Amanda

"God, this is great. It's wonderful, in fact. I certainly didn't expect anything like this. Do you mind if I take a little while just to change and unwind? I want to get out of this silly suit and into my jeans?" Once again, that questioning inflection at the end of the sentence. I guessed that I just wasn't used to talking to young girls. I'd probably get used to it, given time.

"OK. Take your time. I'm going to do some work for a while. I'll be in my office on the third floor if you need me. You can hang out, watch TV or whatever you'd like to do. Feel free to call home, if you'd like."

"Thanks. I really appreciate all this. I will call home, if you don't mind. Then, I'm going to go over the stuff from the university. Yet again."

"I'll meet you next door in the library for drinks about four-thirty. About supper, do you eat fish?"

"Do I ever! Actually, I eat just about everything. Not too many vegans in Flo-ville."

"Is salmon teriyaki OK?"

"Sure. I've never had it, but it sounds great."

"OK. See you later."

I went upstairs and was soon deeply involved in a couple of the new accounts. I saw right away that in one case the estimate was terribly wrong. We'd lose a ton of money if we tried to do the job for that price. I checked the figures several times and fired off emails to everyone involved. The guy who'd prepared our tender on the job would be very embarrassed. I didn't care. I'd rather lose the account than lose my shirt.

In no time, it was four twenty-five. I closed off my email and headed downstairs. Amanda was waiting in the library. She was wearing jeans and a blue sweater. My initial impression of her physique was reinforced. Definitely more of her south of the border than north. However, the overall impression was quite attractive. She looked very cute and even younger than before.

"Hi, Bob. You really weren't kidding when you called this a library. You have a really nice selection of stuff. And what a beautiful stereo system."

"And let me just put something on that system. Do you like jazz?"

"Love it."

I put on a Thelonius Monk CD reissue and opened the bar cabinet.

"What would you like? I have most everything."

"You sure do. Wow, look at all that. Could I have a gin and tonic? Kind of light on the gin?"

I made the drinks, her G & T and my gin martini with a twist. I handed Amanda her drink and motioned to the table by the window. We sat down.

"Cheers. Welcome, Amanda."

"Thank you." She pronounced "you" more like "yew." Why do teenage girls do that? It's one of those mysteries.

"Now, tell me more about yourself. You're going to go to the U of T. What's your major? Computer science?"

"No. I see you remember that I asked you about computer internships. It's true that I'm interested in computers. But I'm more interested in medicine. I'll be in premed. I think it's officially called 'Life Sciences'."

This kid was clearly not a bimbo.

"Eventually, I'd like to be an oncologist. My favourite aunt died of cancer four years ago. Ever since, I've known that's what I wanted to do."

"And you're going to get a scholarship?"

"Maybe. Keep your fingers crossed. I think, or at least I really hope, that I have a good chance. I guess it all depends on the interview on Monday. Then they may want me back on Tuesday."

"You mentioned your brother. Tell me about your family." Yeah. She had a family and stuff. Maybe they'd be looking to shoot me or something.

"Well, my dad is the principal of the high school. My mum works at McCain. She's the office manager. My brother is a dweeb. Not much else to tell. Don't get me wrong, I love them a lot. Oh yeah, I have a sweet little dog named Alice. What else is there to tell? Not much. My life is pretty boring, I guess."

We finished our drinks and went downstairs. Since it was a very pleasant afternoon, I decided to do the salmon on the grill outdoors. There wasn't much other stuff to prepare, but Amanda insisted on helping. I let her make the salad, a job that I hate. It was getting a little chilly outside, so I set the dining room table. I used the good china and crystal. Amanda helped to set the table, but she balked a bit.

"Can't we just eat in the kitchen? This seems much too grand."

"No. We're going to eat here. We'll have a celebration of your arrival."

I opened a nice bottle of Chardonnay, and we were ready to eat. Amanda made short work of her salmon and everything else within reach, and we managed to polish off the wine.

When we'd finished eating, Amanda looked at me seriously. "Bob, this house, the car and all this stuff. You either make a heck of a lot of money or you're terribly in debt."

"I make pretty good money."

"I remember that you're at IT Associates. What do you do there?"

"I'm one of the associates. Four of my friends and I started the company. We own it. It's my turn this year to be president. It's a pain in the ass. I can't wait till I can turn it over to one of the other guys."

Amanda looked at me with big eyes. Then she looked down at her plate. "Jesus," she said softly. She looked up. "I honestly had no idea. You're really a bigwig. Why would you do this for me?"

"I really don't know," I said truthfully. "I guess that it just seemed like something I should do. As far as being a 'bigwig' is concerned, I'm certainly no Bill Gates, but I do all right."

We took our coffee and pastries into the study. Amanda remained subdued. I grew a bit uncomfortable with the silence.

"Amanda, now that you know what I do, I don't want you to feel differently about me. I'm still the same Bob as before. All that other stuff doesn't matter."

"But you're a millionaire. And I'm just a kid with a big mouth."

I leaned over and lifted her face. "It doesn't look all that big to me. Let's just be friends and forget the other stuff."

Amanda smiled. "OK."

Soon she was chattering away again, but before long, she began yawning. I suggested that we call a halt to things. She'd had a busy day. We headed up stairs to bed. I was about to continue up to the third floor when Amanda gently took hold of my arm. I turned to her, and she hugged me.

"Thanks, Bob. You're a really great guy. I appreciate this more than I can say." Then she gave me a chaste little peck on the cheek.

The next day, I planned to take Amanda on a mini-tour of Toronto, or at least the parts of it that I liked. I showered, shaved, and went downstairs. Amanda's door was open, so I went in.

"Amanda..." I stopped. I was looking at a naked pink butt. Amanda was bending over getting something out of her suitcase. She squealed and jumped up. I backed out of the door and turned around. I'm not sure which of us was more embarrassed.

"God, I'm so sorry. I just thought, since your door was open..."

"It's my fault. I'll remember to close it the next time I take a shower."

I went downstairs to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. Amanda soon joined me, again in jeans and sweater. She sat down, and I poured her a cup of coffee.

"I am so sorry about that. I'm really not an exhibitionist, you know?" She smiled at me.

"And I'm not a voyeur. But the view was quite lovely."

Amanda blushed. "Thank you."

"Let's get a bite of breakfast, and then I'll show you around my town."

I took my time driving around. I really enjoyed my unaccustomed role as tour guide. By noon, we'd made it as far as the Beach (residents of the area hate to hear it called "the Beaches"). I'd phoned ahead to my favourite little bistro, Jeremy's, to make sure they'd still have a table on such a nice Sunday afternoon. We went in and were seated by the window.

"What's good here?"

"Most everything. My favourite is the eggs benedict."

"What's that?"

"Well, you cut an English muffin in two. You put a piece of peameal bacon on each half, put a soft-poached egg on top of the bacon and top the whole thing off with Hollandaise sauce."

"Eew. It sounds sort of disgusting," she smiled, "but disgusting in a nice kind of way."

"It's delicious. There's also eggs Florentine, which has spinach instead of the bacon, and eggs Jeremy, with smoked salmon."

"Oh wow! It's eggs Jeremy for me!"

We placed our order. I also ordered half a litre of the house white.

The waiter looked at Amanda and said, "I'm sorry, miss, but I need to see some ID."

Amanda took her New Brunswick driver's license out of her purse. The waiter looked at it and said, "Thank you. Sorry to bother you, but I have to check."

When he left, I had to ask, "It occurs to me that I don't even know your age. How old are you?"

"I'm nineteen. I'll be twenty in February."

"Oh." Nineteen is the legal drinking age in Ontario.

"Yeah. You probably thought I was younger. Everyone does. My mum says that the day will come when I'll be glad that I look really young. Now it's just a pain in the butt."

"Oh," I said again. I couldn't think of anything else to say at the moment. To me, nineteen seemed "really young."

The wine arrived. After a few sips, I regained my power of speech, and we talked about what we'd seen so far. Amanda loved her eggs, and somehow I enjoyed introducing this kid to new experiences.

We spent the rest of the day bumming around in the Porsche and strolling around the harbourfront. Then it was home to supper and a modest meal of burgers and potato salad. We turned in early. Monday was Amanda's big day.

Monday morning, we had breakfast, and then Amanda spent quite a while trying to make sure every single detail of her appearance was perfect. She asked my opinion several times, and I truthfully said that she looked great. Finally, she was ready. I offered to drop Amanda off at the U of T Medical Sciences building on my way to work. She accepted. We headed off. Amanda seemed nervous as hell.

"Calm down. You have this thing in the bag. Trust me."

"I do trust you, but I don't think that you're a fortune teller."

"Everything will be fine. Do you have your key to the house?" She checked her pocket and nodded. "OK. I'll be home fairly early, about four-thirty or so. I'll see you then."

"Bye." After a quick peck on the cheek, she was gone.

I got home about four forty-five. I took my briefcase upstairs to the office. Then I changed out of my suit, heaving a sigh of relief. I went down to the second floor much more comfortably dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. I went into the library to fix my customary martini. Suddenly, Amanda burst in.

"Bob, I thought I heard you."

"How'd it go?"

Amanda looked sombre for a minute or two. Or at least tried to. Then she beamed and rushed at me, hugging me tightly.

"I got it! I got it," she squealed, "and they don't even need to talk to me again! They want me to start in January. Isn't that wonderful?"

I hugged her back and kissed the top of her head. "Sweety, that is terrific. We should celebrate. I'll make a dinner reservation."

She looked up at me. "No. Please let's not go out. I'd be much happier just celebrating here with you."

And that's just what we did. I told Amanda that she could have anything she wanted. She asked for pizza. I gritted my teeth and placed the order. We sat out on the deck eating pizza and drinking beer. It turned out to be an absolutely wonderful time. Amanda chattered away happily. I was happy just to be her audience.

Since Amanda didn't have to go to another meeting at the university, I suggested that she use Tuesday as a day to look for a place to stay. January would be coming up very soon, and I knew that apartments downtown were at a premium. She agreed that was a good plan. So the next morning I went off to work, leaving Amanda armed with the real estate ads from the papers.

I returned home that evening to a despondent Amanda.

"Bob, I just can't find anything. Oh there are a few places, but they want over a thousand dollars a month. I can't pay that much. I just can't. What am I going to do?"

"Well, I just happen to know a place that you can afford."

"Where?"

"Here."

"You're kidding. I feel badly enough imposing on you for a few days, but living here... I just couldn't do it."

"Sure you can. And I'm sure that you'll pull your weight. Can you cook?" She nodded. "Great. Let's have a drink. Then get into the kitchen and cook us some supper. OK?"

"OK. But..."

"No buts. G & T OK?" She nodded.

After a few sips, Amanda was her usual bubbly self and remained so through supper. She made us a lovely meal. She'd found some veal in the freezer and whipped up a great scaloppini. After supper, we adjourned to the study for coffee and liqueurs. Amanda looked around as though she were just seeing the place for the first time.

"I can't believe it. Can I really live here? Can I?"

"Yup," I said, against my better judgment.

"I hate to ask, but can I bring Alice?"

"Who's Alice?"

"I told you about Alice. I'm sure that you remember. Alice is my dog. She's a bichon frisé. She's a tiny little thing. She's good and quiet and doesn't take up much room. I'll make sure she's out of the way. Please?"

Jesus, what was she going to ask for next. I thought for a moment. I'm certainly not against dogs. I've owned several and enjoyed them. Oh well, what the hell.

"All right. But she's totally your responsibility."

"Oh thank you! Thank you!"

I found myself being hugged again.

The next morning, Amanda packed up and got ready to go to the airport. As much as I'd liked to have taken her there, I couldn't. I had important meetings all day. I arranged for a limo to take her to Pearson International. We had a contract with the limousine company. One fare more or less at the end of the month wouldn't make a hell of a lot of difference, but I planned to pay Amanda's fare out of my own pocket.

I swear that Amanda nearly had to change her underwear when she saw the shiny new Lincoln stretch limousine pull up outside. "Is that for me? Oh no, that's not for me!"

"Yes, it is. Get your stuff together."

The driver came to the door and asked for Ms. Penner. Ms. Penner handed him her modest luggage. She stood on tiptoe and kissed me on the lips.

"Bob, I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't have to. We'll talk."

"OK."

Amanda went to the limo, paused and waved to me. I waved to her. Then she was gone.

Over the next couple of months, I was almost constantly involved in company business. The holiday season is usually very quiet in our business, but not this year. Current clients wanted new services, and we had some very big clients signing on. I was busy as hell, but it was a very productive time.

Amanda called several times a week. I have to admit that I don't remember much about those calls. I was preoccupied with my own affairs. But I do remember that we made some arrangements for her trip to Toronto. Christmas came and went. Now that my parents were gone and I had no major relationships, Christmas was just another day. I expected Amanda to arrive the next week.

On Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, I got a call from Amanda. "Bob, I'll be there tomorrow. Is that OK?"

"That's a few days earlier than we talked about, isn't it?"

"Yeah. But I was able to get a better flight. Is it OK?"

"Of course it's OK. I'll get a pen. Give me your flight number, times and so forth."

"OK. You remember," her voice got very small, "that I'm bringing Alice?"

"Alice?"

"My doggie?"

"Oh. Yeah. Is she flying with you?"

"Yes, but they're going to make Alice fly in one of those kennel things in the baggage compartment. It sounds terrible."

I smiled. "She'll be fine. Tell me again, what time do you arrive?"

There was a small pause,

"We'll be there about one o’clock tomorrow afternoon. OK?"

The next day, I took a limousine to the airport. There was no way I could fit all of Amanda's stuff plus a dog into my Porsche. I got out at the arrivals level and told the driver to wait. I got his cell phone number and told him I'd call when Amanda arrived. He took the car to the limo holding area.

At one-thirty in the afternoon, I was looking at the video display at the airport. The plane was half an hour late. I wasn't too concerned yet, but it was a bit unusual. At about one forty-five, the screen showed that the plane had landed. At last.

It was about two-thirty when Amanda came through the door from the baggage area. She was wheeling a cart full of bags and leading a very sad-looking little white dog. Alice, I assumed. Amanda looked around. She saw me. Her face lit up.

"Bob," she yelled. Then she squealed and hugged me tightly. "I'm so excited. But I'm forgetting my manners." She picked up the little dog and held it out towards me. "Alice, this is Bob. Bob, this is Alice."

I gravely shook Alice's paw. "Alice, I'm so glad to meet you. I've heard so much about you." Alice looked at me, with some distrust, I thought.

"Now that the introductions are complete, let's go home. I'll call the limo driver, and he'll pick us up out front."

On the trip downtown, Amanda kept up a running commentary about the scenery, ostensibly for Alice's benefit. It was as though she thought that the dog actually understood her. I found it quite amusing and sweet.

We arrived at the house. The driver carried Amanda's bags upstairs. By the time I tipped him and saw him off, Amanda was already unpacking. She seemed to know exactly where she wanted everything. I told her to join me the library when she was ready.

Amanda came into the library just as I was making our drinks. On the table by the window there was a large gaily-wrapped parcel. She looked at it with wide eyes.

"What's that?"

"I don't know. Why don't you have a look?"

"OK. There's a tag. It says, 'To Amanda from Santa'. Bob, what have you done?"

"Do I look like Santa? I know I'm getting a little rounder, but not quite Santa-like yet, I hope. I think you should open it, don't you?"

She did. Amanda tore into the package. When she got the wrapping off, she said, "Oh my God! It's a laptop computer! Bob, I can't accept this!"

"Why not? Do you have a laptop?"

"No, but I've been saving for one. I know that I'll need one for my classes."

"Now you have one, and I'm sure that you can find a better use for your money. Besides, we can't return it. I don't have Santa's address."

"Bob Danielson, you're the greatest friend a girl ever had. I feel like Cinderella. I keep waiting for it to strike midnight."

Amanda put her arms around me and stood on tiptoe to kiss me. Then she held my face in her palms and looked into my eyes. "You're just too wonderful."

"No, I'm certainly not. But I hope you keep thinking so. Here, let me show you something." I pointed to the wall beside the table. "This is a terminal connected to the house network. Plug your ethernet connection in there, and you'll have high speed internet access. I suspect that you'll need it for your class work."

"Oh wow, this is terrific!"

"And here's something else you'll need." I handed her a cell phone. In return I got another hug and another kiss. I thought it was a good exchange.

Amanda unpacked the computer and soon had it hooked to the internet. She surfed happily until I called her for supper.

Over the next week, Amanda made herself at home. She also made herself very useful. She hadn't been lying about knowing how to cook. I thought that if this culinary bounty continued, I would definitely resemble Santa Claus.

In just a couple of days, it was time for her to start school. She was nervous about her classes, but I was sure she'd do well. In a short time, we established a routine. In the morning, I'd drop Amanda and her laptop at the university. I'd pick her up in the evening, as often as I could. She told me that she took some ribbing from her classmates about her "rich boyfriend."

I enjoy going to concerts and plays when I can find the time. I'm on the boards of several groups, so I'm expected to be at their openings. Amanda soon became my companion at these events, and she also accompanied me to parties. It was my turn to be kidded about my "little girlfriend."