The Summer of '77

Several days after her initial phone call, Stephanie rang back. We talked more about how our lives had transpired since the time we knew each other. Then I sensed some hesitation on her part.

"There is something else I'd like to ask you, and you don't have to answer..." Her voice trailed off.

"Go ahead," I replied, wondering what on earth it could be. My first thought was to hope that Joyce hadn't left me any money. I sure didn't need it.

"Did you and mom ever sleep together?" I could feel the blood draining from my face as she quickly added, "Don't think I'm upset if you did. It's just that you two seemed very close and, well, I was just curious."

There was a long pause at my end as I considered my response.

"Are you there, Nick?"

"Yes, I'm still here."

"I know Mom loved you dearly, and mostly I thought you were a surrogate son for her, just like she was a surrogate mom for you. But sometimes I suspected there was more to it. The chemistry between you two was pretty obvious. She was happier when you were around, and not as happy when you weren't."

"Yes," I said finally, relieved to have confessed my secret at last. "We did."

"Wow!" was all Stephanie said at first. Then again, "Wow!" Then, "That's so cool!" I'm sure my relief at her reaction was audible. "God, I hope you don't mind my asking."

"Actually," I replied, "I don't. I was worried you'd be upset."

"Hell no!" she said with a laugh. "Now I'm thinking about when I kidded the both of you about it and it actually happened! I mean your face would turn so red! When did it start? How long did it last?"

"Actually, it was over several years." I also confessed that it began that warm and wonderful summer of '77.

"You little devil! Good for you! And congratulations on keeping such a big secret. Did anyone else know?"

"Nope. At least not as far as I know. I never told anyone. You're the first person to ever hear about it, though I think your mom's friend Barbara was suspicious."

"Oh, well, Barbara just wanted you for herself."

"Get outta here! She was married."

"Like that mattered. She'd have been a good one to teach you all about love, too."

"I'll bet."

"The reason I asked about you and mom is that I was going through her things and found an old snapshot of you tucked away in her desk drawer. You were sitting on the edge of the pool in your swimsuit, dangling your legs in the water."

"I remember now when she took it, but I hadn't thought of it since that summer. I had no idea she kept it. She was such a sweet person."

"So what I said earlier about mom viewing you as the son she never had... I should probably take that back, even though I thought of you as a kid brother. Maybe I should take that back, too."

Stephanie said all this in jest.

"Not at all, unless it freaks you out."

"Actually, it doesn't. Mom and I both thought you were a sweetie, but now I suppose not for the same reasons!"

The conversation had devolved into ribald laughter. As Stephanie replayed the events of those weeks on the screen of her memory, the recollections now colored by a new and unexpected wrinkle, it dawned on her that while she and Danny were up at the lake on those long weekends, I wasn't sleeping in the guest room as she had assumed.

As our time drew to a close, Stephanie thanked me.

"It's so great to catch up with you, Nick. I have such fond memories of you and that time."

"So do I!" I replied with enough enthusiasm to make her laugh.

We said goodbye and I leaned back in my chair to ponder the import of that time in my life. Even now, thinking of Joyce - how lovely she was, and what magic we shared together - gives me a warm feeling.

I'll remember her always.