Leave Me Breathless

That made me think about Saturday and the coldness she'd displayed to the coach. I think it made me understand her more. She'd been very polite with most of the male volunteers, but also guarded. She'd kept her face neutral and avoided smiling too much. But with the coach, it was as if she took every possible opportunity to push him away.

Then I remembered that the coach had taken every opportunity to act as if there was some type of relationship between them. He'd called her babe. And then he'd tried to call her by her first name. She'd pointedly nixed both of those attempts.

I realized then that things for her were probably worse than I'd ever imagined. But on the other hand, I'd apparently missed her interest in my dad. She'd told him her first name and when we were ready to leave, she'd called him back. She'd also allowed him to ask her a personal question, although my dad's idea of what's personal is silly.

Then she'd stood next to him as close as possible without actually touching him while he ogled her car engine. I also remembered the smile on her face as they stood there. That had, of course, made the coach come over and make a fool of himself yet again.

Remembering that sequence of events made me think seriously about trying to push her into something with my dad. I have to admit that while my dad isn't a wimp, he's also not very aggressive. With every Tom, Dick and Harry in the area going goo-goo eyed over her at first sight, what would a relationship between them mean for my dad?

"Melinda, are you okay?" asked Ms. Abra. I looked up and realized that we were alone in the room. I'd been locked into my thoughts so deeply that I hadn't realized that she'd gotten rid of all of her students and was waiting for me.

"Sorry Ma'am," I said. "I was just thinking."

"You do a lot of that don't you?" she smiled. "That's probably what makes you such a good student."

We got into her car and I decided to test her. As we pulled away from the parking lot she'd gunned her engine and the car took off with a spray of gravel behind us.

"Not bad," I said. She looked at me.

"Your car has some power, but it's smooth too. My dad couldn't have done that without everyone in the neighborhood diving away from the road. I could probably drive this car," I said.

"You don't drive you Dad's car?" she asked. I'd been analyzing both her voice and everything she did as I brought it up. Her hands had gripped the wheel tighter and there was far more tension in her legs. There was also the fact that I had spoken about cars in general. She'd been the one to bring up my dad's Mustang.

"Well, he's let me drive it," I said. "I'm the only person that he's ever let drive it. But that car scares the shit out of me. Sorry, that was an unfortunate choice of words, but it was true. My dad treats that car like it's his other child... But that thing is brutal. If the traction control isn't on, forget about it. It burns rubber every time it takes off. His previous Mustang was a manual transmission. The clutch was so tight I had trouble getting it into gear. This one is an automatic. My dad must have like race car driver reflexes because that car does like thirty five without even putting your foot on the gas."

"I don't know how my dad controls it on residential streets. And on the freeway, every time you look at the speedometer it scares you. I've only been driving for a little over a year so I don't drive fast. I took it on the freeway once and I guess I thought I was going about sixty. Our family car shakes a little bit when you go faster than sixty five. I noticed that I was passing cars like they were standing still and I looked at the speed-o and realized that I was doing ninety and the car was rock solid. It was actually purring. That pony likes to run."

By that time, we were at the house so she pulled into the driveway behind my mom's car. I opened the door and we went up to my room. I pulled out my chosen outfits and she looked at them all before commenting.

"They're all nice outfits," she began. "But I think what will really make the difference is the person in them. Melinda, you can pull any one of these off and probably be one of the best dressed women at the dance. I'd eliminate these two though, unless you have something you can use as a wrap. Even when the weather is warm during the day, it gets really chilly at night during the dance."

The sound of our voices must have carried because my mom looked into the room and then came in.

"Hello," she said. "I didn't know that you were home Melinda. Or that you had company. Ms. Abra, it's good to see you."

"Hi Theresa," said Ms. Abra. "Call me Helena. I just realized that I haven't seen you in about a week. Are you on vacation?"

"No," said my mother looking at me. "I quit. Can I get you something to eat or drink?"

"No thank you, Theresa. We're going to go out and grab something. I hadn't heard that you were quitting. Normally, we have a party when someone leaves. The decision must have been very sudden. I don't think anyone knows about it yet. But then again, I'm not really sure that I could have worked with Russell for nearly as long as you did. The man makes my skin crawl. He's worse than Coach Kleatz. Every time I stand there in front of him, I feel like he's trying to imagine what I'd look like without my clothes. You'd have to have rocks in your head, or just be a real slut to be with someone like that. I don't envy his wife."

My mother looked nervous. "Well, you two have fun," she said and went back to whatever she'd been doing.

I tried on both outfits and we agreed that the navy blue dress was the better choice. After that, I changed back into my clothes and we headed for Wendy's. As we sat down over burgers, she popped her first question.

"Melinda, if your mom is home, why didn't you just have her look at outfits with you?" she asked.

"We'll get to that later," I said. "Can we talk about the important stuff first?"

"Okay." She smiled, looking at me with amusement on her face. "Melinda, you're going to be a great prosecutor. You have a way of cutting to the heart of things." I nodded.

"I'm really not trying to be hurtful or insulting ma'am but this is important to me. So please forgive me if I step on your toes, okay?" I said. She was still looking amused.

"You like my dad, don't you?" I asked.

Suddenly, she was choking on her fries. She took a long gulp of her soda and then looked at me wide eyed.

"Of course not," she sputtered. "I'm not a home wrecker. Your dad is a married man."

I just stared at her. She nervously nibbled at her fries. "No one will ever know what we discuss here," I said, continuing to stare at her.

"Melinda, I'm thirty three years old," she began. "I've only been in love one time. It ended tragically and I've been on the shelf ever since then. It's not that I didn't want to move on, I just didn't. A few years ago, I went back to my home town and looked at my husband's relatives. I guess I was becoming lonely and I figured that maybe an apple from the same family tree might work where nothing else has. He has three brothers."

"The oldest is a drunken, wife abuser. The youngest, who's five years younger than me is a crack addict. And the middle one, who went into the military with my husband, is in jail. For a while, I wondered what my life would have been like when he came back from his military service. Would he have turned out like his brothers, or was he a one of a kind man?"

"I guess I'll never know. My sister in law tells me that Robert, that's the oldest brother, was an angel for the first five years of their marriage. As he got older, she said he changed and became more like their father. She never expected it the first time he punched her. She told me to hang onto my good memories but I get the impression that she thinks he'd have changed too."

"I've wanted to move on, but I react to most men the way you react to a tree. I'm not stupid, Melinda. I know that I'm attractive but then you are too. Can't you tell by the way a guy looks at you if he really likes you or he just wants something to have sex with?"

I nodded and she was right.

"I've spent my entire life trying to get past my looks," she said. "I had to work twice as hard as everyone else to prove I was interested in science. In college, no one wanted me in their groups for group assignments because they assumed I was an airhead."

"The only guy who ever looked past it, I ended up marrying. Melinda, he was funny and shy and he danced to the beat of a different drummer. Do you know what the first thing he ever said to me was?"

I shook my head.

"I was in the library with my head stuck in a book. He came over and sat down. He started writing a term paper. His paper was supposed to be typed but he was writing it. I found out later on that he always did things the way he wanted no matter what. He was a terrible typist, but he had great handwriting."

"Anyway, we'd gotten to the point where we were spending a lot of time glancing at each other. Finally he just stared at me and spoke.

"God you're ugly," he said, with the biggest smile on his face. "Want to have lunch?"

"If I'm so ugly why would you want to be seen with me?" I asked.

"My dad told me not to ever fall in love with a pretty woman," he said. "And since I want to marry you more than anything I've ever wanted in life, you have to be ugly so I'm not breaking my promise to my dad."

"He constantly surprised me," she said. "All the way to the end. And no one has affected me that way since he died until I met your dad. He's such a walking contrast. He's very handsome, but instead of being arrogant, he's shy. He's clearly confident but unlike the other fathers who were there Saturday, he didn't stand around with the other guys talking about golf. He spent the entire day running through the woods with his daughter. You could see the joy on his face when you guys found a different type of leaf or insect."

"It seemed like every God damned guy there kept coming over to me like I was supposed to fall down and worship them because they came over and used some cheesy line on me. I guess I'm supposed to be desperate because I'm a widow." She sighed and nibbled her fries again.

"Melinda, I think I am desperate. My biological clock is ticking as loud as hell. But I only intend to be married one more time in life. When I find a mate, it's till death do us part. So it has to be the right guy. And since you said this is just between us and I trust you; Yes, I really like your dad. But you have nothing to worry about. I'm not the kind of woman who goes after married men. Besides he's more interested in my car than he is in me. The whole time that we were talking, I was afraid to breathe. I've never felt like that before in my life. I was just...breathless. I wanted to touch him so badly, but I didn't dare."

She looked kind of sad as she ate more of her burger. But as sad as she looked, she also seemed to be more relaxed. It was like being able to tell someone about this had taken a lot of pressure off of her shoulders.

"I'll help you," I said as she kept her head down chewing her burger. She stopped chewing and choked again. I had to stop talking while she ate before I killed her.

"Melinda, he's married and your mother..."

"Is cheating on him," I spat loudly. "My mother was fucking Russell Eddington in my Dad's bed when I caught them. She doesn't deserve him. I won't have him hurt for anyone. They're getting a divorce. That's why she had to quit her God damned job. I can't stand her. That's why I don't ask her for advice on anything."

"And my dad will be heartbroken when he finds out. The best way for me to do this is to find someone who's better for him. Someone who can help him through the pain he's going to have when he finds out and then help him to move on."

"You're perfect for that ma'am. And the reason that he hasn't noticed you is that he really thinks he's being faithful to a woman who's worthy of him. As pretty as you are, my dad is simply not a cheater. We just have to get you guys together a few times."

I got home feeling better than I had since this whole thing had started. I felt like pulling out a cigar and saying, "I love it when a plan comes together."

I guess that's why I was surprised when the wheels started to fall off of my brilliant plan.

"Melinda, what the hell are you playing at?" asked my mother angrily. "You're right, I saw you at the park Saturday. I was afraid that you'd tell your dad. I saw you introduce him to Math and Science Barbie. Then you actually brought that bitch into my house. If you needed help picking out your clothes, that's supposed to be my job. I'm your mother."

"Did you know that she's a lesbian?" she asked. I started laughing loudly.

"She's not a lesbian," I laughed. "You probably heard that from Eddington didn't you?"

"Nope, she's not a lesbian. She's just picky about her men. She thinks that she's got more class than to be the kind of woman who'll spread her legs for any horn-dog that comes along. Besides Theresa, I was doing this for you."

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously. I knew I had her. This wasn't what I'd planned but it would probably work.

"Remember our conversation about you making things up to daddy?" I asked. She nodded excitedly. "The only way to even things out is for Daddy to have sex with someone else too. Then things will be even and we can get back to being a family. I'm tired of all of this anger Mother. I miss you."

"So if your father has sex with her a few times, this whole thing ends and you'll never tell him?" she asked. "And you'll forgive me too."

"That was the plan," I said. "But it won't work. Daddy didn't even look at her twice. He was more interested in her car than he was HER."

"I'll help you," she said. "No one knows your father better than I do. We just have to throw them together in enough situations where they actually have to touch each other. Then, when we're ready to lower the boom, we need to get your dad drunk. Let me think about it for a little while as I make dinner. We can do this." She had a big smile and held her hand up for me to high five her.

"God, she's stupid," I thought as she left the room.

The next day in school, I told Ms. Abra or Helena as I called her, since we were partners in crime, the new developments.

I also told her my mom's first idea to get the two of them together. We were supposed to have a party that doubled as a practice dance for the harvest festival dance. It was mostly so the younger students could learn to dance before the big festival. Most kids were great at dance club style dancing, but had little experience with partner dancing of the type that would be done at the harvest festival. I got Helena to sign up as a chaperone and told her I'd work on getting my dad to do it too.

Once there, I'd manipulate them into dancing with each other and we'd all be one step closer to getting the two of them together. The funniest thing was that my mom had been the one who came up with the idea. It was almost like the cheating bitch was cutting her own throat.

As the night of the practice dance got closer, I noticed that my mom got more and more excited. I was still barely talking to her, but I did talk to her about the plan. She had some interesting ideas about what to do after the practice dance.

Anyway, the night of the practice dance there was magic in the air. I allowed my mom to stick a flower in my hair as I waited for Dean to pick me up. Both Dad and I were shocked that Mom wasn't coming. Actually, I was pissed and pulled her off to the side. I'd actually thought it would be cool to have her there and make her watch as Dad danced with Helena. I wanted to enjoy seeing her squirm as she watched a woman who was younger than her, better built than her and prettier than her, did her God damnedest to arouse my dad, right in front of her.

Both Helena and I agreed that my mom simply didn't love my dad. For all of her claims that she did, she'd struck out. The first strike was her infidelity. If she loved him, she wouldn't have cheated on him. Strike two was her refusal to come clean when she was caught. The final strike was the fact that not only was she willing to let him have sex with another woman; she was willing to help with the planning and execution of the act. She had no business with my dad. If she loved him as much as she claimed, she should have been in tears at the thought of him having sex with someone else.

I glared at her in the kitchen with dad upstairs and Dean waiting in the living room.

"Why aren't you coming?" I asked. "Get your ass upstairs and get dressed NOW!"

"Melinda, you don't want me there," she said. "Think about it Honey. You're the one with the analytical mind. You know how shy your father is. There's no way he'd dance with Helena if I'm there. He'd look at it as an insult to me. And secondly, you're going to have to convince him that Helena is lonely and upset because no one else will dance with her. Other than that, he won't go near her no matter how beautiful she is."

I had to admit that the bitch was right. I hadn't given any thought to how to get him to dance with her. What I didn't understand was that my mother had out witted me. Shit, I was only eighteen. I couldn't keep up with all of the factors. And she was one sneaky bitch.

As Dean and I drove to the dance, he tried to make conversation. My mind was on other things though. There were so many things that could go wrong. I reached out and held Dean's hand. He was so lucky. His easy going personality reminded me of my dad. That was one of the reasons why I loved him so much. Dean had the same ability to commit to a cause or an idea or a person that my dad had.

But unlike my dad, Dean would never have to worry about the woman he loves cheating on him. Except for the fact that the parking lot was filling up after dark, the school didn't look any different. We'd stopped off at Dean's house so his dad could take pictures of us while his mom chewed her cud. Okay, I take that back. It was insulting to imply that his mom was a cow. As a matter of fact, I want to apologize to any cows who are insulted by my callous comparison.

As we made our way to the door I heard a powerful rumble of an engine and smiled.

"Wow, that must be your dad's Mustang," said Dean. I laughed and shook my head.

"No Honey, that's not my dad," I said. A few seconds later we heard an even lower, even louder rumble and the driver gunned his engine as he drove into the parking lot.

"Now that's my Dad's Mustang," I said.

The two cars pulled up together and actually parked near Dean's Toyota. I'm sure most people saw it as a coincidence to see the GTO and my Dad's Mustang GT pull up at the same time and park next to each other, but to me it was more of an omen. I saw it as a sign from the powers that be that they had not only authorized but blessed this union.

I watched as Ms. Abra looked across her car at my dad. My dad fumbled with his keys. From nowhere, Coach Kleatz ran up to Helena's car and tried to open the door for her. Since the door was locked he tried again and then again. She rolled down her window and asked him what he was doing.

"I'm just opening your door babe," he smiled. "I'm trying to be a God damned gentleman here. I figured that since we're going to spend a lot of the evening rubbing bellies and if we're lucky a lot of the night after that, we may as well start out on a good note."

"We aren't starting out on any kind of note," she said icily. "We're not even starting out on the same song. Your comment about rubbing bellies was inappropriate for the workplace. I could easily start a sexual harassment case against you if..."

"Hi Helena," said my dad. "I hate to disturb you, but I was hoping you could show me where the gym is."