John and Jill

All constructive criticism is welcome. As usual, thanks to Papakilo for his gracious and timely editing.

*****

Chapter 2

-

The Courtship of Jill

John took another pull on his beer and recalled his courtship of Jill and his background that was responsible for his attitudes going into the marriage. He would've liked to have of said that was all smooth sailing but that would've been a lie.

George Trainor, John's father, was a crusty but lovable factory worker. His father taught him the values and ethics of hard work. George was taught at an early age that hard work was the gateway to a successful life. George went to work at Simmons Fabricating at 18 years of age and had worked his way up to operator of the fabricating press system known as "Big Mo." Big Mo was a 15 ton behemoth of a press that was the centerpiece for the operations at Simmons'. The operator's position was one of the highest-paid jobs, other than management, at the factory. It was a position that George was most proud of.

George soon met and married a young girl named Susan Woodward, daughter of Enis Woodward a known area machinist and craftsman. Enis was a widower and took to George rather quickly and was happy that his daughter had taken up with George. He really liked George but worried that his daughter would be too much for George to handle. Susan was headstrong and rebellious and hadn't seemed to grow out of it in her early 20s.

When George asked Enis or Susan's hand in marriage, Enis took George aside and warned him about keeping a clamp down on Sue.

"George I'm glad that you and Sue are getting married, but you need to know something very important. After her mother died Sue became rather wild and impetuous. I guess I spoiled her, so I'm partially to blame. She's got a wild distant streak and is very hard to control. You need to try to set the rules of the marriage early on and enforce them. I love my daughter, but I fear she will cause you great heartache."

"Enis, I love your daughter more than life itself and I will treat her right and give her a good life. All I expect from her is the respect that a wife owes her husband. Those are the rules I'll express to her. I do appreciate your warning, however, and I'll keep a watchful eye."

George and Susan had been married for one year when William Trainor came along. Three years later Sue gave birth to John. John was premature and sickly the first three years of his life. When John finally began to thrive, he began to grow faster than most kids his age. In his elementary days at school he was tall and gangly, but quite uncoordinated. Kids made fun of him and he was picked on. This all changed when he hit middle school. He grew into his tall body and began changing, developing great agility for such a big body.

John was the apple of Enis Woodward's eye. The boy constantly visited his grandfather's shop on the hill above his own house. He followed his grandfather around like a puppy and Enis taught John to respect all power tools, but not to be afraid of them. He started teaching John everything he could about woodworking and machining, allowing John to use the tools in his shop. John developed more knowledge about tools by taking auto shop and woodshop in high school. John was an astute learner and quickly outshined the other students in school by showing his technical knowledge. Both George and Enis were very proud of John.

During this time Billy Trainor was an academic whiz. He also had an impressive knowledge of electronics. He was so fascinated that he got in trouble constantly for taking radios and other electronic devices apart and putting them back together, to see how they worked. This led him to a job at Miller electronics, the town gadget store. Billy earned good grades, while John struggled with anything academic. They both worked hard in school, with Billy being the most intelligent. Where Billy was an electronic whiz kid, John was a mechanical marvel. He bought a broken down old Ford truck from a farmer that was pretty much shot and used his know-how and hard work to build it back up to a reliable running vehicle. John bartered the parts for his truck by working for other people repairing their broken appliances and engines. He re-built an engine for a body shop owner in return for painting his truck. He did this before he could even legally drive.

In the end, he had the most impressive vehicle of the non-cool set in high school. All of the teachers that had John in class were amazed as mechanical aptitude. For his sophomore woodshop class project he chose to craft a dining room set. His instructor warned him that it was too ambitious of a project, but John was determined. He augmented a set of plans to build the most beautiful set the instructor ever saw. He not only completed the project on time; he captured the total respect of the faculty. The woodshop instructor even called the rest of the faculty and administration down to look at John's creation. They were mystified by this youngster's ability. John had his grandfather Woodward come down to look at his work and Enis couldn't be prouder.

He told John, "Son I couldn't be prouder of you, I can no longer teach you a thing."

To show this pride, he came by the house one day and pick John up for a drive. John eagerly got in with Enis wondering what the old man had in store for him. Enis drove up to one of the better neighborhoods in town and stopped in front of the three bedroom ranch style home that was quite run down but still had a good infrastructure.

"Why are we stopping here granddad?" John asked as he sat in amazement looking at the ragged looking house. "This place is sure seen better days."

"This place has character John. It's only ragged because it hasn't been shown any love and caring. It's got a strong frame and potential limited only by the imagination of someone who wants to love it."

"Did you buy this place granddad? I'll be glad to help you fix it up; but I thought you loved your house."

"You got it backwards son; I'll help you fix this place up - it's yours."

John just sat there opened mouth in total amazement. "My place? I'm only 16 years old."

"Yes and by the time you're 18 you should be able to move into this place to live on your own. You should be able to fill it up with furniture of the style you made in that class."

With tears in his eyes he looked at the house and was proud that he could be a homeowner at his age. He finally looked at the house the eyes of a mechanical troubleshooter and realized the potential of this home. His grandfather watched the look on his face and beamed with pride. He realized John was hooked. Then John also looked at his grandfather with guilt in his eyes.

"Granddad, what about Billy? You're getting this for me what about my brother? He's a hard worker too."

"Son, don't worry about your brother, I'm taking care of him as well. I bought him a partnership in Miller electronics while he's in college, so he'll have something solid to come out with to get started."

"Granddad, where are you coming up with all this money?"

"Son, years ago I bought both Sinclair and Simmons stock. That was back in the tough days when it was cheap. I just sold off a little bit of their stock last week to do this for you and your brother. It was the least I could do after your mother ran off. I felt like I owed you something."

"Granddad, I can't tell you how much I love you and appreciate your gift; I won't let you down," as he hugged his grandfather.

"Son, you couldn't disappoint me. I know this will be one of the most beautiful houses on the block by the time you're finished. Accept this from the bottom of my heart and the pride of a blessed grandfather."

Both John and Enis couldn't control their tears as they hugged each other with strong emotions passing between them. John also felt a melancholy when Enis mentioned to John's mother. John thought back on the bad years.

Susan Trainor was a nasty mother who took out her frustrations on both her sons. Nothing George did was good enough to suit her. John remembered the constant griping about how she deserved better than she was getting from her husband. No matter what George did he couldn't placate her. She was always yelling or smacking the boys for nothing consequential. She would just come in mad from taking the clothes down off the line and start smacking the boys around on a whim. This all stopped when they start getting older.

One day, when John was 10 and Billy 13, they came home to an empty house. They start making themselves sandwiches for supper when George came home. He asked were their mother was and they said they didn't know. He went into the bedroom to change clothes and he saw a note and the closets and drawers empty. He sat down on the bed and read the note:

George

,

I'm leaving you to your own devices. I can do better in life than to be married to a mill worker. You come home every night with dirt under your fingernails and the smell of machine oil on you. I feel I'm fated to a better life than to be tied down with someone like you. I'll never own the good things in life that I feel I deserve if I stay with you. I have found a man who I think will give me the things I feel I richly deserve. I also feel that your sons will be just as dirty and unrefined as you are and I cannot stand to see it. Maybe if you try hard enough you can get them to amount to something, but I just don't see it. I've taken half of our savings and will not see you again. If you talk to my father tell him I love him and I'll be in touch, but will not return to this worthless town.

Susan

To say the least, George was devastated. The boys were really not surprised and really did not seem too concerned about it. She had not been much of a mother the last couple of years anyway. The only one that showed them affection or care was George. This was the beginning of bad time for the boys because George retreated into the bottle.

Enis became the saving grace by coming down to the house, slapping George out of his drunken stupor, and taking him to the local hospital to get dried out. The boys lived with their grandfather while they were waiting for their dad to get back home.

When George came back, he was a new man and explained to the boys that was the three of them against the world.

Billy said, "We don't need her any way, we'll show her that we don't need her to teach us what's what. We'll have the best family ever."

John was still confused about all of this, because he was only 10 years old. But he looked up to Billy and his father and grandfather Woodward enough to follow their lead. It was not until years later that John understood the circumstances surrounding their family predicament.

Life for the Trainors went on from there and they did quite well. The boys learned to cook and were able to have George's and their dinner ready. John became a better cook than Billy because of his mechanical aptitude, being able to follow recipes perfectly. Grandfather Enis joined them for supper many a time. They all talked about every subject that they enjoyed. John relished this time feeling he was getting an education from listening to his father and grandfather.

Two years later the Trainor boys were home fixing everyone's dinner when their father came home. George set the boys down and told them he had some bad news for them.

"Boys I hate to tell you this, but your mother's been killed. The police came and found me at the factory to notify me that she had been killed in a car accident. The man she was with was drinking and crashed into a utility pole; she was killed instantly," George said as he broke up and sobbed. Both boys tried to comfort their father while dealing with their own initial shock. Although not being in their lives for a couple of years, both boys miss their mother. Billy was angry that their mother chose to leave them and John just felt perplexed. He didn't really miss his mother as much as Billy did because she had treated him so badly or she left. He tried to comfort his brother as much as possible, but his heart wasn't really in it.

Life went on for the trainers rather normally for the next few years, when John entered high school. Billy had never been one for sports, not having John's newfound agility. John went out for football and made the JV team his freshman year. He had a growth spurt between midsemester of his freshman year and grew into his body, becoming a force to be reckoned with on the football field. He made varsity his sophomore year. He became a favorite target of the team's quarterback in rough situations.

On his 16

th

birthday George called John into his bedroom one evening to have a heart-to-heart with him.

"John, sit down son." John sat on the stool that used to be with his mother's makeup table.

"Is something wrong dad?"

George looked at him pensively and started talking, "John I'd like to give you some advice. You're starting to date now and because you're a star on the football team, girls are gonna be throwing themselves at you right and left."

"I know dad, I won't have unprotected sex."

George shook his head and said, "That's very responsible John, but that's not exactly what I want to talk to you about. There are more important things than sex that pass between a man and a woman to make a marriage work. Your mother and I failed at communication. Once you meet a woman who you know you really love, it will seem that that's all there is to it. You are good worker and I want you to a work at keeping your marriage, to whoever it is, a lasting, wholesome one. I want you to follow a couple of rules: 1) Never go to bed angry during an argument. 2) Never end an argument without saying I love you. 3) Always promise your wife to answer any question truthfully about what is bothering her and expect the same from her. 4) always discuss any major purchase or decision with your wife no matter how trivial you think it is. These are in addition to the regular rules of marriage. If you maintain those rules you should always have a good marriage. I had this talk with Billy about three years ago, as well.

John looked at his father and acknowledged what had been said.

"I promise that I'll always follow those rules dad. I'll always want to have a good close family."

George sat down and looked at his son with all the pride he could give. He believed in his son and realized he had a potentially good future. John walked over and hugged his father.

You would think having an older brother in high school would mean that the older would protect the younger. Billy was a big guy but was a little nerdish, so got picked on a lot. John actually protected his older brother. John also set himself as a cut above the rest when a girl he didn't know had an argument with her boyfriend who was a senior on the landing of the stairs between floors at their school. She was hiding his cigarettes because she wanted the boyfriend to quit smoking and he got mad. He pushed her so hard she fell down the stairs to the bottom.

John was just walking by and had nothing in it. When he saw the episode, he grabbed the boyfriend and flung him down the stairs after her. After this episode John had to fight several bullies in the upper class. They picked the wrong person to mess with, as John easily dispatch them one by one. It gave him a reputation of someone in school not to be messed with. When he caught a couple people messing with his brother he quickly dispatched them too. It was known throughout the school that you did mess with Billy or John Trainor. You would think that Billy would be embarrassed about John taking up for him, but it only drew the boys closer together. Billy just told John that he was a lover not a fighter and obviously got all the brains of the siblings.

John was also becoming a person with good common sense, with the knowledge of conflict resolution. He didn't follow the edict that "might makes right." John was more of a person who tried to avoid a fight rather than start one unless his family was being threatened. He would walk 2 miles out of his way to avoid a fight. He treated all the girls he dated with respect and dignity and never had a problem with any of those he dated. They all just wanted more than he was willing to give them at the moment. He was waiting to find that one girl that he felt he loved. That came with the arrival of Mel, but ended before they graduated. From the time John was 16 until his graduation he finally finished his house.

Having learned frugal values from his father and grandfather Woodward, John would peruse yard sales and streets in the better neighborhoods on trash day to find the furniture he would repair effortlessly to furnish his house. Everyone who entered his house was amazed at what it was adorned with. They couldn't understand where he got all the money for the beautiful furniture.

The day after John graduated high school, he started at Simmons and got to see his dad often, even though he had moved into his house. Billy was off at Culver State University studying electronics. Grandfather Woodward's and academic scholarships paid for his education. Enis Woodward knew that John was not destined for college and instead left half his stock portfolio to John to receive on his 21

st

birthday. He however, did purchase John several tools for his workshop. John built a 20'x 30' workshop on the hillside behind his house to use for his hobby.

When Jillian Sinclair came into his life, he was still smarting a little bit from his disastrous relationship with Mel. Mel left town about two weeks after John began dating Jillian because she was hurt by his new relationship. John set out to make Jill Sinclair his own. He often drove to Culver City to date her on weekends, picking her up at her dorm and going to the movies or to dinner, or combination of both.

While there was still good weather, John took Jillian to their special place for picnics. During this time, they were screwing like bunnies at every opportunity. Jill had a strong sex drive and would often initiated lovemaking in risky places. Jill was very daring as well is very insistent when she got in the mood and wouldn't take no for an answer. Any dark place they could get out of sight was fair game for their trysts.

John found himself falling further and further in love with Jill. Jill found that she was falling in love with John even more deeply. However, their relationship almost fell completely apart because of one incidence.

John and Jill had made plans for a date one Friday night and she called to cancel, stating she had to do something for her parents. John never considered anything amiss, so he paid it no mind. He, Chip, and a bunch of their friends decided to go to Culver to visit Clancy's Pub for a pool tournament. Clancy's had good monetary prizes and it was something to do. Clancy's sat at the edge of the University property and they had to drive past the dorms to get there. Chip was driving along as they passed Jill's dorm and John saw something. Jill was getting into a Corvette convertible dressed to kill. John told Chip to turn around and to follow the Corvette. The Corvette went to a well-known stylish restaurant in Culver and a guy dressed in a nice suit went around to let Jillian out of the car. John was instantly pissed.

"So this was your girlfriend's family thing, huh?" Chip asked in an indignant manner.

"Well it sure looks like, it doesn't it?"

"You want to go on to the tournament?"

"No Chip. If you don't mind can we stay here a little while and see what happens?"

They sat there for an hour and a half just talking and watching for Jill in her date to come out. When they finally came out, he opened the door for Jill and she got in while he ran around to the other side to get in himself. They drove to Benny's, a well-known college dance club. John was dressed in a black polo shirt and a pair of khakis and decided to go in the club, borrowing a ball cap Chip had in his truck.