John & Carol Ch. 02

John put his arms around her. "I love you Carol I really and truly do. You didn't realize that? You couldn't see how much I love you when we were in the mountains. I hate being away from you, I can't stand waking up without you by my side. I've never felt this way before... it's so intense..."

"John, it's over..."

"what? What's over?"

"My career... I got a... I got a letter from the school last night. That's what upset me enough to break through the promise... that we would stay away from each other until you graduated. I know it's Becky... The school said that they had been..." she raised her arms making quote signs in the air, "informed that there was a romantic relationship between me and a student. They said it was a breach of the morality clause of the contract. They said I have to come to a disciplinary hearing on Thursday next week, at 2. I don't know what to do John. I... I didn't know who to turn to."

"Oh god Carol. I'm so sorry... I'm so so sorry. Because of me you're going to lose... your hard work. Shit."

"John, what am I going to do? How am I going to be able to afford my house, my bills... I just bought this place."

"Carol, don't worry about the money. It doesn't matter. We'll be ok."

Carol snorted in derision. "Oh Mr. student, living on nothing a month. You're going to help huh? What are you going to do, get a job at the convenience store?"

"Carol... you promised to turn off the bitch thing."

Tears ran down her cheeks as she looked at him, the hurt softening, seeing an equal hurt in his eyes. She saw the emotion on his face and came to a sudden and clear realization that yes, he did love her, in spite of everything, in spite of last night... he loved her.

"I'm sorry John. I just... I don't know what to do. You can't afford to help. Your Dad's a tool maker for crying out loud. You can't have extra... I know you can't help but I needed... I needed you... John."

John looked at her in silence, an expression Carol had never seen before, he was lost in thought, deeper even than his normal expression. "Carol, pack a bag. Enough for three days. Now. It's time for you to meet my parents. I need to show you some things. I need you to understand more about me and this is the only way I can do it for you to fully understand."

"John don't be ridiculous. We can't drive anywhere. I have to get an attorney, I have to figure out what I can do."

"Carol... trust me. Please. Just do what I ask. I'll be back in an hour to pick you up."

Carol rode in silence in his pickup truck finally breaking the silence as they turned on the road labeled "Airport."

"Where are we going?"

John pointed at the sign, smiling as if it was obvious.

"John, really, where are we going?"

"You're going to meet my folks. We have to fly to get there. It's about a three hour flight."

"How can you afford this?"

"It's easy, I'm not paying for it. Just relax love."

Carol watched in silence as John parked his pickup, grabbed their bags out of the back and pulled her into the private terminal.

A white jet, a small one pulled up outside the terminal as Carol sat and watched. John stood and pulled her hand.

"Our ride's here."

As they walked out of the terminal the pilot opened the door, stairs slowly lowering from the body of the jet and a tall dark haired man with a pilot's cap, white shirt and black tie stepped out of the plane, looked around and smiled when he saw John.

"Hello Mr. DeJohn."

"Sam, how many times do I have to tell you... it's John." Sam smiled and shook John's hand.

"And this is our other passenger? We were told to expect two? Do you have any other bags?" he asked as he took John and Carol's overnight bags from John's hand. "You didn't bring much."

"We have to come back tomorrow or the day after depending on what Mom has planned."

Sam smiled. "Your mom can be a formidable woman John."

They got on the plane and settled into plush light brown leather seats. Sam walked through the cabin door and settled in his seat. He called over his shoulder...

"Your dad said that Sharon didn't have to come this time... she was out and would've been a couple of hours getting to the airport so it's just me and Henry. You want to ride up front? You know where the drinks are... the booze too right?"

"Not this time Sam. And yeah I know where it is. Want something to drink Carol?"

The pilot smiled as the engines began to whine and the plane began to taxi forward, he reached back and pulled the door shut.

"John, what the hell is going on? Who's jet is this?"

"It's Dad's little one. He has a bigger one when he travels overseas."

"But you told me that your Dad was a tool maker... and that he... ships things."

"He does. He developed a machine that binds layers of composite materials in different shapes and supplies that machine to manufacturers. His clients are Boeing, Lockheed Martin, GE McDonnell Douglas, among others. Defense contractors primarily."

"I Imagined that he was a little old man, bent over his workbench making wrenches."

"Most people do..."

"And you said he ships things."

Well, actually, Mom ships things. Her father owned a shipping business."

"Let me guess. It's not a Mail Boxes store."

John laughed. "No, Mom ships grain primarily... internationally... on trucks she owns to ships she owns through port facilities that the family has owned for years. My Grandfather had one daughter, she has one son. Me. I'm in school for the degree, so Mom can explain why she's leaving the business to me. I like Dad's business more, I like the hands on thing better, but Mom's offices are in the same building... Dad's philosophy has been to hire really good people and then get out of the way. Mom's a little more hands on. I don't know what Dad's going to want to do with his business eventually."

"Your mom owns ships?"

"We used to have more... we only have 27 left, she contracts the rest of the shipping now. I worked on one of them for a while when I was 16. Since then I've been in Dad's business. There isn't any piece of equipment I can't operate. My Dad always said that you should never ask an employee to do something that you yourself aren't willing to do. So I couldn't decide if I would be willing to do it if I didn't know how to work the machines."

Carol sat back trying to take it all in as the plane lifted smoothly into the air. She didn't talk during their trip until the plane landed, she watched Washington pass just to the south of the plane as it descended into Baltimore. She held tightly onto John as they got in a black limo, and watched quietly as they drove through the suburbs and pulled into an industrial area. They passed through iron gates and up to a building, red brick with splashes of bronze, tinted windows on the building gave it an imposing image.

"Hey Adrienne, is Dad around?"

"John! Oh my god! How are you! What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?" She rose and came around the counter to hug John enthusiastically. She was well heeled in a gray skirt, white blouse and gray jacket. Her hair graying slightly, she gave John a motherly hug.

"The list, as always, is long and checkered."

"Look at you! You keep growing John. I haven't seen you in months and it looks like you're an inch taller!"

"Adrienne, you say that to me every time I come here and I haven't grown an inch in the past three years." John laughed. "Is he in?"

"He's expecting you. He's buzzed me every 5 minutes for the past three hours asking if you were here yet. Shit..."

She reached down and picked up the ringing phone. "Yes sir. He's here, coming right in. Find something for him to do John, take him somewhere today, if he rings me again I'm going to shoot him." She said as she hung up the phone.

John laughed and pulled Carol to the door.

"Hey Dad!" A tall, thin, well dressed man with silver hair rose from behind the massive desk, littered with papers.

"The prodigal son returns. This is the girl we talked about?"

"yeah Dad, this is Carol."

"She is very pretty son... You must be very special." He turned to look at Carol, those same piercing brown eyes. "John has never said a word about his girlfriends before. I was starting to worry that maybe he was... umm... Light in the loafers perhaps?" Mr. DeJohn laughed at the shocked look on Carol's face as he walked to her smiling. He took her out stretched hand in hers and leaned over to kiss her gently on the cheek. "You look a little uncomfortable Carol. Here, take a seat, can I get you a drink?"

"I'm sorry... I uh... I'm a little shocked... I mean..."

"I told her you were a tool maker Dad, and she thought you made wrenches. This is a lot for her to take in all at once... Know what I mean?"

"Oh shit! That's too funny... Carol, I have an associate on his way that would like to talk to you... He'll be here in about an hour. Do you have the energy for me to give you a little tour of what we do here?"

Mr. DeJohn took Carol by the hand and led her from the office, John trailing behind. Their tour of the plant and assembly building took a little over an hour. The workers in the factory stopped what they were doing as they walked by, most having a short conversation with either John or his father. It was clear that there was no restriction on familiarity between upper level management and blue collar workers. John and his Dad asked about kids, wives, knew what was going on, which were sick, which kids played what sport, it was obvious that John cared about these people and that these people were genuinely fond of both John and his father.

"Carol, this is Andrew... Andrew Cohen from our attorney's office." Mr. DeJohn said as they walked back in his office a little over an hour later. "He took a look at your contract with the university and can give you an idea of what's going to happen when you get back to school. He told me there was nothing to worry about. He'll be there next week to represent you."

Mr. Cohen was a short heavy set man in a dark gray suit and white shirt whose buttons looked as if they were straining to contain his girth. His balding head the finishing touch on the perfect image of the lawyer shrew in the back office.

"How'd he get a copy of it?"

"We got it from the University. He told them he was representing you and they forwarded not only the contract but the letter as well. He's convinced that the contract is unenforceable, that the provision is unconstitutional and infringes on your rights and he started the first salvos of what looks like an argument that is going to be entertaining to watch based on potential libel and defamation in the letter."

"Carol, let me ask you a couple of questions. Let's start with this. Do you really want to stay employed there or would you prefer to work somewhere else? Are you interested in counter suing for defamation? There's a bunch of interesting case law that shows what they are doing is about as enforceable as a non-compete clause in a salesman's employment contract." He laughed as if that were common knowledge to any person with an IQ above room temperature.

"I need you to sign these forms giving me power to negotiate on your behalf and I'll get right into it. This should really be fun. The President of the University really doesn't seem to be a very nice guy."

"It's just that... well... I worked so hard to get tenure... and now, they want to take it away from me. It just isn't fair."

"Don't worry about a thing Carol. I'll be back with you before next week, will you be here in the meantime or should I reach you at home?" Carol looked to John for guidance. John the student, tens year her junior, showing a calm confident air she'd never seen before in people ten years older than her, twenty years his senior, but it seemed so natural in him. She was momentarily distracted with the confirmation that it was his persona she was in love with, and as frightening as it was to her, his apparent wealth meant nothing to her. She looked at Mr. DeJohn and found it obvious where he got that confidence trait.

"She's going to meet Mom next. We'll probably go back tomorrow sometime. If you need her either call on my cell or at the house. Ok?"

"Got it."

"come on love, let's go meet Mom."

"John, go ahead I'll be right behind you... ok?"

John looked at Carol, then at his Dad, kind of shrugged and walked out of the room.

"Mr. DeJohn, I had to ask. Why are you doing all of this?"

"Carol, John has been talking to me about you since he got back from that ski trip. I've tried to get him to talk to me about his girlfriends before and I always had the impression that they didn't mean much to him. He never got excited about them before, never really had anything to say. I was shocked when he called me out of the blue just to tell me that he'd met somebody. I was even more shocked when he left me with the impression that the only reason you don't walk on water is because you don't want to get your shoes wet.

"He talks about you the same way I felt and thought about his mother when I met her almost 40 years ago. This isn't a passing fancy with him. I've never seen him like this before. This separation you two have gone through really bothers him. He hates not being able to talk to you. He's told me over and over... if he mentions it again I may have to shoot him." Mr. DeJohn smiled.

"Helping you is important to him and is therefore important to me. That was before I read the letter and had a little looking into it done. Now I'm really interested and what they're trying to do to you really pisses me off."

"The university you mean?"

"Not only them. I know the attorneys who wrote the letter, and I know their clientele. A pretty unsavory bunch. I can't understand why they'd get involved in this unless they were being prompted by someone. I want to make sure who, and I want to make sure you and John stay safe. I don't mean to frighten you... it's probably nothing, but I want to make sure."

"I love him too you know. It's like nothing I've ever felt before. I loved him before I knew he had..." she raised her arms, "all this."

"I know dear... I could see it in your eyes, the way you look at him. Everything's going to be ok Carol. Just take care of my boy ok?"

The Limo pulled through a gate in the brick wall. Carol watched as the limo drove up the curving driveway to the main house of the estate. The pillars in front of the house reminded her of Gone with the Wind, the circular drive turning into brick as it approached the house. The lawn was dark green and faded away into the distance as a smooth carpet. Even in the winter it appeared barefoot soft.

"Hey Mom!" John yelled as they walked through the door, sounding like the 21 year old kid that he was. "where are you? Come meet Carol!" Carol had a suddenly clear image of John, 12 years old, coming in from playing in the yard in shorts. It reminded her of how aware he was of his surroundings, how he'd shown her things that were in front of her all the time that she'd never noticed. She was starting to understand how special John really was, what he was doing for her aside. He could've been affected by the wealth but it seemed like it made him want to take care of people more, to be there to support anyone he could. God he made her love him in so many ways. The more she learned about him, what made him tick, what he thought, how he thought the more she loved him.

The obvious wealth surrounding her scared her. She didn't belong here, she wasn't from this society. It was as foreign to her as ancient societies long since dead. She wondered what he could possibly see in her.

A thin woman, young looking but with wise eyes walked down the circular stairway to the lobby.

"You must be Carol! I am so glad to meet the woman that tamed the beast! I thought he'd never find a girl. He's never brought anyone to the house before. I always kind of felt he was embarrassed of us." She kept talking, a very fast pace and Carol came to the conclusion that this woman could talk. Seriously talk. She concluded that John definitely didn't get his quietness from her side of the family.

Carol listened to her, watching John smile at her from across the room as his mother talked. Although she talked to fill the silence, the subject was lost to Carol and Carol thought it was probably lost on John's mom too. But when Carol looked at her eyes they were intelligent, deep. Carol realized that John's mom was probably as nervous as Carol was.

Pulling her up the stairs to show her where her room was. It was palatial. The bedroom almost equal in area to her house back home. She was quiet and looked over the woman's shoulder to see John leaning on the door jamb smiling at her. Mrs. Dejohn finally clued in.

"Well, dear, you make yourself comfortable, there's towels in the bath if you want a shower, that old jet of Jack's always makes me feel so dirty. I hate those fuel smells and the air is always so dry I feel like I'm going to turn to dust and blow away. Dinner will be served in a couple of hours, when Jack gets home." She walked quickly out of the door and disappeared down the stairs.

"Are you ok? You haven't said much."

"John... I don't know what to say... why didn't you tell me you were... ummm"

"We call it 'comfortable' Carol."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"How was I supposed to do that? Just come out and blurt that I'm well off because I was born to the right people? That I'm getting all this handed to me, that I finally realized what an incredible responsibility this is? Does it really matter? I mean between you and me?"

"I don't... John, this is another world to me... I... I don't... fit in." The tears began to trickle down her cheek. She was so in love with this man and it hurt so badly to think that they didn't belong together, that she wasn't good enough for him.

"What do you mean you don't fit in? That's ridiculous."

"I'm a... I teach in college... I uhh..."

"Carol, you don't have to be anything other than you. I fell in love with the way you think, the expressions on your face, the way your eyes twinkle when you see something that interests you. The way your eyebrows knit when you concentrate. These trappings... yeah mom and dad have done well with what they were given, from what my grandfathers built. They've made it more successful, but they taught me that it's not the money that matters, it's not the things we have, it's the people that we live with, interact with, the people that we're responsible for. You're the one person I want to spend time with, the one person I'm so afraid won't like me, won't... love me.

I know it's a lot to take in, but none of it matters to me. You matter to me. Mom and Dad know that, not only because I told them. They could hear it in my voice every time I talked about you. They wanted to meet you, the real you, not some woman trying to fit in."

"Oh John... I want to believe that so desperately. I do... but... I... I don't know."

John stepped to her, his arms encircling her waist, he leaned over to kiss her, softly, emotionally.

"I just wanted you to know me... the whole me. Everything that makes me... me, I guess. I love you Carol. Do you love me? I mean truly love me?"

Carol looked John in the eye, unable to look away, her knees as weak as they were the first time he looked at her.

"Yes I love you... You can't tell?"

John smiled softly, brushing his lips against hers, whispering... "yes I can tell... I just like to hear it over and over again."

Carol hugged John tightly, feeling for the first time that perhaps everything was going to be ok. John pulled her hand and said "Come on... let's go talk to Mom. She's really excited to have you here."

Carol, John and Mrs. DeJohn settled in the living room. Carol learned that Mrs. DeJohn was actually very bright, friendly, warm even. She was interested in Carol, what she did, what it was like to teach, what it was like to have everything she'd worked for her entire life at risk. Carol saw the genuine fondness she had for her son and felt that fondness transferred to her.