During dinner, I told Mom and Dad about Tracy and what Tom had told me. Mom stated she’d sold a house today. Dad shared what was going on at work. One of his staff had driven a big salt truck across one of the fairways. The fear was he had possibly dropped salt on the grass. They placed stakes around it and were keeping an eye on it for any problems.
Peggy caught us up on her holiday. It sounded like her parents were doing better. She told me her parents had taken her to a New Year’s Eve party and my buddy Mitch had been there. She said he’d kissed her at the stroke of midnight. Mom shot me a look to see how I’d take the news. When I thought about what I’d been doing at midnight, Mitch’s kiss didn’t seem like a big deal. I decided I didn’t need to share what Nancy and I had been up to.
I was happy I could hear she had kissed Mitch and not completely freak out. I think part of it was I trusted Peggy. I knew she’d tell me if I had anything to worry about.
After dinner, I told Mom and Dad that Peggy and I were going up to my place to study. Mom made me take Duke and his crate to my apartment. We needed to get a bigger one for when he started to grow. Peggy put him on his leash and took him for a tour of the backyard while I moved all his stuff. Mom told me he would not wake her up in the morning.
I was filling up his water bottle when Peggy came up the steps carrying him. I had gotten him what looked like a big gerbil bottle. Sandy had told me they had them in the barn and the pups knew they could get a drink out of one. This saved putting down a bowl that he would just step in or tip over.
“He said he couldn’t do the steps,” she explained as she handed him to me.
He promptly licked me in the mouth. Peggy was grossed out even more than I was. She sent me to the bathroom and told me to use mouthwash if I expected her to kiss me. My apartment was child-proofed for Kyle and Mac. I put up the baby gate at the top of the stairs; I didn’t need Duke falling down them. I put him down and went to brush my teeth. When I came out I found he had conned Peggy into letting him up on the couch so she could rub his ears.
“Don’t be teaching him to get up there. You realize he’s going to be a horse? You won’t want him on your lap, once he grows,” I warned her.
I picked him up and put him in his crate. He was tired and sacked out. Peggy thought we needed to sack out ourselves. I’d missed her. I teased her that she was getting chubby because she hadn’t been running since cross-country was over. She told me to shut up, that there was just more of her to love.
Friday January 9
DUKE AND PRECIOUS HAD come to an uneasy truce. Precious only popped him when he got too rowdy, but she tolerated the pup. It seemed like Precious waited for him when I would let him out in the morning. I was worried the first few days, but they had started to learn each other’s boundaries.
I’d started to run with Duke. He was pretty good for around the block once at a slow warm-up pace. I would then open the back door and let him terrorize my mom and dad. He had learned to go up the stairs, and Dad said Mom would reach down and help him up on the bed. I could hardly wait until he could get up on their bed by himself.
I hadn’t heard them complain, so we fell into a routine. Duke would get his morning loving while I ran. I would then take my shower and come down for breakfast. We’d gotten Duke a crate for the laundry room. This way whoever got home first could let him out. Mom was coming home a couple of times a day to help potty train him.
I would pick him up and take him to work out with me. Mom wanted him to eventually go with her to the hospital for her cancer patients, so I needed to get him socialized with groups of people. He had yet to meet someone he didn’t like and there were plenty of volunteers to take care of him.
Tracy had finally come back to school. Between Pam and me, we kept an eye on her. I picked her up after Peggy in the morning. Pam took her home after school. I was surprised when Peggy invited her on our date. We weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary, so I was okay with it. We were grabbing a bite to eat and then would go to a movie. I was just surprised Peggy would be so thoughtful. Tom told me it was important she remain engaged in social settings.
Tracy had at first refused because she didn’t want to be a third wheel. I finally convinced her by asking Yuri to be her date. I explained to Tracy that Yuri needed a practice date before his first real date. I explained to Yuri that if he got out of line with Tracy, I would end him. All in all, I thought it would work out for everyone.
I PICKED UP PEGGY AND Tracy first. Yuri’s mom wanted to meet everyone. They lived in an apartment building on the way to State. Yuri had told me that his mom was a professor.
I knocked and could hear Yuri yell, “I got it!”
The door opened and his mom came into the living room. She came right up to me and smiled.
“Ah, David, I’m Nadia. Yuri talks about you all the time,” she said, and Yuri blushed. “I hear you’ve arranged a practice date. May I ask how this is supposed to work?”
“First let me introduce the girl I had to bribe to go out with Yuri. This is Tracy,” I said, and Tracy did a little curtsy. “This is Peggy, my date for the evening.”
She did the same, which brought a smile to Nadia.
“What do you have to do to have Tracy take my son out?”
“That depends on him. The more inappropriately he behaves, the more I have to give. So far, it’s only costing me dinner and a movie. I’m sure, though, by the end of the night I might have to buy her a car.”
His mom gave Yuri a stern look. He gave her his ‘little angel’ look and had us all laughing. We all knew better. Well, I knew he’d be on his best behavior. I told him what Greg had told me about this date, how it could affect his reputation. If he treated Tracy right, she’d let the girls’ network know he could be a gentleman, and he would have future dates with ... who knows?
Peggy and Tracy wanted to go to the Chinese place next to the park. I was excited to see they had sushi now. Sushi was Japanese, but they invited a special chef in on the weekends to make it. I ordered a California Roll as an appetizer to introduce sushi to everyone. I figured it was a safe choice. When it came, I taught them how to prepare their wasabi and soy sauce. Peggy wasn’t a fan, but Yuri and Tracy loved it. With that in mind, I ordered a platter of different sushi for three. Peggy ordered a traditional meal.
Over dinner, we started to teach Yuri about dating.
“You need to learn how to compliment your date,” Tracy told him.
“Like what?” Yuri asked.
“Peggy, compliment David,” Tracy suggested.
“Seriously? You know how he gets,” she complained.
“If he gets out of hand, we can always tell his mother.”
I put up my hands in defeat. They all knew how my mom was. I wasn’t willing to cross her without good cause.
“Good call,” she said with a smirk. “Okay, let’s see. When I’m around you, I always feel like your focus is only on me. You make me feel special, and at the same time, safe. You’re my best friend and closest confidant. When we’re alone, you take your time and look out for my needs. I think you’re a special guy.”
“Good. Now David, it’s your turn,” Tracy instructed.
“You’re hot!”
Yuri about fell out of his chair after he saw the looks both Tracy and Peggy gave me. I was sure my mom would be hearing about this, but I figured it was worth it.
“He’s right, you’re both hot,” Yuri agreed.
The girls gave up and we just had fun the rest of dinner. Yuri surprised me in his taste for sushi. He liked the stronger, fishier-tasting fish, like mackerel. Tracy liked the different rolls. One had cream cheese in it, which she really liked. I enjoyed the yellowfin tuna they had as a special. Yuri’s eyes about popped out of his head when he saw how much the bill was. Filling up two teenage boys on sushi could be expensive. He was relieved when I told him he could get the movie and I’d pay for dinner.