This little tale is a 'prequel' to Sadie and the Old Fisherman's Apprentice. Requested by several readers. Andy is a young man who loves working on boats, drawing beautiful women and dreaming about the future. This tells about an important mentor in his life.
Old Fisherman's Apprentice Learns a Lesson
"Whoa! That's not the face of a boy who has just become a man. If I say, 'Happy Birthday' are you going to spit in my eye? You left here yesterday all lit up. I assumed the back seat of my old 57 Chevy convertible was going to need new seat covers. And now, here you are with your chin on your shoes, and a grimace like you kissed a fart. What in the holy name of fuck is going on with you, boy?"
Andy wasn't really ready to say. And that was weird because he could tell his Aunt Mattie
everything.
He never knew why. Shit he would certainly never tell his dad, or certainly his sister, or even, would you believe it, Jason, who set him up on the date with Judie in the first place. Nope, Aunt Mattie had a way of getting him to spill the beans about
everything.
Why could he trust his late mom's sister with his most
dangerous
feelings?
Well, maybe it was because she had never
judged
him ever since he was tiny and she babysat him in the back of Gran's service station. I mean, he was
wired
about his mom up and leaving with that...that
elephant
of a man. What his mom saw in that pompous asshole with the dyed golden combover... So he was angry a lot. Kicked things. Broke things. Even Aunt Mattie's things. But she
got
it. Oh, she wasn't always sweet about it. It could be like. "Andy, you don't hate Bowie. Why'd you have to smash my favorite vinyl? You know I love that album. I
did
love that thing, fool that I am. Now I'm gonna have to ask you to do some
serious
chores around here. And I'll pay you to do 'em. But you got to use that money to buy me a new album. Unless, lucky you, I forget."
Yup, she treated him like a human being...didn't spoil him...gave him
responsibilities
, and respect. And in the middle of the shit show that was his parents' marriage, she was both the sail and the anchor.
Still, it was hard to tell her he had totally fucked up what should have been a super date night with Judie Andreeson. A rare opportunity. Because he really was too shy on his own to ask a hot girl like her out for a birthday dinner at the Shore Club, much less take her to Surfers' Point overlook and get into her clothes, or her body.
But Jason had done all the asking and setting up for him, with the understanding on Judie's part that she be ready to give him a 'birthday gift'.
And Judie was perfect, oh, not some kind of 'perfect looks' perfect. She wasn't 'cheap'.. She was a real person who liked to have fun. She didn't 'sleep around.' But she knew what she liked and wasn't afraid to go after it. She was in her second year at Channel Islands CC, so she had some experience. The kind of experience a guy turning 18 could really appreciate. And Jason said she didn't consider him some kind of 'charity case.' She confessed that she had wanted to 'try him out' ever since the bonfire. She liked the way he was so 'easy around boats.'
So Jason cut the deal and Andy honored it by shaving twice, even though he didn't really have to shave once. And he bought some Old Spice. And he bought some thin condoms. And he bought a little stuffed tiger because Jason said Judie liked 'em. So.
But Aunt Mattie was standing there, her hand on her hip, with that 'what the fuck' expression. For once he just wanted to cut and run. She didn't let him. She lifted his chin with her mechanic's hand and explored his face with curious eyes.
"I know you, Andy. I know you didn't fuck it up on purpose. Am I missing something? Did you just have the night of your life, but now you feel weird about it? That shit happens. No biggie. What? Oh. No. It did not go well. Tell. Ya gotta. You know it's the only way of getting past it. Spill."
She handed him a cold one.
"This is a 'beer for breakfast' day. Drink up. And eggs and bacon and whole wheat toast are on the way. You'll eat. You'll laugh a little at the dumbitude of men and women and you...we...will move on."
Andy did as he was told. Aunt Mattie was only twelve years older than he was, but she had a worldly air about her. Really it should have been his dad running the garage after Gran died, but his dad had 'other plans' especially after his mom ran off. So there was Mattie learning all the garage stuff on the hurry up. Now she could tear down a vintage car better than any man. Oh, she had help from the Ramirez brothers. But they worked part time, sharing out among the area garages, doing boats too. So Mattie grew up fast.
The eggs were fluffy, the toast brown and the bacon crispy. Mattie had jammed a candle down into a muffin. Sang the song in her off-key cracked voice. Gave him a huge hug and a kiss. Maybe held the hug until he was a little uncomfortable.
"You and me...coupla misfits. Drink up." She clinked his bottle with her own. Waited.
"She loved the car. That was the cool thing. She kept kind of ruffling her hand over the roll and pleat. How everything is so clean and new. Like really carefully let the ashes from her cigarette blow out the window. Trouble is, I couldn't say shit. You know me. Even though I'm not like a circus mute. I can talk if I want to. I said stupid stuff."
"Why?"
"Dunno. Or...yeah, it's because she was...is...a knockout. I think dad would say it like that. Not like she was trying so hard to be...you know...'Look how sexy I am.' She doesn't need to do that. She's so...
naturally
attractive."
"You didn't tell her
that?"
"Kind of...no...well...I...?"
"...looked at her boobs too much..."
"Shit...how did you know?"
"You're a boob man. I've seen you look at 'em. Girls come in here. Hell, you even look at
mine
."
Andy didn't blush. But for some reason his cheeks were hot.
"I'll bet she was wearing something that advertised them a little, right?"
"Oh, yeah."
"And she said something like, "Hey, my face is up here, mister."
"Yup. Pretty much exactly. And that just tied me up. I put my eyes on the road and didn't look at her until we got to the Shore Club. And then I looked over and knew by ignoring her I'd fucked up
again."
"
You got it. Sure, she doesn't want you to treat her like a piece of meat. But she didn't put those puppies up where you could see 'em by
accident.
She wants to see you
trying hard
not to look at them. Here, here let me show you..."
She reached into her shirt and in a couple of quick moves she had tugged her breasts up out of her bra so her cleavage was high and prominent. Aunt Mattie wasn't exactly 'stacked', but the good lord hadn't cheated her. Now some nice cleavage was peeking out between the buttons and the buttonholes, and
maybe
a bit of nip was bending the soft cotton of her workshirt.
"Okay, so, now you see, even though I'm just me, you have a hard time
not
peeking at my puppies. I know what I'm doing. So did she."
"Damn."
"Yeah, well... So the thing is...she would like you to get a good look, grab another peek now and then...like you are now...no, no...no harm, no foul. I kind of
made
you look, just like
she
did. We women mostly know how guys are wired. We don't hold the gear shift of power, so we kind of get you to make the move we want you to make...indirectly."
To Andy's discomfort, Aunt Mattie didn't pop her pups back where they belonged. In fact, she had left a button, or maybe two, undone and was moving in a way that revealed more of her 'girls' than Andy had had the privilege to witness before. She was still coaching him. For the
next
time.
"So, kiddo, what you do is you
look her all over
, not gawking, but
