she couldn’t let me embarrass the University.”

“And, of course, I also told Marlene Smith, my housekeeper. You’ll like Marlene. Her husband Vincent is the chef for the athletic department. He’s a great cook. Both are in their fifties and have two sons at Curtis. She helps me out four days a week by doing the household things I can’t do, or don’t want to do. She’s been working all day getting the house prepared for you. I hope you’re a good housekeeper and cook, because she and Vincent are going on a two week mission trip to help build a church in Mexico. We’ll have the house to ourselves, and I sure as heck can’t cook or keep a house straight.”

There was a silence as I stared across at him before PJ added. “If I had more time, I would have taken an ad in the local newspaper announcing your coming.”

Dang, it didn’t take much to get his mouth going. The words flowed like the water over Old Hickory Dam.

‘PJ, you really are crazy,’ was all I could think to say. But inside, I was bubbling over. He really is glad to see me, he really does want us to have a relationship and he really does want me.

“What time is it now?”

“About 2:15,” he replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Will we have time to take a nap, as well as get ready to meet everyone for dinner?”

“Sweetheart, we’re about forty-five minutes away from Middletown. We’ll be there before 3:00 and that should give us plenty of time. If not, I’ll call Jerry and Ron and tell them I’m making love to my angel. And they’ll just have to wait!”

Laughing hard, I said. “You
are
horrible.”

About 2:50, the car turned onto a quiet suburban street on the south side of Middletown. The entrance to the subdivision was lined with brilliant red, yellow and white flowers. The trees bordering the entrance were all trimmed and in full bloom. PJ slowly guided the BMW past a series of upper middle class brick homes.

“There we are, over on the left …”

The circular driveway led to a beautiful one story rambling brick ranch, with majestic trees bordering both the right and left boundaries of the property. The beautiful landscaping across the front of the house accented the brickwork perfectly. The lawn had been recently mown and freshly trimmed. 

He announced loudly. “We’re home,” and proceeded to drive around to the parking area in the back. Standing in the driveway was a white Chevy Camaro.

“Looks like Marlene is still here.”

PJ finally maneuvered next to Marlene’s car. As I got out, I was drawn to the landscaped backyard. “Wow, did you design this yourself? Or was it done before you bought the place?”

“The pool and the elevated waterfalls were my ideas, as was the pool house. The previous owner had done the rest. Like it?”

“Looks like a real country club to me. I can’t wait to take a swim.”

I skipped up the three steps from the parking area to the pool and joked. “I’m not so sure I want a nap now. Maybe a swim instead?”

“I was afraid you might say that,” PJ retorted jokingly, and laughed loudly as he joined me on the patio.

“Why don’t you call Mary Lou and Jerry and Ron?” I suggested. “And see if they can come over here for a late night swim and steak cookout? We’ll have more time to visit and get to know each other. Besides, you and I will have more nap time.”