This is the second installment of my story about a family with an interesting dynamic. In this chapter, I will begin to tell you the backstory of the title character and how his life experiences made him into the man he is today.
*****
Chapter Two: The Lovers Meet
Twenty years before, very early on a particularly ordinary Saturday in the late spring of 1986 a young Psychology Doctorial candidate named Jackson Cranston Powell (Harvard to his buddies) stumbled, very inebriated into the donut shop on North Main Street in Normal, IL and passed out in the booth nearest to the door. It was 2 AM and he had been out celebrating with friends after successfully defending his thesis on the treatment of a newly classified psychological illness named 'Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome'.
He knew he had 'nailed it' because he overheard comments like 'groundbreaking', 'inspired', and 'revolutionary' from the committee as they discussed his dissertation (they had left the door partly open and he was evesdropping). He was sure that he was a shoe-in for a vacancy on the faculty of the Psychology department at Illinois State University. There was an opening because of the retirement of the department head due to his advanced age and failing health.
The pretty young blonde waitress observed him and said nothing for an hour or so, noticing that he reeked of alcohol. She checked on him to make sure he was alright periodically until thirty minutes before her shift was about to end at five. She shook him awake and told him he had to wake up and leave, "Because my shift is over in soon and my boss will throw your drunken ass out on the street when he gets here!"
Jackson opened his eyes to see the most beautiful blue eyes and red pouty lips he had ever seen. Eventually he realized that his head was pounding asked, "Could you please bring me a large cup of strong black coffee, beautiful lady? My head is pounding and I can't drive until I come out of this alcohol induced coma."
"Coming right up." She said, noticing his speech to be much more 'proper' than the farmers and college boys she was used to serving. She grabbed the largest ceramic mug she could find and filled it to the brim from the pot that had just finished brewing.
She carried the steaming cup over to the booth and set it down in front of the disheveled man. Since they were the only two people in the place, she sat across from him and began to study his demeanor as he drank and began to come back to consciousness. After he drank about half of the cup, Jackson was finally able to open his eyes without the light hurting them.
At first he thought that she was an apparition, but soon realized that the lovely blonde in front of him was indeed real. "My god you are beautiful!" he blurted out without thinking, and then said "I'm sorry young lady, I'm normally not this forward but I've been celebrating and I have had far too much to drink."
"I'm sure that you have," she said turning beet red, and continued, "so what in the world were you celebrating anyway?"
"I was successful in my defense of my Doctoral thesis and I'm being considered for the faculty vacancy in the Psychology department at ISU!" he said grinning from ear to ear.
"My goodness Professor, that definitely is something to celebrate!" She replied thinking 'my, this isn't any ordinary drunken college boy here'. As she studied him closer, she guessed him to be in his mid-twenties, with dark brown hair, eyes that appeared to be brown, but were too bloodshot for her to tell, tall and slender, perhaps six feet tall and about one hundred eighty pounds.
"Oh, I'm not a full professor yet, my dear, I'm just a candidate so far. I won't be confirmed until the entire board votes in August and after old man Willoughby retires" he replied, and then gazing at the little waif he guessed to be only five feet tall, continued "I'm terribly sorry, but we haven't been properly introduced, I'm Jackson Powell, Doctoral candidate."
"And I'm just plain Elizabeth Thompson, Underclasswoman in Elementary Education, and part time coffee server." She said as she stood and curtseyed. Sitting back down, she asked "Mister Powell, might I ask where you are from? You don't sound like you are from the Midwest. I sense that you are from somewhere back east, am I right?"
"You are a very perceptive young woman, but I guess my 'Hahvahd' accent does make me unique. When I first got here, everyone asked me if I knew the Kennedys, I only wish. I was born to a working class family in Cranston, Rhode Island but my grades were good enough to get me into Harvard where I earned my BA in psychology with a minor in philosophy. When I was not accepted into their postgraduate program, I thought my life was over until your Doctor Willoughby accepted me and arranged my fellowship here. Interestingly enough, I seemed to fit right in and haven't left since." Jackson said, and continued "By the way, there is nothing plain about you, and the College of Education here is one of the toughest in the nation."
"Well, I don't know how much longer I will be able to stay in school, because my sister kicked me out because she doesn't like my boyfriend. Right now I'm crashing at his place but he's drunk most of the time and... I'm talking too much. Look, you are a really nice guy and I like talking to you, but I need to go home now." she said and got up and noticing her boss had arrived, rushed into the back room.
Jackson sat there stunned for a few minutes. When she didn't return, he finished his coffee, got up, and walked to the cash register to pay his tab. The day manager was there counting the change, and getting ready for the morning rush. Jackson handed him a $20 and said "I had two cups of coffee, make sure that Elizabeth gets the balance for her tip" turned around and walked out the door.
He climbed into his beat up, rusty brown 1972 Ford LTD and headed back to the campus to crash for the weekend. When he got to his tiny post-grad apartment, his next door neighbor Harold stopped him at the door asking "What the hell happened to you last night, Harvard?"