The Freak Pt. 01 of 05

We were mostly silent while we ate. I refilled her glass with Coke, but I could see that she'd just as soon that I drank it. She must have been hungry, because she ate three pieces to my five. I knew that I was starving between skipping even an early dinner and then evacuating my stomach before the game. I was just finishing my final piece when Barbara asked how I had found this place.

"Actually, my parents found it. My dad is involved in the Eastchester Fire Department and so is Mr. Albanese although they're in different stations. They still go to the same training sessions and I know they were both Station Chiefs a few years ago. Mr. Albanese often stops by and he used to offer me free meals until I insisted that I had to pay. It's one thing to offer my parents something free, but I can't accept anything." I paid the bill a few minutes later and we walked to my car. It was just barely 11:00.

"What would you like to do now? We probably have at least half an hour before I have to take you home."

She gave me a coy smile before replying. "Do they have any of those submarine races around here?"

"As a matter of fact, they do." I started the car and drove to an apartment complex near my home in Chester Heights. The road went past the end of the apartments where it ended at a turn-around. There were always places to park here. I made the turn and pulled over to the curb, turning the car's engine off, but leaving the radio on. Murray the K was still on 1010 WINS. Barbara slid over to me and raised her face to mine. I leaned down to kiss her and I was surprised at how widely her mouth was open when our lips met. We kissed for almost a minute, our tongues dueling until I broke it.

"Have you kissed many boys before me?"

"Ummm, no—does it show?"

"A little; try to relax a bit more and open your mouth a little less. Our tongues will still be able to... well, you get the idea." Then I stopped talking and we kissed again. She was much better this time around, so much better that I wanted to do it again and again. We stayed there for about half an hour until I had to get her home. There was no traffic at that hour so we were actually a few minutes early. We spent those minutes getting to know each other even better. All I knew was that I couldn't wait until tomorrow night. I promised I'd call her once I had bought the tickets.

* * * * *

I phoned the theater at 9:30, giving my credit card number over the phone as well as my name. The tickets, the best I could get were in the Orchestra, row twenty-one--center. They would be at the "Will Call" window and I was reminded to bring my driver's license as identification. I phoned Barbara as soon as I had ended the first call. We spoke for a few minutes before I had to go. One of my jobs at home was cleaning my bathroom and tidying my room and there was no excuse that my mother would accept. This was hardly my favorite chore, but I knew from experience that I would be done with it in less than an hour so the sooner I started the better.

I ate a relatively light lunch—four hot dogs cut into inch-long pieces then fried until the skins were burnt and served with a big dollop of mustard. I washed it down with a big glass of milk. As soon as lunch was done I began to shine my shoes for the week. All four of us—my sisters and I—always wore shoes to school and, of course, to church. We had sneakers and sandals, but there would be hell to pay if we ever tried to wear them to school. The same was true for our clothes. At home I wore jeans almost exclusively, but if I tried to wear them to school I'd probably be dead. As big as I was I was relatively small compared to my dad. His arms were the size of my legs and my legs were big and muscular.

I had just finished my three pair of shoes—black and cordovan loafers and black dress shoes—when my little sister Carole asked if I would help her do hers. She was the youngest at eight and I remembered trying to shine mine at her age so I smiled and opened my arms for a big hug and kiss. Then I held the shoes while she tried to apply the polish, getting more on me than on the leather. Still, we were done about half an hour later. After checking the clock and thoroughly washing my hands I decided it was a good time to lay out my clothes for tonight. I decided on the blue blazer/grey slacks look because I had no idea what Barbara had to wear. Based on what she had told me I doubted that her finances were anything like mine.

My first investment was about 13,500 shares of IBM which I had bought at just under five dollars a share back when I was eight thanks to one of my famous flashes. Since then, the stock had split three times, once at three to one and the price was now up to almost fifty a share. I always reinvested the dividends so I now had more than 100,000 shares. Figure it out—fifty times 100,000 is about five million dollars—and that was only one of my investments. I had also done very well with AT&T and Standard Oil of Ohio, known as ESSO in those days, among others. Of course, I'd had to pay taxes on those earnings, but my net worth was just under eight million and I knew that there was almost always a track open nearby where I could pick up a few thousand more.

I was dressed and ready to go by 4:00. Checking my wallet one last time, I kissed my parents and my sister's good-bye and a few minutes later I was driving down the block, narrowly avoiding a collision with some idiot who had backed out of his driveway without even looking. There wasn't much traffic on our street, but there was some and there were a few dozen kids living there so it paid to be cautious.

I was about ten minutes early when I pulled into the curb near Barbara's apartment. She had told me that she'd be ready early so I rang the bell hoping that she was. As before, Mrs. Gleason answered the door and asked me into to the apartment where I shook hands with Mr. Gleason and we spoke for a moment before Barbara stepped out from her room. She asked, "Do I look okay?"

She was stunning in a fashionable, but modest dark green dress that ended just below her knees. There was a scoop neck that exposed only a small amount of her cleavage and the dress had short puff sleeves that ended half-way to her elbows. "You look sensational... just perfect." I helped her with her coat and we were in the car for the short ride to the train station a minute later. I found a parking spot up near the station fairly easily. During the work week these spots would be in short supply, but at almost 5:00 on a Saturday afternoon the station was virtually deserted.

I bought tickets in the terminal and we retired to a bench on the platform for a short wait. Ten minutes later the train pulled into the station and twenty minutes after that we stepped out of Grand Central Station onto 42^nd Street. There were always plenty of cabs around the terminal so we had no difficulty finding one to Keens Steakhouse. It had been around forever and had always been one of the city's great restaurants. I had made a reservation for 5:30 which would give us plenty of time to eat and take the short trip to the theater less than a dozen blocks away.

Barbara's eyes were the size of quarters when she saw the prices so I leaned across the table to whisper, "I've eaten here before so I know what the prices are. Please don't worry about them. Let's just relax and enjoy ourselves. Okay?" I took her hand in mine and kissed it gently then I told her what I had planned to order. Our waiter appeared a minute later and I explained that we had to be out by 7:00 at the latest for the theater. I knew we would be. They did this kind of thing every day.

The meal was everything I had hoped—delicious salads, filets medium rare, and fries. We skipped dessert. Frankly, we'd both had too much to eat. We had the restaurant phone for a cab and ten minutes later we stepped up to the Will Call window. I had my identification in the form of my passport so I led Barbara into the theater. "Let's check our coats. We'll be much more comfortable inside without them."

We had just taken our seats when Barbara took my hand. "I'm so excited, Jack. I've never been to a Broadway play before."

"I think we picked a good one. Everything I've heard about the show is great. Maybe next time we'll take in "Irma."

The woman sitting next to her had overheard our comments. "I wasn't prying, but I did overhear you talking about seeing 'Irma la Douce.' My theater club saw it last month. It was fantastic. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard."

We thanked her and turned toward the stage. Barbara whispered, "Thank you so much for this, Jack. Feel my heart. It's going a mile a minute." Then she took my hand and placed it over her heart. She held it there for several minutes before she realized that my huge hand was almost exactly covering her left breast. She gasped suddenly and pushed my hand away, her face turning dark red. "I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so sorry."

I moved my lips up close to her ear so only she would hear my words. "Don't apologize. I'm not sorry at all." Then I leaned forward the final inch to gently kiss her shapely ear. It must have tickled because she began to giggle. I kissed her cheek and turned again to the stage. The orchestra was just entering the pit and several had begun tuning and warming up. Barbara looped her arm in mine as we waited for the overture to begin.

The show was everything it was supposed to be—the music, the singing, the dancing. The audience showed its appreciation with a standing ovation at the end with Barbara and me leading the way. We took our time exiting the theater, waiting patiently at the end of the line for the coat check room. I tipped the woman who gave us our coats and helped Barbara into hers before donning mine. The sidewalk in front of the theater was relatively deserted when we finally walked out. I'd been to the theater before and I knew how hectic the crowd would be with everyone trying for a cab or rushing to the subway. Now I stepped to the curb, raising my arm in signal. Five minutes later a cab stopped and I helped Barbara in. "Grand Central," I told the driver. The tab was only six dollars so I gave him a ten and helped Barbara out. I checked for the correct track on the schedule board and we hurried to the train, arriving only a few minutes before it left.

We sat back in the seat as Barbara snuggled in close to my body, her head on my shoulder. "I had such a wonderful time tonight, Jack, last night, too." She reached up to kiss me, but it was only a quick one. The train was hardly the place for a hot make-out session.

We pulled into the Pelham station at 11:42. I took her hand and led her to the car. A minute later she asked if there are any submarine races on schedule tonight. "I think there are scheduled races every night of the year," I replied with a chuckle. "You just have to find the right place. We need one here in Pelham so we don't have to drive all the way to Chester Heights and back."

"I agree," she said with a sly grin. "We could miss half of the races." I laughed as I turned left away from her apartment to the village's small independent movie theater. As I expected their parking lot was almost empty. I backed into a slot in the back row and stopped the car, leaving the radio set to 1010 WINS for Murray the K. For some reason he had a sub working so I changed to 770 AM—WABC and Cousin Brucie. Barbara slid across the seat and into my arms.

With some of the other girls I've dated I'd have my hands all over her tits or even up her skirt, but I knew something about Barbara that I wasn't quite ready to reveal. I had told Barbara on the phone about how I knew that she was going to fall and be severely injured. I called what happened to me a "flash." It was as though a snippet of film—a coming attraction, if you will—had been shown in my brain. That film showed her falling on the slippery concrete. It wasn't long, only about two or three seconds, but it was enough.

There had also been a second flash, this one longer. It showed two elderly people with matching wedding bands, me with white hair and the woman I knew was Barbara with gray. We were obviously in a hospital room and I could tell that Barbara was seriously ill. I'd had any number of girlfriends before Barbara, but she was going to be my last, if only I didn't fuck it up.

She must have been a smart person because she learned how to kiss really quickly after last night's brief lesson. All I knew was that I wanted to kiss her for the rest of my life. All told we shared only three kisses over the next half hour with but a few seconds between, mostly to laughingly wipe the spit from our faces. At one point she opened my glove box looking for a napkin or paper towel, finding instead a small box with the word "Trojan" on the side.

"What's this, Jack?"

"Those are condoms."

"Oh... I've heard some of the girls talking about them, but I've never seen one and I'm not sure how they work."

"Open the box and take one out if you wish." She pulled one of the foil-wrapped packets from the box.

"What do you do with this?" I knew they didn't teach contraception in a Catholic girls' school so I thought I'd have to tell her.

"Open the packet." Once she had the condom in her hand, I told her to unroll it down her finger.

"This is much bigger than my finger."

I couldn't help myself. I laughed my ass off. "Thank God for that!" I was practically choking.

"I don't understand, Jack. Won't you explain it for me?"

I took a couple of deep breaths. "It's not for your finger. It's for my penis. Do they have sex education in your school?" Barbara gave me a look that asked if I was crazy. "I didn't think so, and even if they did, I doubt that there would be any discussion of contraception." I took the latex sheath from her hand and held it up for her to see. "When a couple decides that they want to have sexual relations there are changes that occur to their bodies. I'm sure you know that the man's penis becomes erect—an erection—to enable penetration and the woman's vagina becomes lubricated to make that penetration easier. The Church has declared that contraception is a sin which is a totally ridiculous concept. What we need in the world are more children who are unwanted by their parents or whose parents can't afford to clothe or feed them.

"Condoms are also used to prevent venereal diseases although they're not perfect. They are, however, a big help in both regards."

"Were you planning on using these with me?"

"No... you're not my first girlfriend. I've had those for a while. You'd be amazed at how many girls practically throw themselves at me. Last year we played an away game at Rye Neck. I went outside the gym for a drink of water and two girls gave me their phone numbers, promising me that they'd take the very best care of me—both of them at the same time."

"Did you call them?"

No. I dumped the paper with their numbers into the trash as soon as I walked back inside. Having sex with someone who would throw themselves at a total stranger just because he can play basketball could be dangerous, not to mention stupid. The last thing I need is some sexually transmitted disease like gonorrhea or syphilis."

"So, I guess that means you don't think I'm sexy." I almost laughed because her teasing was so obvious.

"Yeah," I replied. "I always make it a practice to date women who are ugly fat slobs."

"Oh, shut up and kiss me." I dropped the condom into the paper bag I kept in the car for trash and wrapped her into my arms as our lips met again. I started the car at 12:35 to drive the two miles or so to her apartment. I pulled to the curb about a hundred feet from her door. We walked together, my arm around her until we reached the entrance. The last thing we did after kissing for more than a minute was to make arrangements to attend Mass together later this morning. I watched her climb the stairs and open the apartment door before walking back to the car. Fifteen minutes later I was home and in bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

* * * * *

I had a bit of a surprise when I woke up so I phoned Barbara to ask her about it. She agreed immediately that I should bring my little sister—eight year-old Carole—to Mass with us. I sat her in the back seat as I drove into Pelham. Carole held my hand as we walked to the apartment and went up the stairs. I introduced her to the Gleason's as we waited for Barbara. Carole ran to her for a hug then we were on our way to the church only a mile away.

Once I had parked Carole walked between us holding both of our hands. Looking at Barbara she asked, "Do you hold hands with J.J, Barbara?"

"Yes, I do, Carole. Is that okay with you?"

"I suppose so, but why do you want to hold his hand?"

"Why do you do it, Carole?"

"I want to be safe. J.J. is big. People driving cars can see him and sometimes he stops me from falling."

"Did you know that he did that with me, too? That's how we met. I would have been badly hurt if my head hit the sidewalk."

Carole was obviously thinking as we approached St. Catharine's. "Barbara, do you like my brother?"

Barbara stopped and knelt to face Carole then spoke calmly and quietly so just Carole and I could hear. "Yes, I do. I like him very much." Then she hugged Carole and took my other hand. Together we climbed the steps into the church. We sat on the aisle near the back. Mass began on time and passed as slowly as always. I attended because it was something my mother and now Barbara expected me to do. My mind often wandered and I had another flash that told me a lot about my future relationship with Barbara. She took Carole with her for communion while I remained in the pew. A few minutes later we walked out into the sunny day and that was when I received my best surprise of the morning. My dad was there to take Carole home.

We were in my car when I laughed. "Thank you, Dad!"

"Jack, that's a horrible thing to say."

"Don't get me wrong. I love my sister. We have a bungalow out on Long Island and we don't have enough bedrooms so Carole sleeps in what used to be strictly mine. She wakes up really early every morning and stands next to the bed until I wake up and let her climb in with me. Obviously, that won't continue much longer, but she's done it every morning since she was three and I always welcome her. She snuggles up to me and we go right back to sleep until we wake up again around eight or so. However, having her with us, even on a date to attend Mass... well, let's just say that I much prefer having you all to myself."

"Do you really want me all to yourself?"

I smiled then leaned over to kiss her. It was just a short one before I answered her question. "What do you think?" Barbara laughed then kissed me again. "Want to know what Carole asked me on our drive over? She wanted to know if I had ever kissed you."

"What did you tell her?"

"I would never lie to her so I told her that I did it as often as possible." Then I showed her by kissing her again. Finally, I started the car and drove us to the diner where we enjoyed another great breakfast although she did laugh when I told her I was going to play basketball this afternoon.

"Don't you get enough of that during the week?"

"No, I usually play seven days a week. The gym is open for recreation Saturday and Sunday from two to four. All the guys on the team go to play and so do a lot of others. Some of the games are really intense, but we do look at the big picture—winning another state championship—so we try to make sure that nobody gets hurt. Mostly, it's a lot of fun."

"It's hard for me to relate. We don't have anything like that at my school."

"I'm not knocking private schools, but there are a lot of things that we have that you don't. For one thing, all of our teachers have to be certified by the state. I don't know about a high school, but I do know that there are teachers in some parochial elementary schools who have never even attended college, let alone learned how to teach. On the other hand, I've had a few teachers who I think would be better off selling insurance than teaching. Of course, you have God and religion which we're not supposed to have and you don't have the distraction of kids making out in the hallways—at least I hope not--and I hope you don't have to worry about your students getting pregnant like two of my classmates did this year. I guess that every school has its pros and cons."