Thanks to my editor, Nymphwriter, and my loyal beta readers who found my errors and made suggestions to improve my story. Any other errors you may find are mine alone.
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It's said that opportunity only knocks once, and am I ever lucky I answered that knock. Looking back, though, my childhood wasn't all that lucky. Dad and mom both worked to provide enough income to feed my brother and me. We always had food on the table, but money was tight. While other families went to Disney World on vacation, our vacations were inexpensive alternatives—camping out or visiting relatives.
Mom was our moral compass. She was strict and upright—a proper mom who taught us to always do the right thing, even if we had to go out of our way to do it. She also demanded we be polite and respect women.
Dad always told my brother and me that we should learn as much as possible so we could get a job that made us indispensable. He said we could make more money by using our head than by using our hands. With that thought in the back of my head, I took all the math and science courses I could.
Although my high school was small, I had a great science teacher who introduced me to electronics. He was the physics teacher, and after school was the advisor for the robotics club. He taught us about electronic chips—microcontrollers and op amps, as well as the usual resistors, capacitors, and transistors. He also taught us how to make our own printed circuit boards, how to solder, and how to write software to program the microcontrollers. I think I learned more from him outside class than in it. I read and absorbed every electronics book or magazine I could get my hands on. Anyway, my grades were good, and he steered me toward a career in electronics engineering.
I applied to a Midwestern university, well-known for its engineering curriculum, and was riding high when I was accepted. My parents weren't wealthy by any means, so if I was going to college, I'd have to supplement my college tuition by getting a part-time job.
I'd say my lucky streak began when I arrived at college in 2004, my first time away from home. Like most of the other freshmen, I experienced some homesickness, a sense of freedom from parental control, and a sense that I was now living in an adult world. Within a few days after arriving on campus, I had a job at a local pizza carry-out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights, and sometimes on weekends when they were short of help.
The one problem I had was chemistry for engineers. It was a mandatory course, and it had a reputation for eliminating many would-be engineers. Essentially, it was a 'washout' course to trap the unwary who weren't dedicated to hard work. If I didn't get past chemistry, that would be the end of my hopes for an electronics education. I pulled a 'B' in high school chemistry, but it wasn't one of my favorite subjects. I liked math and physics much better.
Checking the schedule for chemistry lab, I saw students were paired off alphabetically by last name. Searching down the list, I found my name, M. Thomas, paired up with another student, E. Thompson. I was hoping he could help me through the quagmire of this mandatory course.
The first chemistry lab was devoted to mostly checking out and inventorying our lab equipment. It turned out my lab partner, E. Thompson, was named Emily. I introduced myself as Michael.
After our introduction, I found out she was a business major. Oh great,' I thought, 'This is my toughest course, and I'm going to be saddled carrying this woman through chemistry the entire year.'
Emily was only one of three women in the lab, but she was, by far, the best looking. She was slim with auburn hair cut in a bob hairstyle that nicely framed her face. She had a pixie nose and pouty lips. Her eyes, though, were her best feature. Those azure, expressive bluish-green eyes held my attention from the first look.
We hit it off from the beginning. She had a quick smile and a wonderful sense of humor.
I asked her a question, "What is the first rule in chemistry lab?"
She replied, "Safety first?"
"Nice try, but hot glass looks exactly like cold glass," I said.
She laughed and came back with, "Did you hear oxygen and magnesium got together...? Omg!"
We went back and forth like that most of the lab. I loved the way she teased and the way her eyes twinkled.
As we were inventorying and putting our chemistry equipment in our locker, she surprised me by correctly identifying every item on the list, even though some of the equipment was unfamiliar to me.
When we finished, I was hoping the lab was longer, because I really enjoyed being with Emily. I think she felt the same way, because when the graduate student who monitored the lab said we were free to leave after we'd turned in our inventory form, Emily hung around for several minutes just to chat.
I looked forward to the next chemistry lab. Another week, and a couple more labs later, we became more friendly. Emily seemed to know a lot more about chemistry than me. I asked her, "Why are you taking chemistry for engineers when you're a business major?"
She replied, "My dad wants me to know a lot about chemistry, because that's our family business. This was the only chemistry class I could get into."
Chemistry for engineers was reputed to be one of the toughest courses on campus. The fact that Emily, a business major, was in the course didn't make a lot of sense. I wondered how she knew so much about chemistry. By the fourth lab, I got the idea she was sandbagging chemistry class.
"Emily, did you understand everything the professor said about stochastic processes and entropy in yesterday's lecture?"
"Yes, why?"
"Well, I'm struggling with chemistry, and I won't be able to stay in the electronics engineering program if I don't pass it," I said.
"Would you like me to help you?" she asked.
It didn't take me long to answer 'yes' to her offer. It allowed me to spend more time with this angelic co-ed whom I drooled over. So Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Emily and I spent a couple hours in a study-date going over what we'd covered in chemistry the past week.
The next couple of weeks, Emily and I got to know one another a lot better. Like the chemical bonds between hydrogen and oxygen, there was a special chemistry between us. We attended the home football games together. I took her to a movie one weekend and another weekend we attended a local fall festival. We agreed to become boyfriend and girlfriend.
Emily and I held hands and kissed passionately a number of times, but we hadn't gone beyond hugging and kissing. During those study-dates, Emily's roommate, Sharon, was usually there, so heavy make-out sessions were out of the question.
When Sharon wasn't there, I got the impression the way Emily came on to me that she was interested in sex. I would have considered it, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her my dark secret.
At one of our chemistry labs, Emily said, "Daddy wants to meet you."
"Why would he want to meet me?" I asked.
"I told him all about you. He and mom are passing through town on a business trip tomorrow, and I'd like to introduce you to them, if you don't mind."
The next evening, I met Emily's father and mother, John and Lisa. They were a nice-looking, almost middle-aged couple, reminding me of my own parents. Lisa and Emily had the same hairstyle. I could also see that Emily shared the facial features of both her mother and father. What caught my attention was that all three of them had the same auburn hair color and intense bluish-green eyes.
When Emily introduced me to her father, he said, "I'm finally getting to meet the young man who can walk on water."
I wasn't sure I understood what he was talking about. Then Lisa added, "Emily thinks the world of you, Michael. Every time we talk to her, she tells us how wonderful you are. We wanted to meet the young man she's so head-over-heels in love with."
