Tusker just snorted. Randy said, "Live by the sword, die by the sword, man. You earned this."
"Oh?"
He gave me a look of disbelief. "Are you kidding me? You were the biggest cockhound in school!"
"Me?!"
"You!", agreed Katie. "Everybody knew it! Just because nobody complained didn't mean it wasn't true."
"We were just friends.", I protested.
"Yeah? It's a good thing Tessa's a blonde and not a brunette, since then I'd have to punch you out!", added Tusker.
"Some friend you are!", I told him.
At that point, Marilyn, Tessa, and Tammy came back. I made room and Marilyn grabbed a seat next to me, and Tessa sat next to her husband. Running out of seats, Tammy sat sideways on her husband's lap. He wrapped his arms around her. I smiled at them. "I always knew you two would end up married. How many years has it been now?"
They looked at each other and smiled. "It was just last year."
"Last year? What kept you?"
Most of the others laughed at that, although Katie looked mystified. She had been in California going to medical school and doing an internship. "Oh, we got married.", said Randy.
"Just not to each other!", added his wife.
"What?!"
"Well, after graduation Randy went to Maryland, and I went to Penn State. We talked about staying together long distance, but it just didn't work out.", said Tammy. Randy just grinned and hugged his wife's ample belly. "We both met other people and we both got married as soon as we got out of school."
"And we both figured out a year or two later it wasn't working and got divorced.", added Randy.
"Then we met again a year ago, and realized we were meant for each other." Tammy twisted around and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank God we didn't have any kids! This will be our first, for both of us."
"Huh! Well, you two must have been fated to be together then. Congratulations!", I told them.
That got us started talking about our kids. We admitted to having a 20 month old, and Tusker and Tessa told about having Bucky at our wedding. Ray and his wife had two, Mike was an intern, but he and his wife had one. At that point we all got up and got in line to bring back some steamed crabs to the table. Conversation was a little limited for a few minutes after that. You can eat or you can talk, but it's hard to do both. Marilyn finished her chicken before the rest of us were even halfway through the crabs. Well, Katie, too, since she didn't like crabs either. That was okay, even if a bit strange for a true Marylander. We discussed it and decided not to have her stoned to death.
Tusker asked what everyone else was doing these days, and Ray said he worked for a paving company in Columbia as an engineer. Ray's wife stayed at home with their two kids. Randy and Tammy worked for an insurance company in Baltimore, which was how they met up again. Mike and Katie were still interns, Mike in Delaware and Katie in California. Then everybody looked at Tusker and me. I just waved my hand and said, "I work for an investment company out in Hereford. We live out there now, over towards Hampstead." Heads swiveled to the Tusks.
Tusker simply smiled. "You are now looking at the newest Honda motorcycle dealer in the state!"
I must have lit up as well. "Congratulations! It came through?!"
He nodded and reached out to shake my hand. "I just got the word yesterday. Next week I have to review the floorplan documents and then I'll place my first order."
"That is simply tremendous. We'll talk next week." A few of the others looked at me curiously. "My company invested some money in Tusker's business. I'm the point man."
We were taking a break after the first round of crabs, and Tammy said, "I just have to ask, did you actually do all the stuff you said in your speech?" The rest of the crowd looked at me curiously.
"My speech?" It took me a second to recall. "You mean my valediction speech? Oh my God, I haven't thought about that thing in ages! I was such an asshole with that thing. I figured everybody was going to boo me off the stage!"
Marilyn looked at me and asked, "You gave a speech?"
Ray laughed. "He was valedictorian. He had to give a speech."
Marilyn looked at me accusingly. "You never told me you were valedictorian!"
"I've never told you a lot of stuff."
"So I am finding out!"
I laughed at that, but then Tammy hopped up. "I've got a copy of it somewhere." She scampered off.
"Good Lord! Somebody actually kept that damn thing?", I asked incredulously.
Randy nodded. "She had some stuff stored away, as did a few other people. She dug it out for the reunion."
"I want to hear it.", said Marilyn.
"It was bad enough the first time around. I'm not sure I can stand it twice.", I replied.
"It was a pretty good speech.", countered Katie. "That's not just me, either. I heard it from a few other people, too."
"It made me change my major from pre-law to engineering.", added Ray.
I stared at my old friend. "You're kidding me, right."
"Nope. Pissed my old man off, too. I became a civil engineer. The pay might not be as good as a lawyer but it's not bad, and I probably sleep better at night."
Huh! I didn't know what to say to that, and not sound like a total jerk.
Tammy returned in a couple of minutes with a plastic bag with a copy of the Baltimore Sun inside. "Did you know they printed your speech in the Sun?"
"It must have been a real slow news day.", I told her.
"Read it!", asked Marilyn.
"No!", I told her.
"Then I'll read it.", said Tammy, and damned if she didn't! She opened the bag and pulled out the yellowed newspaper and opened it to the page on the graduations, and read it out loud. I probably turned about five shades of red, as the others at the table listened and watched me.
After Tammy was done, Marilyn said, "Wow! That was great! You wrote that?"
"That's me at my most pretentious!", I told her.
"No, that's you! You're all about taking control and responsibility. That sounded just like you!", she argued.
"So, tell us, did you do all that stuff?", asked Katie.
"What stuff?"
"At the end. You gave three different commitments. Did you do them?", she pressed. The others around the table also wanted to know.
"Uhhh..."
Not content to let it go, Tammy picked up the newspaper again and scanned through to the appropriate part. "Okay, here's the first -... go to a school that teaches science and engineering... - you did that, right? Weren't you going to school for math or something?"
Marilyn answered, "Doctor Buckman earned a doctorate in mathematics at 21."
Around the table there was a buzz, including from the two real doctors, Katie and Mike.
Tammy nodded. "Okay, yes on that one. Next, where was it, oh here -... I will be a soldier... - Well?"