This story was inspired by an old Bruce Springsteen song of the same name and used without permission. Sometimes, being careful doesn't always work out.
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A Cautious Man: Chapter 1
Bill Orton was a cautious man. He was also a skillful, organized, disciplined, and thoughtful man. Even at age five, his parents were impressed with his neatness and organization. His clothes, his toys, and his schoolwork were all placed in an orderly, specific manner in his room. He rose at the same time every day. He was never late for any meal, school, or church. He dressed neatly and never came home in a disheveled or unkempt state without good reason.
Young Bill was also curious. When a toy broke, he would examine it to see what had happened and attempt to repair it. Now and then he succeeded. As he got older, he became very analytical about how things worked. His curiosity led to discovery, which led to knowledge. With his father's encouragement, he learned all there was to know about the inner workings of the gasoline engine, electric motor, and a variety of mechanical devices that were found around the house. He got great satisfaction as he restored an old toaster or vacuum cleaner to operating status.
As Bill entered high school, he was an enigma to his schoolmates. It wasn't that he was shy or withdrawn, but no one in his class could say they knew him well. Bill just didn't let anyone get too close. He had a small number of male friends, and while a few of the girls wanted to get to know him, most of them failed. Only Sandra Thompson was able to make any impression on Bill, but at best, it was a very tenuous relationship based on their partnership in chemistry class. Physically, Bill was of medium height at 5' 9" but deceptively strong. No one would call him handsome, but neither was he homely. He was just plain Bill.
He had a long fuse. It took quite a bit to anger Bill, or even draw a heated response from him, but when he reached his breaking point he was a dangerous opponent. When he was sixteen, a bully from the senior class decided to provoke Bill with taunts about his quiet nature. Unable to elicit a response, the young punk decided to push Bill around, all the while spewing epithets concerning Bill's family and his heritage. He never saw the punch that decked him. It caught him flush on the chin and his lights went out immediately. By the time he had picked himself up off the ground, Bill had disappeared along with the bully's audience. After word got around, no one bothered Bill again.
Bill was an average-to-above-average student in school. It wasn't because he wasn't smart, but his interests lay in the mechanical world while his studies involved wider subject material. He did fairly well in mathematics because he spent a lot of time on his homework. He passed chemistry with Sandra's help and he did well in physics because he knew it was important to his main interests. He struggled in history, English and Spanish classes. It wasn't for a lack of effort, but it didn't come easily to him and it took all his energies just to pass the required courses. He had one very important thing going for him however, his teachers. Every one of them wanted him to succeed. They saw his effort and dedication and exemplary behavior, and they gave him every opportunity and assistance they could legitimately provide.
Bill was the only child of Fred and Violet Orton. They were a happy, middle-class family living on the outskirts of Cambelltown, in a three bedroom brick bungalow with a basement and a detached garage. Fred Orton was an accountant at the local furniture factory and Violet was a stay-at-home mother. They loved their son, Bill, and yet never spoiled him. Fred was also mechanically inclined and an all-around handyman. He encouraged Bill with his interests and was outwardly proud of his son and his accomplishments. He was a highly motivated young man and a diligent worker. He may not have been the quickest, but he was the most thorough and his work seldom, if ever, required correction.
The Ortons owned one car until Bill was 17, when he spent most of his savings to purchase a used, mid-sized pick-up truck with a camper shell. A local printer produced 500 single page flyers for Bill, advertising his services as a handyman. Within six months, Bill Orton had successfully combined his school work with his entry into the entrepreneurial world. He was now officially a businessman.
Bill's father volunteered to help him with his bookkeeping and tax responsibilities. When Bill graduated from high school, he had an established and profitable business. Bill thought there would come a time to think about expansion. He was working out of the family home and that couldn't go on indefinitely. He discussed his ambitions with his father and handed him his written business plan. His father looked at it and endorsed the concept. It was conservative and very well thought out. As he leaned back in his easy chair, reading his son's prospectus, he was smiling to himself. His son was everything a parent could hope for. If only he could find a way to help him with his personal relationships. Bill was a loner and Fred worried that it would hinder his future happiness. He wasn't sure if Bill had ever even had a date.
Fred and Violet met at a local church social. Fred was studying accounting at night school and working in an office during the day. Violet Shepherd was a cashier at the supermarket and had just broken up with her long-time boyfriend who had decided he was going to join the Navy. She had no ambition to live in married quarters on some naval station, waiting who knows how long for her husband to return from sea duty. She wanted a steady, reliable man who would be home for supper every night and would love, protect, and provide for her. She had no unrealistic ambitions.
Neither Fred nor Violet would be described as beautiful people. But beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder. When they met at the social, they were almost immediately attracted to each other. They sat and talked, and at the end Fred asked Violet for a date. She immediately said yes. They dated for three months before they became intimate. Both of them virgins, it was an awkward union to begin with, but over time they became comfortable with each other and even a bit adventuresome. Eventually, Fred produced a ring and they set a date.
They had been married two years when Violet happily announced to Fred that she was pregnant. She quit her job at the supermarket and stayed home awaiting the birth of their first child. All went well until the third trimester when Violet began to have some problems with fatigue and her breathing and was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. Bed rest was ordered and when she finally delivered, it was a healthy son, William Frederick Orton, 7lbs. 9oz. Her doctor advised her against becoming pregnant again. As was the custom at that time, she was referred to a gynecologist, and a hysterectomy was performed. The Ortons' were resigned to being a one child family.
Chapter 2:
Bill lost his virginity a few weeks before his twenty-first birthday. It didn't happen in a usual or predictable way. It wasn't expected or planned, it just happened. He had been called to the home of Darla and Gordy Therrien. Apparently, there was a problem with the kitchen sink and the garbage disposal unit. Bill had plenty of experience with this type of problem. People were invariably putting silly things down the sink with the mistaken idea that the noisy, thrashing sound would look after it. He was sure this was another jammed machine with bent blades and possibly a burned out motor. If it was both, it wouldn't be worth fixing. He had a couple of spare, sealed motors that might do if they would fit the casing. He would just have to pull it apart and see what was needed.
Darla Therrien was about to step into the shower when she heard the doorbell ring. She cursed, thinking that the repair man wouldn't be calling this early, would he? She pulled her robe on over her naked body and walked to the front door, looking through the peep hole first. She didn't recognize the young man, but she could see his truck in the background and she was sure it was young Orton. She opened the door to him.
"Good morning, ma'am. I'm Bill Orton. I'm here to see about your kitchen sink." Darla was impressed. He was dressed neatly and he was polite. Surprisingly, he was also quite young.
"Come in. I'll show you the problem," she said as she led him to the kitchen. She stepped to the sink and turned the water on. It wasn't draining very much, if at all. She pressed the switch on the disposal unit and all that could be heard was a humming sound. Bill reached around her and turned the machine off.
