Lorelei and Me Pt. 03

Both girls laughed and the Lulu said, "Mom, you and Dad are the coolest parents in town. The two of you and Uncle Max were the doctors at about 90% of the kids' birth. You're their doctors, so everyone knows you and likes you because you don't talk down to any of us. I know Em and I don't like drinking, so we'll be okay."

Em then asked, "Besides driving to the prom in your work truck, what did you two do for your prom?"

Lori smiled and said, "Well, first of all your Dad gave me the most gorgeous orchid corsage and then he took me to dinner at a divine French restaurant. I think that is still the best meal I have ever had. We had escargot and foie gras for the first time. Let's see, after dinner we went to the country club where the truck pictures were taken."

Em interrupted by saying, "You were both so good looking! Were you the king and queen of the dance?"

I laughed and said, "No, though your mother should have been. No, we were named co-valedictorians."

Lulu said, "Wow! You were both named valedictorian?"

Lori chuckled and said, "Yeah, we both maintained straight A's all through high school, much like you two have done."

Em then asked, "What did you guys do after the dance?"

Lori smiled and said, "I experienced one of the best nights of my life. Your Dad and I went to the lake house and spent the night hugging, kissing and sleeping. It was only our second date, but we were very much in love."

Lulu looked dreamy eyed and asked, "You didn't have sex?"

I replied, "No, we were in love, but had only started dating and we both decided that it would be too soon for that. Besides, we had no contraception."

Lori then said, "I'm sure you both will make wonderful memories as well. They'll probably be different from ours, but nice all the same."

About three weeks later, we were disturbed by some incessant horn honking outside our door. I was getting very irritated, so went outside to see what the hell was going on. What greeted me was the sight of my old pick-up looking like it was off the showroom floor. I yelled to Lori to come outside quickly.

When she joined me on the porch, she cried out, "Oh my god! It's beautiful!"

We both trotted out to the truck and took in Jake's beaming smile. When we got up to him, he asked, "Well, what do you think?"

Lori spoke first and said, "It looks wonderful!"

Jake popped the hood and showed us the brand new, gleaming engine. He pointed out a couple of things like the chromed headers and chromed engine cover. Finally, he said, "Let's take it out for a drive so you can take me back to my garage."

"Let me just go in and tell the kids that we'll be gone for a little bit and grab my checkbook."

When I got back out, Jake threw me the keys and invited Lori to sit up front and that he'd sit in the bed. Lori shook her head and said, "I can sit in the middle, we did it enough when we were kids."

So, I fired up the engine and was surprised by the low rumble that reached my ears. "Did you put in some sort of fancy muffler?" Jake smiled and nodded his head. The truck still had the 4-speed manual transmission, so I slipped into first and headed out. The steering seemed tighter than I remembered so I asked about that.

"Yeah, I needed to change the linkage because the old one was worn out," Jake replied. "Wait until you hit the brakes."

When I came to a stop sign, I could tell the brakes were much more responsive than they were before. I just couldn't help but smile. Next Jake said to take it out on the highway, so that's what I did. The thing got up to the speed limit quickly and I ended up doing about 75 before I realized it. I looked over at Lori and saw that she had an ear to ear grin!

After we dropped Jake off at his garage, we decided to drive the truck over to Dad's store. When he saw us pull up in the lot, I thought his chin was going to hit the asphalt. He stared at the truck for several seconds and then said, "Holy shit! It looks better now than when I bought it!" I had to laugh because my Dad rarely used words like shit. I popped the hood to let him see some of the modernization that Jake made. I offered to let him drive it, but he begged off.

As Lori and I drove home, she turned to me and said, "Ben, I just had the best idea pop into my head just now."

I chuckled and asked, "What idea is that?"

"Well, since we're going to prom as chaperones, why don't we relive our first prom. You get a Tux and I'll try and find a dress like the one I wore back then. You get me another corsage and I'll get you a boutonniere, we go to dinner at Chez Paris and after the dance we spend the night at the lake house. What do you think?"

I laughed and said, "That's a perfect idea. One question though?"

"What's that?

"Can we go all the way this time?"

Lori laughed and said, "We better!"

She and I went into Madison on Saturday where she bought a dress that she said looked almost exactly like the one she wore back then and I bought a Tux. I made an early reservation with Mr. Antonelli and we ordered our flowers.

The night of the dance we admired how beautiful our girls looked. Em was going to pick up her date, so we kissed and hugged her then told her we would see her at the dance. I also made sure she had enough money for her evening. That left Lulu waiting for her date to pick her up who managed to arrive a couple of minutes early.

Lulu's date was Dave Jensen, a kid that Max and I had welcomed into this world. He was a nice kid and from what Lulu and Em said was very smart. When I let him into the house, he greeted us. "Good evening Dr. Lawrence and Mrs. Lawrence." We returned the greeting.

Lulu had been standing there with a big smile and said, "Uh, Dave, my Mom is Dr. Lawrence as well. She has a PhD in nursing."

Dave blushed and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Lori smiled at the boy and said, "There's no way you would know because I don't advertise the fact. I think Lulu is teasing you. By the way, you look really handsome Dave."

He blushed again and said, "Thank you, you look very nice as well. Lu has said you both are chaperones tonight?"

Lori smiled and said, "Thank you. Yes, we are."

There was an awkward moment until Lulu stepped up to Dave and asked, "Is that my corsage?"

David turned his attention back to his date and said, "Yes, it is...Oh wow, you look beautiful Lu! Um, yeah, here this is for you." He handed the corsage box to Lulu who admired it and said all of the right things. She then asked him to pin it to her dress.

Next, Lulu gave Dave his boutonniere box and then pinned it to the lapel of his Tux. When that was all finished we took several pictures of the couple and of Lulu. After the kids had left, Lori asked me, "We're we that awkward when we went to prom?"

I laughed and said, "I know I was because I was in total awe of you. We better head to the restaurant."

We decided to have the same things that we had on our prom night for our meal down to the sparkling cider. As usual, the meal we had was excellent. As the valet gave me the keys to our truck, he shook my hand and said, "Thanks for the opportunity to drive this, even if was for 5 seconds!" Lori and I laughed as I gave him a nice tip.

When we arrived at the Country Club and after we had pictures taken next the truck with our girls and their dates, we were greeted by Anna with big hugs, kisses on the cheek and thanks for acting as chaperones. The three of us sat together watching all of the kids dance and have fun. We were pleased that there were no dramas unfolding like there was with Chad at our prom.

After a little while, Anna turned to us and said, "I've decided that I'm going to retire after JJ's last year. I thought I'd give you a heads up. I just wanted to get through all of my grandchildren's schooling before calling it quits."

Anna was sitting between the two of us, so Lori took one of Anna's hands and said, "This school is going to miss you. You've done such wonderful things during your tenure."

I then took her other hand and said, "I agree with Lori and I'm really happy for you. I think when you retire that you and Dad should take a nice long vacation and travel. He has never had a meaningful vacation and neither have you."

Anna smiled and replied, "That sounds like a good idea, though we would miss you guys and the grandkids."

Later that evening, Lori and I were able to dance to a couple of slow tunes, which was fun, and then later our daughters were named co-valedictorians the same as Lori and I were. To top it off, Lu's date was named salutatorian!

After the prom, Lori and I went to the lake house and reprised our Prom Night, except this time we got to have sex. In the morning we, once again, went to the coffee shop in town for breakfast in our prom clothes.

As we sat and ate we began reminiscing about our lives since we first met on the day of Lori's crash. I held her hand across the table and said, "You know, my life has been nothing short of spectacular ever since your run in with that deer. I don't regret a single moment of our life together. Thank you for loving me."

Lori was getting all teary, so I moved next to her on the bench and held her tight for several minutes. When she was able, she looked into my eyes and said, "I love you so much Ben. You've made my life perfect as well. We should get home and see how the kids are."

We threw a nice graduation party for the girls a month or so later with grand parents and friends in attendance. After I made a speech telling the girls how proud Lori and I were of them, their achievements so far and how they would change the world in the future.

When I finished, Carl Marks stood up and said, "I was so pleased to learn that both of these young women are planning to follow in their mother and father's footsteps and go into medicine. Your parents saved my life once and I know they've saved the lives of countless others. So, that having been said, Isabel and I would like to give you these gifts." The girls were given a new Apple laptop each. Carl continued, "These are the most advanced laptops currently on the market and we hope they will help you with your schooling."

Both girls hugged Isabel and Carl and when they were done, Lu said, "You two have been a constant in Em's and my lives since we were born. I attribute the books that you gave Em and I when we were born as the catalyst for our desire to learn. We've both read every one of those books, some of them multiple times and I know JJ has done the same. So, from the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for everything you have given us and for being our friends."

Both Carl and Isabel had tears running down their cheeks as did Lori and I. I was so proud of our kids because they were so gracious and kind.

The girls got many more gifts most of which were geared around their schooling. Finally, when everyone was done, Lori stood and said, "Your Dad and I have one more gift for each of you. If you'll follow us outside..."

When we had everyone gathered in front of the garage, Lori said, "We want you to be able to come home whenever you want to, so we decided to get you these." I hit the garage door remote I had in my pocket and as the door went up, there sat two brand new Subaru Impreza's. We got them in each girl's favorite color, red for Em and pearl white for Lu.

They both screamed with excitement as they hugged Lori and me. We told them the keys were in the front seat and that they could take a quick drive before returning to their party. As they drove off, JJ sidled up to me and said, "I want a pickup when I graduate!" I laughed and replied, 'We'll see'.

By the time JJ's graduation came around life got very busy for us again. Anna had announced her retirement effective at the end of the term. Lori and I reprised our roles as chaperones for JJ's prom.

His date was Chad and Katie's only child named Melissa, whom everyone called Lissa. The two of them had been dating for nearly 2 years and both of them seemed to be into their relationship for the long run. JJ had made it clear to us that he didn't want to go to college but that he wanted to work in his grandfather's shop. He had been working there part-time during school and full time during the summer since he was a freshman.

A week before prom, Lissa stopped by while JJ was at work Saturday. She asked us if she could ask us something, so we said sure. I was afraid she was going to break up with JJ or something, but she surprised us when she asked, "Is it true that you two went to your prom in the truck from the shop?"

I know I sighed in relief and I think Lori did too. Lori then told Lissa to sit tight. She brought back the photo album from our youth, sat next to Lissa showed her the pictures and said, "We sure did. It was the greatest night of my life!"

Lissa pored over the pictures with a big smile and when she finally looked up, she said, "That is so cool! All of our friends are renting these giant honking limo's that are so cliché. You two were very beautiful back then, oh, er, that's not to say that you aren't beautiful now."

Lori and I chuckled with her embarrassment as she turned quite red, nearly matching the hair color she inherited from her mother. I smiled at her and said, "Thank you for both compliments. So, what would you think about going to prom in that very same truck?"

She looked at us aghast and asked, "You still have it and it runs?"

Lori answered her and said, "Yes we do and it does. We had it restored a few years ago and it sits in our garage. Would you like to see it?" Lissa said she would, so the three of us went out to the garage where I pulled it out so she could see the whole thing in the sun.

"Wow! It looks great. Do you think you could let JJ take me to prom in it?"

Lori and I looked at each other smiling as I said, "I don't see why not. Why don't we get in, drive over to the shop and drop a few hints on our son?"

Lissa agreed so we climbed in and cruised over to the shop. When JJ saw us he came trotting over and then asked, "What's going on? Lissa, what are you doing with my folks in this truck?"

She climbed out of the passenger door, hugged and kissed JJ and then said, "My Mom and I were talking about prom and she said that your parents attended prom in this truck. I thought she was pulling my leg, so I walked over to your house and asked. Well, I found out that they did and I thought it was such a cool thing to do, so they offered to drive us over here so I could ask you if you'd take me to prom in this truck. What do you think?"

JJ broke out in a huge grin and said, "I would love to. I always loved that story about my folks. Are you okay with it Mom, Dad?"

"Of course we are," said Lori. "And if anyone gives you a hard time, tell them they'll have to answer to me!"

Lissa laughed and said, "They'll have to go through me first! I'm like my mother and won't put up with any nonsense!"

Lori and I laughed as Lori said, "Your Mom is a force of nature! I can't count the number of sales people that have tried to force their way past her to get to us, plus you should hear her when she's arguing with insurance companies!"

I taught JJ how to drive a manual transmission and told him to be careful because the truck had a lot of power and could easily get away from him. I decided he needed a practical lesson so I had him stop on a rural road and then told him to punch it. The truck leapt forward and began fishtailing wildly. I told JJ to let off the gas and to make small corrections until he had us back in control. He looked over at me wide eyed and said, "I see what you mean. I promise to drive very carefully."

I smiled and said, "Good. I'd hate for anything to happen to you or Lissa. Now, about post prom parties. I'm going to tell you the same thing that I told Lu and Em. If you do go to a party and drink, I don't want you driving at all. Call me and your Mom and I will pick you up. Okay?"

JJ smiled at me and said, "Dad, I tried a sip of whiskey once and I nearly threw up. I don't know how anyone can drink that stuff. I also had some beer once and thought it tasted like a bear pissed in my mouth. Lissa doesn't drink either. Apparently, her Dad had a drinking problem when he was younger and has told her that nothing good comes from alcohol. So, we won't be drinking"

I had arranged for JJ and Lissa to eat at Chez Paris with Mr. Antonelli and asked him to treat them the same way he treated Lori and I all of those years ago. On prom night, JJ looked really handsome in his tux.

Lori and I decided to keep things a little more low key this time around. We ate a light dinner at home and then headed for the country club to do our duty as chaperones. When we saw Lissa both our jaws dropped open with how beautiful she was. She was easily the belle of the ball. I saw many a young man stare at her and look at JJ with envy. I was pretty sure nobody would attempt to steal his date as he was built like me and was solid muscle from working at my dad's store.

We sat with Anna for the bulk of the evening and watched the kids dance and have a good time. I asked Anna, "Are you going to miss this?"

She smiled and said, "Yeah, I will. I've loved my job, both the good and bad and I have loved all of the kids. There have been some real gems over the years and you and Lori are at the top of my list. My grandkids are up there on the list as well. You two raised some mighty fine children and I know they have and will make you very proud."

I looked at Lori and she had tears in her eyes as she grabbed Anna into a bear hug while saying, "Anna, I don't know if you realize it but Ben and I love you to the depths of our souls."

Both women were sobbing in each other's arms when JJ and Lissa came over to see us. Seeing his Mom and grandmother crying, he asked, "Is everything okay?"

Lori looked up and said, "Everything is perfect," as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue. She then looked at Lissa, smiled and said, "Come with me, Lissa I need to freshen up." Lori grabbed her hand as they made their way towards the lady's room.

With that, JJ sat down in Lori's place with a smile, turned to his grandmother and said, "Gran, you throw a really good party. I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Thanks!" He then leaned over and kissed her cheek.

JJ then turned his attention to me and said, "Uh, Dad, would you mind if Lissa and I go to the lake house instead of the post prom parties? Neither one of us want to hang out with a bunch of drunk kids and, well, I told Lissa about your prom and she thought it was incredibly romantic."

I wrapped my arm around my youngest child and said, "I have no problem with that, just make sure you and Lissa are on the same wavelength as far as everything goes. Okay?"

He smiled at me and said, "Dad, it's her idea. I will be a complete gentleman and will take my cues from her. Besides, I love her too much to hurt her and I intend to marry her someday."

I smiled to myself and thought that I couldn't give him grief because I pretty much felt the same way about Lori at that age. I then said, "Okay. Be careful and have fun. We love you."

"I love you and Mom too, Dad."

The next day around noon, JJ got home, plopped himself in one of the chairs in the living room where Lori and I were reading. He looked at the two of us with a big smile and said, "I fall in love with Lissa more and more with each day. We had an incredible night laying on the pier looking at the stars and then sleeping in one another's arm's."

Lori smiled at him and said, "I remember that feeling fondly with your Dad. How was the rest of the night?"

He laughed and said, "You should have seen the looks of envy as we pulled into the country club in the truck. I asked Lissa if she was sorry that we didn't do the limo thing, but she said that that was so cliché."