Harvest of Expectations

Harvest of Expectations

By Autumn Writer

Chapter 10 — Let’s Have a Party

May 1974

They arrived late, but not too much. The fraternity house parking lot had always been undersized so Jim had a difficult time wedging the Rustmobile into a space.

“I’m glad we took this car instead of the Duster,” Jim said. “The old Rustmobile can take a few more dents and no one would notice, but the Duster doesn’t have any yet.

He turned off the motor and they were about to climb the back steps of the fraternity house when a pick up truck towing a trailer ambled into the lot. It was the equipment for the band that would be playing later that night.

He recognized the person who stepped out of the truck as the set-up guy for the band when they played at the house on other occasions.

“You aren’t going to park us in are you?” Jim asked. “We plan to leave on the early side.”

“Naw,” the burly man said in a gruff voice, “we’ll just unload and park the rig on the street somewhere.”

Great!” Jim said and he took Hildy’s hand and they went into the fraternity house.

When they walked into the foyer the party was in full swing. He looked around for Rich and didn’t see him. He’d seen his car in the lot, though, so he knew that he and Chelsea were somewhere in the house.

“Want something to drink?” he asked Hildy.

There was a table covered by a white table cloth with two punch bowls on it surrounded by glasses turned upside down.

“Is the white stuff the drink with vodka and grapefruit juice?” Hildy asked.

“And sugar. That’s right. It’s called…”

“Silver Moons,” Hildy said. “I remember. I think I’ll pass. What about the purple one in the other punch bowl?”

“Purple Passion,” Jim answered, “Vodka and Grape Juice with sugar.”

“Great choice,” Hildy said, “I suppose if I have to choose…”

“Personally, I’d rather have a beer. I never drink that garbage,” Jim said. “Follow me.”

He led her to the third floor of the fraternity house where there were brothers’ rooms. In the connecting hallway there was an old soft drink machine.

“Name your poison,” Jim said. “Bud or LaBatts,”

“I guess Budweiser,” Hildy said.

Jim put a quarter into the slot and bottle fell onto the rubber pad in the opening of the machine. There was a bottle opener tied on a string nearby. Jim took off the cap and handed the bottle to her.

“I’m a LaBatts man, myself.”

He slid another quarter into the machine. In a few seconds he and Hildy had fresh drinks and turned to head back downstairs.

“I guess we’re slumming now,” Hildy laughed.

“”Not at all,” Jim replied. “For me, it’s a delicacy to drink beer out of a glass bottle instead of a can.”

When they arrived at the second floor landing they met Rich and Chelsea.

“I see you and I had the same idea,” Rich said.

Jim introduced Hildy and Chelsea to each other.

“I’ll see you in the dining room,” he told Rich.

When Jim and Hildy arrived on the first floor he decided to give Hildy a quick tour of the house. He started with the pool room where guests were placing their empty glasses on the felt of the pool table.

“There would have been a time when that would have upset me, but it’s someone else’s problem now.”

They moved to the parlor. There was a composite picture of all the brothers from 1972.

“That’s you!” Hildy shrieked.

“That’s right; that was me two years ago.”

“A moustache and sideburns? That’s hilarious!”

“I don’t think it’s that funny, Hildy.”

It was no use. Hildy was dissolving in laughter and she hadn’t even finished half her beer.

As Hildy was composing herself Jim spied Ashley and Chelsea talking in the corner. Chelsea pointed a finger at Hildy and Ashley covered her face as she burst out in laughter. Jim glanced at Hildy and hoped she hadn’t noticed.

“I think that girl over there in the green gown thinks it’s funny, too,” Hildy said.

As usual, Hildy had noticed and Jim was certain that Hildy knew that Ashley wasn’t laughing at his picture from 1972.

Jim knew in advance that Hildy hadn’t dressed like the other dates at the party. In fact, Hildy’s outfit could have been called ‘frumpy’, especially compared to the gowns of the other girls. Their gowns were a lot flimsier and far more suggestive the Hildy’s. Not only that, it was May and Hildy’s skirt was more suitable for winter. Jim didn’t care about any of that. He did care if there might be trouble. He decided to try to keep Ashley as far away as he could.

Jim was figuring out how he would do that when the dinner bell rang. Dinner was to be served in the dining room which was in the basement of the house. Everyone started filing downstairs. There were round tables set up with table cloths and place settings for three couples. The pledges stood to the side in white waiter’s jackets ready to begin serving dinner.

Jim led Hildy to a table where Rich and Chelsea were waiting for them Jim pulled Hildy’s chair away from the table and Hildy slid into it. As he pushed her in he noticed Ashley walking into the dining room with her date, Steve Sadowski.

Steve Sadowski was two years younger than Jim. He studied Engineering like Jim and Rich, but that was about all they had in common with him. He was on the short side, but wiry and had played on the hockey team during his first year. Despite his Slavic name he had olive skin and his hair was neither long nor short. He had a greasy look and his favorite jokes seemed to be tests of perverted ideas that must have been racing through his mind.

“Ashley and Stevie are sure to keep one another busy tonight,” Jim thought.

“Oh, I want to sit with Chelsea,” Ashley said in a voice loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

She scurried into the seat next to Rich, which was across from Hildy. Steve took the chair along side hers.

Ashley was carrying a cup full of the Silver Moon punch from upstairs. Jim guessed that it might not be her first one of the evening.

“Ashley and Steve, this is Hildy,” Jim said, performing the obligatory honors.

“I noticed,” Ashley replied.

She turned to Hildy.

“I like your gown,” she said, “or should I call it a skirt?”

“It’s a skirt,” Hildy answered.

Ashley giggled a bit.

“Why did you take off the poodles? It doesn’t seem complete without the poodles.”

Ashley looked at the others at the table, expecting them to laugh at her joke. Chelsea gave out a polite laugh. Steve did, too. Ashley laughed some more to make up for those that didn’t understand the joke and weren’t laughing.”

“They weren’t poodles. They were hearts,” Hildy said. “I wore this skirt to a Valentines’s Day party two years ago.”

“You should have left them on,” Ashley said. “They would have been cute.”

“I don’t have money to waste on formal gowns that I plan to wear a single time,” Hildy countered. “I thought this would be okay.”

“Oh, it is,” Ashley replied. “And I like your no-make-up look. It’s so…so (ahem)… natural.”

“Let’s talk about something else,” Jim said.

Jim felt Hildy’s hand on his leg. He knew she was telling him not to make a scene.

“Right,” Rich said, “it’s supposed to be nice at the lake tomorrow and…”

“Well, Jim,” Ashley interrupted, “I can see that you understand that beauty isn’t everything.”

Jim leaned close to Hildy.

“Why don’t you go to the Ladies’ room and powder your nose?”

“I don’t need to powder my nose,” Hildy whispered back. “Please, just let it go. It doesn’t matter to me.”

Hildy had almost convinced Jim. He knew that Ashley was nearly drunk. The glassful of super-punch that she’d carried into the dining room was nearly empty.

“Stevie,” Ashley said, “I need another glass of punch.”

Steve started to get up to go on his errand.

“I see that you two are drinking beer,” Ashley said to Jim. “I understand it’s the preferred beverage of the working class.”

Jim rose to his feet. He leaned over and put both hands on the table, pressing in as close to Ashley as he could.

“That’s enough, Ashley. Knock it off,” Jim said.

“Don’t tell me to knock it off,” Ashley shot back. “You knock it off or I’ll let everyone know a few things I know about you.”

“Be my guest, Ashley. Tell them anything you want.”

Ashley opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it before any words could come out. To Jim, she looked unhappy and a bit ugly. It had never occurred to him to see her that way before. He waited for a second for her to speak, but she didn’t.

He knew that Ashley wanted to reveal his problem, but one revelation often leads to more of them and the world’s ears feast on unintended disclosures.

“I didn’t think you’d have anything to say,” Jim said. “Now, like I said, knock it off.”

“And what if I don’t? What’re you going to do about it?”

“If you don’t knock it off, Ashley,” Jim said in a voice loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, “I’ll go upstairs with little Stevie and put him on the Disabled List. Then, you’ll have no one to sleep with tonight and you can walk home all by yourself in what there is of your green dress with your boobs falling out of it.”

He straightened up and stared Ashley in the eye to let her know that he meant what he was saying. Steve Sadowski was standing alongside her with a stupid look on his face.

“Hey, man,” he said, “don’t threaten me. I didn’t do anything.”

“She’s your date Steve,” Jim said and pointed his finger at him. “Take care of it.”

Jim sat down. He glanced at Hildy and he noticed that her face had turned red. She leaned over close so she could whisper something to him.

“I’m glad that you decided not to make a scene,” she said.

Jim took a deep breath. He knew that he’d made a scene and he hoped that he wouldn’t have to make good on his promise to injure Steve Sadowski, especially with his wrist being strained, and all. He looked around the room.

“Look, everyone, there’s a table over there with only two couples at it. This table is a bit crowded. I think Hildy and I are going to move over there.”

Hildy and Jim moved to the table across the room. It was occupied by two of his younger fraternity brothers in their second year of pre-med with their dates. Jim didn’t know them very well—they stuck to themselves more than not because of their academic workload.

“It would be a shame to leave school without getting to know these guys better,” he thought as he crossed the room with Hildy.

“Hi, guys, this is my date, Hildy,” he said. “Do you mind if we join you?”

Jim pushed Hildy’s chair in and then seated himself. Hildy leaned close to Jim.

“What did she mean when she said that she knows some things about you?” Hildy asked.

“A long time ago she thought she was going to have sex with me and it didn’t turn out. She got mad and she hasn’t gotten over it yet.”

“How long ago?”

“It seems like another lifetime,” Jim told her.

The premed brothers were looking at each other, and then at their dates and then at Hildy, and then at Jim. Hildy was looking down at the table.

“Look, Hildy, you asked me. I didn’t do it with her because I was thinking about you, in case you’re interested.”

He knew he was in trouble and wondered why he was, even though he had avoided telling her one of his polite, little, white lies. The ugly little topic might have served to dampen his and Hildy’s plans to ‘make tonight the night’, so he was eager to smooth things over.

“Are all your fraternity parties like this?” Hildy asked.

“No,” Jim answered, “this is one of the more exciting ones.”

Hildy laughed and shook her head. The pre-med brothers and their dates relaxed and laughed with her.

“Look, Hildy,” he said, “Let’s enjoy our dinners and get to know these people. Then, we’ll go a few times around the dance floor and after that we’re out of here.”

********************

After a few minutes the dinner party settled down and Hildy seemed satisfied with what Jim told her. The pledges did a good job serving dinner and the food, a chicken dish, turned out to be pretty good, if predictable. Jim and Hildy had a pleasant time talking with the pre-med brothers and their dates. He had taken some of the same Chemistry courses for which they were in the midst of finals preparation.

There were no more incidents with Ashley, although Jim noticed that she polished off another full glass of punch and half of another.

At dinner’s end, Jim and Hildy decided to go upstairs. They could hear the band warming up. They were among the last couples to arrive on the dance floor.

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you at dinner,” he told Hildy as they were walking up the stairs.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I didn’t want you to make a scene, but in a way, I’m almost glad that you did. Just promise me you won’t do it again on the dance floor.”

“It wouldn’t be possible. The band will be too loud. No one would be able to hear anything, no matter what is said.”

“Just for being bad, I’m going to make you dance two more dances before we go back to your apartment,” Hildy said.

“I’m not a very good dancer, Hildy.”

“I know,” she said, “I danced with you in the Shakespeare room last summer. You’re not as bad as all that.”

Hildy stood out on the dance floor, being as tall as she was. Jim knew it, but it didn’t bother him. The music was loud, as he had warned her. Hildy seemed to be having fun, so Jim was happy to stay on the dance floor with her longer than he planned.

As he looked at the other couples he could see that some of them had been drinking more after they came upstairs from the dining room. Jim and Hildy had finished off their beers during dinner and hadn’t had anything else to drink. They had no interest in the vodka punch and the beer machine was all the way up on the third floor.

Jim had been keeping an eye on Ashley. He noticed that she was drinking a lot of Silver Moons. She was weaving about the dance floor and Jim knew she was drunk. After a while he looked up and found that he had lost track of her. Steve Sadowski was missing, too.

“At least we know that Ashley won’t be driving home in her condition,” a thought he kept to himself.

He glanced at his watch. It was ten-thirty. They had been on the dance floor longer than he had realized. At that moment he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Rich.

“Chelsea and I are all partied out,” Rich shouted over the thumping bass. “We’re going to head over to her apartment. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Rich left and Jim turned to Hildy. She was leaning close to him with an expectant expression that Jim liked.

“I think I’m all partied out, too,” she said. “Let’s dance one more and then we’ll go.”

It was what Jim was hoping to hear. The band began playing their next number—a slow one. It was a Charlie Rich song:

'Cause people like to talk

Lord, don't they love to talk

But when they turn out the lights

I know she'll be leaving with me

And when we get behind closed doors

Then she lets her hair hang down

And she makes me glad that I'm a man

Oh, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors

The song ended; it was a good note to end on, considering all that had happened. It was time to go back to the apartment.

“I think that song was our cue,” Hildy breathed into Jim’s ear,

“Let’s go,” he said, and took her hand and headed for the door.

He was glad that he hadn’t had much to drink. It would better driving and when they got back to the apartment he wanted all his senses in good working order.

They stepped out the back door into the parking lot. His Rustmobile was right where he’d left it and the band’s pick up and trailer was right where it had been the last time he’d seen it.

“They’re going to have to move this,” Jim said.

“I don’t think they can move it,” Hildy said. “They’ve got someone behind them, too.”

Jim recognized the car. It belonged to Joe Lawrence, one of Jim’s good friends.

“That’s Joe’s car. He’ll move it if I ask him to. Then the band can move their rig.”

Jim looked into the cab of the truck. There was a fuzzy looking guy sleeping in the passenger’s seat. He must have been one of the band’s set-up crew.

“Hey, wake up,” Jim shouted at him, “you’ve got to move this truck.”

“Can’t do it, man,” the sleepy helper mumbled. “Haven’t got the keys. The guy playin’ the drums has got the keys.”

“Well go get them from him,” Jim said.

“Can’t, man. I don’t know how to back up the rig—especially in so small a space.”

Jim began looking about, hoping he could figure out a way that he could thread the Rustmobile around the band’s rig. But the Rustmobile wasn’t a threading around kind of car.

“They’ll be done with their set in about an hour, man,” the sleeper said. “I’ll get him to move it then.”

“Please don’t forget,” Jim told him.

It would be better that way. By the time he found Joe and got him to move the car, and then got the band member to come out, it would probably be an hour, anyway.

“I’m going to find the guy who owns that car behind you and tell him to meet us out here when the band breaks,” Jim told the helper. “You make sure that the drummer is out here with the keys.”

Jim turned to Hildy.

“I’m sure you heard everything. We’ll have to wait until the next band break. We can go up to the third floor and have a beer while we wait.”

They made their way back inside the house. Jim found Joe on the dance floor and asked him to move his car at the break. Then he and Hildy went up the stairs. When they got to the third floor the hallway was empty. Jim reached into his pocket for a couple of quarters.

“I’ve only got one quarter left, Hildy. We’ll have to share.”

“That’s okay,” she answered. “Is there a Ladies’ Room around here?”

Jim popped the top on the beer he’d just bought and then took a look in the third floor head.

“There’s no one in there,” he said. “I’ll stand guard and make sure that no one goes in.”

He could tell that Hildy wasn’t crazy about that idea and he also knew she hadn’t much choice. She disappeared behind the door. Jim was pretty sure that no one would be using it right away, but he kept watch just the same, while he sipped his beer.

In a few minutes he heard a flush and then the one of the faucets in the sink running. The restroom door opened and Hildy came out. She hesitated as she passed the room in the corner. The door was half-way open. She stood there looking in. Jim didn’t understand what she was looking at.

“You better get over here,” Hildy called to him.

She sounded serious and Jim set down the beer bottle and walked to where she was. Hildy pointed to the scene inside the room.

It was Steve Sadowski’s room. He was there, along with Ashley and two of the younger fraternity brothers, Dave and Glen. Ashley was lying on the floor. Steve was standing over her, straddling her torso. The other two were sitting on a sofa. All of them were nude. Ashley wasn’t moving as she lay on the floor. Steve was masturbating as he stood over her.

“Stay here,” Jim said to Hildy.

He marched into the room.

“What’s going on in here?”

Jim detected the smell of recently burned grass. The two boys on the sofa were laughing. Steve didn’t say anything and it appeared that he was close to ejaculating.

“Ashley is pulling a train,” one of the sofa boys giggled. “Glen and I already gave her a paint job.

“I’m the caboose,” Steve struggled to grunt and he worked himself.

Jim gave Steve a push on the chest and he fell backward to the floor.

“Hey…” Steve protested, but Jim ignored him.

“What does Ashley say about this?”

He bent down to her and could tell that she was passed out and incapable of saying anything. There were spatters and globs of semen on her face, chest and belly.

“How much has she had to drink?” Jim demanded.

He didn’t get an answer, but Jim knew that she was already drunk when he had seen her on the dance floor. He spotted a pitcher half full of Silver Moons on a chest of drawers with four glasses surrounding it. Ashley’s gown lay in a heap in the corner of the room.

“Ashley, Ashley,” Jim called, trying to get her to respond.

Ashley turned her head to the side and vomited about a cupful of Silver Moons mixed with chicken dinner on the floor next to her.

“Get some clothes on and then get out of here!” Jim told the three boys.

Steve had risen to his feet and was staggering about.

“Go screw yourself,” he slurred at Jim. “This is my room and she’s my date. You’ve got no right…”

“Neither do you,” Jim said. “Now, get some clothes on and get out of here—and I’m not going to tell you again.”

The three drunken brothers started shuffling around and struggling with their clothes that had been scattered about the room.

“A pair of pants will be enough,” Jim said. “Once you’re decent, ask Hildy—that’s my date—to come in here.”

In a few minutes Hildy was kneeling beside Jim looking at Ashley.

“Let’s get her cleaned up,” Hildy said.

Jim opened a drawer in a dresser and found someone’s towels and washcloths. He tossed a towel to Hildy.

“You can start with this,” he said. “I’ll get some water on these.”

He returned in a minute to find Hildy wiping the semen off Ashley’s face. She had vomited again. Jim started collecting Ashley’s clothes.

“I hope she’ll be alright,” Hildy said. “What are we going to do with her?”

“We can drop her off at her apartment. Rich and Chelsea will be there. I’m not sure exactly where it is. I can call them in advance.”

“Let’s try to get her into her clothes,” Hildy sighed.

Ashley’s body was limp. It was a struggle, but after some effort they coaxed her into her green gown~~got her dressed~~ well enough to take her downstairs.

There was a student directory on one of the desks in the room. Jim found Ashley and Chelsea in the book and dialed their number. There was a recorded message saying that the phone was out of order.

“Rich and Chelsea must have taken the phone off the hook,” Jim told Hildy.

“Well, let’s get her out of here,” Hildy said.

Ashley was too drunk to walk. Jim lifted and carried her out of the room. It would have been easy except his injured wrist was painful. Steve and his two accomplices were sitting on a sofa waiting for them.

“You guys are fools,’ Jim said to them. “If this had gone further, who knows…”

“Screw you,” Stevie spat back.

“Fools,” Jim repeated and carried Ashley down the stairs.

When they arrived at the first floor the band was on break, but Jim could tell that the party wouldn’t be breaking up for a while.

“I don’t know who to leave her with,” he said to Hildy.

“We’ll take her with us,” she answered.

In the parking lot Joe Lawrence had just moved his car and the band’s rig was backing up. Jim bundled Ashley into the back seat of the Rustmobile. He went over to Joe Lawrence who was looking at him with a puzzled look on his face.

“Ashley got pretty drunk sand passed out,” Jim explained.

“I thought she was with Steve Sadowski,” Joe said.

“He’s out of it, too” Jim said. “We’re taking Ashley with us so she can sleep it off and we can keep an eye on her. If anyone cares, let them know that she’s with us.”

*******************

Ten minutes later Jim pulled the Rustmobile into the driveway. Ashley was lying across the back seat. When Jim opened the door she murmured something he couldn’t understand and he could see right away that she was still too drunk to make the short walk down the terrace steps. Hildy helped him drag Ashley out of the back seat and Jim carried her into the apartment.

“We’ll have to put her in your bed,” Hildy said.

Hildy turned down the bedspread and Jim set her down.

“Let’s get her out of these clothes.”

Jim lifted Ashley up so that Hildy could slide the gown off her. She had collected Ashley’s underwear and shoes in a bag at the fraternity house and brought it with them.

“I don’t have anything to put on her,” Jim said.

“That’s okay,” Hildy said, “she can sleep naked under the covers.”

She pulled the covers over Ashley.

The drunken young woman was motionless under the covers of Jim’s bed. Jim bent low a couple of times to convince himself she was breathing. She was, and her breath smelled of booze and vomit at the same time. Jim figured that some sack time sleeping it off could only help things get better.

“Naked in my bed,” Jim mused, “I guess she finally got what she wanted.”

“Never mind that!” Hildy scolded and Jim felt he was in trouble again.

Hildy drew up a desk chair that was in Jim’s room.

“I’m going to keep an eye on her until I’m sure she’s okay,” Hildy said. “She might throw up again and choke. Someone should be here if she wakes up.”

Jim grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater. He made his way to the front room and changed his clothes. Rich’s bottle of cognac hadn’t been touched since the night that Darlene and Hildy visited for the Colgate game. Jim decided it was time to get it out again. After searching for a few minutes he found the snifters and filled one each for himself and for Hildy.

“I brought you this to work on while you’re watching her.”

He handed one of the snifters to Hildy who took a sip. She had changed into her jeans while he’d been in the front room, and then retaken her place in the office chair watching Ashley.

“I haven’t had any of this since Darlene and I were here last fall,” she said.

She paused for a few seconds and looked down into the cognac, which must have had the appearance of maple syrup in the darkened bedroom.

“I think that might have been the night that I fell in love with you,” she told him. “At least it was when I thought I might.”

Jim was standing beside her. He bent low and kissed her on the forehead.

“That bed was meant for us,” he said.

“I know,” she said as she grasped her hand. “Something has gotten in our way again. Maybe we’re jinxed. But what could we do?”

“I don’t believe in jinxes,” Jim said. “When things like his happen, something comes of it later on.”

They watched Ashley for a while. It was clear that she would be passed out for a good while longer.

“Maybe we should have left her in the fraternity house,” Jim said.

“No, we couldn’t do that,” Hildy said. “Think of what she looked like on the floor. She would have woken up like that with those three naked guys around her. Who knows what else they would have done. It would have been so humiliating for her.”

“I suppose…” Jim started to say.

“I know what that feels like, to be looked at and laughed at and shamed. To be the subject in everyone’s joke, for everyone to be talking about you in the worst way. It’s worse than humiliating. It makes you feel like you’re nothing.”

“You’re being pretty nice to someone who wasn’t very nice to you not very long ago,” Jim reminded her,

“There’s a time for holding grudges and getting even, and this is not it,” Hildy answered.

Jim took a sip of his drink. He looked down at Hildy sitting and watching. Her blonde hair seemed to glow in the darkness, almost like a halo.

“You’re a nice person, Hildy,” he said.

Hildy didn’t answer, but Jim knew that she’d heard him.

“Actually, I take it back,” he said. “’Nice’ is too weak a word. You’re a First-Class person—and at the top of that class, as well. At least that’s what you are in my book.”

“Your book is the only one that matters to me, Jim,” Hildy said, not taking her eyes off of Ashley.

“I love you, Hildy. That’s the only thing else I can say.”

They watched together another hour and it looked like Ashley was sleeping it off. Hildy was trying to stifle a yawn, but Jim saw it.

“You better get some sleep on the sofa. You’ve got to drive to your Aunt Mildred’s in the morning—and I think it’s almost morning now. I’ll stay with Ashley.”

Hildy got up and went to the front room. Jim was behind her but stopped in a closet and got her a blanket. Hildy collapsed on the sofa and drew the blanket around her. Jim kissed her, then refilled his cognac and returned to the bedroom and sat in the chair that Hildy had been using.

He was sure that Hildy was asleep already and he was thinking about her. He had told her that he loved her and he realized how easy the words came out. He had seen a different side of her and in what he’d seen she had earned his respect.

“We didn’t get to make love tonight, but this was better.”

***************************

Jim stayed with Ashley until he finished his last sip of cognac. Her breathing was regular and Jim was quite sure she’d be alright. He went to the front room where Hildy was sound sleep on the sofa, the blanket that he’d given her drawn up around her face. He sat in the easy chair nearby and soon felt himself drifting off to sleep, as well.

The next thing Jim remembered was the smell of coffee and a shaft of light trying to pry his eyelids open. He realized it was morning, and then he felt Hildy’s kiss on his forehead.

“Good morning,” she whispered in his ear. “I’m making French toast for us.”

It was a good morning, as he remembered the events of the prior night. He pulled himself out of the chair and stretched and then made his way into the bathroom. When he came out Hildy was setting the table.

“I didn’t realize you don’t have any Maple Syrup, but I thought we could use this jam instead.”

“Hildy,” he said, “this has got to be the most civilized breakfast that’s ever been served in this apartment.”

They sat down across the table from one another. Jim was taking a sip of coffee.

“I love you, too,” Hildy said.

Jim looked up at her. It wasn’t what he was expecting her to say.

“I heard you say it last night,” Hildy explained. “I didn’t answer then. I don’t know why. It was something I’ve been hoping to hear from you for months and there it was. I was thinking about it until I fell asleep.”

“I’m sorry,” Jim said, “it should have been in a more romantic setting…”

“It was perfect,” Hildy said to him. “The sound of it is still in my mind. I’ll never forget it. You just said it—it just came out without a hint or coaxing. It was natural. I knew that you meant it.”

“I did mean it—I still mean it,” Jim assured her. “I meant everything I said.”

Hildy looked down at her food, which she hadn’t touched.

“I wish I could stay with you today,” she said, “but I have to go to Aunt Mildred’s. It would hurt her so if I skipped it. As it is, I’ll probably be late. It’s just that she’s getting old and…”

“It’s okay Hildy,” Jim said. “I think things are going to start happening fast. They have to. Graduation is going to make it that way. Then we can make plans.”

Hildy nodded that she understood. She reached across the table and clasped his hand with one hand and ate with the other.

“I’ll have to get going soon.”

“At least stay until I take Ashley back to her apartment. I don’t want her to wake up and find only me and then get the wrong idea.”

They heard Ashley stirring in the bedroom.

“I’ll clean up the dishes. You go in and talk to her,” Hildy said.

Hildy got up and began to clear the plates. Jim went into the bedroom. Ashley had turned over on her side.

“Ashley, can you hear me? I know you’re awake.”

He heard a grunt from under the covers.

“Ashley, I know you don’t feel well, but we’ve got to get moving soon. I’ll take you to your apartment as soon as you get ready.”

She pulled the covers from her face and squinted at Jim.

“How did I get here?” she demanded. “Where is Stevie?”

Jim recounted the basics of the prior night’s events. Ashley said nothing.

“You can use the bathroom if you want. I put a clean bath towel out if you want to take a shower. There’s a new toothbrush in its box, too. Your clothes are over there. You can cover yourself with this. It’s the best I can offer you.”

He tossed one of his sweatshirts onto the foot of the bed. In another situation Ashley might have been a seductress, clad only in a sweatshirt that barely reached below her hips after sleeping naked in Jim’s bed—but not that time

Jim left the bedroom. He went back to the kitchen to see if Hildy needed help with the dishes. After a couple of minutes they heard Ashley heaving in the bathroom.

“It sounds like the patient is ambulatory,” Jim said.

“I’ll leave when you take her home. I’m going to collect my things in the bedroom.”

Hildy was gone for a few minutes. Jim saw her returning to the living room and at the same time Ashley came out of the bathroom. The two women looked at one another.

“I’m glad you feel better,” Hildy said.

Ashley didn’t say anything. She turned and went back in the bedroom and closed the door.

“Don’t expect any thanks from her,” Jim said to Hildy.

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied. “It wouldn’t mean anything, anyway.”

“I want someone to take me home now,” Ashley said from the hallway leading to the bedroom.

TO BE CONTINUED

*************************************

Dear Readers,

I know that the scene in this chapter in which Ashley is drunk in the fraternity house has some parallels to the recent rape trial that took place in Steubenville Ohio. In fact, this chapter was written and submitted for editing before that trial came into the news spotlight recently. The scene is an integral part of the chapter and the overall story. I don’t think that a plot change is warranted. I did not intend to take advantage of the unfortunate situation in Ohio and I regret any mistaken assumptions to the contrary or if it detracted from anyone’s enjoyment of this fictional work.

Thank you for reading my story and I hope that you have enjoyed it so far and you will continue to do so.