Bill turned his junky-looking, mid-50's vintage car onto the street that led to the nearby Cal State University, and ran a nervous hand through his dark brown hair. He was hoping he hadn't kept Candy waiting long, his 20-year-old car had refused to start that Saturday morning until he had thumped on the starter motor a few times with a piece of iron pipe. He promised himself that he would personally fix that right after graduation. It had to last long enough until he could afford regular payments on a new car.
He looked down the block and breathed a sight of relief when he saw her just walking through the doors of her apartment building to wait at the curb. She was easy to spot from a distance, her bright carrot-red hair shone like a beacon in the June morning sunshine. Bill never tired of looking at her, her creamy complexion with its spray of freckles, her sky-blue eyes, her plump, curvy body and the sure way she moved. He was pleased that she'd lost some of her introverted self-consciousness and started wearing clothes that fit well instead of the shapeless, baggy things she favored when they first met at the annual University Athletic Department party.
Bill had barged into the middle of a philosophical discussion between Candy and two of her teammates and tried to be gallant by shooing away a drunken classmate of his. Candy had traded sarcastic remarks with him for most of the evening, but somehow they fell into each other's arms and didn't let go. They had been an item around the campus for the last two years. Some found it odd that a trim fencer would fall for a curvy weightlifter, but they took delight in each other's wit and humor.
Bill pulled over to the curb where Candy was waiting. Today she was wearing a reasonably tight souvenir tee shirt over jeans that hugged her curves. The generous slopes of her breasts made it somewhat difficult to read the weightlifting competition logo and message on the shirt. Her event was powerlifting and though she looked plump and soft, there was coiled steel hiding beneath the softness. She tossed her book bag into the back seat and slid across the front towards Bill.
"Good morning, beautiful." He grinned at her, starting their usual morning banter.
"Not beautiful," she snorted as always, "I'm the fat girl, remember?"
"That's bullshit, beautiful." He corrected her then leaned towards her for a welcoming kiss.
She always ran one hand into Bill's dark hair, holding him close and letting his droopy mustache tickle her skin. His agile, precise fencer's hands played with the sensitive spots on her lower back and just below her ear. She usually made a little happy noise when he did that. Not quite a moan, but something just between an "ahh" and an "mmm."
After a few minutes, they untangled their tongues and headed for the University library. With graduation so close, they both had last minute classwork to finish. They kept busy for the next few hours, their noses deep into their books, notes and papers. A bit past one o'clock Bill mentioned that it was about time for lunch.
"We can go to my place, I'll make sandwiches." He promised.
"Yeah, I've got enough info to finish up there. Let's go." She gathered up her books and papers.
======
Bill's mother Julie was finishing her own classroom paperwork when they arrived. Her elementary school would soon be out for the summer and she had deadlines to meet for her student's grades and evaluations. She looked up briefly from the cluttered dining room table when Bill and Candy walked in.
"Hi Candy, good to see you. There's some sun tea in the fridge. Bill, you'd better set another jar out to brew."
"Thanks, Mrs. P." Candy grabbed cups from the cabinet and filled them with iced tea while Bill dropped teabags into a gallon jug of water. He walked the jug out to the sunny part of the porch, then returned and took inventory of the sandwich fixings.
"What would you like?" He asked, poking around in the refrigerator. "Ham and cheese, just cheese or peanut butter and jelly?"
"Tuna salad?" She asked hopefully, pointing to a can on the cabinet shelf.
"Tuna it is." Bill threw together the sandwiches quickly and put sliced watermelon on the side. "Grab your books and we can sit outside in the shade."
======
They stayed outside after eating in the shade of the backyard tree, perched on folding aluminum and webbing chairs. Unlike the library, in the backyard they were free to joke and touch each other as they pleased. After a while, Bill's mother let them know that she was going to the supermarket to pick up some supplies for dinner. They waved at her and went on with their studies and teasing.
"The webbing on these chairs is going to leave a waffle pattern on my backside." Candy complained as she reached around and adjusted her seat. Finding an envelope still in her back pocket, she brought it out.
"It's a shame to ruin such a pretty bottom with a waffle pattern. What's that?" Bill caught sight of the envelope.
"Here I thought you'd say something about pouring syrup on waffles." She stared at the envelope, flipping it over before continuing. "It's a reply to a resume that I sent out. It came yesterday, I haven't even opened it yet."
"Don't keep me in suspense, open it." Bill leaned over to look a bit closer. "Nebraska? You sent a resume halfway across the country?"
"I sent out a lot of resumes and only got a few decent offers. Nobody wants to pay very much for a recent graduate with only a bachelor's degree in math. They all want a Masters or Ph.D." She tore the flap open, extracted the letter and scanned it. "Wow, this is the best offer I've had so far, by about 20 percent. I'd be crazy not to take it."
"But Nebraska?" Bill looked worried.
"I know, it's a corny place, but there's a lot of insurance companies in Omaha and they all need actuarial data. This is from a consulting firm that does data acquisition, actuarial tables and statistical auditing. It's a lot of finite math and statistics. Bill, this is a great job."
"Omaha." He said, letting it bounce around in his mind. "Nebraska. I... I thought we'd stay around here. I've got a decent offer from a company that makes electrical controls for heating and A/C. It's just on the other side of town."
Candy looked at him, noting his worried expression. "You've never been on your own, have you? I didn't realize that. It's okay Bill, it's not that difficult."
