Having Fun All Summer Long Part B

Having Fun All Summer Long

Part B -- A Dinner To Remember, A Wedding and Long Overdue Visits

Bill returned to Florida the week of Tyler and Paige's wedding. Rather than drive, he flew down to Tampa this time. Denae picked him up in the car line at the front of the airport where they hugged and kissed so long, a police officer intervened to make Denae move her car, which was impeding traffic. When they arrived at Denae's house, Bill received a warm handshake from Mr. Sam and a long hug from Ms. Serena. For this visit, there was no discussion about where Bill would sleep; Serena had prepared the pool house for him to be sure he would not suffer from neck or back pain from the bed in the guest room.

By now, Denae's parents were comfortable with Bill and he with them. To the Rapallinos, he felt more like a family member than a guest. Bill, though still respectful and polite, was able to relax and be himself.

When he first returned, Bill and the Rapallinos caught up on what had happened in the intervening weeks since his last visit. Much of the news on their end was recounting Suzy's visit. Both of Denae's parents had reveled in Suzy's antics, which included telling risqué jokes around the pool, constantly talking about Scott, flaunting her breasts in swimwear and casual attire, and encouraging them all to drink lots of margaritas.

The week of Bill's return would be a busy week, more so for Denae than Bill. Denae had several events and obligations related to her role as a bridesmaid in Ty and Paige's wedding. Bill would be a guest at the wedding and reception, and he was to play golf with Ty and his groomsmen and other guests. In addition, he and Denae would have dinner with the bride and groom one evening.

Bill found himself looking forward to the golf outing. Though it would require him to push himself outside his comfort zone by meeting new people and socializing, he was looking forward to playing a round of golf. He was very relieved when Ty informed him they would play together in the same foursome and share a cart.

During the round, Ty and Bill had an opportunity to get to know each other better. Bill was well aware that Tyler had been Denae's boyfriend in high school, so he had been apprehensive around Ty when they first met the previous Thanksgiving. But Ty had been very gracious at that meeting and a few times on the phone since. And through the course of the golf outing, they talked about the loves of their lives; Paige and Denae.

"You know, Denae is absolutely in love with you, right?" Ty mentioned as they waited to tee off on number four.

"Well, I know I'm in love with her. I hope she feels something for me."

"She sure does. We still talk and she shares things. In fact, before you came down for Thanksgiving last year, I had already heard all about you. And I remember the first time, she mentioned you, she told me she met a guy from her art class and she said, 'he's different.'"

"Different," Bill repeated. "I've been called worse, but ouch."

Laughing, Ty continued, "No. She said you were different from other guys she'd met. Nice. And serious, yet fun. She liked the way you treated her; like someone who genuinely cared for her, not just being nice to get in her pants."

Once they were back in the cart, Ty resumed, "For a while, every time we talked, she would tell me, 'Bill did this,' or 'Bill said that.'" It was 'Bill, Bill, Bill' for a while."

Bill pointed out that he was lucky to have found Denae and described how much she meant to him. "But, I don't have to tell you how great she is. You know that. And I can't help but be curious; what happened to you two?"

"I was a total asshole," he said with a heavy sigh. "After high school, we were headed to different colleges, so I thought I wanted to be free, and I broke up with her."

Bill was surprised. For some reason, he had thought that Denae had ended things between them. It was not because of anything Denae had told him; he just assumed that no one in their right mind would ever do anything to lose her.

"Wow. I didn't expect that," Bill said.

As the cart rolled to a stop, Ty looked over and said, "Yeah. But ya know? It's all good. I found Paige. And Denae found someone who's a lot better for her than I ever could have been. Seems to me things worked out like they should have. Ya know? I'm really glad she found you. I didn't deserve her, but you? Well, she told me how you did all the work on her car. I never would have thought to do that. You really care about her. Things like that prove it to her and everybody."

Between the golf, the beer, and talking about their girls -- and Ty's best man driving one of the carts into a lake, Ty and Bill discovered they genuinely liked each other. By the end of the round, they had bonded.

The next evening, Ty, Paige, Denae and Bill had reservations for dinner together. Ty had originally suggested the idea so, he had chosen a restaurant in downtown Tampa and had offered to drive the four. When he and Paige arrived at the Rapallinos, Sam and Serena were happy to see Ty for the first time in many months and were glad to meet Paige. All six visited for a few minutes before the two young couples departed for dinner. Ty was compelled to park in a nearby parking deck since the restaurant did not offer any valet parking; meaning the four would need to walk nearly two full blocks to the restaurant. The girls were annoyed they would need to walk in their high heels, but neither complained out loud.

The restaurant was very nice and Bill, Denae and Paige each complimented Ty on the choice. They started with a drink and an appetizer as they socialized and perused the menu. After they ordered, Denae mentioned she needed to visit the restroom and asked Paige if she also needed to go. Paige declined and Denae went off on her own. Just then, Ty's phone rang and when he looked at the screen, he announced he had to take it as it was about the rehearsal dinner. He excused himself from the table, leaving Bill and Paige alone.

Bill noticed that Paige's demeanor changed as soon as Ty had stepped away. She took a swig of her wine and looked at Bill. "So, does it bother you that they stay friends?"

Taken completely aback, Bill asked, "Huh? Are you talking about Denae and Ty being friends?"

"Yeah. Does it bother you? You know they used to fuck each other in high school, right? Doesn't it bother you they're still friends?"

Bill shook his head slowly as he considered what he would say next. "I really don't give it a lot of thought."

"Well, I do. And I'm not too comfortable with it."

"But you asked Denae to be in the wedding,"

"Pff. That was Ty's doing. It wasn't my idea."

Bill looked around to see if either Ty or Denae were on their way back to the table. Satisfied they were not, he leaned in. "Paige, if I'm being honest, when I first met Ty, I felt a little awkward. I mean, I knew they dated in high school. But now I don't see the big deal. I don't feel like I have anything to worry about. I hope I'm right about that. I think I am. And I can tell you, you sure don't have anything to worry about. He's totally in love with you. He spent the entire day on the golf course telling me so. And before that, back at Thanksgiving he went on and on about how he was looking forward to proposing to you and hoping you would say, 'yes.' He was showing everyone the ring and everything."

She huffed. "Well then why does he still need to be in touch with Denae?"

Bill paused again. "I've never had a lot of friends, so I'm no expert on friendship. But I do know this; friends can be awfully important in life. There have been times I could have used a friend. And I guess they both realize friends are important and that they should hold onto their friends. And I'll tell you this too; Denae could be the best friend you ever had, if you would just give her a chance. She's loyal and honest and trustworthy. She'd do anything for people she cares about. You'd be lucky to have her in your corner."

"But she's so fucking pretty. I think that's why Ty keeps in touch," she said angrily.

Bill shook his head. "I don't know what else I can tell you. Ty's marrying you, not Denae. They're really just friends. If it were more than that, I would need to be worried too. And I'm just not."

At that point, Bill saw Denae coming back across the dining room and leaned back. When she rejoined the table, she noticed Ty's seat was empty.

"I see Ty left you two alone. Hope you've had something to talk about while we were gone," Denae said cheerfully.

Smiling at her, Bill said, "As a matter of fact, we spent the whole time talking about our significant others."

She took Bill's hand and looked over at Paige. "Well, Paige. You sure got a good one in Ty. And I can tell you he can't wait to marry you."

Paige smiled a smile which appeared fake to Bill. "I love him so much. I wouldn't want anything to ever come between us."

Ty soon reappeared and plopped down in his chair, explaining the catering manager for the rehearsal dinner needed some guidance, but that he was finished with that chore and would now be able to pay attention to the gathering at hand. The four had dinner and conversation and laughs. Bill watched Paige throughout to see if her attitude toward his girlfriend was softening.

After dinner, Ty suggested the four go to a nearby gourmet ice cream shop and the idea was met with near unanimous agreement. So, the two couples walked arm in arm toward the shop. It was on the same street as the restaurant, but further away from where they had parked the car. After eating ice cream, they decided to go back to the car and stop for coffee on the way back to the Rapallinos. Ty suggested a short cut back to the car and the girls, tired of walking in heels, enthusiastically agreed.

The short cut was through a dark alley. Ty and Paige were walking ahead of Bill and Denae on the sidewalk and, as Ty turned the corner into the alley with Paige, Bill asked if going into a dark alley was a good idea. Paige responded that it was if it meant they would save steps. Bill looked into the alley as they took the next few paces and could see only one small portion in the middle that was illuminated by light from a window; the rest was very dark. Without saying anything, he switched Denae from his right side over to his left. She was unphased by the move and put her arm though his left arm.

Ty, Denae, and Paige continued to talk as the four proceed down the alley. Bill, not comfortable with the idea of taking this short cut, was silent and vigilant. As they approached what looked like the middle of the alley and stepped into the lighted area, Bill heard a scuffling sound, followed by a voice. "Gimme all your money and your fuckin' phones and keys."

The four pedestrians froze, and Paige screamed. Bill strained to see into the darkness but was unable to make out who was demanding their possessions. He could only tell the voice was coming from in front of them. Instinctively, Bill used his arms to force Denae behind him to shield her from whatever danger the disembodied voice posed.

"Why should we hand over our stuff?" Bill asked into the darkness.

"So you don't get your ass shot," the voice snapped, as a figure partially emerged from the shadows.

Paige screamed again. And Ty, seeing how Bill had positioned himself between Denae and the robber, did the same with his fiancé.

"Okay. Okay. Let's just calm down," Bill said. He could not clearly see their attacker's face, but he could see the glint of light reflecting off the gun the man held. "Everyone. We should do what he says."

"Thas right mutha fucka. Ya'll do what I says," the still unidentifiable man said as he waved the gun between Bill and Ty.

Ty had stepped back and was now even with Bill; the girls were behind them. Paige was crying, but Denae remained calm. She felt safe in the knowledge that Bill would somehow protect her. Bill was studying the man with the gun, gauging his size and the surroundings as best he could in the low light. He did not yet have a plan, but was mentally cataloging all available information so he could formulate one.

In a voice meant to calm his friends, Bill addressed the bandit. "Alright mister. There is no need for the gun. Why don't you just put that down. We'll give you everything you want."

"What the fuck?!" Ty exclaimed. "You really want us to just hand him all our stuff?"

"Yes, sir. That's exactly what we're going to do," Bill said sternly.

Addressing the gunman, who had drawn closer and was now about eight feet away, Bill added, "See? You'll get what you want. Now, please put the gun away. There is no need for anyone to get hurt."

Raising the gun directly at Bill's head, the mugger snarled, "Oh, your asses are gonna get hurt if you don't start puttin' your stuff on the ground."

At this point, Bill's arms were still behind him and he pressed them against Denae's sides. He patted her in an attempt to reassure her before moving his arms to his sides and then raising his hands to shoulder height. With the gun pointed at him, Bill was able to see it was a small caliber revolver, probably a.38. He could see the hammer was cocked and the man had his finger on the trigger. For the safety of Denae and the others, he wanted the man to keep the gun pointed at his head, calculating a shot fired at his head height would fly safely over Denae and would not be in the direction of Ty or Paige.

"Okay. Just calm down," Bill said calmly. Looking over at Ty, he continued, "Everyone, I'll go first. I'll show you how we'll do this and then we can all go home."

The mugger looked over at Ty and Paige, but kept the gun pointed straight at Bill. Bill moved slowly as if to offer the gunman an unspoken assurance of his full cooperation. He reached one hand behind his back. "Okay. Just be calm. I'm just reaching for my wallet."

As he brought his hand back around, he held it up, showing the robber his wallet. "See? Here's my wallet. I've only got about forty bucks in here, but you can have it all."

"Ya'll better have more than forty fuckin' bucks or all your asses are gonna get shot."

"No. No. This is just the start. We've got two wallets and two purses. I'm just going first," Bill said as he gently waved his wallet for the robber to see.

"Hand that shit over," was the reply as he pointed his gun again.

"Here you go. Everyone, watch me. This is what you'll need to do in just a second." With that, Bill held up his wallet and things happened very quickly from this point. Rather than stretch his arm out toward the mugger, Bill tossed the wallet. He made sure to toss it up in the air, arcing toward the hold-up man, knowing that human nature would compel the gunman to follow the item with his eyes and his hands.

While the attacker and Bill's companions followed the arc of the wallet in the air, Bill watched the attacker, rather than his wallet. As soon as the gun was pointed up in the air, Bill launched himself toward the mugger. Bill arrived just before his wallet did, catching the gunman by surprise. At impact, Bill grabbed the man by the throat with his right hand and the wrist of the attacker's gun hand with his left hand and pushed his arm skyward. The momentum of Bill's body drove the attacker to the pavement, where Bill landed on top of him.

The force of Bill's hand on the man's throat drove his head into the pavement hard. As soon as Bill and the predator were on the ground, Bill headbutted him in the nose with all his might. The combination of Bill tackling him, him striking his head on the hard surface and Bill smashing his nose left the mugger dazed. Bill took advantage of this by pushing the gun hand up and away from his companions. Then he picked that hand up and slammed it against the pavement, causing the robber to pull the trigger. There was a harmless click instead of a gunshot. The gun had either been unloaded or the hammer had landed on an empty chamber. The click of the gun caused Paige to scream again and Ty to gasp.

Bill then repeated the action, smashing his hand into the pavement again, forcing the gunman to release the gun.

With the attacker now unarmed and still dazed, Bill rolled him over, so he and the mugger were both seated facing Denae and the others and wrapped his arms around the attacker's neck. Bill looked up at Denae. She was relatively calm; certainly calmer than Ty or Paige. "Ma'am. I need you to please go over to that gun."

Denae shook her head as if to clear cobwebs from her brain but then nodded and walked past Bill and the robber and stood over the gun. She was about to reach down, but Bill stopped her.

"Please don't pick it up yet. Just take a look."

Denae looked down at the revolver.

"Does it remind you of the one I taught you to shoot?"

She studied the weapon. "Yeah. Yeah, it does. I can shoot this."

"Well, please don't shoot it. That's not what we want right now. I hate to ask you to do this, but would you point it away from yourself and the rest of us and unload it safely?"

Denae agreed and reached down to pick up the gun. While she was doing this, Bill felt the attacker begin to tense up, starting to regain his senses. Bill leaned to his ear. "Ah ah ah. Don't move."

The culprit ignored that and started to try to roll in an effort to free himself from Bill's grip. In response, Bill squeezed his arms, constricting the arteries in mugger's neck. In an instant, the man went limp. Bill reduced the pressure. When he felt the man move, Bill spoke to him again. "I put you to sleep. That's what a choke hold does. I cut off the blood flow to your brain and you go to sleep."

"Mutha fu--"

Bill squeezed again, putting him back to sleep but kept pressure applied for a couple of seconds before loosening his grip. While he was out, Bill asked Denae to think back to the firearms training he had showed her at his farm. She held the gun with the cylinder open and two fingers sticking through the frame and pushed the plunger. However, nothing came out. The gun was empty. By now, Paige had stopped screaming but was crying and holding Ty tightly. Ty was silent as he watched Bill holding the attacker and Denae holding the gun. He looked as if he was about to speak, but did not, instead putting his arms around Paige.

When Bill felt the mugger start to wake up again, he started talking to him again. "Hey, hey. Don't make me do that again. I'm not sure what happens when your blood supply to your brain is cut off too many times. Just relax."

Bill felt the man make a half-hearted attempt to move. It was little more than a jerking motion. Other than that, he remained still.

"What's your name?" Bill asked.

The miscreant reacted as if that was a strange question but did not answer. When Bill offered to put him to sleep again, he said, "Campbell."

"Good. Campbell, just relax. This will all be over soon and we can all go home; including you." The mugger grunted and nodded in the affirmative.

Bill looked up at Ty. "Sir, would you be able to assist me with something?"

Ty nodded, still in shock at the situation. Bill asked him to come over and stand next to him. Bill then asked the mugger if he had anything in his pockets that would harm anyone; any weapons or anything sharp. The assailant shook his head no and cussed at Bill. At that point, Bill instructed Ty to gently press on the man's hoodie pocket and his front pants pockets to see if he had anything in them. As Ty reached down to start this, Bill reminded him to gently press, not grab or push hard, just in case the mugger had lied. Ty carefully checked and let Bill know he did not seem to have anything in his pockets. Bill then rolled himself and the mugger partly over to one side and instructed Ty to check his back pockets.

"What am I looking for?" Ty wondered.