Welcome Home

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By 3:30 that afternoon, Tommy and I were sixty-five feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, diving one of the old sunken Texaco drilling platforms, used in the artificial reefs program that the Texas Department of Marine and Wildlife had passed a couple of years ago. I had been spoiled in the Navy, as I was used to diving the cold but clear waters of the Pacific Ocean. But the waters of the Gulf was where I first learned how to dive so, it was kind of like saying hello to an old friend. We stayed until our bottom time expired, and then we slowly ascended, stopping to decompress before we could safely break the water's surface.

"How did you like that, Mikey?" Tommy asked, as we climbed back into his boat.

"Aw man," I excitedly replied, "I remember when you told me about this place. I've wanted to dive it ever since, and it was great," and then I solemnly added, "Thanks, Tommy, I really needed this today."

Sensing the tone of my voice, Tommy reached into his cooler and retrieved two cold beers, and after handing one to me, said, "You wanna talk about it, little brother?"

We sat back in the sun, drinking our beer as I proceeded to tell him what had happened in class that day.

"What did you say her name was, Mikey?" asked Tommy. When I told him, he began to laugh, and said, "You know who she is, don't you?"

"No, who?" now I was confused.

But Tommy, being the older brother whom I've always loved with all my heart, began to laugh like a little kid as he replied, "Do you remember that little sixteen year old girl who was the valedictorian of your graduating class? She was a genius or something like that."

Then it all came crashing down on me at once, and I said, "Now I remember, her name was Jennifer Taylor, and everyone teased her and called her Little Baby Jenny."

"Everybody teased her but you, Mike," said Tommy grinning, "And if I remember correctly, didn't you get sent home for fighting some guy that was picking on her?"

"Yeah," I laughed, shaking my head, "His name was Eddie Barnes, and he was an asshole anyway,"

By this time I had finished my beer, and as he handed me another one, Tommy continued, "I heard that she carried a torch for you all year long after that, too, and when you got busted, she was heart-broken that you got sent away to join the service."

I remembered her now, a thin scrawny wisp of a girl that had wiry brown hair, freckles, big glasses, and wore braces on her crooked little teeth. I always felt sorry for her when the other kids would pick on her and tease her just because she was, more than likely, smarter than all of them put together. I remember the fight with Eddie Barnes, too. He and one of his friends had Jenny cornered and were pawing at her. I still remember the look of terror that was on her little face that day. It was awful so, I stepped in and began punching. The next thing I remembered, two coaches were escorting to the principal's office, where I got suspended for three days. Mom and Dad had been really cool about it, especially after I told them why I was fighting to begin with. I still didn't understand why Jennifer had treated me the way she had in class, but I also knew that, instead of reporting her to the Dean, I needed to sit down and talk to her.

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When I got back home, I found a note from Mom on the refrigerator saying that she and Dad had gone out and probably wouldn't be back until midnight or later. It meant that I was going to have to go out to eat because I sure couldn't cook worth a shit. After having a shower and a shave, I put on a pair of Dockers™ shorts and a tee shirt. Then I slid into my tennis shoes, and locking the front door of Mom and Dad's house; I hopped into my jeep and took off.

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As I drove down the Intercoastal Highway, I remembered the days that I used to drive down this particular stretch of road in my brother's pickup truck. I had the music blasting as my friends and I headed out for an afternoon of surfing. Nearing me from a distance was the old marquee sign that read: Pat's Place. As a teenager, I used to go frequent this place on the week-ends. My buddies and I would meet up here to drink beer, smoke pot and chase girls. Pat's was also well known for their barbecue, and let me tell you; it is some of the finest in the south, even if I say so myself.

As I drew closer, I decided that Pat's was where I was going to eat. After all, it had been over eight years since I'd eaten there, and the aroma coming from the big smoke stack at the side of the building was beginning to make my mouth water.

I pulled in and got out of the jeep. The moment I walked into Pat's, I heard a familiar female voice, squeal, "Oh my God, the prodigal son has returned home!" I turned in the direction the voice was coming from to see none other than Pat herself, sitting behind the counter grinning wildly. "Mikey Peterson, come here and give old Pat a hug, you handsome devil, you."

"Hi Pat, how are you?" I asked, gently hugging her neck.

Holding me at arms length, Pat smiled and said, "It's so good to see you, baby. How was the Navy? Did they treat alright, honey?"

"Yes, ma'am," I replied smiling, "They treated me fine. I'm just glad to be home."

"Are you home for good?" she asked. I then explained to her about being out of the Navy and that now I was attending college. "Have you eaten anything, sweetie?" she asked, and before I had the chance to answer her, she sat me down at the nearest table and said, "You sit yourself down right here, baby. I'm gonna fix you something myself, and don't you even think about trying to pay for it either. This is my treat, a welcome home dinner." Needless to say, I left there full, fat and happy, knowing I would be sleeping well that night.

Chapter Two

I woke up the next morning, and as I got ready for class, the information my brother had given me about Jenny Taylor began to haunt me. I still didn't understand why she'd treated me the way she had, but I was certainly going to find out. I needed her class to get my degree and I certainly didn't want flunk it, but it was more than just that. Looking back on the previous day's events, I never noticed the strange look in her eyes when she was talking to me, or should I say, humiliating me. But still, there had to be a reason for her behavior, and I knew for certain that I hadn't provoked her, or at least I didn't think I had anyway.

Today was Friday and I wasn't going to have her class again until the next Tuesday, but I wanted to at least stop by her office and make an effort to try and apologize for whatever it was that she thought I'd done to make her upset with me. At the moment, I had an 8:00 am class that I had to attend, but I would stop by on my lunch break and maybe we could talk then.

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The moment my morning class ended, I made my way as fast as I could, to the English building. As I rounded the corner to Jenny's office, I saw her teaching assistant coming out of the door, and then turning to lock it behind her.

"Excuse me, Miss," I said, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

She turned to me, and with a slight smirk, said, "My name is Sandra, and not Miss."

"I need to see Professor Taylor," I explained, "There's something I need to speak with her about, and my name is ....."

"Michael Peterson, I know all about you," she interrupted smiling, "But what makes you think Jenny wants to speak with you?"

"Am I missing something here, Sandra?" I asked, confused by her actions.

She shook her head, and giggling, replied, "No, you and I both know why you're here."

"And just why is that?" I asked, a little pissed off at her assumption of anything where I was concerned, but scared of the truth.

Sandra reached into her purse and retrieved a sip of paper and a pen. Then after scribbling on the paper, she handed it to me and replied, "Look, here's Jenny's address. She'll be there all weekend grading papers, and she really is a sweet person, once you get to know her. Oh, and Michael, I'm really glad you're back home for good," and then she left without as much as a simple goodbye.

Now I was really confused, and judging from the way she was acting; it was quite apparent that this girl, whom I'd never seen before a few days ago, knew something that I didn't. I looked at the piece of paper she handed me and recognized the address. It belonged to one of a small group of houses that were built on the very beach I'd been surfing since I first learned how to surf.

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I found the address with no problem at all. Like I already said, I knew this area of the beach like the back of my hand. But I still hadn't got out of my jeep once I'd pulled in. I knew that I needed to talk to Jenny to settle this whole mess once and for all, however; getting my legs to move was a different story altogether.

I mustered up what little courage I had, then got out and walked to the front door. I knocked and waited. I knocked again and waited, still no answer. I knocked one more time, only a little bit louder, and still, I got no answer. There was another car in the driveway as I pulled in so, I assumed it was hers. I guess I had been too preoccupied to notice when I first pulled up, but I could hear music coming from around the back of the house. I followed the walkway around the side of the house toward the music. It led me to a deck that was built on stilts directly against the back of the house with a set of steps that descended down to the sand, built at the far end.

I know she hadn't seen me yet, but not fifteen feet from me, beneath a shaded table, sat Jenny, looking more beautiful than I could ever remember any woman ever being. "Hi Jenny," I said softly, so as not to frighten her.

Looking like a deer caught in the headlights of an on coming car, she stood, and almost whispering, asked, "What are you....Michael, what are you doing here?"

"I don't know, really," I replied blankly, "But, I think that you and I need to talk, don't you?"

All of a sudden, and almost like she was ashamed of something, Jenny put her hands over her face and began to cry. Then she quickly walked over to where I stood, placed her arms around my neck, holding gently but tightly, and then began to weep bitterly into my chest. I simply stood there and held her while she cried. I don't know what it was that was bothering her, well, maybe I did, but I still wasn't sure. So, I did the only thing I could think of, and slowly began to lead her back to where she had been previously seated, trying to calm and soothe her along the way.

Once she'd taken her seat and regained her composure, Jenny looked at me and tearfully said, "I'm so sorry for acting the way I did toward you in class yesterday, Michael."

"It's okay," I replied, "I just didn't know what I'd done to make you so angry with me, that's all."

She finally smiled, and after wiping her face with the back of her hand, she reached over and pulled another chair up next to her, then gently patted it and said, "Sit down. We need to talk."

As I began to look closely at her, I took notice of the woman she'd grown into. Gone now was the dull wiry mess that used to grow from her head, only to be replaced by long dark and shiny flaxen hair that hung down on her shoulders. Where there were once freckles was now clear smooth beautiful skin that reflected the afternoon sun with a soft and gentle glow. The goggle like glasses that used to hang off of her nose had now been replaced by contact lenses, and I began to feel like I was drowning in the beautiful brown limpid pools that, at this moment, danced before me. When she smiled where there used to be braces, the pearly white rows of pretty teeth only enhanced the beautiful woman that now sat not two feet in front of me.

Jenny took my hand and said, "Michael, I want to tell you something that, I'm not really sure how you're going to react to. But after class yesterday, I promised myself that I was going to tell you this, come hell or high water."

"I'm all ears, Jenny," I replied, never before realizing how soft and smooth her hands were.

"Do you remember the times in high school that you protected me from all the people that used to tease me?"

"Sure I do," I replied.

"I always wondered why you did that. Hell, you didn't even know me, Michael," she said, tears beginning to well in her eyes again.

"I never could abide by anyone who tried to victimize someone weaker than them. To this day, I still don't let it happen if I see it. That's just the way I am, Jenny," I said smiling.

"Well, when you saved me from Eddie Barnes that day, I began to look at you differently, Michael," she replied, the tears now openly falling down her beautiful cheeks, "And then when you got busted for smoking pot, and got sent away, I was furious with you because you'd done something that took you away from me. I know I sound like a silly little girl, but I just couldn't help it, Michael."

For her to reveal her innermost feelings to me like this took a lot of courage on her part, and I began to admire this woman more than I cared to admit at the time. "I'm very sorry, Jenny, I didn't know," was all I could say.

Smiling through her tears, she playfully punched me in the arm, and said, "How could you have known? I was just some silly little girl who, at the time, had read too many romance novels, and you were this young beautiful boy that I looked at as my knight in shining armor. Stupid, isn't it?"

"I don't think so, Jenny," I softly replied, taking her hand in mine, and gently rubbing circles on the back of it with my thumb.

She slowly looked up at me, and then softly but timidly asked, "Would you do something for me, Michael, please?"

"Name it" I replied.

She stood me up, and then before I had the chance to react, Jenny put her arms around my neck and gently kissed me. At this point in my life, I had been kissed by more than a few women, but I couldn't remember any of them ever being as sweet as this. Her lips were as soft as spun silk, and the longer she kissed me, the weaker I became. I felt my body began to shake as we slowly wrapped our arms around one another, and just when I thought I cold take no more; Jenny slowly eased away from me, and still leaning back in my arms, she smiled, and said, "If I die tomorrow, I'll leave this earth a happy woman, Michael."

"Wow," I replied, becoming a little dizzy as we began to disentangle ourselves from one another.

"I think you better sit down, Michael, before you fall down," she playfully teased. Once I was seated, she looked at me, and with a serious tone of voice that brought me back to my senses, said, "I did want to tell you that I thought your presentation yesterday in class was brilliant."

"Even though it was about, what was it you called him, an idiot radical hippie like Ginsberg?" I teased.

"Seriously though, Michael," Jenny pleaded, "I'm really very sorry about the way I treated you."

"Aw Jenny, don't worry about it, you're only human ya know."

"Maybe so, Michael, but that doesn't give me the right to treat you like shit because of some school-girl crush that I've been carrying for......." And then she suddenly stopped herself and began to blush very brightly.

"What, Jenny," I asked, "What were you going to say?"

"If I tell you," she sadly replied, "You'll think I'm childish."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" I said, smiling.

She sighed loudly, and then looking at me with those big beautiful brown eyes of hers, Jenny took a deep breath and began, "I've tried dating, but every guy I meet, I compare to you," then she began to cry again, "None of them ever measure up to you, Michael."

I slipped my arm around her waist, inviting her to lay her head on my shoulder, and while she regained her composure, I smiled, and said, "Ya know, you honor me by what you're telling me, Jenny, and I don't deserve it."

"What're you saying, Michael?" she asked, looking up at me while wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

"What I'm saying is, there's nothing more attractive to a man than a beautiful woman who's attracted to him. And I'm gonna have a hard time concentrating in class from now on," I laughed.

"That's another thing, Michael, she added disappointedly, "I don't, nor will I ever, date one of my students."

"Why don't we just be friends instead? Surely you don't have rules about hanging out with old friends, do you?" I asked smiling.

Jenny smiled brightly, making her whole face light up, and my knees buckle because of how beautiful she looked, and replied, "Well, no, I don't, and you and I did go to high school together so, I guess it's alright."

We hung out together for the rest of the day, talking and reminiscing while Jenny graded papers. Needless to say that when I told her about my parents, or should I say Mom's, insistence that I stay with them while I was in college, she simply smiled and told me how kind and thoughtful she thought it was of Mom and Dad to do such a thing. Around about 4:30 or so, my stomach began growl, making Jenny giggle. I stood up, and smiling, held out my hand and said, "Why don't you take a break from grading papers and come eat with me at my parent's house? There's gonna be plenty, knowing Mom."

"Thank you, Michael, I'd like that," she sweetly replied, taking my hand. I called Mom before we left Jenny's house to let her know that I was bringing someone to join us for dinner.

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"Well, who is this pretty thing you've brought to diner, boy?" asked Dad, as we came through the front door of Mom and Dad's house.

"This is my friend, Miss Jennifer Taylor," I replied, introducing them, "Jenny, this is my Dad."

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Peterson," Jenny said.

"Aw hell sweetie, you can call me Carl just like everyone else does around here," replied Dad, giving her a fatherly hug.

"Michael? Is that you, honey?" said my mother, as she stepped in from the kitchen. At finding out that I'd brought a girl home for dinner, her face lit up like a Christmas tree as she smiled and said, "Oh my goodness! Who is this pretty girl you've brought into our house, son?"

I smiled and said, "Mom, I'd like you to meet my English teacher, Miss Jennifer Taylor."

As she shook Jenny's hand, Mom smiled and said, "It's so nice to meet you, Jennifer."

"Feel free to call me Jenny, Ms. Janet," Jenny cryptically replied.

Raising one eye-brow, Mom smiled and suspiciously asked, "Do we know each other?" Then she stopped and stared for a moment, and when she recognized Jenny, she threw her arms around her and said, "Oh my God! Its little Jenny Taylor! How in the world are you darlin?"

"I'm doing well, Ms. Janet," replied Jenny.

Mom held Jenny at arms length, and looking her up and down, said, "Oh my, what a beautiful thing you grew up to be."

"She sure did," said Dad, winking at me.

With Jenny insisting that she be allowed to help, she and Mom had dinner on the table in a matter of a few minutes. We sat down to Chicken Scaloppini that had been made from scratch. My mother always cooks as if she were feeding hoards of people, and after two helpings, I was very full and so was Jenny. She wanted to help Mom do the dishes, but Mom wouldn't hear of it. "You didn't come here to work, Jenny darlin, and I'm not going to let you," said Mom, with a knowing smile, "Besides, I want you and Mikey to go and have a good time, sweetie."

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As I drove her home that night, Jenny smiled and told me, "Thank you for taking me to your parent's house for dinner. Be sure to tell them both that I said thank you to them, too.

"That reminds me," I said smiling, "How is it that you know my Mom?"