I knew the old toast, and I knew I was now part of that tradition. I picked mine up and tapped my cup to his. "Absent companions." We drank some beer together.
At that point, Jennie announced they had to get moving, and she crawled off Janos' lap. As he stood, I stood also, and said, "Sergeant, it was really good seeing you again. I'm out now, but if you or any of the men need anything from me, look me up."
"Yes, sir, thank you, sir. It was a real privilege to have served with you, Captain." Then he stood straight and gave me a textbook salute, straight from the field manual. I returned the salute, and then shook his hand. He departed, as the others stared at me.
I ignored it and sat down again, my thoughts going back to that miserable march in Nicaragua. Marilyn noticed me lost in my thoughts, and said, "You okay?"
I smiled and nodded. "Yeah. You never know who you're going to meet. I'd have never made it home without Janos and the others. He was the first guy I found when we landed, and he was my lead scout on the ground. Hell of a soldier. He'll be a good Ranger."
"What the hell happened?", asked Katie.
I just shook my head. "It really is classified. I can't say. Hell of a story, though." I smiled and shook my head.
I had a surprisingly good time, and promised we'd come back for the next reunion, especially if the women would promise not to tell Marilyn any more stories. At the end of the afternoon, after washing up in the restroom, I met my wife at the door, and we headed out to the parking lot. As we walked, hand in hand, she swung her hips and gave me a bump. "So, exactly what is the Carl Buckman Experience?"
Chapter 78: The Carl Buckman Experience, Part II
"Give me a break! There is no such thing as the Carl Buckman Experience!"
"That's not what your friends said.", teased Marilyn.
"We were just friends!", I protested.
"Yes, it certainly sounded friendly!"
I refused to answer, but unlocked the car and opened the door for her. As I went around to my side, I couldn't help but think about the movie, still years in the future, with Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men. - 'I want the truth!' 'You can't handle the truth!' - I redid it in my mind as 'I want the Carl Buckman Experience!' 'You can't handle the Carl Buckman Experience!' I chuckled to myself as I opened the driver side door.
Marilyn started up again as soon as I got in the car. "I think there is a Carl Buckman Experience, and you're embarrassed to tell me what it is!"
It was too much for me! I stopped putting my key in the ignition and just started laughing. It was just too much. I kept laughing long enough for Marilyn to start getting pissed at me. Eventually, as she started to stew, I calmed down. "Okay, you want the Carl Buckman Experience? I don't think you can handle it, but I'll give you a shot."
"You'll give me a shot?!", she asked incredulously.
I kept laughing. "The others had to work their way up to it, but I'll let you have a shot at the title."
"You'll give me a shot at it! You are such a ... a ... a jerk!" That just made me laugh some more.
After a minute more, I turned the key in the ignition. I grinned at her. "Do you really want the full Carl Buckman Experience? I warn you, it will ruin you for other men. Once you've had the Carl Buckman Experience, no other man will ever be able to satisfy you!"
Marilyn snorted and had a twinkle in her eye. "I'll just have to take the chance."
"Well, it might be safe ... for me, at least."
"What?!"
"Well, the others I had sign a waiver of liability, but since you're my wife, you can't testify against me in a court of law."
"Oh, you are so full of crap!"
"Okay by me, but don't say I didn't warn you!" I put the car in gear, but only drove up to the entrance to the tennis club. I hopped out and said, "Just wait, I'll be back in a moment."
I went inside and found a pay phone. I really missed cell phones! They had just started coming out this year, and we had bought some stock in Motorola, but the phone was the DynaTac system, and about the size of a brick. I was thinking about getting one and simply keeping it in the rear of the car. It would be a few more years until they came out with something a lot more portable. Once I found a pay phone, I called home and told Becky that we wouldn't be home for several more hours. I was taking Mrs. Buckman out to dinner and we probably wouldn't be home until after dark. I promised her a nice tip, and she laughed and thanked me, and said she would call her mother and let her know. I hung up, and contemplated the rest of the day.
I gave an evil laugh as I climbed back behind the wheel. "I just called Becky to let her know we were going to be home late. Are you sure you're up for this?"
"Give me a break!", laughed Marilyn.
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" I put the car back into gear and headed out of the parking lot. Marilyn just laughed some more.
I decided to drive up the Jarrettsville Pike to Jacksonville, and then head west on Paper Mill Road until I got to the Harrisburg Expressway. Once we got on the Jarrettsville Pike I looked over at my wife and smiled. "Ready to start the Carl Buckman Experience?"
"What? Here? Now? I thought it was something you did in bed!"
"Oh, no, no, no! The Carl Buckman Experience isn't something that can be mass produced and distributed! No, we at the Buckman Group have developed highly customized tools and systems to bring the full experience to each client on an individualized basis! It is different for each client!"
"Yeah, right! You are so full of crap!", laughed Marilyn.
"So, are you ready?"
"Sure."
"Do you trust me?"
At that she looked over at me. "What?"
"Do you trust me? If you don't trust me, the Carl Buckman Experience can't be fully savored."
Marilyn rolled her eyes, and then said, "Sure, I trust you. What now?!"
"Okay, that was your final warning. There is no turning back now."
"Whatever! You are still full of crap!"
I shrugged. I let it go for another mile or so, and then as we approached Jacksonville I told her, "Okay, take off your panties."
"What!?", she protested. Her head whipped around towards me. "Is that what you used to do with those girls?"
"I told you, each customer gets their own unique experience."
"Now I'm a customer? Don't think I'm going to be paying you!"
I laughed. "Trust me, by tomorrow morning, you'll be taking out full page ads praising the service you'll be getting!"
Marilyn laughed at that, so I reminded her to take off her panties. She laughed some more, but then agreed. She unbuttoned her skirt almost to the waist, and then reached under and shimmied them down off her hips and legs. I noticed they were simple white nylon bikinis, nothing too extreme. "Toss them in the back." The 380 really didn't have a back seat, just a small area with some fold down seats that nobody ever used. Right now it simply had my sport coat and my cane.