Welcome Home

"Thank you," I replied.

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After working for ten hours straight the day before, I ended up sleeping until 10:00 am the next morning. I better start getting used to it, I thought to myself, as I took my shower and got ready for class. As I walked into the kitchen, Mom was sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of iced tea, reading a magazine. "Well, good morning sleepy head," she said, "I was wondering if I was going to have to come wake you up, myself."

"I had a long day yesterday, Mom," I replied smiling. I went to the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee, and after sitting down at the table with Mom, I told her everything that transpired over the last twenty-four hours.

When I was done, Mom smiled at me, and while gently patting me on the cheek with the palm of her hand, said, "I'm very proud of you, Baby."

"Thanks, Mom," I replied.

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When I got to class that day, everyone stared at me as I walked into the classroom. I took my seat, and got out my notebook. A few moments later, Jenny walked in, with her teaching assistant, Sandra, following closely behind her. As she took her seat behind her desk, she slowly scanned the classroom, her eyes momentarily locking onto mine, giving me a quick but subtle smile that I'm sure was only meant for me to see. Then she cleared her throat and said, "Okay class, today I want you to write an essay, no longer than five hundred words, but no shorter than three hundred words, about the author and/or poet we discussed in class last week. I want it on my desk before you leave today."

I began to write, and every so often, I would look up for a moment, only to find her staring at me, almost lovingly, while I worked. It didn't, however, deter me from the job at hand, and I wrote everything I knew about Allen Ginsberg. Personally, I thought he was a genius with a mindset that was way ahead of the times back then, and I never cared about his involvement with drugs. Hell, I got busted for smoking pot, hence the reason I had to join the Navy to begin with. Granted, I never did anything more than smoke pot, but still, I believe in live and let live.

As soon as I was finished, I walked to the front of the classroom, paper in hand. Jenny had apparently been watching my every move, because the moment I handed in my paper, she subtly slid a small envelope in my hand. Looking up at me smiling, she winked, and then loud enough for the rest of the class to hear, said, "You can leave as soon as you've handed in your paper, class." So that no one else could see, I quickly stuffed the envelope that Jenny had given me into my shirt pocket; and then with a smile, I turned around and went back to my seat to retrieve my stuff so I could leave. I still had almost an hour before my Creative writing class so; I went to the Student Union Building, deciding to relax and have a cup of coffee, as well as a little time to myself, even though it was only for a short while.

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I sat down with a steaming cup of coffee and relaxed. I took a few moments to reflect on everything that had happened since I got out of the Navy, and in doing so; I realized that, once again, my life was my own and I had everything on track. Dr. Zeke Haynes, the Chief of Surgery at the hospital I was now working in, had done nothing but praise my every move yesterday, proving to me that I had what it took to be able to earn a good living in as a Medical professional. I thought about the other classes I'd been exempted from because of working with Zeke.

Shit! That reminded me of Jenny and the envelope she had given me in class. I reached into my shirt pocket and retrieved the small white envelope. After opening it, I read the small card inside. It read:

Dear Michael,

I just wanted to let you know that, now that you're home, I think about you all the time. I was hoping that maybe you could come over to my house tonight for dinner, around seven-thirty. If not, I understand. If so, give me a call after five at 867- 5309. I sure hope I get to see you.

Jenny

P.S. Destroy this letter when you've finished reading it. Bye!

Needless to say, I knew I was going to go to her house as, and I didn't know why at the time, there was no way I could resist her now. After I finished my coffee, it was nearing time for my creative writing class so; I threw my empty cup in the waste can and took off to Dr. Miller's class.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That evening around 5:15 pm, I called Jenny's house. The phone rang twice, and right before it rang a third time, I heard a very beautiful and familiar voice answer, "Hello?"

"Hi, Jenny, it's Mike," I replied smiling.

"Hi Michael, how are you, sweetie?"

"I'm doing alright, I guess."

I could tell there was a smile on her face by the sound of her voice, when she replied, "I guess this phone call means that you've accepted my invitation for dinner this evening. Am I right?"

"I don't know," I teased, "It depends."

"On what?" she pointedly asked.

"Well," I smiled, "It depends on what we're having and whether or not you can cook," and then I fell into a fit of laughter.

"Oh, you shit-ass," she giggled, "Be here at seven-thirty sharp, and don' be late," and then she abruptly hung up, but not before I heard the sound of her laughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I drove to Jenny's house which, when it came right down to it, wasn't that far from Mom and Dad's, memories that I'd long forgotten came back to me. Pictures of Jenny when we were younger came to mind. I now began to remember her vividly. The other students didn't mess with her openly after I whipped Eddie Barnes' ass for him, but the little shitty comments made by the girls were enough to make me sick. And now that I'd thought about it, I distinctly remember that Lori Chandler had said a thing or two about Jenny. I couldn't really remember exactly what it was that she'd said, but I do remember it as being something really messed up. It was all because people were jealous of her just because she was real smart. It was right then I decided that I would never let anyone ever mess with her ever again, about anything.

I pulled in to Jenny's driveway and parked my Jeep next to her Camaro. I'd cut two long stem roses from my mother's rose garden, with Mom's permission of course. Actually, Mom was the one who cut them for me. Anyway, I took the roses from where I'd laid them in the front seat, and walked up the sidewalk to the front door of Jenny's house. Less than three seconds later the door swung open, and there stood Jenny looking absolutely stunning. She was wearing a pink, short-sleeved, form fitting blouse, tucked into a pair of white jeans that revealed her every curve. Hr dark brown hair flowed gracefully down her back, ending just above her shoulder blades. Her make up had been flawlessly applied, deep blue eye shadow around her dark brown eyes, and blood red lips. God, she's beautiful, and I felt very highly underdressed in shorts, a tee shirt and sandals.

"I can tell by the look on your face, that you think I look good, Michael, but are you going to stand there and stare at me all night, or are you going to come in?" she asked, with a smirk on her lips.

The sound of her voice snapped my out of the trance I was in, but not out of the spell I'd fallen under looking at her. "Huh? Oh, yeah....Hi Jenny. It's good to see you again," I replied, handing her the roses I'd brought.

As she took the roses, Jenny leaned in, lightly kissed me on the lips, and then into my ear, breathed, "Thank you for the flowers, Michael, and it's good to see you, too, sweetie." Closing the door behind me, she took me by the hand, then led me into her living room and told me to have a seat on the couch while she put the roses into a vase. She came back into the living room with the roses now in a vase, and after setting them down on the coffee table in front of us, Jenny joined me on the couch. "I'm glad you're here, Michael," she cooed, as she scooted close to me.

"Thanks for inviting me over, Jenny," I replied, smiling contentedly.

She smiled and looked at me then sweetly said, "Would you mind firing up the grill on the deck? We're gonna need it if I'm gonna cook the two pieces of New York Strip I've got marinating in the kitchen."

"I don't mind at all," I replied, resisting the urge to caress her soft cheek with the back of my hand, "I'll get right on it."

To say that we had a night of romance and passion would be a lie. It was more like dinner between two very close friends that were fighting an undeniable attraction to one another, yet patiently waiting until the time was right. She told me that she'd heard about my appointment to work with Zeke, and asked me about it. I told her what all had happened the previous day, as well as how it ended, and before I knew it, the time had come for me to leave.

At the end of the night, she walked me to the door. And right before she opened it, she pressed her body against me, and leaning her lips close to mine, Jenny softly kissed me, then said, "Thank you for coming tonight, Michael. It was very nice." And then she opened the door, and after I stepped out, she bade me a final "Good night," before she closed the door, locking it behind her. Once again I was left with that same feeling I experienced every time I was near Jenny. And, yes, once again, I was left with a hard-on that I no longer decided to be ashamed of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Zeke and I stayed busy doing a bowel resection on this poor fellow who would, due to Zeke's skill as a doctor and a surgeon, become a survivor of colon cancer as opposed to falling victim to it, God bless him. And because of the particulars involved with that type of surgery, we weren't finished until I closed the patient's incision right after 1: 00 pm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You did real well today, Mike," said Zeke, as we sat in the hospital cafeteria, having a bite of lunch.

"Thanks, Doc, I appreciate it," I replied humbly. Suddenly Zeke began to laugh, making me ask, "What?"

"Come on, Mike," smiled Zeke, "You can call me by my first name ka know."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be right," I objected, "Hell, if I had gone through all the training like you did, I would expect, no, insist, that I be called nothing less than that."

Zeke looked around the crowded cafeteria full of people, and then as if her were about to divulge top secret information, he leaned down, and looking me dead in the eyes, said, "Don't you think I know another surgeon when I see one, Mike? Hell man, you're as good as any I've seen, and you know your way around a surgical suite as good, if not better, than I do. You may not have had the schooling, Mike, but you damn sure have the gift. I've talked to your superiors that you served under in the Navy, and they all said the same thing."

"And just what was that?" I asked somewhat indignantly, slightly perturbed that he'd delved into my background without my permission.

"Don't be upset because I had you checked out, Mike," Zeke laughed, "But they all told me that you had it in you to be as gifted a surgeon as any."

"What if I told you that I didn't want to be a surgeon?"

Zeke sat up, then leaning back and looking at me, he crossed his arms and said, "I don't understand why a man of your obvious intelligence, and with the surgical skills you possess, wouldn't want to further his education to be the best he could."

"Well, for starters, I don't want to go through four years of someone teaching me something I already know, and then once I graduate, I have to do an internship and then my residency before I can do what I want to do. Besides, I've already done the hours on call, not getting any sleep. And don't get me started on not having any kind of social life."

"Okay, Mike, I understand.....for now. But I'm gonna stay after you about it. You can bet on that," conceded Zeke, "Besides, I need a favor, man."

"Name it," I said.

Zeke smiled, and raising up from the table, said, "Come on, Mike. I'll tell you about it on the way back to the O.R."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You want me to do what?" I asked, at hearing the favor that Zeke asked.

"Come on, Mike," Zeke said, "It's a simple appendectomy. You can do this one with your eyes closed. Besides, I'll be standing right there to back you up."

"Are you sure about this?" I asked suspiciously.

"Look kid, I'm the Chief of Surgery, remember? If I say its okay, then it's okay, okay? Now, let's go get scrubbed."

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Apparently, word had spread throughout the O.R. of what I was about to do that afternoon. Because the moment Zeke and I walked into the operating suite, I saw movement above me, and when I looked up, the observation gallery was packed full of people. Most of them were students, but one face in particular stood out amongst them all, and that was the face of one of my teachers, Claire Wilson. She waved at me when she saw that I noticed her. I simply smiled and nodded my head in acknowledgement.

Once the surgery began and I had the patient's abdominal cavity open, Zeke began asking what I was supposed to do next. As opposed to answering his question by word, I chose to answer it by action instead. After all was said and done, and I had removed the appendix, I put it into a specimen jar that was being held open by an assisting tech. Then after sealing the jar shut, the tech handed it to a nurse behind him. Once the large intestine was securely in place, and I was assured that no seepage occurred from the removal site, I once again used chromic sutures to close the peritoneum, and sub dermal layers of tissue. Then I used surgical silk to stitch the skin, leaving a scar that would be about three and a half inches in length, but would shrink down to two inches over time. I left the technicians to cover and bandage the site as I walked out to take off my gloves, gown and mask so I could clean up.

As Zeke and I stood at the sink washing our hands, I heard a familiar female voice behind me say, "That was very well done, Doctor!"

I turned around to find Claire Wilson smiling brightly at me, obviously excited by what she'd just witnessed. "Hi Professor, and I'm not a doctor" I politely replied smiling.

"Oh, I've got a feeling that that's all about to change," she replied, receiving a scolding look from Zeke.

"We'll see," I laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I was sitting at the dinner table with my folks that night, Mom smiled at me and asked, "Mikey sweetie, have you heard from Jenny lately?"

"You know I have, Mom," I replied smiling, "...and why didn't you ever tell me that you two knew each other when she and I were in high school?"

I heard Dad begin to laugh as Mom shifted uncomfortably in her chair and said, "Well, Mikey....honey...we uh...well, we kind of knew each other, sweetie."

"What do you mean by, you kind of knew each other, Mom," I insistently asked.

"Aw Hell, Jan, just tell him," grumbled Dad, still eating his dinner.

Mom looked at me sheepishly and said, "It's like this, Mikey. Do you remember when you played basketball, and I was a member of the Booster's Club?"

"Jenny already told me about that, but I'm beginning to get the distinct feeling that she didn't tell me everything," I raised my right eye-brow, "Did she, Mom?"

Finally Mom spilled the beans and told me, "After the incident with Eddie Barnes, she fell head-over-heels in love with you, Michael. And it simply broke my heart to see the way she would watch you from a distance. She had the most heartbreaking look on her little face, and it made me feel just awful, seeing her sitting by herself, sad and all alone, while you were with that little spoiled bitch, Lori Chandler."

"Why didn't you ever tell me, Mom?" I asked.

"I asked her about it and she made me promise not to ever say anything to you. Besides; what would you have done about it, Mikey?" said Mom.

I scratched my head and said, "I don't know, but...."

"But nothing," Mom scolded, "You weren't mature enough to know how to handle something like that back then. I think you are now though, honey." Then putting her hand on my shoulder, and as if she were hinting at something, and I knew just exactly what it was, Mom smiled and said, "She sure has grown up to be a very beautiful young woman, hasn't she, Mikey?"

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Chapter Four

Early the next morning, I was in the surf, paddling out to the break against the incoming tide. I always enjoyed being in the ocean or the Gulf of Mexico in this case, whether it was surfing, swimming or SCUBA diving. The water has always had a calming effect on me ever since I was a kid, and after the conversation I had with my parents the previous night, today also found me confused as hell. I began to think about all the things Mom had told me about Jenny last night. I thought back to when Jenny and I were in school. I couldn't remember ever seeing her hanging out with any friends, or, if she even had any.

It was then that I realized what a lonely life she must've had, and I now began to understood how truly awful it must've been for her to see the object of her affection, me, in the arms of another girl. The guilt began invading my conscience at an astounding rate. Questions popped up in my mind left and right. Things like, "Why didn't I ever talk to her? I wouldn't let anyone pick on her so, why couldn't I have at least talked to her, or asked how she was doing," ran through my mind now. And my heart literally began to hurt for her to the point, that I felt the sting of tears in my eyes, leaving me in a bit of a quandary of sorts. Now I was really and truly confused. However, I remembered when, as a child, I felt like this. My sister, Sara, was always there to help me find my way, and I hope she would have the answers I sought now.

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"You really care for her, don't you, Mikey?" asked Sara, after I had apprised her of all the things that had gone through my mind earlier that morning.

"That's just it, Sis," I explained, "I'm not really sure how I feel right now."

"You'll be alright, Mikey," said Tony reassuringly.

"That's easy for you to say, Tony," I replied, "You weren't there when Jenny and I were going through the adolescent hell known as high school. Everybody always tried to pick on her, and I could never understand why."

"That's the reason you always tried to take up for her, isn't it, Mikey?" Sara asked, softly patting me on the knee.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When I got to her class that afternoon, Jenny stood at the door greeting her students as they arrived. And the moment she saw me approaching, her face suddenly began to glow like nothing I'd ever seen before. As soon as I was close enough, she smiled and said, "Well, hello Mister Peterson! How are you this afternoon?"

"I'm doing well, Jen....err, I mean, Professor Taylor," I replied, with Jenny doing her best to hide her amusement, and failing miserably. As I entered the room, I made sure to brush my body against her subtly, but firmly enough that she knew I was flirting. I heard her suddenly gasp so, after making sure that only she could see, I turned and winked at her slowly, enjoying the sudden rush of color to her cheeks. I didn't realize until later, that Sandra had been sitting at her desk and had seen the whole exchange between Jenny and me. Still though, I smiled all the rest of the way to my seat.

Jenny called her student to order and said, "I graded the essays you did in class, and I wanted to tell you, that some of them were very good. However there were some that really needed work. But, there were a small few that didn't do near what I know they're capable of," When she said that, she glared at me for a brief few seconds, making me feel a little uneasy. She continued, "Your first reading assignment for the semester was, The Mark of Zorro, by Johnston McCulley. I gave everyone enough time to read it. I hope you all have, because we're going to have a short pop-quiz, and then we're going to discuss it in class." No sooner had she announced that, than Sandra began passing out the quiz sheets and the test began.