Lorelei and Me Pt. 01

"Yes, you will. Have a good night and sweet dreams."

'I know I will, you too!"

When I got home, I helped my Dad with dinner. After a little while he asked, "So, how was your day?"

I laughed and said, "Dad, today was the best day I have ever had in my life. I picked Lori up at her house to go to school thinking I was just doing her a favor. As we drove, she asked me to ask her to the prom, because she had dumped her boyfriend after he tried to beat me up. Then she told me her parents want me to come to their house for dinner tomorrow night. She also told me she wanted to come to work with me to see what I do. On the way to work she misconstrued something I said and began to tell me that she thinks I'm the nicest, most polite and smartest person she has ever met. With me so far?" My Dad laughed and nodded.

"So, when we get to the Haydn's farm she introduces herself to Bea as my girlfriend. When we were driving back I asked when she became my girlfriend and she said on Sunday when I visited her in the hospital and brought her a Teddy Bear. She then told me to pull off the road and turn off the motor. When I did, she slid across the seat and kissed me! She kissed me Dad, with tongue and everything. This is going to sound crazy, but I'm hopelessly in love with Lorelei!"

"That does sound like a really great day! She's a lovely girl and I could see immediately that she's head over heels in love with you too. Just keep in mind that you'll be going off to college in Madison in the Fall. Long distance romances don't usually work out too well, just so you know."

"Dad, she's going to go to UW as well to study nursing. So, first things first, prom! She told me I need to get a tux, a white flower wrist corsage and take her to dinner. Does that all sound about right? Did you go to your prom?"

"Yeah, I did. I took your Mom and had a magical night. Tell you what, why don't you ask her out on a regular date this Friday. Take her to a movie and pizza or something. You know, something to get together to get used to being with each other for a longer period than just rides in a car."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"You should let her choose the movie too. Now about tomorrow, wear nice clothes like some slacks and a button-down shirt and nice shoes. I'll give you a good bottle of wine to give to her parents. It's always nice to bring something for the hostess when you go to someone's house. Be sure to give the wine to Lorelei's Mom. On Sunday, we'll go get you fitted for a tux. Most of your classmates will probably go with weird colors, but you should stick with black. If black works for James Bond and Cary Grant it will work for you! You should, probably get a haircut too. We'll go to a florist and order a corsage as well. Anyway, let's eat, I'm starving!"

While we ate my Dad said, "I had a pretty good day as well. Your principal stopped by the store just to talk, so I asked her out on Friday as well."

"Wow! Good for you Dad. I don't know her very well, but my interaction with her on Monday was great. I really like her and I'm happy for you!"

"Yeah, we'll see how it goes."

The next day at school was interesting. Lori and I had a nice conversation while we drove to school and I asked her if she would go out with me on Friday night, like I had discussed with my Dad.

"Yeah, I'd love to go out. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I thought it would be a good idea to have a regular date before we went to prom together, so I thought we could have pizza or something and then see a movie."

She smiled and said, "That sounds like fun. What movie would you like to see?"

"Your choice. I'm not to keen on violent films, but anything else would be fine."

"Okay, I'll see what's playing. What time are you going to pick me up?"

"Is seven okay? I need to get home and shower before I pick you up."

"Yeah, seven is fine. So, you haven't forgotten about tonight have you?"

"Nope. I'll be there around seven."

Later in the day I noticed a lot of people staring at me and pointing. I even overheard someone whisper, 'her new boyfriend'. I had to laugh, because the news about Lorelei and me spread like wildfire. I saw some of Chad's football buddies giving me a dirty look, but other than that most people just looked shocked.

After school, I gave Lori a ride home and then went to work. It was a slow day, so I spent my time tidying things up and restocking some shelves. At closing I rushed home, showered, put on a pair of khakis, a blue Oxford button down shirt and a pair of loafers. As I was leaving, my Dad handed me a bottle of French Bordeaux wine saying, "The guy at the liquor store assured me that this was really good."

I was a bit nervous about dining with Lori's parents, but they seemed pretty nice at the hospital. When I rang the doorbell, Lori answered the door with a big smile and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. As I entered the living room, her Mom walked up to me and gave me a light hug and a two cheek kiss like I had seen in foreign movies. I handed her the bottle causing her to say, "Why thank you, this is very nice. It will go well with our dinner, I think."

A bit later, her Dad walked in, shook my hand and asked, "How are you Ben?" I replied that I was doing well. We made small talk for a few minutes and then I was led into the dining room. The table was set nicely and I was directed to sit in a chair across from Lori. Her Mom brought the food in from the kitchen, while her Dad opened the bottle of wine. When everything was set, her Dad turned to me and said, "We aren't religious, so we don't usually say grace. But, we always allow our guest to do so if they would like."

"Thanks, but I'm not religious either," I replied.

"Great! Well let's eat. Plates and bowls were passed around with roast beef, green beans and green salad. The food was delicious and the conversation was entertaining. At one point, Lori's Dad asked, "So how is your father doing? Is business good?"

I smiled and said, "He's been well and business has been very good. He's looking to take on some extra help, especially when I go off to college. He told me that you and he were best friends at one time." Lori looked at me with wide eyes for a second, so I knew she thought I jumped the gun, but since he brought up my Dad I thought it was a good opportunity.

Her Dad looked wistful and said, "Yeah, we were and then I got stupid. We had a falling out over a girl, your Mom to be exact. When she chose your Dad over me, I let my pride get in the way. I've regretted it ever since."

"Well, why don't you pop over to the store someday? He'd love to see you and talk to you. He regrets that you aren't friends anymore as well."

He smiled and said, "You know, I think I will. So, I understand that you and Lori are an item now and that you're going to prom together. I hope she didn't twist your arm too hard!"

Lori shrieked, "Daddy!"

I laughed and said, "All she had to do was hold my hand, no twisting necessary. Are you okay with us dating?"

He laughed and said, "After the last cretin, you, Ben, are a breath of fresh air. I hope you date, get married and give me a bevy of grandchildren!"

Lori and I both turned bright red with his statement while her Mom chastised her Dad for embarrassing us. The rest of the dinner was calmer as we talked about day to day things. After dessert, Lori asked me, "Would you like to go for a walk?" I nodded, so we headed out the front door.

We held hands and walked down her street for a few moments before she said, "I'm sorry my Dad embarrassed you like that. He gets a little carried away at times. I do hope that he and your Dad get back together. I really like your Dad. He seems like a really nice guy."

"Yeah, my Dad is great. He's pretty perceptive. When I told him about our day yesterday, he took everything in stride and said we'd take care of the prom stuff on Sunday and he was the one who suggested the Friday night date. He has a date that night as well with Miss Kline."

"The principal!?"

"Yeah. They met when she came to the store with me to talk to my Dad about my fight with Chad. I guess they hit it off."

We walked on a little farther until Lori stopped and asked, "Will you kiss me?"

"Gladly!" I took her into my arms, pulled her in tight, bent over and kissed her passionately. God, I loved holding her in my arms and kissing her. I would have been perfectly happy just doing this all night.

When we broke the kiss, Lori had a dreamy look on her face as she said, "You sure are a good kisser."

We continued walking for about an hour. It was pretty dark, so we headed back to her house. When we got there, I thanked her parents for a great night and a fantastic meal. Her Dad walked over, shook my hand and said, "I'll, probably, stop by your store on Saturday and surprise your Dad. So, don't say anything, okay?"

I smiled and said, "Mum's the word! Goodnight and thanks again." Lori walked me to the door and just outside, out of sight of her parents, she gave me a scorching good night kiss. As I left I said, "I'll see you in the morning. Sweet dreams."

"Thank you, you too!"

The next few days were a whirlwind of school, work and spending time with Lori. Our Friday date was fun. We both liked the same thing on our pizza and the movie she chose was a funny comedy. I got home about the same time as my Dad, so we joked that we both made our curfew. He said his date with Miss Kline was enjoyable and that they were going to go out again on Wednesday.

On Saturday morning, Lori and her Dad came to the store. Lori stood with me as her Dad walked up to my Dad and said, "Hi Joe. I'm sorry I have been an idiot all of these years." As he stuck out his hand to shake.

My Dad walked up to him, pulled him into a hug and said, "No problem Jerry. It's good to see you!" I had never seen two grown men cry before, but Lori's and my Dad did so unabashedly as they held each other tight.

Lori hugged me and said, "This is the coolest thing I have ever seen. I had no idea my Dad could cry."

I had tears in my eyes and said, "I knew my Dad could cry because he cried a lot over my Mom."

After they broke their hug Lori's Dad said, "I was so sorry about what happened to Emily. Why does that stuff happen to the good ones? Say, do you think you could get away and grab a cup of coffee with me?"

I'm sure my Dad was going to say he couldn't, so I piped in and said, "Go ahead Dad, Lori and I can watch the store. If we get any deliveries I'll tell them we can do it a little later."

He thought for a moment and then said, "Okay." The two old friends hopped into Mr. Jones' Escalade and drove off.

Lori was a natural at the store and did a banner job with stuff she didn't have a clue about. She picked up on stuff I told other customer's and parroted what I had said. By the time our Dad's returned they were laughing like school boys. Lori told her Dad she wanted to stay and help some more, so her Dad left with a promise to have us over for a bar-b-que when the weather warmed up.

We had a couple of small deliveries, so Lori and I took them and then stopped and had some lunch at a fast food joint. While we ate, I asked, "Do you like horseback riding? We have three horses that could use some exercise."

Lori's smile lit up her face and said, "I adore horseback riding and so does my Mom. If we go can we bring her? She'd love it."

"Of course, we can ride tomorrow afternoon after my Dad and I get some stuff done. Say, about three? I'll call you if it has to be later."

"Sounds fun, I'll tell my Mom."

The next morning, my Dad and I started getting me fixed up with my prom needs. We hit the men's store in town that rented tux's and lucked out because the only one he had left was my size and black. It needed just minor alterations, so we were able to take it with us. We hit the florist and I was able to arrange for a wrist corsage with white orchids for Lori. Last we pulled into a restaurant that was the nicest in town. We went in the back and were greeted by the owner. He and my Dad were pals, so they arranged a dinner reservation for me. My Dad told him to charge the shop.

We were done by 1:30, so I called Lori and told her to come as soon as she wanted. At two, she and her Mom arrived, so I took them to the stable and let them familiarize themselves with the horses and vice versa. When they each chose their mount, we saddled them up. They were both familiar with western saddles and took care of their own horse. Once we were ready, I led them up the hill behind our house which had a bunch of nice trails for riding that all of the folks around us all used.

After riding for 3 hours we had returned to our place, unsaddled our mounts and brushed and fed the horses. Mrs. Jones said that she used to do barrel racing when she was younger and that she used to compete against my Mom. She said my Mom beat her every time. I invited them in for something to drink, so we each had a Pepsi.

The next week seemed to crawl as I waited for Saturday night and our Senior Prom. On Thursday, still not believing that Lori wanted to ride to prom in my pickup, my Dad decided to have it detailed at the shop across the street from ours. I used my Dad's truck to pick up Lori for school and to drop her back home. When I saw my truck waxed and spotless inside and out I had to laugh. "I bet this truck hasn't looked this good since you bought it 10 years ago."

On Saturday, Dad let me leave early to get ready for my date. I showered, shaved and put the tux on. When Dad got home, I was ready to go. He smiled when he saw me and said, "Son, you look really sharp! James Bond has nothing on you." He took some pictures and then sent me on my way.

I was a little nervous when I rang the doorbell at Lori's place. The door was answered by her Mom and I was greeted with a big smile as she said, "Come on in, Ben. My, you look really handsome." I blushed as she turned towards her husband and said, "Jerry, I think I know who will be the next James Bond!"

Lori's Dad walked up to me and said, "You clean up nicely, Ben. Because it's prom night, we won't worry about curfews. Just please be careful around alcohol, okay?"

"Yes sir. I honestly don't care for alcohol, so I don't think there'll be a problem."

"That's good to know. If you wouldn't mind having Lori text us with whatever after prom parties you attend, we'd appreciate it."

I was about to say 'yes sir' again but saw Lori come down the stairs towards us. I just stood there gape mouthed as I was dumbstruck by how beautiful she looked. She had on a lilac colored satin dress that wrapped around her body. Lori had medium sized breasts under normal circumstances, but was showing a fair amount of cleavage that I had never seen before. Her long blond hair hung loosely in waves to her shoulders and looked like strands of gold.

She walked up to me and gave me a hug while I muttered, "Lorelei, you have to be the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Please excuse me for staring, but I can't help it."

She kissed me briefly and said, "Thank you."

I handed her the box with the corsage and when she opened it, she gasped, "Oh Ben, this is lovely! Look, Mom, Dad, it's an orchid! Please put it on me, Ben."

I took the corsage from the box and then put it on her left wrist. It looked very lovely and complemented her dress nicely. She then handed me a box containing a red rose boutonnière. She pulled it from the box and then pinned it to my left lapel. After that we stood for a number of pictures and then were sent off with hugs and handshakes.

When Lori saw the truck in its detailed splendor, she laughed and said, "Wow! The truck looks great! When did you have time to do this?"

"I didn't. My Dad was shocked that you wanted to go to prom in this, so he had it detailed on Thursday. That's the real reason I picked you up in his truck on Thursday and Friday." I opened her door and helped her in because her dress restricted her movement. When we arrived at the restaurant, a valet opened Lori's door and helped her out. When I gave him the keys, he scoffed and hearing that Lori said, "I love this truck, so don't you make fun of it!" The valet apologized and said he would take extra care.

When we entered the restaurant, I saw that the owner, Mr. Antonelli, was the maître d'. As we approached he said, "Welcome Mr. Lawrence and Miss Jones to Chez Paris. We have your table ready, so if you'll follow me, please." We were seated and handed menus. He took Lori's napkin from the table and spread it on her lap and then did the same with mine. He then stood up and said, "If I may suggest for your dinner. To start an appetizer of escargot and foie gras, followed by sole meunière and Beef Wellington as a plat principal. To finish a small salad and then a selection from our dessert trolley."

I looked at Lori and she nodded excitedly, so I said, "Thank you Mr. Antonelli, that all sounds wonderful."

He smiled at me and said, "Normally, I would suggest a bottle of fine champagne, but, alas, you are too young. I do have some sparkling cider as a substitute if that would appeal to you."

Lori, again, nodded excitedly, so I said, "That would be marvelous, Mr. Antonelli."

Again, he smiled, bowed and left us. Moments later, three men swooped down on our table and removed a number of plates and utensils. When we were left alone, Lori leaned over and asked, "Have you been here before? Mr. Antonelli acts like you are his best customer."

I laughed and said, "He and my Dad are friends. We stopped in on Saturday to make a reservation for tonight and I think my Dad asked him to lay it on thick to help impress you."

Lori laughed and said, "I'm impressed. I've always wanted to try escargot, have you had it before?"

"No, but I'm willing to try, though the idea of eating snails is a little bizarre."

A waiter brought the cider which was pretty good. Lori and I toasted one another and enjoyed the drink. When the escargot arrived, we were each given three. The waiter showed us how to use the gadget for holding the shell and how to dig the meat out. We both enjoyed it because what's not to like about butter and garlic! The foie gras was very good and the sole was excellent. We both enjoyed the Beef Wellington and had crème caramel for dessert.

When the meal was finished, Mr. Antonelli returned to our table and asked how we liked our meal. We both told him it was the best meal we had ever had and hoped to return someday. He then said, your check is on your account. Thank you for coming and say hello to your father for me.

As we waited for the truck to be pulled around, Lori asked, "Why didn't you pay?"

"My Dad arranged for the bill to be sent to the shop. It was his gift to us."

Lori grinned and said, "Remind me to thank him profusely when I see him next!"

As the valet handed me my keys, I was handing him a fiver for a tip, but he said, "Mr. Antonelli says your tip has been covered, sir. Have an enjoyable night. Also, I apologize for my rudeness earlier."

I laughed and said, "There's no need to apologize because I would have done the same thing if I was you." He shook my hand and reiterated his wish that we have a good evening.

As we pulled into the country club, I saw several stretch limos and asked, "Are you sorry we didn't come in one of those?"

Lori laughed and said, "No, those are so cliché! I can't wait to tell our children that we went to prom in a pickup truck! As a matter of fact, I want someone to take our picture next to the truck." When someone walked nearby, she asked if they'd take our picture. We posed next to the truck making sure the business logo on the door was visible and had several pictures taken. When she got her phone back and saw the pictures, she laughed and said, "I'm having so much fun! Thanks for bringing me to prom!" We kissed for a couple of minutes and then made our way to the dance.