The Summer of '67: The Rock

Barbara Ann had tears running down her beautiful, injured face; she reached for Caelan's hand and cried, "I hurt you so badly! So much more than I knew! I'm so, so, so sorry, Caelan -- can you ever forgive me?" "I've already forgiven you, Barbara Ann; it's the forgetting I'm struggling with."

"I think we need to call it a night," Judy stated. "I, for one, can't take any more Rod McKuen tonight! I've lost my buzz, and I think I need to be held, cuddled, and kissed until I get the vision of Caelan 'staring at a hundred blank windows while trying to learn to live alone again' out of my head."

***When the morning sun streaks across my room***

"No Rod McKuen today!" Judy warned as she brought her coffee onto the deck to join him. "Good morning! Have you recovered from your vision yet?" Caelan teased. "Yes, but I may have killed Danny in doing it. He is lying on this belly and wouldn't even let me turn him over for a little morning delight, so you know he's finished!" she replied in mock exasperation. "How about you and the sex kitten? I see you are up and about, and she isn't."

Caelan turned more serious: "Judy, how big an idiot would you rate me if I told you my resolve is fading? She's like a deadly virus that gets inside me and destroys my immune system. I know it's going to kill me, but I don't seem to be able to fight it off, even after I thought I got fully inoculated last summer."

"I don't know that I ever heard her reciting her heartbreak in poems, but she was shamed and heartbroken by her stupidity. To her credit, she never tried to make excuses -- although I guess she did blame Theo the next morning -- and she has never tried to sluff off or downplay what she did. If accepting responsibility for our own actions is the start, she's done that. She's apologized to you, which she wanted so badly to do that next morning, and she swears to us that she will NEVER hurt you again."

Judy giggled, "That may be because I told her when you invited us back to your house that if she did I'd tell Kathy, who would drown her and feed her to the sharks! But, she swore it...almost prayed it...all year long too. Kinda like 'Lord, if You can get him to forgive me I'll never cheat on him again!"

"Then why the lovey-dovey dancing with Eddie? A damn bat couldn't have wiggled in between them, and they are as thin as a sheet of paper! Not to mention his hand, which seemed to be massaging her ass! She doesn't think seducing a prick like that is the way to get me back, I hope."

"The dumb shit did! Not actually seducing him, but making you jealous! That WAS her brilliant plan, and it cost her a ... what should I call it -- a hideously swollen and bruised face? If you hadn't followed them outside, it might have resulted in her getting raped!"

"I'll never understand women, I guess. She had me lassoed and was pulling me in until that shit; now my trust has been dinged pretty good...again. We're 'two steps forward and one step back', and I'm not talking about a dance."

"She's really a smart girl, for a dumb shit!" Judy claimed. "She's manipulated men for so long she has no idea what to do with someone she really cares about. She's going to fuck this up, isn't she?" "If she keeps playing games, yes, she is. So, back to the original question: on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being a total idiot, how stupid would I be to let her get to me again?"

Judy looked down, crooked her head, and replied, "Maybe a 3; maybe a 1; maybe a 0; hell, maybe a 5! Truth is, nothing but time will tell. Trust is earned, and it can only be earned over time. She did good after Eddie, but, in spite of all the hunky temptations, that was only one day.

She's still the spoiled rich girl she was, but she's also the sweet, smart girl she was. Maybe you should hedge your bets, but you should bet."

"Bet on what?" asked the lanky blonde wearing a sheer baby doll nighty, as she curled up in the chair on the other side of Caelan. "Bet on whether your little buddy can be trusted," he answered. "What's your take?" Paula sipped her coffee, lowered it, looked at him, and asked, "Judy's advice is to hedge your bets, but bet?" He nodded. "I agree," she answered.

"Agree about what?" asked the little brunette, who was freshly showered, wearing shorts and a midriff shirt. She set her coffee on the table, and sat across Caelan's lap, with her lovely legs hanging over the arm. "Your friends agree that you are a spoiled rotten little shit who needs another good spanking for trying to make me jealous with Eddie the Pitiful Prick, which got you a disfigured face and nearly ass-raped," Caelan answered calmly, with just a hint of tease.

"Thanks, girlfriends! I'll be sure to tell Danny and Marc all about you two, too!" "That's not what we said!" Paula yelped, and they all laughed.

They settled into a nice routine that week, enjoying the beach, the house, and each other. After their workouts, the girls went shopping in Corpus or on the island, and the guys fished and surfed while they did. The girls started scaling down their weight workouts, which had only accentuated their curves and feminine attributes, but they began doing yoga and dance exercises after they ran. They then sunbathed while the boys did the more serious workouts for football.

Caelan displayed the American and Texas flags on the deck beginning on Flag Day, and continued through July 4, when his family came to visit for two days. Barbara Ann and the other four moved all their stuff to her family's condo, but they all hung around and ate together anyway. During lunch at the café on the bay, Caelan's dad nonchalantly asked, "So, Caelan, when did you start using an eyebrow pencil and curling iron? We found them, and a few other unusual items in your bathroom."

Barbara Ann turned red, but Caelan grinned and nonchalantly replied, "I let a friend named Kathy live here last summer for a while; she much have left it." Everyone at the table laughed, including his teenage brother and sister, who pointed at Barbara Ann and giggled, "Then why is she blushing so?"

Peggy and Kathy had returned, and almost as soon as his family was gone, Peggy called and ordered them to meet her at the Country Club in Corpus for supper. She commanded that they were spending the night with her and going shopping in the morning.

She was her usual irrepressible self throughout the meal and dancing, and required each of the boys to dance with her once. That, however, was the only time the three couples weren't exclusive, just as they had become at The Dunes. Peggy pointed out the three bedrooms they could use, making no effort at pretending propriety.

The shopping trip began with the girls trying on dresses she had brought home for them from France. The dresses weren't really Caelan's cup of tea, but they were 'very stylish', so he made all the right noises, as did Danny and Marc. Out of sight, however, their responses were rolled eyes and shaken heads.

Peggy and her niece, who had summered in France twice during high school, talked incessantly about the wonders of France, even speaking the language descriptively to accentuate their feelings. That got eye rolls from the 'uncultured' Texans who had never been out of the country, excepting brief trips to Mexico, and the aunt and niece chastised them for their lack of appreciation for the 'enlightened' French culture and cuisine. That drew more exaggerated eye rolls and snorts of derision, which further inflamed the enlightened and required them to provide additional descriptions of the wonders. However, nothing seemed to shake the Texan's firm belief that the French were rude pansies, even if they didn't know any.

Barbara Ann was a bit put off by Caelan's attitude toward her 'favorite country', but it didn't keep her from having to wash the sheets the next morning.

The boys only had two week left before they had to return to Austin for the summer workouts, so a sense of urgency replaced the relaxed attitude of June. A sense of domestic tranquility had overtaken them all, and plans for the autumn and beyond were being discussed privately and within the group. All was good and getting better, and Caelan was considering Barbara Ann's offer to live in the apartment with her.

The sex was even more fantastic due to their growing closeness, and being attuned to one another. There were some lingering issues between them, but their relationship had evolved to the point they could talk about, or even tease about those issues without rancor.

***Time, oh good, good time, where did you go?***

"Who is THAT?" Danny asked. They were sitting on the deck in the early morning sunlight, enjoying a second cup of coffee, when a couple emerged out of the dunes to the south and began walking toward up the beach toward them. They watched without speaking, taking in the micro-bikini of the blonde goddess and the 'bikini' the man wore.

"Are they neighbors, Caelan?" "No, I've never seen them before, but the boardwalk they came off of is the Cameron's. They must be guests from somewhere in Europe, because I'm pretty sure no Texan would wear a bikini bottom like that old dude is!"

"I've seen suits like that all along the beaches in the Mediterranean," Barbara Ann replied indignantly, "and he doesn't look that old to me." Caelan gave her a sidelong stare; she maintained her huffy attitude.

"They are waving at us! Let's go down and meet them," Paula exclaimed while waving back frantically Caelan looked askance at them as they clamored out of their seats and hurried toward the stairs. He arose, went to pee, donned a muscle shirt and sunglasses, got a fresh cup of coffee, and sauntered down toward the excited chatter.

"Caelan, this is Bridget and Yves; they are visiting from France!" Barbara Ann enthused. Caelan's greeting was reserved but pleasant, and he used the opportunity to size them up, just as they were sizing him. The woman was a Bridget Bardot wanna be, and the man was an Yves Montand wanna be, which made Caelan wonder if those were their real names. He guessed the woman was pushing forty, the man five to ten years older. They both smelled of perfume covering body odor, marijuana, and last night's booze.

Caelan immediately disliked both, a feeling reciprocated by Yves but not Bridget, who looked like she wanted to push him over, get naked, and beat him to the ground. In her excitement, Barbara Ann ignored Bridget's predatory look toward her boyfriend and Yves predatory look toward her.

"Coud wi haf sum coff-ee? The Cam-e-runs hous didint haf anee," Yves asked with a heavy accent and a cadence that discombobulated Caelan. He didn't get a chance to answer, as they were being led up the stairs by Barbara Ann. The girls poured each person a cup and put another pot on, while Danny and Marc brought additional chairs to the deck from the back porch. Caelan moseyed onto the deck, laid claim to 'his' chair, and sipped his coffee while the others fawned over the guests.

Barbara Ann did not claim her seat on his lap; instead, she waved Yves over and sat between him and Caelan. She turned away from her boyfriend to reminisce with the Frenchman about the beauty of 'Franz', the magnificence of 'Paree', and especially, the beaches of Cannes in comparison to those in Texas. Caelan wanted to suggest they get their asses on an airplane and go back, rather than speak derogatorily of his beloved Mustang Island, but held his tongue and sipped his coffee.

With Barbara Ann enthralled by the stinky Frenchman, and his other friends ignoring him to slobber all over Brigeeeet, he removed himself from the deck, changed into his running gear, and took off down the beach. As she neared the Cameron boardwalk two big guys stopped him to ask in stilted English if he had seen a blonde woman and dark haired man walking on the beach. He told them he had, introduced himself, and learned that Hans and Ernst were German citizens travelling with the French couple.

Both were a couple of inches and a few pounds lighter than Caelan's 6'2" 232, but they strutted as if they were Olympic champions, and they too, were wearing bikini bottoms. He pointed them toward his house and continued his run. Thirty minutes out, thirty minutes back on the wet sand, forty forties in the loose sand by the dunes, and he was ready for the water.

No one was outside on the deck or porch, so drank from the faucet, grabbed his board out of the shed, carried it to the shoreline, waxed it, and paddled out. He had already ridden half a dozen nice waves when he saw Danny on the deck pointing to him. Within a few more minutes he saw his friends and the interlopers heading down to the beach; he ignored them, moved out to the fourth break, and paddled around waiting for the big one.

He saw Barbara Ann and Danny waving for him to come it, but he ignored them like they had ignored him, and did what he wanted to do. An hour later he was getting hungry, so he caught a good wave and rode it to shore. He carried his board toward the house, noting that his girlfriend had Frenchie on one side and a Kraut on the other, and appeared quite happy. He walked right past their encampment without notice, making it to the stairs before Judy saw him. She shouted, but he ignored her, like they had ignored him.

He put his board up, went inside, stripped, and took a shower. He was drying off when he heard voices in the house, and then his bedroom door opened. "Caelan? Where have you been, why are you ignoring us, and why are you being impolite?" she asked in an exasperated tone that could surely have been heard outside the bedroom. He responded in the same manner in a slightly louder voice, "Where have I been? I've been gone for more than two hours; I'm not going to retrace my steps for that whole period of time. Why have I been ignoring you? YOU'VE been ignoring ME; you didn't even notice I was gone for an hour and a half, and then didn't notice me walk by you on my way up here. Why am I being impolite? Because I DON'T LIKE these people you are fawning all over. They are old, stinky, and impolite themselves. If y'all want to hang out with them, take them to your condo. I don't want them in my house!"

It was dead silent outside the bedroom, and Barbara Ann stood there with an open mouth, unable to speak, staring at him. She had never seen him like this before, and she was dumfounded at his belligerence toward the newcomers she found so fascinating. In the silence, Caelan heard Marc suggest they go back to the camp, and the sound of feet on the staircase.

He continued drying off and dressing, ignoring Barbara Ann. She finally stuttered, "I did not! I was just making our visitors feel welcome!" "Intentions mean shit; your actions speak loudly. You haven't been two feet from Frenchie since he arrived, and now you've added Han's the Kraut to your entourage.

They've all gone back to the dirty, nasty beach with muddy water that you and Yves so detest; you should go join them, make them feel welcome some more. I'm going to Custard's for lunch, but I'm sure you want to take them to an gourmet place in Corpus, so I'll see you tonight...or will I? Y'all staying here, or down at Cameron's?"

She put her hands on her hips, and screamed, "You make me crazy! I am going back down, where I won't be ignored and made fun of!" She heard Caelan's laughter and 'good riddance' as she stormed down the stairs and back to the beach.

She was back at the camp apologizing for him when the Woody pulled out and drove down the beach away from them. "Fuck!" Danny said to Marc. "He's right; we have ignored him ever since Bridget and Yves arrived. I didn't even know he had gone for our morning run without us, or that he was surfing until I looked at the water from the deck!" He turned then to Barbara Ann, and said, "And neither did you, his girlfriend! Trust me, this is a tenuous situation; Caelan is slow to anger, but once he's pissed he's pissed, and he is pissed at YOU, Barbara Ann, and at US."

"Do you have any idea where he went?" Marc asked.

Barbara Ann haughtily replied, "He said he was going to Custard's but we were acting too good to eat there, so we should go eat at an 'upscale restaurant', or something like that. I'm so upset at the way he treated me, I don't want to eat with him anyway!"

"Your choice, Barbara Ann, but that may be the end of you and Caelan," Judy warned. "Remember the time you told him you loved him, then did Theo? You've spend weeks telling him you love him this summer, and then just abruptly dumped him. Do you really think he is going to react differently?"

"I did not 'dump him'! I just enjoy talking with more mature and cultured adults from time to time! You can leave if you want -- I'm not speaking to him again until he apologizes!"

"Then when do you want us to move your clothes to your parents' condo?" Paula asked.

"YOU WILL MOVE MY CLOTHES NOWHERE! He's going to swallow his silly little boy pride and apologize, or I will dump HIM!"

"We'll take them to the condo, after lunch. Goodbye, and y'all have fun," Paula answered.

"No," Bridget intervened. "You go with your friends, Barbaha. Your boy is right to be angry; we came into his home and took over as if it were ours, and ignored him. Tell him we apologize and want to make it up: we have a chef, and we will serve a meal tomorrow evening at our home. In French style, we will gather around six, enjoy the company, and then begin the first course. We will send you all home at eleven, including your pretty boy, happy and full. Now go; find him, apologize, and tell him we also apologize for our rude behavior. We hope to see you tomorrow evening!"

Danny noticed that Yves and Hans were not happy with the decision, and Barbara Ann sulked, but they returned to the house, the girls donned cover-ups, the boys put on clean shirts, and they hurried to Custard's Last Stand. Caelan was still there, but was already eating the last of his burger. He looked at them with a neutral expression, then looked around as if expecting the others.

Marc took the bull by the horns: "Hey, man, we didn't know you were ready to eat. We got dressed ASAP and headed down; think we can move to the big table now?" "I'm almost through, but I can eat my custard with y'all, if you want. How many are joining us?" "Just the crew; we'll be over as soon as we order."

Caelan finished his burger and moved to the other table, and was quickly joined by 'the crew'. After a serious backseat conversation on the way in which Judy and Paula reamed her good, Barbara Ann kissed him on the cheek and said "Hello, Honey. I'm sorry about earlier, but I promise I won't ignore you anymore! She took a seat, snuggled up against him, and grinned up at him. He smiled back, and it appeared the problem was resolved; Barbara Ann and Caelan, however, knew better, because both harbored resentment.

The day was spent on the beach, the evening on the deck, and the night making passionate love; except with Caelan and Barbara Ann, which became a contest of wills, with each trying to break the other. Ultimately, Caelan won, but it was an exhilarating contest. There were a lot of satisfied faces as they huddled on the deck for their morning coffee. Up early, as usual, Caelan had gone to the Island Food Store for breakfast foods; he brought out a tray with pastries on one side and doughnuts on the other. "Would you like French pastries or doughnuts, Princess?" She selected a pastry, put it on her paper plate, and waited for everyone to be served.

Caelan looked around, and proclaimed, "So, five chose doughnut and one a French pastry; Princess has a more cultured palate, from her trips abroad, I presume." She frowned as she recognized the jibe -- him using her terms from yesterday - and her dark eyes darkened. "I'm just not a big fan of fried pastries, like doughnuts; I prefer baked," she deflected.

Feeling guilty for stirring the pot, Caelan quickly offered milk, which everyone accepted. Things calmed again, and they began discussing the day. Judy gave Barbara Ann a look; she surreptitiously pointed her finger at Judy, who began, "Caelan, yesterday Bridget invited us to their house for a chef-cooked meal. It sounded like a lot of fun, and she promised a great meal. What do you think?"