Lorelei and Me

Lorelei and Me

The Beginning

I met Lorelei Jones in a rather strange and bizarre way. By happenstance I was about three hundred yards behind her Mercedes sports car driving down one of the many country roads around our small Wisconsin town. I had delivered some feed and supplies to a local farm from my families feed and tack store and was on my way back. The road we were on was a typical rolling farm country road. As Lorelei was about to pass through some woods that were on both sides of the road a deer bolted from the left side of the road into Lorelei's path.

She reacted quickly, but wasn't quick enough to avoid hitting the buck. Her brake lights gleamed brightly while pieces of her cars trim flew up into the air in slow motion as a result of the impact with the deer. Her car swerved to the right and then plowed head on into a tree bringing the car to an abrupt stop. I stomped on the gas of my old pick-up in an effort to close the distance to the wreck, stopped, jumped out and immediately went to the driver's side of the car to see if Lorelei was okay. I was able to wrench the car door open and saw that the air bags had deployed and were slowly deflating. I could smell the aroma of gasoline and didn't want to risk either one of us to any further danger, so I pulled my pocket knife from my pocket and punctured the airbags.

When I saw Lorelei, she had a bloody nose, but I couldn't detect any cuts or other blood. As I undid her seat belt, she looked at me with obvious confusion as she said, "I think I know you. What happened?"

"You've had an accident," I replied. "I need to get you out of the car because I can smell gas. I'm going to lift you from the car now, so if you feel any abnormal pain let me know." She nodded her head slowly, so I reached down under her legs with my left arm, put her left arm around my neck, grabbed her around her back to her right-side arm pit, lifted her up and pulled her from the car. I carried her to my truck, opened the passenger door and set her down on the seat. It was awkward because she was facing the wrong way, so I set her down facing out of the door and handed her a tissue from my glove box for her nose.

"Okay, I'm going to call for the police and an ambulance. I'm guessing that you haven't broken your legs or arms and that your back is okay." I pulled my cell phone from my pocket, but had no signal sitting as we were in the woods in a hollow. I thought for a second and decided to run Lorelei to the hospital myself. "Lorelei, I have no cell signal here, so I'm going to take you to the hospital. I'm going to buckle you in and then we'll leave after I do a couple of things.

I got her buckled in, closed the door and then walked around to the driver side and grabbed some road flares. I set the flares off and placed them in intervals away from Lorelei's car to warn others of the wreck. When I was satisfied, I jumped into my truck and headed to town as fast as I could. As I passed her car I could see the dead buck laying off to the side of the road and the crumpled mess that was her car. As I crested the hill, I had a couple of cell bars, so I called 911 as I drove.

When the operator picked up, I said, "I'm enroute to the county hospital with an injured 18-year-old girl who was in an accident on County Highway A. She hit a deer and then ran head on into a tree. I couldn't detect any problems other than a bloody nose and her eyes weren't dilating properly, so I think she has a concussion." At that moment she vomited on herself. "She just vomited. I'm exceeding the speed limit to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible and should be there in 10 minutes." She began asking me all sorts of questions that I couldn't answer, so I said, "I'm sorry, but I need to concentrate on driving. Just let the hospital ER know I'm on my way!" I then hung up.

As I pulled up to the emergency area, there were several people with a gurney standing by as I screeched to a halt. They immediately went to work pulling Lorelei from the truck and laid her on the gurney. I quickly parked and ran into the ER to check that she was okay. As I watched the team check her out I decided I should notify her parents.

I knew that her father was the president of the town bank, so I looked up the number and called. When I got the bank operator, I said, "I need to speak with President Jones, it's a family emergency." The operator was making noises like she didn't want to forward my call, so I said, "His daughter has been in an accident and she's currently in the county hospital ER!" She told me to hold please and forwarded the call.

When Mr. Jones answered he asked, "Who is this and what's going on?"

"Mr. Jones, my name is Ben Lawrence, my Dad owns the feed store. I happened to be behind Lorelei as she was driving down Highway A when a deer jumped in front of her. She hit the deer and then ran head-on into a tree. I think she suffered a concussion, but nothing else seems hurt. I drove her to the hospital and got here about 5 minutes ago."

"Okay, thanks Ben. I'm on my way down there right now. Thanks for calling and for everything you've done. Stay put and I'll see you in just a few minutes."

Next, I called my Dad and told him where I was and what happened. He told me he was proud of me and said he'd call the Barnes farm and let them know we'd deliver their stuff tomorrow. I laughed and said, "Dad, I made the delivery, I was on my way back."

A few minutes later a man in a suit came bustling into the ER, locked onto me and hurried over. "You must be Ben. I knew your Mom and you look just like her. How's Lori doing?"

"I don't know, sir. They won't tell me anything."

"Okay, I'll go check and see what I can find out. Wait here, I need to talk to you."

He went off in search of answers. About 20 minutes later, Mr. Jones walked up, sat next to me and said, "Lorelei will be fine. She has suffered a concussion as you surmised with no broken bones. They figure the concussion was the result of the airbags. They're going to keep her for a night or two and as soon as they get her settled in her room she'd like to see you." He wanted to know what happened in detail, so I related everything that happened.

When I finished, he said, "You acted quickly and bravely considering the smell of gas. What are your plans for the future?"

I thought that that was an interesting segue, but answered, "Well, come Fall I'll be attending UW and majoring in pre-med."

Mr. Jones smiled and said, "After today, I think that you'll make a good doctor. Do you have a specialty in mind?"

"Actually, I just want to be GP with a private practice. I've always admired Dr. Robert our family doctor and want to follow his example."

His smile got broader and said, "Jesse is a very good role model. He's a fine doctor and a good friend of mine."

All of a sudden, a beautiful woman came running into the waiting area eyes wide in terror. Her daughter was a spitting image of this woman, just a bit younger. She saw the two of us and ran up to her husband. He stood and pulled her into a hug as he said, "Lorelei is fine. She suffered a concussion, but thanks to the efforts of this young man was cared for promptly before anything else could befall her." She turned and looked down at where I was sitting, so I stood up as Mr. Jones said, "Honey, this is Ben Lawrence the young man who helped Lori. Ben, this is my wife, Honey."

I stuck my hand out to shake, but she pulled me into a hug and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you. So, what exactly happened?" I related the tale once again. She asked a few questions which I answered.

Finally, a doctor walked in and asked, "Mr. and Mrs. Jones?" They both nodded, so he continued, "Your daughter will be fine. She suffered a moderate concussion, so we'd like to keep her here for a night or two under observation. We have her in a room and she's anxious to see you."

As they headed out of the ER, Mr. Jones turned to me and said, "Come on Ben, she'd like to see you too."

I followed along until we got to Lorelei's room. I stood back to allow the family to have their little reunion. Her mother was particularly distressed until Lorelei told her she was fine. After about 10 minutes, Lorelei looked at me and said, "I know, I know you, but I don't know your name I'm afraid to say."

"I'm Ben Lawrence, we've gone to school together forever, but we don't really run around with the same people. I'm glad you're feeling better and if there's anything I can get you let me know."

She smiled and said, "Well, thank you for coming to my rescue. I'm sorry for vomiting in your truck."

Her face got red, so I said, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, that's one of the signs of a concussion and can't be helped. It will be easy enough to clean up. Anyway, I should get going back to work."

Lorelei smiled at me and asked, "Will you come and see me tomorrow, please?"

"I'd be happy to. It was nice meeting all of you, I just wish it was under better circumstances."

Mr. Jones shook my hand and said, "When Lori is back home we will have you over to dinner one night. Say hi to your Dad for me."

As I drove back to the store, I couldn't help but think about Lorelei. She was, probably, the most popular girl in school all through our school years. She's beautiful, slim, blond and blue eyed. I had always admired her not just for her looks but for her smarts as well since she was always one of the brightest students. She, however, ran around with the popular kids in school while I was relegated to one of the less popular groups. Actually, I didn't really have a group I was associated with because I had always had to work in our family feed store.

I was always the biggest kid in school and strong because of all of the sacks of grain and bales of hay I've had to toss around over the years. I got a lot of pressure in high school to play football, but I couldn't due to having to work. I'm guessing because I took part in no extracurricular activities was the reason people didn't really know me. So, it didn't surprise me when Lorelei said that she didn't know my name.

When I got back to the shop, it was closing time, so my Dad said we should head home. I told him that I would be along in a bit because I had to clean up Lorelei's vomit in the truck. When I got home, Dad had dinner ready, so we sat and ate. My Dad wasn't a very talkative man anyway, but was even less so since my Mom died. She had suffered through a terrible battle with breast cancer which took its toll on the two of us, especially my Dad.

"By the way, Mr. Jones from the bank said to say hi. I didn't know you knew him."

Dad chuckled and said, "Jerome and I used to be best friends in school. We had a falling out because we were both in love with your mother. Jerome was from a rich family and I, as you know, was from a farm family. Your Mom chose me over him and he wasn't used to losing, so he dropped us both from his life. I was always sad about that because I really liked him, but what can you do. Thanks for telling me."

The next day I told my Dad that I was going to visit Lorelei at the hospital during my lunch break. He told me to go ahead and take my time. When I got there, I went to her room where she was sitting up and watching TV. I knocked on the door jamb and asked, "Is this a bad time?"

When she saw me, she smiled brightly and said, "Not at all, you're saving me from horrible daytime TV!"

I had stopped to buy her some flowers on the way in, so I sat, handed her the bouquet and said, "These are for you. So, how are you feeling? Any headaches?"

Lorelei laughed and said, "You sound like my doctor, but yeah, I have a bit of a headache. Nothing too bad. So, I really want to thank you for everything you did for me yesterday. I felt really stupid not knowing your name since we've always been in school together. I hope you will forgive me."

I laughed and said, "There's nothing to forgive, other than classes I was never around, so people didn't really get to know me."

"Well, I'm glad I know you now. By the way, you're really strong, aren't you? You picked me up out of the car like I was a feather and carried me to your truck. Do you lift weights?"

"Nah, it's because I work at my Dad's feed store. I pick up and carry bags of feed and bales of hay all of the time. I've done that for years plus I'm pretty big. Besides, you don't weigh all that much to be honest."

"So, Dad said that you want to be a doctor like Dr. Robert. I think you'd make a great doctor. I'm going to go to nursing school at UW this fall."

"Really? I'm going to UW as well."

"I know, my Dad told me. Oh, thanks for the flowers too, that was sweet. My stupid boyfriend was here earlier, sat with me for about two minutes and didn't bring anything. I think I'm about done with him."

"Who's your boyfriend?"

"Chad Emery, you know the quarterback on the football team."

"I know who he is, but don't follow football. Kind of like with you, we've gone to school together for years but never talked."

Lorelei got kind of red faced and said, "Well, I'm sorry now that I never talked to you over the years. You probably think I'm pretty stuck up, don't you?"

I chuckled and said, "Honestly, I don't think anything of the sort. I was never around to be stuck up to, so don't worry about it."

"Well, if that's the case, then how do you know my name and that my Dad works at the bank?"

I turned red and said, "Well, you're the prettiest girl in the school and always have been, so people take notice of you, if you want to know the truth. Besides, your family is well known in town, so it wasn't that difficult."

Lorelei seemed to enjoy my embarrassment and said, "You think I'm the prettiest girl in school?"

"Of course you are, everybody knows that! Are you fishing for complements?"

It was her turn to be embarrassed now, so she laughed and said, "I like you. Thanks for coming to see me."

"Trust me, it was my pleasure. I should get going back to work. If it's all right, I'll stop by again tomorrow if you're still here."

"I'd like that. Why don't you give me your phone number and I'll call you if they let me go home."

I gave her my number as she put it into her phone. When she had finished, she called me and said, "Now you have my number."

"Okay, well I hope you feel better. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I look forward to it. Have a good day."

I turned to leave and made my way back to the store. I caught myself smiling and decided that I really liked Lorelei Jones. She was very nice and a pleasure to talk to. As I walked back into the store my Dad smiled at me and said, "I know that look!"

"What look?" I asked.

He laughed and said, "I looked like that every time I saw your mother. That my boy is the look of love!"

I was taken aback and said, "I'm not in love, I hardly know her!"

"You may hardly know her, but she's gotten under your skin. She's a beautiful girl, Ben and beautiful girls have a way of getting under our skin. Just you wait!"

As I got back to work, I was thinking about what my Dad had said and decided that he had a point. Lorelei Jones would be very easy to fall in love with. But, she and I came from different worlds and the chances of us getting together were slim and none. Besides she has a boyfriend who comes from her world.

The next day was Sunday, so our store was closed, my Dad's one day off. I told him I was going to go to the hospital and look in on Lorelei and then I'd come home to do my chores. He said that would be fine, so off I went. On the way to the hospital I picked up a Teddy Bear for Lorelei. I poked my head into the room but before I could get away unnoticed, Lorelei called out, "Ben! Come in." Her boyfriend Chad and some of his buddies were there.

I made my way into the room, handed her my gift and asked, "How are you feeling?"

She smiled brightly and said, "I'm feeling much better Dr. Lawrence and thanks for the Teddy Bear. You know Chad, Mike and Bill?"

I nodded to the three and then said, "I should leave you to your boyfriend."

"No, please stay. You just got here. Do you have to work today?"

"Nah, we're closed on Sunday's. Are you going to be able to go back to school tomorrow?"

"I don't think so. They want me to take a few days off and make sure I don't have any issues due to the concussion."

At about this time, several girls from school came into the room. They were, obviously, friends of Lorelei. All of them were part of the 'popular' kids group at school, so I didn't really know any of them. Lorelei introduced me to Alice, Beth, and Emma. "Ben is the person who rescued me the other day."

Things were getting kind of awkward and since I was the odd person, so I decided to take my leave. "Lorelei, I've got to get home and take care of my chores. I'm happy you're feeling better. I'll see you later."

As I passed Chad he muttered, "Not if you know what's good for you." I stopped, looked at him and laughed then continued out of the room.

I heard Lorelei call out, "Thanks for the Teddy Bear!"

When I was in the corridor, I heard her say, "What's wrong with you Chad? He's a nice guy and much more considerate than you are. He brought me flowers and a bear and all you brought was Mike and Bill!"

I had to laugh as I left and headed home. When I got there, I mowed the lawn, mucked the stalls, hosed them out, threw down fresh straw and fed the horses. When I had finished and my Dad had finished his chores we sat together and I asked, "Dad, what are you going to do when I'm off in Madison at school? I don't think you can take care of the shop and around here by yourself."

"Well, Ben, I think I'll get someone in to do the stuff you do around here a few days a week. I'll, also, hire someone to work at the store. I'll be okay and I don't want you worrying."

"Maybe we should sell the horses?"

"Your Mom loved the horses, so no, I'll keep them. Actually, I was thinking we could board a few to bring in some cash. At least enough money to pay for a hand around here."

On Monday I was back in school and I could hear murmurings about Lorelei's accident and could see people pointing at me. I didn't really think about it too much until school got out and I was surrounded by Chad and his two buddies. Chad was a bit shorter than myself and a bit smaller weight wise, but he looked to be in pretty good shape. He stepped right up to me nose to nose and said, "Look ass wipe, stay away from Lorelei."

I noticed a number of people gathering with their phones out. I guess I needed to respond, so I replied, "And why should I do that?"

"Because you'll get hurt otherwise asshole. She's my girl and she's going to stay that way."

"Oh, is that a fact? She was telling me the other day she was getting tired of you. Besides, who's going to hurt me? You?"

"God, you're a stupid shit kicker. Yes, me and my boys here!"

I had to laugh and said, "I'm the stupid one? I'm holding down a 4.0 GPA. For your information that's straight A's. I'm pretty sure that you're a straight C or D student based on the drivel that comes out your mouth during class."

Chad's face was getting pretty red as I was making him angrier and angrier. At that moment, I turned around and began walking away. He screamed out, where are you going chicken shit? Are you afraid?"

I stopped and said, "No, I just don't want to hurt you. So, why don't you and your pals let it go and go home."

This last comment was one too many for Chad, so he charged me while swinging wildly, I stepped aside and buried my right fist in his gut and swore I could feel his spine. As he bent over in pain, I hit him with a right uppercut and crushed his nose. I then picked him up and tossed him into the bed of a pickup truck I was standing next to.

When he saw his pal was out of it, Mike decided it was his turn, so he came at me as well. Now Mike was considerably larger than Chad, but he was mostly fat. He took a wild swing as well which I ducked under and then I buried another fist into his fat gut and then did the same thing to his nose. Like Chad, I picked him up and tossed him into the truck as well. When I looked at Bill I guess he thought better of coming at me, turned and ran away.