CHAPTER 10

MARY GOLD

For the next few days after my birthday, I was blissfully happy.  Then there was a very brief road bump that actually ended up increasing my joy.  I was sitting outside of the mall waiting for Jake to pick me up from work.  I was puzzled because he wasn’t there, and Jake is one of the most punctual people that I have ever met.  Did I tell him the wrong entrance?

“Hey, check it out. It’s Mary Horner,” I heard a familiar, but not pleasant voice say.

I turned to look in the direction of the noise, and anxiety sprang into my middle.  It was Chad Cummings, a guy from high school who used to tease and harass me almost every time we crossed paths.  He was with Justin Shoop and Drew Michaels, two more guys from my high school that were less than friendly to me.  

“Well, well little Miss Mary Horner,” Chad said, only instead of using my last name correctly, he used a slang word for sexual arousal.

I ignored them and pretended to read my little pocket Bible.  Chad made some derogatory comments about God and me praying.  I felt the beginning of tears sting my eyes, praying that they wouldn’t leak onto my cheeks, and that these creeps would just go away.  It’s a lonely feeling being bullied, but God was my refuge, and I was about to realize he had now given me a human shield as well.

Chad continued his verbal abuse, saying with a laugh that it looked like I finally grew some breasts. Only he used a slang word for breasts.  It was at this moment that I heard a familiar, but very pleasant voice.

“What did you say to my girlfriend?” Jake demanded as he walked briskly up to Chad. Jake’s biceps bulged, and his chest muscles looked like they might rip his shirt like the ‘Incredible Hulk.’

Chad’s smirk filled expression disappeared and was replaced with something like dread.

The fire in Jake’s eyes made him look even more imposing.

“Nothing, man!” Chad shrieked with a high pitched panicked squeak.

Jake shoved Chad so hard in the chest that he flew backward several feet and landed on his rear end.  Chad was now visibly trembling. To this day I wonder if it was a sin to take satisfaction in Chad’s torment by my boyfriend’s protection.

“Look man, I’m sorry.  I was just joking,” Chad said with a shaking voice.

Jake looked at Justin and Drew.

“We didn’t say a word,” Drew told Jake with hands lifted in a gesture of surrender. “Did we Mary?”

I ignored him as I marveled that three guys were backing down from one.  However none of the trio was close to being as powerful as Jake.  Plus Jake was seething mad with a capital M.  Jake grabbed Chad by the shirt and yanked him to his feet.  I could hear fabric and stitching rip as he did so.   Jake reared back his fist as if he was going to punch him, causing Chad to cringe.  Jake didn’t hit him though.  He grabbed hold of his arm and shoved him in front of me.

“Apologize to her or I’ll tear you apart,” Jake said.

“Sorry, Mary,” Chad said with a quivering lower lip.

“If I ever see any of you guys even come close to my girlfriend again, I’m not letting you off so easy,” Jake said. “Now get away from us.”

Chad and Justin didn’t waste any time leaving, but Drew lingered.  Jake got in his face.

“You looking to get hurt?” Jake demanded.

“Be cool man. I want to apologize, too,” Drew said, putting a hand up in a gesture of peace.

Jake nodded, crossed his muscular arms, and eyed Drew cautiously.

“Listen, Mary,” Drew said. “I happened to run into Chad and Justin in the mall so I wasn’t actually hanging out with them. Believe it or not, I was going to tell Chad to knock it off, but your boyfriend beat me to it.”  

He glanced at Jake respectfully, then continued. “I’m done with high school crap and I regret going along with those guys back then.  I wanted to be part of the cool kids, you know? Now that I’m a little older, and hopefully a little wiser, I now see they were actually pathetic losers. To be honest I hated the bullying, especially when they harassed you.”

“You harassed me, too,” I told him calmly.

Drew hung his head and sighed.

“I did,” he admitted. “And I regret it. I actually hated high school.”

“I actually hated it, too,” I replied.

He nodded and continued to hang his head.  To my surprise, he pinched the bridge of his nose and began to get emotional.

“I’m truly sorry, Mary,” Drew said. “I went along with everyone else because I was scared to be different, to be an individual.  I felt the need, like most people, to be part of a herd.  You were always so meek and quiet, yet you always seemed to have strength and dignity.  Your example is one of the reasons that I’m now a Christian myself.  I hate how I treated, not only you, but others.  Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

“Absolutely,” I said, offering my hand with a sympathetic smile.

He gave me a reluctant but relieved smile as he took my hand in both of his and we shook.

“Thank you, Mary,” Drew said.  Then he looked at Jake. “You’re girlfriend is beautiful in more ways than one.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Jake replied with an easy smile as he extended a hand. “I appreciate what you told Mary.”

“I appreciate you not knocking my head in.”

“That was your decision. I tried to be reasonable. I actually wanted to do a lot more damage to your buddy who harassing to Mary.”

“He’s no buddy of mine. Not anymore, anyhow.”

Jake nodded, then invited Drew to our church. Drew said he might just do that, and to his credit, he did join us for worship once. The two men shook hands before Drew departed.

“You okay?” Jake asked me with a soothing voice after Drew walked away.

I gave him a relieved smile, but despite myself I couldn’t stop a couple tears from leaking. He pulled me into his arms and it felt incredibly good. Something like home. It had been almost two weeks since our make out session at the abandoned railroad tracks.  

After that incredible day, Jake said that we needed to return to our friend’s only behavior until we tied the knot. He declared that the desire to do more than kiss deeply was overwhelming. However, we did begin to hold hands regularly, and give each other a quick kiss before parting ways of an evening.

“I’m sorry, Mary,” Jake said as we walked to his truck. “I forgot where you said to pick you up.  If I hadn’t forgotten, you wouldn’t have had that ugly encounter with that jerk.”

“Maybe this is wrong,” I said. “But given the outcome, I’m glad that it happened.  Those guys were so crude and mean to me in school that I enjoyed watching them run away with their tails between their legs.  Maybe that’s evil of me to feel that way, but I do.  Plus given what transpired with Drew, it was totally worth it.  I am glad that you didn’t punch Chad though. I could see you wanted to.”

Jake shrugged. “I could tell that he wasn’t going to fight back. So I went with vengeance is mine says the Lord. But I was severely tempted to punch him just once, right in the proboscis.”

I giggled. “You mean the nose?”

“Yes, or the snout since he was behaving like a pig.”

As Jake and I drove home, I eyed my boyfriend with admiration. His handsome profile and his muscular arms tensing slightly as he gripped the steering wheel of his pickup truck. In the last two weeks I had begun sitting right next to him on the bench seat of his truck.

This incredible man had suggested a desire to marry me one day. The two shall become one in matrimony. So I would become one with this hunk next to me one day. I wished we were on honeymoon right now. Driving to our hotel where we would know each other in the Biblical sense for the first time.

I hooked my hand around his bicep. This was my protective arm. I kicked my shoes off, and put my feet on the dash. I watched Jake’s eyes glance at, if I do say so myself, my shapely legs. Our shapely legs.

Jake and I went to my place so I could change out of my work dress.  He was always taking me hiking, biking, motorcycling, or something along those lines.  So I usually changed into jeans and a t-shirt.  I was about to slide my jeans on when I had a naughty idea.

Jake had told me his desire was overwhelming after we made out a couple weeks ago. Now my own desire led me to what I did next. Just maybe, a little tease would push us to marriage sooner rather than later. Did it? Maybe, but I don’t recommend what I did at all!

The fact that we made love for the first time on our wedding night was very special for me, for us. And I jeopardized that with my risky behavior. I let my guard down, and gave in to the temptation to tease Jake in a sexual manner. Sin has a ripple effect, but did we really sin or was it merely temptation? Regardless, I put us in a vulnerable situation.

A friend from work had given me a sexy little black cocktail dress. I don’t know why I had taken it since it wasn’t my style at all. But now I smiled mischievously as I squirmed into it. The bottom rode way up on my legs, and the top rode uncomfortably low on my chest.  I never intended to wear it in public that was for sure, but I was eager to do a quick parade in front of Jake in it.

I noticed that my mouth was hanging open in the mirror when I saw how little that the dress covered.  I thought about taking it off and putting my jeans on after all. But I did look pretty hot, though, even if I do say so myself. Especially when I put the highest heels I owned on. I decided to go ahead, and have a little fun. Just a quick tease for the man of my dreams, and I would change into my usual attire.

Still, the conflict waged in my head for a couple of minutes. This is way beyond immodest, I thought. It’s not only skimpy, but tight. But it’s only Jake, my future husband. I just wanted to give him a little show, no more than a minute. Like a model strutting on a runway, then I would turn around, and go right back to my room to change into my usual attire.  

I put on some lip gloss and added a squirt of perfume.  I took a deep breath, boldly left my room, and sauntered toward Jake as he sat in the living room.  When he saw me, he shot off of the sofa as if it were spring loaded.

“Mary Gold, what the…?” Jake almost shouted. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“Don’t you like it?” I asked with a seductive smile.

“Well, I mean, you look… Like… Wow! But are you going out like that?” he asked.

“No,” I said shaking my head.

“So why are you dressed like that then?” he asked again.

“To tantalize you,” I said, pushing him firmly enough that he sat down hard on the sofa.  The cushion made a whoosh sound as I straddled him. Oops! I only intended to walk up to him, and then walk away. To make matters worse, my breasts were only inches from his face. His bugged out eyes were aimed directly at my cleavage. What a huge mistake!

So I scrambled off of him and tumbled onto the carpeted floor. My skirt was already too short, and it drifted higher up my thighs. I frantically yanked it down, looking at Jake. His eyes still bulged from his sockets, and his mouth hung open. “Jake, I’m so sorry! I don’t know what got into me.”

I’m used to walking in one or two inch heels, but these were at least three inches and skinny. I couldn’t manage to get my feet under me. Plus, I was also on carpet, and I tend to be a bit clumsy anyway. After a couple failed attempts to get up, I kicked the shoes off. I finally succeeded in rising to my feet. I began to run to my bedroom, but Jake caught me around the waist. He pulled me to the love seat. How appropriate! And began to kiss me like they do in France.

JAKE

When Mary Gold came into the living room wearing a tiny little dress, it almost got my adrenaline going as much as dealing with those bullies.  It exposed more of her legs and cleavage than I had ever seen.  It had me rather perplexed, and I couldn’t figure out what she was doing or why.   I totally expected her to come out in jeans and a t-shirt like she usually did.  It left me confused and discombobulated at first, then eager with anticipation. For I saw it as some type of invitation.

We began kissing as passionately as we did at the railroad bridge a couple weeks previously. But this time, my hands began to roam. They had barely started their exploration when Mary Gold pushed away from me and tumbled to the floor for a second time.

“Jake,” she said, panting. “We’re getting carried away. We had better stop.”

“Mary Gold, you’re killing me,” I said, as I came off the sofa after her. She giggled and began crawling away from me on her hands and knees. I caught her around the ankle, stopping her. I spun her on her back and pinned her arms behind her head. Her emerald eyes were wide,  dancing with merriment. “You brute!”

“You tease,” I chuckled, before kissing her. But after a minute or two, I groaned in frustration and rolled onto my back. Now she rolled on top me and started kissing me again. “Mary Gold!”

“What?” she asked with a sweet smile. “First you pin me, now you want to get away from me?”

“I don’t want to get away, I need to. I feel like it might be doing internal damage refraining from, um, intimacy.”

She giggled. “Just one more minute.”

She started lowering her mouth to mine when I said, “Let’s get married.”

Her head stopped lowering, and went the other way. “Are you officially proposing?”

“I suppose I am.”

“Most guys get on one knee,” she said with a grin. “Are you gonna do it from you’re back?”

I hopped up and went to the kitchen. I grabbed a twist tie from a loaf of bread, and shaped it into a circle as I walked back into the living room. Mary Gold was sitting on the love seat. Her hands were pressed between her knees, and she looked rather chaste despite the sexy dress. She started to suck on her lower lip when I went to one knee. Did she know how adorable she looked when she did that?

I asked her. But she was expecting the other question, and a puzzled frown appeared on her face, and she responded. “Huh?”

That sort of answered my question. So I asked the one she was expecting. But first I slid the twist tie onto her finger, explaining we would exchange it for a real ring very soon. “Mary Gold, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife? In other words, will you marry me?”

I remember my heart skipping a beat as her expression suddenly appeared frightened.

THE BLACK HOLE

The Des Moines driver was on vacation and Jeb filled in for him.  Jeb was a volunteer fireman and he sometimes wore a hat with an official looking shield patch on it.

“So I go into the kitchen of this restaurant,” he told me. “And half a dozen Mexican workers dash out the back door.  The head chef starts cussing and tells me that because of my hat, they thought that I was an immigration officer.”

“You’re kidding,” I said. “Did they come back?”

He shrugged and laughed. “Not while I was there.”

Lon approached us.

“Lenny wants you in his office,” he said to me.

“Alright,” I replied.

“You wouldn’t believe what happened to me in Des Moines yesterday,” I heard Jeb say to Lon as I walked away to the office.

“None of the product was damaged when you fell?” I heard Lenny say grumpily into his phone.

“Alright, alright, sure,” Lenny said. “I’m taking Jake to pick up your truck and do your last couple of stops.  Then he’ll pick you up at the hospital when you’re ready.”

“Right, right, I know.” Lenny said. “Okay.”

Lenny slammed the phone into the cradle.

“Dean fell down some steps or something at that new customer’s restaurant,” Lenny told me. “The owner of the restaurant is taking him to the hospital.  I’m going to take you to the restaurant so you can get his truck and finish his route.  He only has two or three stops left.  Then I’ll have you help Lon until Dean needs picked up.”

“Alright,” I said. “Is he okay?”

“Sounds like he has a broken arm,” Lenny said with more disgust than compassion.

Hours later I picked Dean up.  I almost didn’t recognize Dean, because instead of his signature baseball cap, he wore a goofy red and white checked fedora on his head.

“Dean, are you okay?” I asked when I saw him.

Dean walked with a slight limp, even though his main problem was a broken arm.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Dean replied. “Just a bit banged up.”

“So what happened?” I asked.

“Well I asked Dong, the owner of the restaurant, where he wanted his food,” Dean said. “There was this fairly long hall in the back, and there were four doors on one side.  So Dong says he told me the second door from the back while I just heard second door.  I admit I wasn’t all that focused, and it was dark in the hall and even darker when I opened the door to the cellar.  I hollered at Dong about a light switch, but he didn’t hear me.  I got impatient and tried to lower my two wheel cart onto the first stair.  I had four cases of cabbage on it.  By the time I realized that there were no stairs, I was too far in to pull it back.  Like an idiot, I hung on to the cart instead of just letting it go so I plummeted to the cellar floor with the cart of cabbage.  Apparently there used to be a set of stairs there, but for some reason they were torn out.”

“So you just fell into the basement?” I asked.

Dean nodded.  The fedora was a bit big for his head and it rotated back and forth as he nodded.

“You’re actually lucky that you weren’t hurt worse than you were,” I told him.

He agreed.

“By the way, what’s with the hat?” I asked.

Dean’s eyes went upward as if to look at the hat.

“Oh, this,” he replied. “In the confusion my hat got left behind.  Dong had this hat in his car and he lent it to me.”

Dean was bald and very self-conscious about it.  He was almost never seen without a baseball cap on.  He even told me about being on a route one time when there was such a severe storm that he had to pull his truck over.  The truck began rocking so much that Dean thought it might go over.  During this ordeal, his cap flew off and he was scrambling in the cab trying to retrieve it.  He acknowledged how vain it was to be more concerned about losing his hat than a possible tornado passing through.

“What a way to come back from vacation,” Dean said.

“Oh, yeah.  How was Colorado?” I asked.

“Real good,” Dean said.

“You drove out, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, my family and I drove out, but I took the Amtrak back because my wife and kids were staying another week with my wife’s sister.  That was the only fiasco of the trip.”

“What was a fiasco?” I said.

“Riding the Amtrak back,” he said.

“Why’s that?”

“Well, first a guy that I was sitting next to had a seizure.  All of a sudden he started gyrating.  I tried to calm him, but he got worse.  He ended up pushing me out of my seat and landed on top of me on the floor of the car.”

“Oh my!”

“Yeah, and he probably outweighed me by a hundred pounds.”

“Then I was going from one car to another and the door between them was closing.  I stuck my arm in between them, thinking it was like an elevator.  It wasn’t.  My arm was stuck and I had to stand there like an idiot.  Everybody in the car was staring at me, while someone found some personnel to release me.”

“Wow.  Did at least the rest of the trip go well then?”

“No, the worst was still to come,” he said, shaking his head sadly.

“Oh, boy.”

“So at the terminal,” he said. “I was at a urinal taking care of business.  When I finished, I shook off and a drop of urine flew into the guy’s eye that was relieving himself next to me.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” I said, trying my hardest not to start laughing.  My efforts were back firing as a few snorts escaped from me.

“I wish I was,” Dean said, bowing his head and closing his eyes. “Boy, do I ever wish I was.  Thankfully the police got there quickly.”

“The police?”

“Yeah,” he said with a painful drawl. “The guy my drop of pee hit in the eye was a great big biker type and he was pretty mad.  He chased me around the terminal, but thankfully he was big and slow.  When people saw that I was being attacked, they called the cops.  They must have been close because they were there pretty quick.  You can’t imagine how embarrassing it was explaining why he was chasing after me though.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I said.

“No guessing about it,” he said.

“Yes, no guessing,” I said. “This too shall pass, right?”

“Right.  Say could you swing by Dong’s restaurant so I can get my hat back?” Dean asked.