Blind Squirrels (19 page)

I drank two beers while Mike and
I talked.  As the beer and the conversation began to run out, we both went back
inside.  Colleen and Olivia were sitting in the kitchen.  Olivia was admiring Pete,
and Kenny was flexing his pecs for Colleen.  Donna was in the living room
acting demure as Dmitri sat very close beside her.  I wondered where Mrs. Kalakos
was because Dmitri was behaving like a smitten schoolboy.  Donna had that way
with men.  None of my friends seemed to be missing me, so I followed Mike
upstairs.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“I left my coat up here, and I’m
getting cold.”

We walked into the master
bedroom.  Coats covered the bed.  Mike described his leather jacket to me, and
we began looking for it.  We both grabbed hold of it at the same time and began
laughing as we tugged it back and forth between us.  Mike gave the coat a
powerful tug, and I lost my footing.  I tumbled across the bed until I landed
at Mike’s feet.  He took my hand and pulled me up.  Our eyes met and he pulled
me close to him.  We began kissing.  I had very little experience with kissing,
but I knew this was a great one.  I lost track of time and space as we found
our way to the bed.  My head was spinning, but I wasn’t sure if it was the kiss
or the beer.  Just then, we heard someone clear their throat.

“I think you two better get
downstairs.”  It was Mrs. Kalakos.  We quickly got up and rushed past her.  My
cheeks were burning, and Mike was red all over.  She said something else about
behaving ourselves, but we were moving too fast to fully understand her.

As we trotted down the stairs
together, Mike whispered, “Maybe you can give me a ride home tonight.  I would
really like to spend some time with you.”  I was unable to speak, and I needed
another beer.  Mike’s idea sounded good; I just didn’t know if my friends would
go for it.

Back outside, I inhaled three
more beers, and I saw Mike drinking more, too.  He was looking better and
better to me.  He wasn’t Max, but he was somewhat cute.  And with all that beer
in me, all I could think about was that I desperately wanted a boyfriend.  I
decided that I would take him home whether my friends wanted me to or not.

Olivia came outside.  “Dmitri’s
playing an Elton John album on his stereo.  Why don’t you come in?”

I was afraid to come across Mrs. Kalakos
again, but I needed to sit down.  Hearing Elton would also help my spirits. 
“Okay,” I told her.

The album was Elton’s Greatest
Hits.  While listening to it, I started aching for Max all over again.  Finally
I turned to Donna.  “Let’s go.  Do you think Colleen will drive?”

Colleen heard me.  “I can’t drive
a stick shift.  You’ll have to do it.”

I thought about Mike.  I wanted
to sit in the back with him.  “I’ll talk you through it.  I’m too drunk to
drive.”

“Okay, if you say so,” Colleen
said, shrugging her shoulders.

“We’re going to take Mike Barr
home.  Let me go get him.”

I rushed outside to find Mike. 
He was talking to Rita.  As I approached them, I heard him say to her, “Will
you give me a ride home?  I’d like to spend some time with you.”

I was too drunk to be hurt by
what I heard, but I still felt my eyes welling up with tears.  I was sober
enough to realize that Mike was either a jerk or very drunk – maybe both.  I turned
around and went back inside.  He could find his way home without me.

“Where’s Mike?” Olivia asked.

“He’s riding with someone else. 
Let’s go.”

Colleen started the car easily. 
I knew she was going to do a good job.  “Shift into first.  Okay, slowly take
your foot off the clutch...”  The car jerked, sputtered, and died.  “I said
slowly!  Also, you have to give it gas at the same time.”

Colleen started the car again. 
She jerked her foot off the clutch and gunned the gas.  The tires squealed, and
we roared onto the street.  “Shift gears!” I yelled.

“How?” she yelled back.

“Put in the clutch; pull the gear
shift down.  Then let out the clutch and give it more gas.  Oh – and remember
to watch where you’re going.”

Colleen did as I said, and we
jerked and bucked and squealed our way down the street.  After two or three
miles, I said, “Let me drive.”  Colleen gladly stopped the car – by stomping
the brake and pulling the clutch out at the same time – and I moved to the
driver’s seat.

“It’s too early to go home,” Olivia
said as we smoothly glided back into traffic.

“Let’s just ride around awhile,” Donna
suggested.

We drove to a more rural part of
town, and I turned onto Harmony Highway – a two lane road with mostly
residential lots.  The speed limit was thirty-five, and I was keeping to it. 
Suddenly, a car pulled up in the lane next to us; fortunately, there was no
oncoming traffic.  I looked to see who was driving.  Teenage boys filled the
car, and they were yelling and motioning for me to pull over.  Instead, I
slowed down and watched them drive away from us. 

Up ahead was a convenience store,
and I needed to pee.  I pulled into the store’s parking lot and then ran
inside.  Olivia and Colleen went inside for munchies, but Donna stayed in the
car.  While the rest of us were inside, the car full of boys pulled in beside
my car.  When I came out, four boys were encircling my car.  One of them was
trying to get Donna to get out, but she was acting uncharacteristically skittish
and bashful.  Olivia and Colleen came out, and the three of us pushed our way
into the car.  We drove off and left the raging hormones in the parking lot.

It was then that Donna noticed
that Olivia had a pack of toilet paper.  “Gosh, Olivia!  Are you afraid we
won’t make it to the next 7-11?”

It was Colleen who answered.  “We
thought we might TP a house or two tonight.”  Here we go with their brand of
humor again.

“Whose house?”  Donna asked.

“We haven’t decided yet,” Olivia
said matter-of-factly.

“Show us Max’s house, Kat,” Colleen
said.

“I don’t think so.  You are not
rolling Max’s house.”

“No – you got it all wrong.  We
wouldn’t dream of rolling Max’s house.  We would never hear the end of it.”  Colleen
smirked.

“Just like we never hear the end
of Max,” Olivia added.

I was curious to see if Max was
home, so we drove to my neighborhood.  Max’s car wasn’t there.  “Want to see
where Johnny lives?” I asked.

Olivia and Colleen both piped
up.  “Sure!  That would be great!”

I drove the five blocks to
Johnny’s house.  I knew where he lived because of Dominique.

“Pull over for a minute,” Colleen
yelled.  “I need to pee right now.”

“You can’t pee here,” I said, but
I stopped the car at the house next to Johnny’s.

Colleen and Olivia jumped out
with their rolls of toilet paper.  “Come on, you guys.  Let’s roll Johnny’s
house.”

“No, sir,” said Donna.

“I’m out of this,” I said.  “I
don’t care if Johnny is a jerk – I’m not getting caught rolling his house.” 
Yes, I was chicken.

“You guys sure know how to kill a
party,” Olivia said dejectedly.  A wave of relief washed over me as I decided
they were giving up.

“We’ll let you know how much fun
you missed!” Colleen shouted.  Then she and Olivia ran off towards Johnny’s
house.

“I don’t know about you, Donna,
but I don’t want to be sitting here while they do this.”

“Me either.  Let’s circle the
block or something.”

I pulled onto the street.  I
could see Olivia and Colleen in my rearview mirror.  They seemed to be having
fun.  I sped away.  After driving around for ten minutes, I circled back by
Johnny’s house.  Toilet paper hung from every conceivable inch of house and
yard.  We couldn’t see Colleen and Olivia anywhere.  I drove by and stopped at
the end of the road.  I heard something run into my car.  It was Colleen – she
had thrown herself against the passenger side of the car and almost scared Donna
to death.  She and Olivia jumped in, and I drove away from that street as fast
as I could.

“Did you see that?” Olivia asked.

“We did a fabulous job,” Colleen
said.  “Too bad we don’t have a camera.  Let’s go back and look one more time.”

“No way!  I’m taking everyone
home.  We could get into trouble over this.  Especially me – I’m driving the
getaway car.”

“You are such a sourpuss, Kat. 
We can’t have any fun with you around.”  Colleen was moping; she wished we
could toilet paper every house on the block.

“You’re right, Colleen.  Kat is a
goody-goody.  And she’s probably proud of it.”  Olivia must have forgotten all
the beer I drank.  That disqualified me from being a true goody-goody.

I dropped Olivia off first.  In
spite of my spoilsport attitude, she said that she had fun.  Donna and Colleen
thanked me for inviting them when I took them home.  Colleen halfway apologized
for her behavior but only because Donna made her.  I watched until they went
inside and then I drove home.  I was completely sober by now, but I wondered
how I had gotten us all home safely.

After Christmas vacation, my life
really changed.  I was driving my car to school every day.   Laura and one
other person always rode with me.  Wayne or Roger rode with us most often, but Aurelia
and Dominique rode occasionally.  In the afternoons, Laura and Wayne always rode
home with me.  I’d drop Laura off first, and then I’d take Wayne home.  I soon
came to know Wayne’s family very well and spent a lot of time with them.

Felicia’s birthday was at the end
of January, and she was turning seventeen.  Laura and I had planned to take her
somewhere and celebrate, but, at the last minute, Laura was put on restriction
for staying out with Billy too late the night before.  So Felicia and I were on
our own.  We decided to drive over to Pensacola and cruise the Navy base to
check out the sailors.  Because my dad was a disabled veteran, I had access to
the base through a Navy decal on my car and a Navy ID card.  We drove onto the
base, but the pickings were slim.  The only action we saw involved a sailor
with a balloon.  He was walking on the sidewalk near the Navy Exchange.  Felicia
told me to stop.  When I did, she told him that it was her birthday, and she
asked him for his balloon.  He looked at her like she was nuts, but then he
handed her the balloon.  She thanked him.  She was hoping he would talk to her
some more since she thought he was rather cute.  Instead, he continued walking
down the path as though nothing had happened.  Felicia’s balloon popped before
we made it out the front gate.

As we were leaving the base to
head back to Foster’s Bank, we saw two guys hitchhiking.  I knew they were
sailors from their short hair and duffle bags, so I asked Felicia if we should
give them a ride.  She hesitated, but, in a moment, she said it was okay.  I
pulled off the road just past them, and they came running up to my car.  As Felicia
got out and let them in, I took a good look at them.  Both of them were tall
and thin.  The first one leaned into the car.  He had dark red hair and a
matching beard; on his head was a brown beret.  His eyes were wide and dilated,
so I couldn’t tell the color.  He wasn’t handsome, but he looked okay.  He was
wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a jean jacket.  In his hand was a blue duffle
bag.  He smiled at me as he sat down.  The second guy scooted into the seat. 
His good looks immediately mesmerized me.  He had strawberry blond hair, a
mustache, and a goatee.  His sky-blue eyes were hypnotic, and his smile was
friendly and warm.  I could see the rippling muscles under his button-up shirt,
and I suddenly forgot that I preferred short, scrawny men.  He spoke to me, and
I became completely bewitched by him.

Felicia got back in the car.  I
couldn’t readily decipher the look on her face, but outrage would have been my
first guess.  I whispered to her and asked if she was okay.  She just glared at
me and rolled her eyes towards the backseat.  Apparently, she wasn’t happy with
our passengers.

The good-looking guy said,
“Thanks, Ladies.  We appreciate the lift.  My name is Josh, and this is my
friend, Ray.”  He had a distinct accent, but I couldn’t place it.

Before I could speak, Felicia
turned around, “We’re giving you a ride, not meeting you at a dance.  We don’t need
to know your names.”

I couldn’t believe Felicia and
her attitude.  Quickly, I tried to intercede.  “Ha-ha.  That’s good Felicia.  Felicia’s
always joking around.  I’m Kat.  It’s good to meet you.”

Felicia shot me an evil look. 
“Thank you, Kat, for telling my name.”  Then she looked back at Ray, “Where are
we dropping you anyway?  Not far, I hope.  I’ve got to get home soon.”

Ray ignored Felicia’s rude
behavior.  “Do you know where that place called The Barrels is, man?  Just drop
us off there.  You know what I mean, man?”

Felicia glanced in my direction. 
That bar was only a few blocks from where we were, and we both knew it was no
longer in business.  I could read her mind, “What will we do with them now?”

I glanced back at Josh.  He was
so cute.  “Okay, we’ll take you there,” I said.  I figured we’d decide what to
do with them when we got there.