A Working Man Pt. 01

Chapter 1

All my life, I've believed in working hard. My father instilled in me a strong work ethic. He got it from his father, who in turn got it from his old man. It's a tradition in the Anderson clan. Dad turned it into our motto and had it emblazoned on our family crest: Hard Work Pays Off.

It hasn't always been easy. When I was young, all the other kids would go out and play or hang out instead of doing any chores. Even as a little fellow, I worked. There was always something needing doing, like weeding the garden, painting a fence, caulking the house. When I started school, I dedicated the majority of my time to working at learning, focusing on getting the best grades I could.

But, schoolwork wasn't enough. I'd work around the house or help dad with his business. When I was old enough, he put me to work in his hardware store. By the time I was in high school, I was already the Assistant Manager and making a grown-up salary.

My work ethic didn't impress my peers, however. Most of the kids at school made fun of me. They would hang out at Mo's, a burger joint, downtown after school, having fun while I toiled away. I saw them from the window of the hardware store. There was one girl in particular who always caught my eye. It was her red hair that fascinated me so. Her name was Maggie, Maggie Gentry, and she lived a few houses down from me.

We'd been classmates for most of our lives, which was almost as long as I'd had a crush on Maggie. She was always kind to me, and never joined in the others who teased or laughed at me. When we were little, I was best friends with Maggie, her friend Teresa, who lived behind Maggie's house in a trailer park, and Teresa's neighbor Jesse Milner. I never got to hang out with them as much as they did, because I had to work.

As we got older, things changed. Jesse had dyslexia and struggled with school. He made up for it with athletics, becoming the epitome of the dumb jock. He resented how easy learning and schoolwork came to me, and he bullied me relentlessly. Maggie always stood up for me, but after a while, I decided just to avoid Jesse altogether.

Teresa used to follow me around like a puppy while I likewise followed Maggie. I didn't know it, but Teresa was in love with me. Several times I rejected her advances. It was unintentional. I only had eyes for Maggie and was oblivious to Teresa's infatuation with me. She had it rough, too. I know her father was a drunk, and the rumor was that her mother was a prostitute. Teresa resented Maggie for being "perfect" and the target of my devotion. She reacted by becoming the neighborhood slut.

Maggie was always my best friend. She would walk home with me after school almost every day. She would always invite me to hang out. First, it was to sit on the swing or play board games. Later, she'd ask me to go to Mo's for a burger or a milkshake. She always understood when I told her I had to work. She would smile, nod, and say, "Maybe next time."

By our senior year, Maggie had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. My crush for her was stronger than ever. As we walked home, she seemed more nervous than usual.

"Phillip," she said, her voice light and quivery, "are you going to ask me to the Prom?" She had her books clutched to her chest.

"Prom?" I asked as if I had never heard of the concept.

"Yeah, you know, the Senior Prom," she said, clarifying it for me.

"Oh, uh," I replied, shuffling my feet. "That's a Saturday night, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Saturdays are our busiest days, and if I remember it right, that's the end of the month, so we'll have to do inventory."

"So you aren't going to ask me, are you?" She said, coming to a stop only halfway home. "I need to know because Jesse Milner asked me to go with him."

"Jesse Milner," I repeated. I hated Jesse Milner. As I explained, he had once been my best friend, but he had become my worst enemy. He made fun of me more than anyone. He seemed to take pleasure in knocking me down, physically and emotionally, and humiliating me, especially in front of Maggie.

Jesse was a three-sport jock: quarterback of the football team, center on the basketball team, and pitcher on the baseball team. He had an athletic scholarship to A&M with a full ride. Also, Jesse was what you might call a Playboy, always dating one cheerleader or another. Rumor had it that he'd knocked up at least one of them.

"I didn't know you like Jesse."

"I don't," Maggie replied. "I like somebody else."

"Then, why aren't you going to the prom with him?"

Maggie pulled on my jacket sleeve. "Because you haven't asked me."

I stared at her for several seconds as my slow brain processed what she said. "You mean?"

"Yeah, Phillip, I like you. I always have. I was waiting and waiting, hoping you would ask me. It's Senior Prom, and that makes it special. I want it to be with you, Phillip."

My heart hurt. It felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. Maggie, my lifelong crush, just told me she liked me and wanted me to take her to prom. I wanted to take her, but it was inventory. I couldn't shirk my responsibilities.

"It's just," I said slowly, "my Dad, he had a heart attack last year, and well, he depends on me to handle things at the store."

When she didn't seem to understand, I added, "It's inventory."

"So, you won't take this one night off to be with me?" she asked. The tone in her voice seemed to change.

"It's inventory."

"It's my Senior Prom."

"I can't," I said, kicking the dirt.

"You can't?" she asked, "or you won't?"

"I'm sorry, Maggie."

She shook her head. I thought I saw tears in her eyes. She turned and started to walk away. It wasn't in the direction of our houses.

"Where are you going?" I called out to her as she crossed the street.

"I have to go find Jesse before he changes his mind and asks somebody else to prom."

I looked down at the ground, fighting the feelings that were overwhelming me. When Maggie neared the corner, she turned back and yelled at me.

"It could have been you, Phillip Anderson!"

Chapter 2

I hadn't thought about prom night in many years. I guess the recent events in my life brought it all back to me. It was simultaneously the worst and best night of my life, well up to that point anyway.

Maggie hardly spoke to me after that day. She even stopped walking home with me. I wondered what she was doing until one day as I was almost to the hardware store, a car honked as it drove past, so close it clipped my backpack with its side mirror.

"Watch out, dumbass!" shouted Jesse Milner. He was behind the wheel of a red convertible. Next to him, her long red curls blowing in the wind sat Maggie. She avoided eye contact and seemed almost embarrassed for me to see her. Her parting words echoed in my brain, "It could have been you, Phillip Anderson!"

Almost two months passed. I heard that Maggie and Jesse were going steady. The news crushed me, and I responded by focusing even more on my work. Then, one Friday, I was in the store, putting some boxes on a high shelf when I heard the bell chime, signaling someone had come in.

"Be right there!" I shouted, but whoever it was didn't respond. It took me a couple of minutes to get the boxes stored away. I came out, and the store seemed empty. Finally, as I came around by the hand tools section, I saw her. It was Maggie. She smiled nervously.

"Hey, Mags," I said. "Something wrong?"

She shook her head, looking even more beautiful than I remembered. "No, just came by to talk for a few minutes. Tomorrow's prom."

I knew that. I had the date burned into my memory.

"I got accepted into UT," Maggie declared, then added. "and A&M. I'm not sure where I'm going to go. Jesse's got a scholarship. Did you get accepted?"

I nodded. Not only had I gotten accepted to the University of Texas in Austin, but I had also won a full academic scholarship. Maggie and I had always dreamed of going to UT together. Now, she was considering going to A&M to be with her boyfriend. I felt another dagger in my heart.

"I should get back to work," I mumbled.

"You always have to work, work, work," Maggie said. "When are you going to take some time just for yourself?"

I shrugged.

"I should go," Maggie said and headed for the door. As she grabbed the handle, she stopped and turned back. "If you ask me to go to the prom, I'll break my date with Jesse and go with you."

"The proms tomorrow!" I exclaimed.

Neither of us spoke for an awkward period. Maggie let out a resolved sigh and said: "Life's not all about working hard, Phillip."

She left me standing there alone. I wiped away a silent tear and went back to work. I was miserable and extremely grumpy that night and all day Saturday. Dad noticed that I was in a foul mood as we closed up shop Saturday night and started on the monthly inventory.

"What's got in your craw?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said, denying reality.

"Oh bullshit," Dad said, "You can fool some of the people, some of the time, but you know you can't fool me. What's bugging you, son?"

"It's Maggie."

"The little redhead girl from down the street?"

"Yeah, her."

"Well, what's wrong with her? From the look on your face, I'd say either she's moving to Alaska, or she's joining a nunnery."

"Neither one," I said. "She went to the prom tonight with Jesse Milner."

"Oh. Damn," Dad said. "Why didn't she go with you? You two have been friends forever."

"I didn't ask her."

"You didn't ask her! Why the Hell not?"

"It's tonight, and we have inventory."

"You gotta be kidding me. We could do the inventory tomorrow."

"You always say we can't put off until tomorrow the things we can do today. Plus, you had a heart attack, Dad. I didn't want to disappoint you."

"Disappoint me? Son, you never could disappoint me. But this is your prom. I'm disappointed that you gave it up for work. Having a heart attack has taught me one thing, and that is, we need to slow down and enjoy life more. Don't be like your old man. It's not too late. Run your ass home and put on a suit, then get down to the gymnasium and dance with your girl."

"There are a few problems with that. First, I don't have a suit. Second, she's not my girl. She's going steady with Jesse. And, third, I don't know how to dance."

"Come on!" Dad snapped as he grabbed me by the arm and led me out of the shop. He marched home, bellowing for my mom as we came into the house.

"Janet! Get in here and teach this boy how to dance!"

My mom stuck her head into the room, "Do what?"

"Phil is going to the prom and needs to know how to dance. Don't waste time teaching him the fancy stuff you studied in dance school. Just give him the basics. I'm going to grab a suit for him."

Mom smiled, smelling of Sherry, and walked me through the basics of couples dancing. She showed me where to put my hands, how to hold my partner, and a basic stepping motion. "This will work for most slow songs," she said as I got the hang of it.

Just then, Dad came back, carrying one of his best suits. "Here, put this on."

It was a little tight on me but fit reasonably well. He started pushing me to the front door. "Now, get your ass down there and claim that girl before it's too late." I grinned and started across the grass, but dad called out to me.

"Here!" He shouted and tossed something to me. I caught it with a surprising jingle. "Take the car!"

I drove to the gymnasium and was surprised that the parking lot was only half full. I got out and went inside. A band was playing on the stage, and a people were dancing on what usually was the basketball court, under hanging balloons and banners. I walked around, looking for Maggie, but couldn't find her anywhere.

I was about to give up when Teresa Meyer tapped me on the shoulder. "Wanna dance?" she asked.

I spun around and stammered. "Uhh, actually, I'm looking for someone."

"She left."

"She?" I asked.

"Maggie, right? I mean, who else would you be looking for. She left a while ago with Captain America."

"Where did they go, do you know?"

"Where do you think they went? By now, she's probably no longer a virgin."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"What do you think people do on Prom night, Phillip? They left to go to Roadhouse to get drunk and then do it."

"Do it?" I asked naively.

"Have sex. Jesus, Phillip. Anyway, you missed your chance, but, uh, I'm available if you want to go to the Roadhouse."

"Let's go!" I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the door. She came along, giggling loudly.

"Dang, Phillip, you want it bad, don't you."

I opened the door for Teresa, then ran around to get in the driver's side. As I sat down, Teresa slid across the bench seat and snuggled up against my side, her hand gripped my thigh and started squeezing.

"Do you have any condoms?" she asked as she slid her hand up to grab my cock.

I pushed her away. "No! I don't have any condoms! What are you talking about?"

She grinned and laughed. "Well, I just finished my period, so it should be ok. Just make sure you pull out."

Teresa turned the radio on and found a station playing rock and roll and cranked it up loud. She bounced on the seat next to me, laughing the whole way. It only took about five minutes to reach the Roadhouse. It was just outside of town, down by the railroad tracks. The older kids in high school would often go there after football games to drink and raise Hell. It had a rough crowd most of the time. I'd never been there, but I'd heard all about it.

I saw Jesse's red convertible and parked close to it. We got out, and Teresa put her arms around me like we were a couple. I pushed her off me. "Look, Teresa, I'm not here as your date," I told her. She frowned but walked in next to me.

The place was crowded and noisy. Just inside the door were a bunch of tables, all filled with rowdy partiers. Beyond that was a bar shaped like a box with stools all around it. There were no open spots, and people were two-deep trying to get drinks. Along the side walls were booths, and past the bar was the dancefloor and a bandstand, where some country combo was playing.

I didn't know where to start, so I just started worming my way through the crowd. As I rounded the bar, I saw Jesse leaning against a rail by the dancefloor. He was chugging a beer and being cheered on by several other jocks.

I saw Maggie. She was sitting on a barstool a few feet from Jesse with two other girls. From the look on her face, she didn't seem too thrilled with Jesse's behavior. She had a beer in her hand and was sipping it slowly.

I navigated the crowd and approached Maggie from the side, away from Jesse and his cronies. She saw me and her eyes got huge. She smiled, but the smile quickly faded, and I saw her eyes fill with tears.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as I stepped up next to her.

"I came for you," I said. "I'm sorry I was a bonehead. I made a mistake, and I came to fix it."

She glanced at Jesse. He was busy drinking more. She turned back to me, "It's too late, Phillip. You can't just show up here and expect everything to be fine. I'm with Jesse now."

"I know," I told her. "Can I have one dance? Please?" I said as I pulled on her hands. She looked again at her date, but he didn't seem to pay much attention to her. She handed her beer to her friend Elizabeth, who just grinned, then stood up. I walked backward, pulling her to the dancefloor, where I proceeded to repeat the lesson my mother had given me moments before.

"You look beautiful," I told her as I put my hand on her hip and struck the formal dancing posture. Maggie stepped close to me and put her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. This was not how Mom had danced. Maggie sensed my hesitation and pulled my hand around her, then resumed hugging me as we swayed and shifted to the music.

"Thank you," she said with a drunken giggle. "Who taught you to dance?"

I blushed, then admitted the truth, "My Mom."

"I figured as much," she laughed. "Isn't this much better?" She pressed her body to mine.

"Much better, plus you're not my Mom, which helps a lot."

She turned her head and pressed her cheek to my shoulder. "This is all I wanted. This is all I ever wanted," she whispered. We danced slowly, holding each other tightly. As the song ended, we separated just a little and stared into each other's eyes. Maggie was crying.

"What's wrong?"

"Why couldn't you have asked me to go with you? Why did you have to take so long to figure out how you felt?"

"It's not too late," I said. "I'm here now."

She looked away, biting her lip. "It's too late, Phillip. Jesse and I... we..."

"Hey, what the fuck is this?" Jesse shouted as he grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around violently. Before I could react, he shoved me in the chest, knocking me on my ass. Several people started to laugh. As I tried to stand, Maggie stepped between Jesse and me.

"Come on, Jesse," she said, pulling on his hands. "Let's go dance. Forget about him."

Maggie successfully pulled the hulking behemoth away and the crowd that had been hoping for a fight dispersed. I made it to my feet. Teresa was there with a smirk on her face. She handed me a beer and said, "That went well."

I took the beer and drank most of it. It was the first time for me to taste alcohol. It was bitter but did little to cover the bitterness that was already filling my mouth. Teresa stepped close to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"I guess she chose Jesse," she said as she lifted up on her tiptoes to kiss me. I tried to pull back, but she pushed her lips firmly against mine. Overwhelmed, I kissed back. That was a first for me, too. As we separated, Teresa whispered, "I choose you."

I finished the beer and pulled Teresa out onto the dance floor. I acted like I knew what I was doing, but was completely clueless. She didn't mind and took charge, pressing her body against mine. She was considerably shorter than me, only reaching my chest, which allowed me to see over her head.

Across the room, I spied Maggie, dancing with Jesse. Our eyes met, and I could see sadness in the way she looked at me. I wanted to go home. I'd made a fool of myself for nothing. Maggie was with Jesse. As she said, I was too late. As if he sensed my thoughts, Jesse kissed Maggie. She seemed to struggle and pull away from him, but he held onto her.

I tried to break free from Teresa's grasp, but she held on just as tightly to me as Jesse was to Maggie. "Forget about her," Teresa said softly. "Let's go out to your car. You don't want to be the only virgin left in the senior class after tonight, do you?"

"I can't, Teresa," I replied gently. I stared down into her eyes and felt a mix of compassion and sympathy, and nothing more.

"Why not?" She asked. "You know that's what they're going to be doing if they haven't done it already."

I grew angry, suddenly, and snapped. "Don't say things like that!"

"Did I piss you off?" she asked, laughing. "Do you want to hit me? You can if you need to. Just fuck me after."

"I don't want to hit you," I assured her, my voice conveying how shocked I was by her words. I wondered how many men in her life had hit her, and how many had fucked her.

"But don't you want to fuck me?" she asked, taking my hand and placing it on her breast.

I didn't answer but removed my hand.

"Why not?" she asked, tears flowing. "I'm not good enough for you?"

"That's not it! You're plenty good enough."

"Then why not, Phillip?"

"I'm not in love with you," I told her.

"I love you enough for both of us. I can show you, Phillip. I can be everything you want. I can make you happy. Fuck Maggie. Fuck Jesse. Fuck this town and everybody in it. Please, Phillip."

I wiped a tear from her cheek and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, Teresa, but I can't."

She stiffened and stepped back from me, her face transforming from sadness to rage. "Then fuck you, too, Phillip." She turned and ran into the crowd. I felt even worse then.