“Sure, if you’re game. But she can be a tough nut to crack, as she’d willingly tell you.” She giggled. “And as for my brother Paul, he isn’t crazy about you either. But Vic told him he likes you so that softened him up a bit. Every Sunday Vic and Karen come for dinner. So if you want, you can come next Sunday too. It’ll give you a week to prepare.”
“Hey you can’t scare me that easily. I’m in.”
“Okay. My mom is an amazing cook. I’ll ask her to make her famous manicotti.”
“Yum, manicotti! Great, I’m looking forward to it.”
*
Sunday afternoon, Tony rang the doorbell precisely on time, holding a bottle of Riunite and a spring flower arrangement for Lucille. Jackie met him at the door. He kissed her warmly. She took his coat and hung it on the rack in the hallway. Leading him into the kitchen, she introduced him to her mother. “Ma, you remember Tony.” Lucille wiped her hands on her pink-and-lavender flowered apron and reached to shake Tony’s hand. “It’s good to meet you again, Tony. I hear you like manicotti.” Jackie breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s nice seeing you again too, Mrs. Martin. I
love
manicotti.” He handed her the flower arrangement. “This is for you.”
“Thank you. That’s quite thoughtful,” Lucille said, accepting the arrangement. “I happen to love peonies.” She sniffed one with her eyes closed. “Thank you again.”
Not wanting to push her luck with her mother, Jackie led Tony through the dining room and into the sunroom. “Come, my brothers and Karen are here.”
The trio was watching the
Gong Show
. Vic rose from the sofa to shake Tony’s hand. “Hi, Tony. It’s nice to see ya again. You remember Karen?”
“I do. Hi Karen.”
“Hey Tony, it’s nice to see ya again.”
“And this is my brother Paul,” Jackie said, motioning to her younger brother who was sitting in the recliner.
“Hey,” Paul said, as he reached to shake Tony’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot of about you, Tony. Gotta admit, some good, some bad.” His hand rotated in demonstration.
“Oh Paul,” Jackie said, “Let’s not—”
“Just kidding sis, couldn’t help myself. It’s good to meet you, Tony.”
“Come honey, sit on the sofa. I’ll get some drinks. Anyone want anything?”
“No thanks,” they said in harmony. As she left the room, it warmed her heart to hear the four of them talking about the last contestant and laughing together.
Jackie returned with two glasses of Riunite and settled on the couch beside her boyfriend. As the show ended, she stood up with her wine glass in hand. “Hey, I’m gonna help Ma put dinner on the table. You guys don’t need me anyway,” she said, joking.
Tony grabbed her arm as she got up and pulled her into his lap. “Don’t ever think I don’t need you,” he whispered, and playfully kissed her neck.
*
While helping her mother set the table, toss the salad, and put dinner on the table, Jackie asked, “So Ma, what do you think of Tony?”
“I saw him for a minute,” she said, putting the final touches on her manicotti. “The flowers are beautiful, I’ll admit. By the way, put them in the middle of the table would you?”
“Time for dinner,” Jackie announced. Everyone moved to the dining room table. Dinner at the Martins’ was always served family style. Being an only child, Tony found the free-for-all amusing.
“Your manicotti is exceptional, Mrs. Martin.” Tony wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Jackie mentioned that you’re an amazing cook, but honestly, that’s an understatement. It’s the best manicotti I’ve ever eaten and my dad is Sicilian.”
“Thank you, Tony. I’ll send you home with some. You can take it to work for lunch.” Flattery worked wonders on Lucille. After dinner, the group sat around the dining room table talking and laughing and enjoying apple cobbler and coffee. Tony fit perfectly into the Martins’ little family.
May 1976
J
ackie and Tara were sitting at a table in the Pewter Pot, a muffin house.
“Geez, now that we have boyfriends, we don’t get together as often. Thank goodness we can sneak breakfast every so often. So, I need details. What’s going on? I assume you guys aren’t doing it yet or you’d have told me.”
“Of course I’d have told you. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Can you give me your gyno’s name and number? It’s time to get birth control. I can’t take another minute of sexual tension. He drives me crazy. And I know he’s at his wits end.”
“How exciting!” Tara wrote her doctor’s phone number in Jackie’s address book. “She’s great.”
*
The following Saturday evening, Jackie and Tony were parked in front of her house, their temperatures rising from deep kissing. Jackie pulled back enough to look at Tony.
“I’m on the pill,” she said.
“That’s a nice surprise. You’re ready?”
“Oh honey, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” She leaned forward until her lips brushed his.
“Well then, I think next weekend I’ll get us a nice hotel room. Good?”
“Great!”
*
In one of their evening phone calls, Jackie told Tony about David and her abortion experience because he needed to know how she felt about it. Tony listened as Jackie described her ordeal in a shaky voice.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Jack. It sounds horrible, and I can hear how upset you are, but it sounds as if you made the right choice at the time.”
“Yeah, I think so too.” Jackie sniffled. “It’s such a heart-wrenching decision to have to make and live with. I can never do it again. I need you to know that.”
“Well, you’re on the pill so it shouldn’t be an issue for us.”
“True. But I need you to know that about me.”
“I understand completely.”
“What’s your view on abortion?”
“I think it’s a woman’s choice. But, if it were my kid, I wouldn’t want to do it. We’d get married.”
“Married? That’s crazy. A couple shouldn’t marry because they’re going to be parents. They should marry only if they love each other enough to want to spend their lives together.”
“Well, isn’t getting married the right thing to do?”
“Not necessarily. You don’t have to marry someone to take responsibility for a child. Anyway, this topic is making me nervous. I wanted to share that experience with you because it’s something I’ll never do again.”
“Thanks for telling me, Jackie. I’ve never felt closer to you. If I were there now, I’d hold you in my arms until you fell asleep.”
The couple shared their excitement about the upcoming weekend and said good night.
*
Friday night, Jackie leaped into Tony’s car, eyes sparkling and smile gleaming. She gave Tony a sexy, enthralling kiss. A prelude.
“Well, you’re one eager lady.” He laughed. “We’re staying at the Marriott over in Newton. It has an indoor pool, sauna, and Jacuzzi.”
“Sounds wonderful.” She sat back and lit a cigarette.
Tony had checked in earlier, so they walked through the spacious lobby, past the piano bar to the glass and brass elevators. The couple flirted as they rode the elevator to the third floor.
Tony unlocked the door and gestured for Jackie to enter before him. The small furnished room had a king-size bed, two overstuffed chairs, a bureau, and a desk. Passing the bed, Jackie gravitated to the balcony door, appreciating the river view reflecting a nearly full moon. “What a romantic view!”
She flung her bag on the bureau and turned to Tony with arms wide open. His fervent kiss enveloped her while his roaming hands explored the outline of her body. Unable to refrain any longer, he unbuttoned the front of her dress. Jackie watched Tony’s face as her dress fell to the floor. He led her to the bed as she unbuttoned his shirt and her hands slid to feel his hard, hairy chest. Jackie lay down on the bed. Tony stepped back to appreciate her desirable body, then kicked off his pants. She ached with anticipation, welcoming his warm, heavy body onto hers. The night was spent in the ecstasy of passionate, long-awaited lovemaking.
In the morning, Jackie awoke first. She studied Tony, hardly believing he was there beside her. He stirred. “What are you looking at?”
“You.” She kissed him. That was all it took to revive the hurricane of desire.
By noon they were ravenous. They had brunch, changed into swimsuits, and spent the afternoon on lounge chairs, basking in the warmth of the sun under the glass roof of the pool area. After a brief nap, they went in the hot tub and enjoyed fondling and kissing
—
another prelude.
The couple enjoyed an elegant dinner at eight followed by drinks and dancing in the lounge. When the bar closed, they returned to their room and made love into the wee hours of the morning.
*
Jackie was the only member of the Martin family to graduate from college. With a bouquet of flowers in hand for the graduate, Tony attended the ceremony with Jackie’s family, Tara, and Ellen. Jackie was under the impression that the group would go out to dinner after the ceremony, but Tony had planned a surprise party in the Salvuccis’ backyard. The pool was open. Guests could play bocce in the rear of the yard or ping-pong or darts in the basement. The volleyball net was set up in the side yard.
Jackie and Tony walked to his car after the ceremony. Tony stopped and checked his pockets. “Oh shit, I forgot my wallet! Sorry honey, I need to stop home before we go to the restaurant.” Tony was pleased with his ruse; Jackie would never suspect the surprise.
“No problem, sweetie.”
Pulling into the driveway, he said, “Hey Jackie, my parents want to congratulate you. Come in for a minute will ya?”
“Sure!” She glanced down the street. “There are a lot of cars around here.”
“Yeah, one of our neighbors must be having a party.”
Once inside the house, some commotion in the backyard caught her attention. She went to the patio door and recognized friends from The Stockyard and from school. “Hey Tony, what’s going on here?”
“Surprise! I thought after all your hard work you deserved something better than dinner at some restaurant. Your family, Tara, and Ellen should be right behind us. They wanted you to be here first so you wouldn’t see their cars.”
Tears welled in Jackie’s eyes. “Tony, this is the sweetest thing ever! Thank you so much!” She threw her arms around him and planted a warm kiss of appreciation, then went over to Louie and Anna. “How nice of you to do this for me! I’m overwhelmed.” She kissed them both on the cheek.
“It’s our pleasure,” Louie said. “We love to entertain, I’m sure Tony has told you.”
“Still, this is a lot of trouble you’ve gone through for me. I’m touched.”
“Dear, go outside and enjoy!” Anna gestured to the patio door.
Someone was spinning records. The bar was open. The grill was fired up. The party was on. Anna circulated making sure all the food was replenished. Louie, an ace bartender, spent the afternoon chatting with everyone and ensuring drinks were refilled.
“I cannot thank you enough, Louie and Anna, for hosting this fantastic graduation party for me. My friends and family had such a great time, and I did too!” Jackie and Tony were leaving with a basket filled with cards.
“My dear, it was our pleasure,” Anna assured her.
*
Jackie was excited about starting her career in public relations, but with the economic recession, there weren’t many positions available. She applied for the few openings but came in second each time. She remained determined not to settle for less than she wanted in any full-time position. While she pursued her dream job, she decided to keep her waitress job at The Stockyard.
June 1976
From the first time the couple made love, their sexual appetites were insatiable. With each of them still living at home, finding places to be intimate was challenging. They sneaked into Tony’s basement bedroom. Occasionally, they sneaked into Jackie’s attic bedroom. If those options didn’t pan out, they parked at Prospect Hill Park or the duck pond. But they both preferred the nights when Tony got a hotel room so they could spend hours exploring each other’s bodies and waking up together in the morning.
*
Their evening phone calls became more provocative and explicit as Tony told Jackie all the things he wanted to do to her. She responded in kind. One night, after their sexual flirtations, Tony asked, “Have you ever been to York Beach in Maine?”
“Yes, I have. Love the place! Vic and Karen go there a lot with her family. Tara and I often tag along. Why do you ask?”
“I’d like to take you there this weekend for your birthday. Let’s leave Friday night and celebrate your birthday in style.”
“That sounds fantastic! Oh, I’m so excited.”
*
Tony had reserved a corner room on the top floor of the Union Bluff Hotel, situated on Short Sands Beach. French doors led to a balcony that overlooked the ocean. Jackie opened the doors on the balcony to admire the moonlight dancing across the waves. She breathed in the ocean air as the breeze tossed her long hair. Tony came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. She felt him gently pushing his hardness against her backside, raising her desire. After foreplay on the balcony, they fell onto the bed entwined, with the moonlight streaming over them and sounds of the ocean filling the room.
Their morning frolic in bed was followed by a quick breakfast and a delightful day of beach bathing. Their perfect day ended with a romantic dinner at the Nubble Lighthouse dining room.
Seated at a window table, they enjoyed a prime view of the lighthouse. The waitress took their drink order and told them the evening’s specials. Jackie took out a cigarette. Tony lit it. The couple absorbed the breathtaking beauty of the lighthouse as the whitecaps broke upon the rocky ledge.
“Such an extraordinary lighthouse, isn’t it?” Tony remarked.
“It is.”
“I wonder what it’d be like to live in a lighthouse on its own island.”
“Lonely, I’d think.”
“Yeah, but living with the ocean surrounding you.”
“Just go out on your boat,” she said, laughing. “I’m starving. What are you getting? No seafood, right?”
“Yup, you know me. I’ll have prime rib. And you’re getting lobster, baked stuffed?”
“Good guess.” She closed her menu.