Andrea Donovan Pt. 01

"You say that you counsel combat Veterans?" I asked.

"Yup, have a gentleman that comes in regularly that led troops into combat in Vietnam - he goes to Al-Anon too, by the way, Tim" Duffy replied.

"(sigh) you still think I should go to Al-Anon?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"I think you should look into it, yes" she said.

Translated, this meant "Oh, fuck yeah; I think you should go, Tim".

Looking at the clock now, I stood and reached for my windbreaker.

"What are two things that we've uncovered today, Tim?" Duffy asked as she stood with me.

"Andrea isn't Susan or Adeline and marriage is a selfless institution" I replied.

"Good!" Duffy exclaimed, she then continued with "I'll be by this weekend, Andrea wants to buy me lunch and I still haven't seen the ranch yet"

I put my arm around her and squeezed firmly, "Andrea and I love you Duffy."

"I know Tim; I love the two of you as well. See you this weekend!' she replied.

After walking Duffy out to her car, and one final hug, I got into the Nissan and drove out of the parking lot a few minutes later. Stopping at a little espresso stand a short distance away, I proceeded through the drive-thru and got a light roast coffee. The girl at the window smiled at me as she handed my coffee to me and said "Have a great day, come back and see us now!" Young and sweet, the girl sounded as if she were from the deep South somewhere ...someone's little Spitfire I surmised as I noticed that she had placed a puppy dog sticker with hearts on the lid of my coffee. I removed the sticker and placed it on the corner of the Nissan's windshield ...next to the others.

Driving the car now, I just drove in a random, round-about route, taking the long way home as I reiterated my conversation with Duffy a few minutes earlier. Duffy, a petite blonde around forty years of age, I guessed, was exactly like someone Andrea would have chosen as a counselor. Duffy was direct and straight to the point on everything she did. She was also "Sharp as a tack," Andrea would often say. "It really doesn't matter how many certificates and degrees, I have or don't have hanging on my wall, Tim, if you're not honest with me then I can't help you" had been her opening line to me during our first meeting. ...Andrea would see Duffy, one week, I would see Duffy the next week and then Andrea and I would see Duffy, together, the following week, in a continuous pattern. I actually looked forward to seeing Duffy and her insight into Andrea's and my marriage was just exactly how she had described the proverbial Spitfire with "what we're doing now is learning how to MAINTAIN and fine tune this Spitfire that you're so afraid of"...

Duffy had once told Andrea and me that our thoughts might be a little jumbled after a counseling session with her; this was because our minds were in the process of clearing. After all, we'd just dumped a load of mental garbage with her that we'd been carrying around with us, for however long, and so after a session with her it should - it WOULD take a little time for the fog to clear, she had explained. ...At one time of my life I would have laughed and considered having a counselor as a sign of weakness. That wasn't my feeling today however, as I replayed the last hour with Duffy in my mind. As I did so, a wide variety of people and topics now floated around inside the cabin of the car with me as I continued driving. Doc Feldman was present, Andrea and Mom of course along with the girl who had just handed me the coffee. I also thought about the ranch and where my life was seemingly headed now.

I sipped some more of the coffee and just drove the car as I let my thoughts lead themselves and take flight.

...My God, how I had always loved Britain's Supermarine Spitfire, especially the Mk.9, her graceful lines were perfect in every way. I really wasn't being trite when I had likened Andrea to the Spitfire ...her graceful lines were perfect in every way. Both Andrea and the Spitfire were exotic and legendary; at least to me. To my way of thinking, both Andrea and the Spitfire were also damn fast - hell they LOOKED fast. ...I had sometimes referred to Andrea as "A long legged, love making machine" and she was. Isn't flight and making love essentially the same thing?

"Andrea isn't the Spitfire, your marriage to-her is the Spitfire"

...I drove around aimlessly for the better part of half an hour while my mind continued to clear. Taking another sip of the delicious coffee, I suddenly noticed that I was starting to feel better and that the weight of the piano that I'd been carrying around with me seemed to be lighter than when I'd first walked into Duffy's office this afternoon.

"- you've lost the ability to control the situation and this frightens you."

...I rolled down the driver's side window now and just breathed in the warm Desert air as I let my mind drift.

...Even the legendary P-51 had been a flop until someone in Britain had married the North American Aviation fuselage with the Supermarine Spitfire's Merlin Rolls-Royce engine. Eventually their creation had evolved into the celebrated P-51D Mustang with the famous "Bubble Canopy."

...Was I really in Andrea's league after all? - Duffy seemed to think so.

...I want to do another bicycle ride when I get home.

"Andrea's your soul mate?"

...The Royal Navy's version of the Spitfire was the Supermarine Seafire

..."The piano on your back is your resistance to change."

...The Mustang's Merlin Rolls-Royce was built in America, under license, by Packard

"you now know that you'll HAVE to change, because there isn't a damn thing you can do about being in love with her"

...Douglas Bader, the legless ace of the R.A.F. had flown Spitfires

"Yup, have a gentleman that comes in regularly that led troops into combat in Vietnam - he goes to Al-Anon too, by the way, Tim"

...The Merlin had a two stage supercharger

"- SERVICE, we SERV our spouse. Tim, marriage is a selfless institution"

...Twenty minutes later I pulled into the driveway and parked the car in front of the stables that I'd been constructing for Andrea during the last few weeks. The little dark green B.M.W. wasn't home, I noticed. I hit the remote on the Nissan's sunvisor and walked into the garage as the door was still going up. Putting on my windbreaker, I walked my recumbent bicycle over to the Nissan and tapped the remote again and then locked the car as the garage door was sliding closed. I'd already done twenty miles, this morning, but figured now would be a good time to clear my mind with another twenty, it was an easy ride anyway as there were no hills in this part of Arizona. "On the bike love you" I texted Andrea and then set off.

I watched the opaque man in my shadow pedal his bicycle as I sped along through the neighborhood now, occasionally waving to neighbors whom I knew by sight but had never actually met. The sun was starting to set and my shadow was long but the temperature was warm and pleasant. I had a set route which I always rode, seven laps through the neighborhood and around the little Texaco station was just over twenty miles. The bicycle always cleared my head and it was really rather surprising where my thoughts would actually lead me once I began burning calories and the endorphins started kicking in. ...I thought of Andrea, my beautiful wife, and what Duffy and I had talked about.

...I could now begin feeling sweat beading on my brow and the runner's high was beginning to shadow me as I made the first turn of my ride, I was beginning to build rhythm with the machine and I could feel my apprehension level going down.

...I wish I could have met Andrea's folks and I wish she could have met Mom. My little brother Ricky was so fortunate in this regard because Brenda, Ricky's wife, had been well acquainted with Mom for decades. "I love you Mom" I now said aloud as I rounded the next corner, building speed as I went. Ricky and Brenda would be here in a few weeks and Andrea had even begun looking at potential houses in the Casa Grande area that they might like. ...I wanted to spend time with my little brother and get to know him again. For years we had lived thousands of miles apart, only seeing each other sporadically. Brenda had just recently taken an early retirement and now Andrea was after me to do the same thing...

Andrea and I needed to talk about money but neither of us had seemingly found the courage to broach this subject yet... Fuckin' money, everything revolved around goddamn money in a person's life it seemed like. ...I took a deep breath and focused that much harder on pushing the bicycles pedals. Am I going to make this a good day or a shitty day and worry about money? - it was my choice. "Let's make it a good day", I seemed to hear Andrea say optimistically in my mind...

I waved to a young lady that I recognized by sight as she walked her dog, soon her and the dog were just a small blip in my rearview mirror as I poured on the coal, feeling the warm evening wind in my hair as I did so. The little Texaco station now loomed ahead of me on my left as I got ready to make the turn and complete lap-one of my workout - sonofabitch! I cursed, as the free-wheel hub on the bicycle slipped a notch with a disheartening crunching sound. My bicycle was a twenty year old Bike-E Machine, recumbent, that had been completely worn out even before I had come into possession of it. I loved the Bike-E brand recumbent bicycle and had several now. ...Since the Bike-E was no longer in production, I had needed to learn how to repair them myself now so I could keep one of them running at all times, here in Arizona and also one in Alaska. Tomorrow I would simply have to repair or replace the free-wheel hub. For tonight however, I would just have to throttle back a few notches and ride at a slower pace to finish my workout.

...On the last lap of my ride I coasted through the parking lot of the quaint little Texaco station, I then stopped and leaned up against the chain link fence that was surrounding the boarded up gas station now, my fingers interlocked in the rusty links of the fence and my feet still on the bicycle's pedals. For a long time, I just stared and daydreamed of Ricky and I tinkering with antique cars within the antiquated little station. We could fix up the little station and maybe sell antiques and sundries, maybe even sell gas. It would be so cool to have the TEXACO sign redone and even illuminated at night! ...Contact: Agent Lori Miller, the real-estate sign proclaimed with the photo of a young brunette girl smiling into the camera. Andrea had mentioned, off hand, that the owners were asking sixty thousand dollars for the property and that whoever bought it would probably knock down the little antiquated station to make room for modern condo's. ...Damn, I could probably, just, swing sixty grand but then Andrea and I had just purchased the ranch and it wouldn't be very responsible of me to go running off and spending the last of my summer's work savings on such a venture, I guess it was OUR savings now...

I suddenly heard the beep beep of a car horn as Andrea's little green Beamer turned off of Sunland Gin road toward the ranch. I shoved myself away from the fence now as I waved to her and began pedaling homeward. Sonofabitch! I said aloud again as the free-wheel hub slipped with another crunching sound.

...Andrea's Beamer was already parked inside the garage with the overhead door left open for me when I rode up to the ranch a few minutes later. I secured the bicycle by the freezer and then touched the button for the overhead door as I entered the house through the doorway separating the house and garage. It was almost six thirty PM now and the light was fading fast outside.

"You've had a workout!" Andrea said kissing me and then helping me out of my sweat soaked shirt.

"Another twenty miles, forty total, today" I replied.

"What do you want to eat?" she now asked.

"I'm just going to fix a bowl of Chili, when I get out of the shower" I said, taking off my clothes and throwing them in the washing machine now.

"Aw, c'mon, Tim" Andrea protested.

"No really, that's all I want, honey, just a bowl of Chili" I replied.

"How'd it go with Duffy today?" Andrea called out from the kitchen.

"Really good" I called back, from the washer.

"What'd you talk about?" Andrea asked.

"We talked about Spitfires" I replied.

"Uh-huh, what'd she say about the girl who flashed her boobs at you last week?" Andrea inquired teasingly.

"That it wasn't about me" I said.

"I've got a movie that I think you'll like, this evening - The Highwaymen" Andrea said.

" 'K" I responded as I walked down the hallway, naked, toward the bathroom and shower.

I took a long hot shower and changed into some clean clothes. Returning to the kitchen then, I made myself a bowl of Chili, opened a coca-cola and sat down at the table.

"Aren't you going to eat something, honey?" I asked Andrea.

"No, I looked at some property earlier, and ate then. Can't I fix you a roast beef sandwich or something to go with that?" Andrea asked as she looked at my bowl of Chili.

"Sure, if you don't mind, that'd be great, babe" I replied.

Someone had once remarked to me that "Hunger is the best seasoning of all" That must be true, I thought, because I ate everything in front of me while Andrea went into the bedroom and slipped into her night gown.

..."OK, this is the other side of the Bonnie and Clyde story, this is about Frank Hamer and Maney Gault, they were the two Texas Rangers that brought down Bonnie and Clyde ...it's had really good reviews, apparently" Andrea said as she stood looking at the jacket of the DVD's case.

"Get over here and let's watch it then" I said, as I reclined the sofa and threw a blanket over myself.

"Could you say Please?" Andrea asked, looking over at me.

"Yes, I certainly could" I replied, patting the space beside me.

Andrea rolled her eyes at my reply as she loaded the DVD player, she then sat down beside me and reclined her own side of the sofa. I lifted the blanket and she wormed her way beside me. Pulling her close to me now, I reveled in her curvy warmth with a satisfying MMMM...

"Duffy must have really tuned you up this afternoon, Tim, - you were a little shit when I left the house" Andrea said dryly as the movie began to play.

"Watch the movie and be nice, because I like it when you're sweet, pet" I said leaning down and kissing the bridge of her nose.

Fifteen minutes into the movie, I got up and made Andrea and I each another roast beef sandwich while we each took turns pulling on a jug of orange juice. I was in love with my wife and I knew in my heart that Duffy was right; Andrea and I would make it through the long run. Andrea and I were establishing trust again within our relationship, something which Duffy had told us both, would take a lifetime to fully accomplish.

..."OK, now see the front of their car? That is exactly the same car as yours - thirty four Ford, only theirs is a touring car sedan and yours is the five window coup. See the fenders, hood and grille; see how the windshield is the same as yours? Isn't that the most beautiful machine that you've ever-" I began saying now as I sat up and pointed at the screen while the movie played.

"-YES, you've told me FIVE times in the last eight minutes! its BEAUTIMOUS, OK, Tim?" Andrea said yanking me back against her again and rolling her eyes.

"It IS beautimous, and you're beautimous too Andrea Millhouse" I said defiantly.

"My name isn't Andrea Millhouse, it's Andrea Donovan" she corrected.

"SHHH! I'm trying to watch the movie now, Andrea Millhouse!" I scolded as I held my index finger to my lips and rolled my eyes at her. I then pulled her closer to me and continued eating my roast beef sandwich again.

The movie was one of the best films that I had seen in a very long time; the story line was historically accurate and very entertaining. The cast had played their characters exceptionally well and the cinematography had been focused and also done ample justice to the nineteen thirty four Ford which was, in and of itself, a work of art. The Highwaymen also had an adventurous and spooky feel to it, intriguing the audience and dragging the viewer farther and farther into the mystery and frustration experienced by the two Texas Rangers. The soundtrack created for the film had only added to the mystique of travelling for days on end along lonely stretches of country road in pursuit of the two dangerous outlaws, Bonnie and Clyde. The movie also captured well, the ambiance of the two Rangers as they met several leery and untrusting strangers in often dangerous places. In essence, the movie swept up the viewer and took them along for the ride. The Highwaymen was a fun movie to watch.

"Brenda said you'd like it" Andrea now said as she switched off the DVD player and turned toward me now. Taking my hand, she helped me up from the sofa and led me to our bedroom. Once inside, she closed the door and faced me as she let her nightgown fall to the floor.

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More to follow...