The Escapee Ch. 01-02

Jack met Shannon Dunne on Grouse Mountain as they stood in line waiting for their turn on the chairlift. She was wearing a light blue ski parka and matching insulated pants, topped off with a whimsical toque decorated with cartoon characters. She was a pure blonde with pale blue eyes and a lovely sprinkling of freckles on her upper cheeks. Her face was flushed red from the raw, damp day, but she was smiling and obviously enjoying herself. She was also obviously on her own.

"Hi ... I guess we'll be sharing a chair." Jack began tentatively.

"Really?" she said turning to look at him. "How do you know?"

"Uh ... I counted heads and it figures we will be paired."

"Oh ... that's nice." she said absently.

"My name's Jack ... Jack Matheson." he said, holding out his hand.

She looked at it for a moment and then at him before taking it in her gloved hand. "Shannon Dunne." she said, squinting at him in the bright glare of a milky sun on snow.

That was about the entire repertoire Jack possessed when talking to females; particularly attractive blonde females.

They waited in silence until their turn came and having lined themselves up, slipped onto the chair and felt the lift accelerate as they swung up and away toward the top.

"You come here often?" Jack tried again.

"Every weekend. I've got a season's pass." she replied.

"Lucky you. I get up here when I have a break and I'm not cramming. I'd love to do this every weekend."

"What school?" she asked.

"U. B. C. ... Engineering."

"Oh ... those guys." she said with a note of distain.

"How about you?" he asked.

"U. B. C. Arts."

"Oh ... those guys." he laughed.

She looked at him with the look of one who had been insulted and then it softened and the next thing Jack knew, he was in love. The smile did him in. By the time they'd reached the top, they'd agreed to ski together and by noon, they were having lunch together. He was trying to learn everything there was to know about her and as she spent more time with him, Shannon became less and less wary and more and more open with him. They agreed to meet at the campus Library foyer at noon on Monday and Jack was ecstatic with his find of a potential girlfriend.

Jack would learn that Shannon was shy and that her behavior and openness with him Saturday on the mountain was uncharacteristic. She was from well-to-do parents while Jack's family was solid middle-class. She had no particular aim in life yet, but she did want to experience the University environment and was encouraged to do so by her parents. She was an only child while Jack had an older sister, Marilyn, who had married and moved to Ottawa the previous year. He was an uncle twice now as she had just given birth to twin boys.

Both Shannon and Jack were virgins and remained so for almost all of their University time. That changed when Jack approached the end of his final year and Shannon still had a year to go. They had been inseparable for almost a year and a half and while they indulged in heavy petting and the usual fondling, they had not bridged that final gap. It worried Shannon that Jack would graduate and she would still be in school. She feared losing him to some nameless corporation that would send him somewhere a long way away. He might even meet someone else. She was convinced now she was in love with the tall and now handsome young man.

She had put a lot of effort into getting rid of the "nerd" image that Jack had carried. She convinced him to try contacts and after a couple of false starts, he was happy with the change. She began to pick out his wardrobe and soon the checked shirts and baggy pants had been replaced by more "hip" garments favored by the campus men. She convinced him to carry his calculator and pens in his briefcase and even splurged to buy him a new pair of the latest Nike sneakers to wear on campus. It was her birthday gift to him and he was stunned at her generosity knowing how much they cost. The final touch was the haircut or hair styling as she called it. His transformation was now complete.

For his own part, Jack had known for some time that he was in love with Shannon. She was exactly what he wanted and needed. She had seen past his superficial appearance and found the real Jack Matheson. She was shy and almost fragile in appearance and yet he realized she was like a Bamboo tree; she would bend but not break. She had an inner strength that he both admired and envied.

Each had taken the other to meet the parents and happily, they all got along very well. Despite the difference in social status, the four parents obviously approved of their offspring's choice of companion and they had little doubt this would be a permanent match. Frank Dunne was easily manipulated by his daughter and he was often "lending" her money which she spent on her "Jack Matheson Improvement Project".

Mike Matheson was immensely proud of Jack and his accomplishments. He was certain to be a success and it only remained to be seen which field of endeavor he would choose. His choice of Shannon as his girlfriend was impeccable in Mike and Muriel's opinion. She was a polite and lovely young lady with a quiet charm that any prospective parent-in-law would admire. They particularly liked the transformation she had wrought on Jack as he matured into a fine-looking young man.

Shannon's decision to have Jack take her virginity was not a spur of the moment consideration. She had thought about it for months and there had been a couple of false starts that Jack never knew about. Finally, nearing the end of Jack's final year, she decided she would go through with it. She had prepared herself both physically and mentally. She was on birth control pills and had been for some eight months. She wanted to experience Jack in the most natural way and it only remained to find the proper location. The opportunity came when her parents went to Boston for a conference and then a short vacation on Cape Cod. They would be gone two weeks and the house was all hers.

She couldn't decide whether to tell Jack what she had in mind or just let it happen. She invited him to come home with her on the Friday her parents left and she would make dinner for them. Jack was happy to accept. He phoned his mother and let her know of his plans and then drove Shannon to her home that afternoon.

They had eaten and Jack had opened a beer as they sat on the patio in the warm spring evening. Shannon was nursing a Seven-up and was nervously anticipating the coming evening. She had no idea of how to initiate the process, but she knew she would be making love to what she hoped would be her future husband sometime that night. Oddly, Jack also seemed to be in some discomfort and it was because he too realized that this evening would be an important one for them.

He put the beer down on the side table and turned toward her. It was now or never.

"Shannon," he began. "I have something to talk to you about." He was hesitant but resolved to continue.

"You know, I'm sure, how I feel about you ... about us. You must know I am in love with you." He stopped and gulped some air to try and steady his nerves. "I have no ring ... but I want to know ... if you would marry me?" he finally concluded. He was frozen in place; holding his breath in anticipation of her answer.

Shannon looked at him wide-eyed and almost in shock. She had not expected anything like this and she was completely caught off-guard. She sucked her breath in, her eyes still welded to his as she forced herself to rise from the low lounge and stand. She was almost unable to move again until his hand reached out instinctively to steady her. It was the sobering moment that she needed.

"Oh ... John ... oh God ... I can't believe this ..." She made the one step toward him and awkwardly bent to embrace her man. "Yes." was her only other utterance as she began to cover his lips with hers. You could hear the breath go out of both of them as they sighed their mutual relief. Jack stood to embrace and capture his new fiancé in his arms. Shannon wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him tightly to her.

"When did you know?" she finally asked.

"I've loved you from that first moment on the chair lift. You are my first and my only." he said quietly.

She tilted her head back and looked searchingly at him.

"I mean ... when did you know about tonight?" she asked.

"I didn't. I didn't know when I was going to ask you until a few minutes ago. I've been trying to work up the courage to do this for months. I was sure but I just couldn't get the words out. I was afraid you might say no ... or you might want some time to think about it."

"Yah ... I wanted some time all right." she giggled. "About one second!" She looked up into he eyes and could see the love he held for her. "I've been in love with you for almost as long ... you big goof. What I've been trying to find out is how you knew tonight I wanted you to make love to me. I mean ... real love." she said with a deadly serious look on her face.

"Oh Shannon ... I didn't know. I've wanted us to for so long, but I didn't want you to do anything you didn't feel right about." he confessed.

"Well, now that I'm going to be a married woman ..." she laughed. Then her face turned serious again. "I wanted you tonight even though I had no idea you were going to ask me to marry you. Tonight was to be our night. Are you OK with that?"

"God ... yes! If you are ... I am very OK with that." he answered, searching her face for confirmation.

It was awkward and a bit messy, but they consummated their relationship that night and again the next morning and again several times that weekend. Each time, they learned more about each other and explored more of what would give the other pleasure. By Sunday they were truly enjoying their intimate time together.

Jack's absence had made it obvious to his parents that they were, as his mother put it, "shacking up" at Shannon's place that weekend; but only after Jack had told them of his proposal to her. Jack's father smiled and nodded his head in affirmation as he heard the news and Muriel smiled and wanted to talk to Shannon and her parents. When she learned that they were away on a trip, she realized Jack and Shannon had grown up and that she was going to have to adjust to the times.

They were married at the United Church in Kerrisdale and the reception was hosted by the Dunne's at his Golf Club in Point Grey. Shannon completed her education while Jack went to work at the Sperry regional office. He was soon to learn that the corporate world of organization and bureaucracy in lieu of common sense was not for him. He rankled at the structured methods of solving problems and was infuriated far too often by bad corporate decisions made by people who seldom visited or listened to their customers. He lasted five miserable years before resigning and starting his own company.

In the meantime, they had started a family. Shannon had become pregnant just a few months after she had graduated and both Jack and Shannon were delighted. Shannon had chosen to be a stay-at-home mom and with the help of her father, they had a down payment on a small house in Richmond as a belated graduation present.

The pregnancy, however, was not quite so easy. Complications in the last trimester threatened the health of both the mother and the baby and it was touch and go during the delivery. Everything worked out all right in the end, but the stress had taken a large toll on Shannon and she was confined to bed for four weeks until she was able to resume normal activities. The further consequences were that she could have no more children. The baby, a boy, was named Michael Francis Matheson after the two grandfathers and they were the two proudest grandparents in the land.

Jack's income from his new business was tight for the first few months, but his success was guaranteed when he pulled down a substantial contract for a multi-store building supply dealership and within two years his financial wellbeing was no longer an issue. The younger Matheson's lived their lives in ascending prosperity and soon moved to a nice home in the upper part of West Vancouver with a magnificent view of the city, English Bay and the Gulf. As Michael grew, it was obvious he was going to be a handsome young man; athletically gifted but a serious student, like his father. Jack watched with pride as his son shone on the football field both for West Van High School and U.B.C. Like his father, he was enrolled in Engineering, but in Michael's case, it was the Mining and Mineral Processing Faculty. It was a choice that mystified his parents.

The first sign of problems with Shannon's health had occurred while Mike was in his last year of high school. She had been feeling weak and lacking energy. She thought it might be anemia, but the family doctor could find nothing wrong and prescribed a regimen of vitamins for the time being. When the symptoms persisted, she was referred to a specialist and then another and then another. In the end, she was diagnosed with Leukemia and the prognosis was not good.

As her health deteriorated, Jack spent more and more time with her; leaving the running of the business to his understanding staff. He was available for major decisions, but everyone understood that his first priority was looking after Shannon. Jack was the last to accept that the condition was terminal. They had hoped that the treatments would force the disease into remission, but it never happened. Shannon was dying.

It was as if Jack was being eaten by the same disease. He was listless and despondent; more so than Shannon. She had that inner strength that would carry her until the very end. Jack couldn't bring himself to understand that he could lose the only woman that he had ever known and loved. Without her, he wasn't sure he could carry on. When she died, he found out he could continue, but not with any sense of purpose. Mike had taken it much better than his father. He knew what was happening and it broke his heart, but he was proud of his mother's strength and he only hoped that when he married, his love would be as strong as his parents' was.

And now, here he was, three years later; running away. Not far away, but away. He needed another life and he needed to be another person. It was here, on the Island, that he would try to be someone else.

Chapters 3 & 4 tomorrow.

For those of you wondering about the early reference by Donna to a Geoff Matheson, I direct you to my story "Foul Language", which will explain her reaction.