Monday and Tuesday were my normal routine. I got Dad to go down to the Department of Motor Vehicles and re-register the boat. He did so grudgingly, he hated DMV as much as anyone, but he was proud of the accomplishment of getting the old boat running again. I told him my plans to take it out the following Saturday and he quizzed me once more about my experience with driving a boat and driving a car with a boat trailer attached to it. I assured him that I knew how to do it. One of the advantages of having my Dad in on my secret was that he didn't question things like that too heavily and that I didn't have to lie to him. It was nice.
During this time period I almost called Mike a half a dozen times. I was worried that the recruiter had somehow gotten to him. I wouldn't have even put it past one of those slime to outright lie and tell him that of course he'd be placed in the firefighting program. After all, by the time he found out to the contrary, it would be too late wouldn't it? And if his complaints somehow landed on something other than deaf ears, the recruiter could always deny it. I hoped he'd taken my speech about putting things in writing seriously.
He finally called me on Wednesday, just before I left for work. It was maddening as he talked of inconsequential things for five minutes and part of me wondered if he knew what hell he was putting me through and enjoying it. Finally the subject of the meeting with the recruiter came up.
"You were right Dude." He told me. "That asshole was a piece of shit."
"Yeah?" I asked, suppressing a shout of joy. "What happened?"
"I asked him the questions you told me to ask." He said. "He went on and on about how I would most likely be placed exactly where I wanted to be, even in the city I wanted to be in, but that he couldn't ACTUALLY guarantee it. He told me the ASVAB was just a formality and that it didn't mean much but he wouldn't break out anything in writing to put me in the firefighting program. He kept trying to smooth talk me and get off the subject of where I would end up. He started talking about college, and money for college, and serving my country, and a bunch of shit like that. Finally I told him to fuck off and left."
"That's fuckin cool Mike." I said, unable to suppress any longer. "You made the right decision."
"Yeah." He said. "Thanks for clueing me in about that asshole. I owe you one."
He had actually thanked me! Unbelievable. "No problem man." I told him. "That's what friends do."
"We still on for Saturday?" He asked next. "I'm ready to try water-skiing."
"We're on." I told him. "You and me and Nina. We'll head out about nine."
"Cool." He said, then paused for a second. "I'm not gonna be in the way or anything with you and Nina, am I?"
"No." I assured him. "You need three to water-ski anyway. Someone has to be the observer."
"That's cool." He told me. "You're lucky. You got a girlfriend to take with you. I seem to be fresh out of women at the moment. I tried to call Jess Round but she's not even speaking to me. She told me to fuck off when I got hold of her."
"Fuck her." I told him. "She's a ho. We'll find you someone else."
"Think you can do it by Saturday?" He asked jokingly.
"I'll get right on it." I said, just as jokingly.
It was Thursday morning and I was at the local AM/PM pumping gas into my Datsun. I wasn't thinking of much, just reflecting upon the fact that I missed the convenience of just sliding my ATM card into a little slot and pumping my fill without ever having to actually go inside the store and pay in cash. It was one of those things that would appear in the next few years that I had to live without. Such a little thing, the ATM card and the interlinked networks, but something that once you got used to, you felt the sting if it wasn't there anymore.
ATM machines themselves were just starting to make their appearance to the world. At the moment, my bank did not have any of them. When I wanted money I had to physically go inside and cash a check. I had to be sure to do this between nine and five on a weekday or I was shit out of luck in the money department. I reflected, as the numbers on the pump clicked off dollars and cents, that the American public in general was probably spending a lot less money than they would in a few years. Right now you had to go to the bank to get cash and cash was basically the only way to acquire anything small. In a few years you would be able to go to any machine anywhere and deplete your checking or savings account at any hour of the day. It would be no longer mandatory to take out a supply of money in order to survive the workweek.
I was wondering if this was a bad thing or a good thing when I detected a presence moving in on me. My instincts flared, thoughts of Richie Fairview coming for his final revenge crossing my consciousness. Adrenaline flooded me in an instant as my body prepared to fight or flee. I turned into my aggressor, my arms coming up in a defensive posture and suddenly I was enveloped in a pair of female arms, a warm, soft body pressing heavily into me.
"Bill!" A familiar voice squealed at me. I felt the press of breasts against my chest as I was pulled into my attacker.
"Maggie?" I asked, taking in the form and instinctively returning the hug.
She gave me a wet, sloppy kiss on the cheek. "Did I scare you?" She asked teasingly, pulling back to look at me.
"No." I lied. "What are you doing here?"
"Getting gas." She told me, finally releasing me from her embrace. She was dressed in a pair of tight shorts and a half-shirt. She looked very pretty.
The endlessly horny part of my brain remembered what that body looked like naked, how it felt moving beneath (or above) mine. "What else does one do at a gas station?"
"Good point." I allowed. "How have you been? What have you been up to?"
"I'm still going to college." She said. "Working on my pre-recs for nursing school. Hopefully I'll be able to transfer over to State next year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed."
"Good for you." I told her, knowing what was going to come soon from her lips. An offer to get together with her for a little fun. Fortunately she'd allowed me an opening to derail her offer before it came. I seized upon it. "My girlfriend is going to be getting those pre-recs too. She wants to go to med school."
"Girlfriend?" She moaned sadly, but good naturedley. "Don't tell me you're out of circulation?"
"Afraid so." I confirmed.
"Well that sucks the big one." She giggled. "I was hoping you and I could get together, you know, for old times sake." Her tone heavily implied that this would still be a possibility, girlfriend or not.
"Sorry." I said, smiling. "But if I was ever tempted…" I winked.
We chatted for a minute, her catching me up on the whereabouts of Cindy. "That bitch moved in with the college professor and left me holding the lease for our apartment. If I wouldn't have found another roommate right away they would've had to evict me. She's such a blonde."
"Are they still together?" I asked.
"Oh yeah." She nodded. "They're gonna get married as soon as his divorce is final."
"Go Cindy." I said.
"So who's the lucky girl that snagged you?" Maggie asked me. "She must be a hottie."
"Nina Blackmore." I told her.
Her brow crinkled in confusion. "Nina Blackmore?" She asked. "Really?"
"Really." I confirmed, knowing the source of her confusion. Though Nina was pretty and though I longed for her body as well as her mind, she was not exactly in the category of "hottie".
"Well congratulations." She told me. "But if you ever break up with her…"
"You'll be the first one I call." I promised. "But I don't think I'm gonna break up anytime soon."