Brad's Road Trip Ch. 20

Finally I made a left onto Brookline Avenue. I always laughed when I thought of that name - 'Avenue' implied busy traffic, lots of stop lights and pissed off drivers honking their horns. This street was tucked so far back in the neighborhood that it only had two stop signs, and you could run either of them any time without worrying about hitting something.

I pulled past the next door neighbors' house and couldn't help but grin. When we first moved in, these neighbors were the only ones on the street with a pool. Our third or fourth day in the house, my parents were both at work and since it was still summer, I was at the house alone. I was up in my room when some movement caught my eye out the window. When I went to investigate, I saw a girl with auburn hair tanning naked by their pool.

I was shocked but way too transfixed to look away, at least not until she got up and went inside half an hour later. You can guess what fueled my 14 year-old masturbation fantasies for the next few weeks. I kept an eagle eye on their pool from then on, and while I saw her swim a few more times, I never caught her naked again. I found out later that she had just graduated from the high school I was about to start at, and she went off to college in Oregon a few weeks later. I only met her once or twice, but if she ever found out about my spying on her, she never told me. My mom told me she'd moved back to town and was married now.

My parents' house was the last one on the left. It was a pretty good example of what most of our neighborhood was about - there were some mini-McMansions and some houses that were starting to look run down, but ours was right in the middle. It was a two-story house with a basement, a three-car garage, and a deck out back. My parents had a pool put in after I'd left home, mostly to improve the property value, but I had yet to use it.

The first floor was mostly brick, with siding running around the corners, but the upper floor was all siding. It was a great house but not too extravagant - my parents could have afforded much more, but this was all we needed when we'd moved here. Truthfully, it was more than they needed now.

I'd come to terms with the Marine Corps chapter of my life being over a while ago, but when I pulled into the driveway and cut the engine, I realized that this road trip was over, too. All that was left was to claim the prize at the end, a prize I didn't know would be waiting for me when I planned the trip. At this point, I wasn't even sure how much of a prize it was, but before I could get into yet another full rehashing of the Nicole/Kelly conundrum that had been rattling around in my brain the entire way home, there was a tap at my window.

"You going to sit there all day?" my mom asked. I grinned, and when she stepped aside, I opened the door and got out.

"Hi, mom - oof," I said, my normal greeting being swallowed by the massive hug she wrapped me in. I hugged her back just as hard - I'd seen and done a lot over these past five years, and I had only been back here a couple of times. I missed my parents a lot.

"Where's dad?" I asked when she was finished squeezing my lungs.

"Around back," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye. A quick sniff of the air told me her secret - it was thick and muggy, but gale-force winds couldn't mask the smell of my dad's sizzling steaks.

"You guys are the best," I said. "I have a couple expensive things I need to get out of the car, then I'll head back."

She took my laptop bag, and I hauled the boxes containing my desktop computer and my guitar case through the garage and into the mudroom.

"Just leave them here," she said. "We can move them later."

I followed my mom down the hall through the kitchen, and when I walked out the back door, I realized why she was in a hurry.

"SURPRISE!!"

There were maybe 20 people in the backyard with my dad. Betsy and Ron, my mom's co-workers, were there, as well as couple of my dad's friends who I knew from growing up. About a dozen of my high school friends were there, including a couple ex-girlfriends who were sunning themselves by the pool. My high school baseball coach, his wife, and their two young kids were splashing around in the water with a few other people. The neighbor girl, the one I'd caught tanning naked all those years ago, was here with her parents, though I didn't see a husband. She'd gained a few pounds since I'd last seen her during high school, but she still looked pretty damn good.

The only person I didn't know was a tiny brunette girl, who stood near the back door looking at everyone. A thought flickered into my mind. The only personal details I'd managed to squeeze out of Kelly were that she was just an inch or two taller than five feet, and that she had brown hair. This girl fit both those bills, and I wondered if my mom hadn't invited her down here without telling me.

If so, I was sorely disappointed. The girl was actually fairly attractive, but I felt none of the spark I'd felt when I first saw Nicole yesterday, and -

Nevermind. One of my best friends from high school, Tommy, walked up to the girl, put one arm around her waist and led her over to me.

"Brad, welcome home, buddy!" he said, wrapping me in another bear hug. My mom's had been tight, but Tommy was built a lot like Chad, except he was about 9 inches shorter. He could have squeezed me into unconsciousness if he'd wanted, but he showed mercy and let me go right as things were starting to turn gray.

"I can't tell you how good it is to see you, Tommy," I said. "I missed you, man."

Tommy and I had been a large part of a core group of friends all throughout high school, along with Nathan and Scott, my Marine buddy from Florida. He'd wanted to join the Marines with us, and had been well on his way before getting medically disqualified. He'd stayed in Idaho and gotten really depressed for maybe a year before snapping out of it. He'd been gone the last time I came home, so while we'd talked and texted plenty, it had been over three years since we'd seen each other.

"Brad, this is Collette," he said. "We've been dating a couple months. Collette, this is Brad, my boy from back in high school."

We shook hands, and I gave her a quick once-over. On second look, there was no way she could have been Kelly. My mom had given me Kelly's sizes, and the lingerie I'd purchased would have fit like a loose plastic bag over this girl. Her ribs weren't quite showing, but she was way too thin. I was kind of surprised Tommy was dating her, because he'd been into thicker girls in high school.

We talked for a few minutes, until some of our other high school friends meandered over. I managed to sneak away and worm through the crowd toward the grill, where my dad had a whole stampede worth of steaks going.

"Welcome home, son," he said, pulling me in for a hug with his free hand. "How was your trip?"

Well, except for the last day or so...

"Pretty amazing, dad." I'd have thrown in an adjective-enhancing 'fucking' there if it had just been the two of us, but I didn't want to cuss in front of my mom and the kids.

"Glad to have you back," he said. "Pull up a seat and grab a beer."

"Need any help with those?" I motioned to his grill as I sat down and cracked open a Samuel Adams. My dad had good taste in just about everything. "I mean, I know you're pretty good and all, but the master is here now, if you want a little break."

"Please," my dad scoffed. "I taught you everything you know about grilling meat."

"No," I said. "You taught me everything you know about grilling meat. Which is a great deal, I'll admit. But I've picked up a few things on my travels."

"They have a lot of world-class barbecue chefs in Afghanistan?" my dad quipped.

I laughed out loud. "No, over there, the sun mostly barbecues humans," I said. "But I lived in Texas the past few years, dad."

"Yeah, you grew up there, too, remember?" he asked. He'd been in the military through my junior high years, and we'd spent several years in Texas. "Where do you think I learned how to do this?"

"Fair enough," I said. He flipped the steaks over then, satisfied for the time being, closed the grill and sat down next to me. We clinked our bottles together in a silent toast then drank together for a few moments.

"Your mom invited Kelly," he said. "Apparently she really, really wanted to come, but she still had some family in town, I think."

"Yeah, that's what she told me," I said.

"I didn't hear the chat, but it sounds like she's pretty excited to meet you."

I nodded. Up until a little while ago, there was nothing I wanted more.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna head up there tomorrow."

He looked at me carefully for a moment. "Trouble in paradise already?"

My dad always could read me like a damn phone book, but I didn't feel like having this talk right now.

"Nah, everything's fine, dad."

"Is it the looks thing?" he asked, and I shot him a glance. "I know you haven't seen any pictures, and mom and I are under strict instructions not to give you any details. But if that's what's bothering you, I'll simply say this - you have nothing to worry about."

It didn't assure me that we'd have the same kind of sparks Nicole and I did yesterday, but it actually did make me feel a lot better.

"I appreciate that, dad, but really, I'm just beat. It's just been a long, long trip, and really, a long, long five years. I'm ready to go to battle with that bed downstairs and lose the fight for about 12 hours."

"I hear ya," he said. He got up and raised the grill cover, flipping two of the steaks immediately. "But that's a ways off. These people are all here to welcome you home."

Over the next two or three hours, all of them made their way over to me, catching me up on what was going on with them since I'd been gone. I shared a few stories from the Marines, but really, I had no desire to get into the really gory stuff that had happened overseas.

The sun started to set to our left, and people started to file out. Tommy and I made plans to hang out some tomorrow, and several people made sure I had their new cell numbers before they left. When it was finally down to just me, my parents and a couple of the neighbors, I got up, walked around the corner and pulled my phone out.

It was time to make a call.

"Thank God," she said, answering halfway through the first ring. "I was starting to go into withdrawals."

I couldn't help but chuckle. Somehow her voice sounded different than when I'd last heard it on Friday evening, but it was still one of the sexiest sounds I'd ever heard. "They say addiction is unhealthy."

"I'll be unhealthy then," she said. "Don't you ever go that long without at least texting me again."

"I'll try not to," I said. "I would have called sooner, but my parents threw me a surprise welcome-home party. My dad said you were invited, but you gave him some lame excuse - changing diapers, I think he said - to avoid coming."

My tone of voice was playful, and her chuckle told me she understood I was joking.

"I've only been able to answer for the past 15 minutes anyway," she said. "That's one of the reasons I couldn't come."

"There's more than one?" I asked.

"Do you really think it would have been a good idea to meet for the first time in front of 20 people?"

She had a point. Up until yesterday, I was pretty sure the first time we met was going to be light on speaking and heavy on... well... just about everything else. Not something you want a lot of people around for, and certainly not something my parents needed to see.

"That's true," I said. "Though, I'm pretty sure my dad would found it entertaining."

"Probably, but I have to talk to your mom almost every day," she said. "I don't need that to be a part of our normal conversation."

"Listen," I said. "We've both had a busy day, and I know I'm still pretty wiped from all the driving. Plus, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that my Marine Corps days are done, and I'm a civilian now. Can we just take a raincheck tonight, rest up and be ready to go tomorrow?"

"Yeah right," she scoffed. "It's not just the drive that has you wiped. You've been having sex non-stop for two weeks now. And what are we going to be doing tomorrow that I need to rest up for, huh?"

"Well, uh... you know," I said. "I assumed I was going to take you to dinner somewhere. Eating takes a lot of energy."

"For you, maybe," she said. "Not for me - I just have to sit back and enjoy it."

This exchange was reminding me why I was so looking forward to meeting her. I had no idea how I was supposed to tell her I had feelings for someone else, too.

"Anyway, yeah, I think that's a good idea to wait until tomorrow. I have to work until 5, but I'm free after that. Let me know what you have in mind."

I was worried that she'd fight me, and was partly relieved and partly surprised when she agreed.

"I will," I said. "I'll text and call you tomorrow. I'm actually so tired, I'm gonna be asleep within the next half an hour."

"Aww," she pouted. "No fun times on the phone tonight? We still haven't had last night's story time."

I really did hurt for Kelly. I wasn't the only one ready to say those famous three little words two days ago, and as far as she knew, nothing had changed. I was really tired, but I'd been worse off than this a few times during the trip and had found a way to fit her in.

"I didn't do anything that would fuel your spank bank," I said. "There's nothing to tell. I decided, after all the stuff that happened with Sara the night before, that the next day would be a chill day." The words were true, but they felt hollow. "I'm not sure how sexy me yawning all over the phone would be, anyway."

"Poor baby," she said, mostly sarcastically. "I guess I can let you off the hook tonight, especially since you'll be here in person tomorrow."

"I promise, I will. Sleep well, sexy."

"How am I supposed to sleep when I'm dreaming of you? And Brad?"

"Yeah?"

"I want you to be crazy for me tomorrow," she said, the sexiness dripping off her words even from 50 miles away. "So keep your hands to yourself tonight. Please?"

Yeah... she had nothing to worry about there.

************************

Post-Trip Day 1
Monday, June 30, 2007
Pocatello, ID

"I'm telling ya man," Tommy shouted into my ear. "Ya just gotta calm down and relax."

"Then maybe you should stop trying to kill me!" I shouted back. In response, he dipped the right wing of the Cessna Caravan we were flying in. I wasn't sure how far the laws of physics would let him tilt this plane to the right before we fell out of the sky, but it was at least far enough that I got a good view of the mountains we'd unceremoniously crash into if he went too far.

I'd gone to bed exhausted the night before, but I'd woken up after a few hours, tossing and turning and unable to quit thinking about Kelly and Nicole. I gave up around 1 a.m. and did the shit I assumed normal insomniacs do - caught up on e-mails, ate a sandwich, played mindless video games and watched Cindy Crawford pimp face cream on an infomercial. Finally, I went back to bed and laid there for an hour before finally falling back asleep sometime around 5 a.m., only to be woken up by the sun a couple hours later.

It was OK that I'd gotten so little sleep, though, because I only had an extremely busy day to plow through. It started at 7 a.m. with a brisk swim in the pool, followed by eggs, bacon and potatoes (it's Idaho, after all) with my parents at their favorite breakfast spot. I went down to the college campus after that, to double check that all my enrollment paperwork had gone through and to fill out a few scholarship forms. I went to our family doctor to have a few tests run, then went to the gym to try and burn off a little of my pent-up anxiety.

I was supposed to have lunch with Tommy, but he'd told me to meet him at the airport instead. We'd both taken flying lessons in high school, but while mine had tapered off in the Marines, Tommy had kept his going, and had long since earned all his certifications - private, instrument, flight instructor, multi-engine and commercial. His long-term goal was to fly jumbo jets on international routes, but he had yet to build up enough hours to apply to the major airlines. One of the ways he earned hours was to fly cargo - mostly FedEx and UPS packages - from Pocatello to some of the smaller airports in and around the mountains. There was only enough business for him to do it two or three times a week, and today was one of those days.

I'd spent the past half hour telling him everything, the first person I'd completely opened up to since Scott, back in Florida. Even then, that was two weeks ago, and things were just a little bit different now. As I knew he would, Tommy listened without interrupting and didn't judge, even when I admitted I'd never even seen a picture of Kelly. The only comment he made while I was talking was to call me a jackass for not getting Nicole's phone number, and I forgave that interruption because I agreed.

I'd finally finished spinning my tale of woe a few minutes ago, and he was silent for a few minutes. His first comment was to tell me to relax, which I might have been willing to consider had he not said it while trying to barrel roll a cargo plane.

We were maybe 10 miles south of the airport near a small town called Salmon, which would be our third stop today. He'd let me fly some, but now that we were on approach, he'd taken over. He'd done his best to scare the hell out of me at the first two airports, too, but this was a little over the top.

"I think you're making too big a deal out of this," Tommy said as he straightened out the airplane and pointed it at the runway. "Who says you can't have a crazy emotional connection with two different girls?"

"Well, probably the two girls, for starters," I said.

"They don't get a say in the matter," he said, and before I could protest, he kept going. "They'd get a say in what kind of relationship you had with each of them, but not how you felt."

I nodded. We were about four miles out now. This airport was too small for a control tower, but every airport has a common traffic frequency, where pilots operating near the field can broadcast their intentions, whether it be to land, takeoff, taxi out, etc. You'd think that wouldn't be necessary at a tiny airport like this one, but it was the Big Sky theory - it's a big sky with millions of miles of flying space, so of course the only two airplanes within 200 miles of each other will be pointed right at one another at the same altitude.

Tommy keyed up his microphone and announced our intentions to land. We were both scanning the horizon for other airplanes, but saw nothing.

"Look, this is why you brought this to me, right? You wanted a second opinion, that only Dr. Tommy can provide?"

I nodded again.

"So here's my opinion - this is way, way simpler than you're making it out to be."

"I wish I agreed with you," I said. We passed over the numbers on the runway, and Tommy greased the landing, the wheels barely squeaking when we touched down. He let me handle the taxi to the hangar, where someone would meet us and take the boxes. He turned toward me.

"Before you met Nicole, you were excited about Kelly, right?"

"Yes."

"Thought there might be a future for the two of you?"

"Yes."

"You passed on taking a girl's virginity and gave up an opportunity to have sex at a baseball field, because of this girl, right?"

"Yes, genius," I said, growing tired of the questions. "Your point?"

"That sounds to me like a pretty fucking strong connection, Brad," he said. We powered down the engines and headed into the FBO while crewmen unloaded the boxes. He poured himself a cup of coffee before turning back to me. I wasn't a big coffee drinker, but the way this day had gone so far, and with so much of it still to go, I was grabbing whatever pick-me-up I could find.