Gina and Mike (11 page)

“And you never told anyone?” I asked him again.

“No. Like I said, I wanted to lots of times. Whenever I’d run into Coach Smith, I’d stare him down just so the bastard knew that I hadn’t forgotten.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. “So why bring this up now?”

“I don’t know,” Tom said. “Because you’re here and we’re alone and we can talk. And it’s bothered me for a long time, and I’ve always cared about you and want to make sure you’re all right.”

“I’m OK. But it hasn’t been easy. A big reason I became a prosecutor in the sex crimes unit was to put people like him away. I kind of feel like each time I’m in court and the outcome is in my favor I not only win for the victim but also for me. You’re right. I should have said something. I was a naïve 17-year-old who thought that Smith really had the power to ruin Mike’s life. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized that I was the one who had the power, that if I had reported what he had done, Smith would have been done for and Mike would have had another coach. I was so stupid.”

“No, you weren’t stupid,” Tom said. “You were seventeen. And besides, if you were stupid, I was stupid, too. I should have talked to you about it then, but I just couldn’t. But I’ve waited twenty years to tell you I’m sorry. Sorry that I wasn’t a better friend.”

My eyes were swimming in tears. I couldn’t help leaning over and hugging Tom. “You’ve always been a great friend. Just look at all of those unknowns you solved for me?”

Tom smiled. “Yeah, guess that’s true.”

“Besides,” I hit his arm playfully, “you’re not the only friend who’s upset with the way I handled the situation.”

“But I thought you never told anyone,” Tom said.

“I didn’t, until last night when I confided in Sue. She went ballistic. Cussed a firestorm of words I never heard coming out of her mouth before. She said if she would have known what he had done she would have made me tell.”

“Good for her,” Tom said.

“Enough about me. What about you. Why haven’t you ever married?”

“Never found the right girl. There was this girl in high school that I always liked. You know her well. She was always dating someone else, though, and I never had a chance.”

“And who would that be?” I asked.

Tom put his glasses back on. “Sue.”

“So why not ask her out?”

“I don’t know. For one thing, every time I see her she’s always in a hurry.”

“That’s just Sue. She’s a ball of energy. Remember we called her Tigger in school because she was always bouncing?”

Tom smiled. “I had forgotten about that. But I also rarely see her.”

“That’s no excuse,” I said. “Pick up the phone. You’re a big boy.”

“I know. But for some reason around her I can’t seem to get the words out. Christ, I’m almost forty and I still get that way.”

I smiled. I had no idea Tom had carried the torch for Sue for so long, and I knew that Sue had no idea.

“Tell ya what. She’s coming later. Hang with me and maybe you’ll get comfortable enough to ask her.”

I felt like I was back in high school playing matchmaker. And I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t think Sue would be interested, but I knew that she would be. Just the other night we had talked about high school and the guys we would have dated and Tom was on her list. Sue said she always thought he was nice. Now it was just a matter of getting them both together. And I knew I could do that.

****

Mike

I pulled into the hotel parking lot and parked beside Jeremy’s red Mustang. He was probably on his second gin and tonic. I didn’t drink much anymore and, when I did, it was a Yuengling lager. I turned off the car and looked into the rear-view mirror. Nothing hanging out of my nose; good. I grinned. Nothing sticking to my teeth; good. I remember one date I had a piece of green lettuce sticking to my front tooth and didn’t realize it until I got home and went to brush my teeth. My date never said anything; it might just be why she turned me down when I called to set up a second date.

I reached for the door handle and looked in the side view mirror. Sue pulled in behind me. I opened the door just as she was turning off her car. She tooted the horn.

I turned around and waved and Sue held up her index finger and mouthed “Wait!”

She grabbed her purse and hopped out of the car.  “Michael Parker. I wondered if I’d see you here.”

She hugged me like we were old buds and I instinctively put my arms around her.

I nodded toward the door. “I was just about ready to go in. Want to go in together?”

Sue smiled. “Sure. I’m supposed to meet Gina here, but she’s probably already inside.”

Sue scanned the parking lot.  “I don’t see her Audi.”

Just hearing Gina’s name made my heart skip a beat. I had wondered if she was coming and now that I knew that she was, I was scared as hell to see her. I had practiced bumping into her in front of the mirror all week, practicing what I would say, how I would smile. And now I’d see if all of my practice paid off.  I took a deep breath and walked with Sue to the front door. The closer we got to the door, the sweatier my palms got.

“Save me a dance, OK?”  Sue said. “You always were the best dancer. You and Gi…”

She stopped in mid-sentence.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s OK. It’s been 20 years. You’re right. Gina and I were pretty good dancers.”

Sue slipped in the door and I followed her, stopping at the table right inside to sign in and get our nametags.

“Sue and Mike,” Lynn said, coming out from behind the table to hug us both. “I’m so glad you came.”

She waved her arm toward the other end of the room. “There’s an open bar and some munchies to hold you over until dinner.”

Lynn looked at Sue. “Gina told me to tell you that she’s over at the mementoes table with Tom. You’re to head over there.”

Sue started to walk away and then stopped and turned around. “Are you coming?”

“With you?” I asked.

“Yes, with me.” Sue held out her hand. “Don’t you want to see Tom and Gina?”

I nodded. “Sure.” If my hands were sweaty before, they were drenched now. I stuck them inside my pockets to wipe them off.

Sue hadn’t changed. She was always a take-charge-kind-of-girl.

“Sue! Sue! Over here.”

We glanced in the direction of the voice. “It’s Karen,” Sue said.

Karen rushed over and hugged Sue and looked at me and squinted. “Michael Parker?”

I nodded.

“Omigod. You haven’t changed one bit. Well, except for the gray around the temples but it makes you look sexier.”

A girl was with Karen and she looked like a runway model – tall and thin and dark eyes that looked Asian. 

“Mia, this is Sue and Mike.”

Mia held out her hand to shake ours. She had long fingers and her nails were painted a deep red. She wore a band of diamonds on her left ring finger, so I figured she must be married. 

“Mia is my partner,” Karen explained.

Holy shit, I thought to myself. I had no idea Karen was gay and this chick, her partner, was drop dead gorgeous. I coughed and tried to recover with a smile. 

Sue smiled. “Gina told me you two had a son.”

Karen smiled and dug a small blue photo album out of her purse. She opened it. “This is Will.”

Sue took the album to get a closer look. “He’s so cute! Looks like you, Mia.”

Mia smiled. “Thanks. We used my egg.”

“And I carried him,” said Karen, smiling at Mia.

Sue held the album up so I could see the photo of Will.  

I nodded. Will did look like Mia. Same shiny black hair and almond-shaped eyes. I was trying to take in the whole sight. This is the same girl who got pregnant our senior year, had her baby that summer and married the dad. I had heard they split not long after they married, but I had no idea that she preferred girls. Damn, the shit you miss.

Someone I didn’t recognize came up to talk to Karen and Mia and Sue and I headed toward Gina and Tom. The closer we got the faster my heart beat. I wiped my sweaty palms again. Damn, just thinking about her made me crazy – still!

Chapter 10

Mike

Gina stood in front of a display table leaning forward to look at photos on a board. Even from a distance I recognized her figure. Her long legs and arms, and tiny waist. She looked beautiful in a brown silk dress and high heels. Her red hair fell down her back in waves.

Tom saw us first. He touched Gina’s arm and whispered in her ear and Gina turned and looked toward us. Her eyes met mine and hung on.

Sue put her arm around me. “Lookie who I found in the parking lot?”

Tom held out his hand. “Great to see you, Mike. And you, too, Sue.”

Gina hugged Sue and then turned to me. I wanted to hug Gina but I thought maybe that was too much, so I held out my hand to shake hers instead.

Gina smiled her gorgeous, smile. “Hi, Mike. You’re looking good.”

“You, too.”

Gina nodded toward the display table. “We were just looking at photos from high school.”

“Any of me up there?” Sue asked.

Gina nodded. “There’s one of you cheering.”

“Oh God, let me see.” Sue squeezed in next to Gina to look at the photos.

“How’s the pharmacy thing going?” I asked Tom.

“Busy. The older people keep us in business.”

“Yeah, guess people are living longer, which means more prescriptions, which means more business.”

“That’s about right. How about you? How’s the electricity business?”

“OK. It’s something that people always need so that’s good. Keeps me in a job.”

Sue turned around. “Here’s one of you, Mike. You look like a doofus.”

I walked over to look at the photos. I had to stand beside Gina because there wasn’t enough room to squeeze in on the other side of Sue. Someone squeezed in on the other side of me, forcing me even closer to Gina. We were inches apart.

I could smell Gina’s perfume. After twenty years, that musky scent still drove me wild. The smell was so powerful that it immediately transported me to our make-out place in the woods. We were on the sleeping bag and Gina’s head was on my bare chest, her red hair fanned out, tickling my mid-section.

Christ, I wanted to grab her right there in the ballroom and kiss her. Maybe even ditch the reunion and find a place where we could be alone. I wondered what she felt, if she felt anything at all.

****

Gina

When I turned around and saw Mike, my heart danced. The tingle was back. Damn that tingle.  Even after twenty years, he still made me feel like the only place to be was in his arms – and in his bed. His sexy smile made me dizzy with desire. The Mike Effect.

His teeth were just as white as I remembered them. He always had great teeth, and I remember I used to get mad because, unlike me, he never got cavities.

I watched as he shook Tom’s hand. I wondered if he would shake my hand. What I really wanted him to do was to take me in his arms and kiss me. But he held out his hand and shook mine instead. Why did I ever let him go? I was so stupid, so young. God, I was getting wet just thinking about him, about us. No one has ever had this effect on me.

Except for a little graying around his temples, he hadn’t changed much. I smiled when I saw the chicken pox scar on his cheek. Weird how a scar can mark you forever. It might smooth out over time, but the indentation remains. It never quite disappears.

He got that scar in kindergarten when he picked at a chicken pox. I used to trace the scar, about the size of a pencil eraser, with my finger and then trail down to his lips and circle them. Then he’d stick out his tongue and tickle my finger and I’d slip it inside his mouth and he would suck on it.

God, the damn stuff you remember. It all comes back so fast, and even if you think you’re prepared for it, you never really are. Those damn waves, nailing you from behind, knocking you down, rolling you over and over until you’re on the beach gasping for air
.

“Hey, Mike,” Sue said. “Remember in first grade you and I sang the opening to ‘Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer?’

“I remember.”

I wasn’t in their first-grade class, but I had heard the story often.

“Everyone stood behind us on stage and they cupped their hands over their noses. Mike and I sang the introduction. You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? And then everyone uncovered their noses to show that they each had a red nose and joined in the singing, ‘Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.’”

Everyone laughed. I noticed how Tom’s eyes clung to Sue. It was as if he were afraid to lose sight of her for fear she’d bounce away – again. He was so smitten. 

“Anyway,” said Sue, holding up a class photo. “Here’s a photo of our first-grade class. I found it in the box of photos my mom kept.”

Mike took the photo and smiled. “I was so dorky looking.”

“We all were,” Sue said.

Mike handed the photo back. “Can I get you girls something to drink?” 

“A class of chardonnay for me,” Sue said.

“What about you, Gina?” Tom asked.

“How about a gin and tonic? But with diet tonic.”

Tom nodded and left with Mike to get the drinks.

Sue grabbed my arm and flashed her big bug eyes at me. “Oh. My. God. Seeing you and Mike side by side was a blast from the past. You two look the same, only a little older.”

“Thanks.”

“Well, you know what I mean. You look good together. Think maybe…”

“I don’t know. I still feel things for him, but I’m not sure he does for me. And there is so much to explain, I’m not sure where to begin.”

“Start by telling him the truth.”

I knew that Sue was referring to the rape. I’ve never seen her spit bullets like she had last night when I finally told her the truth. “

“Can we talk about something else? Like the fact that I know something that you don’t know,” I said in a sing-songy voice.