*Note to readers: Rainier School is a habilitation center for individuals with developmental disabilities located within the city limits of Buckley, Washington. It serves those whose mental disabilities are so severe they can't live at home.
*****
"I told you before the answer is no, Jill."
"I don't understand. You're the reason I no longer believe in my church and now that I want to try some new things, you're the reason I can't. Help me understand that, Connor."
"It's very simple. I don't need God or religion to have personal standards. One of those standards is I don't smoke, drink, or take drugs. If those are things you want to experiment with then you'll have to find yourself a new boyfriend."
Jill Monroe was by far the prettiest girl at White River High School. She was head cheerleader and homecoming queen. She'd been dating Connor Kelly for two years even though he'd refused to join the Mormon Church where her dad was the Bishop. Connor grew up without a belief in God but after his dad, who was also his best friend, had been killed by a drunk driver, he found himself searching for something to hold onto. A friend invited him to go to church with him and out of curiosity he agreed to go. Although he never went back, he had met Jill.
She'd seen him at school before, but because she wasn't allowed to date non-Mormons, she'd never really tried to get to know him. But after he'd visited their ward (local congregation) that showed her parents he was a possible future convert so her dad had allowed his daughter to go out with him. Once they'd been out two or three times, she was unwilling to stop seeing him in spite of her parents' continual protests and reminders that he was a non-member. Jill had had her daddy wrapped since the day she was born and telling her 'no' just wasn't in his DNA.
"But he's such a good guy!" she told them repeatedly. And he was. His dad started him in scouting as a Cub and since scouting and Mormonism were natural fits, that was a plus on his side. Connor had made Eagle just as he'd turned 18 and for Mormons, that was big deal. No, it wasn't church membership, but it did show character. As if that wasn't enough, he was also White River's quarterback, an outstanding wrestler, and had been named homecoming king his senior year. So over the past 24 months, he and Jill had spent most of their free time together, her parents' objections aside.
Over the course of those two years, the topic of religion came up quite a few times. Connor never pushed his views on Jill, but she regularly tried to get him to go to church with her. "Even if you don't believe it, you could at least come with me," she said more than once. "That way, my mom and dad would stop pressuring me to find a boy from church to go out with."
Connor was always patient and kind when he answered her. "Jill, I don't believe in any kind of higher power because there's no evidence one exists. I have no axe to grind with religion, I just don't see any reason to embrace it in any way."
Jill raised all the standard objections about how finely tuned the universe was and always made what was called the 'argument from incredulity' which said, "I just can't believe all of this got here by accident."
Each time, Connor explained how 'all this' could have happened by natural causes starting with the Big Bang through abiogenesis or the beginning of life without a deity. More importantly, he explained why claims of answered prayer were simply not true. People of all faiths—Muslims, Jews, and all varieties of Christians made the same claims about answered prayer but any objective examination showed these claims were purely subjective opinions based on feelings. All that 'proved' was that people of all faiths believe their God answers their prayers—sometimes. When He doesn't, it's because His ways are higher than ours or He has some (unknown) reason for not answering them.
Jill slowly began to understand she was the product of programming rather than someone 'blessed to have found the truth.' Sure, her parents loved her and they were sincere in their beliefs, but that didn't mean she hadn't been raised to believe what she'd been taught rather than what she believed being uniquely true and coming from God.
Still, she wouldn't give Connor the satisfaction of telling him he was right. At least not until after her 18th birthday party. Afterward, she told her mom and dad they were going out for a while and that she'd be home by curfew time which was midnight.
As they drove around up near Green Water at the base of Mount Rainier, she told Connor she wanted to go parking which was code for kissing and just kissing. They'd done a lot of that, but that was as far as it had ever gone. This night however, she poured her heart out to her boyfriend and told him she agreed with his view on God and religion. "As much as it pains me to admit it Connor, you're right. No angel came down and gave a teenage boy some gold plates. It's funny how the Church recently admitted Joseph Smith had over 30 wives and that he used a magic rock and hat to translate The Book of Mormon. So I give up. And I'm giving in."
She slid over closer to him and whispered, "By giving in, I mean I've also decided I'm willing to do anything to make you happy." She ran her hand down his crotch and pressed down when she found what she'd wanted. It was thick and large and immediately been getting hard.
"Are you sure?" Connor asked her. She assured him she was. In fact, she'd even brought condoms along. He'd never pushed her beyond her comfort zone, but he was incredibly happy when she told him she was ready. That night, they'd made love for the first time in the backseat of his mom's car. There had been many more times since.
Now, several months later, Jill was at a point where she wanted to, as she called it, live a little. She'd never even tasted beer, never taken one puff of a cigarette, and most definitely never been high and she really, really wanted to try new things. They'd just returned from their favorite fucking spot and were sitting in the driveway at her parents' house.
"You don't have the church or anything else keeping you from trying stuff with me like I did, and now I don't care about that anymore. So if I can try new things, why can't you? Why won't you do this for me? I mean, I gave you what you want so is this too much to ask in return?" she said in a kind of mock pout. Jill knew how to use the big, almond-shaped eyes that drove him crazy to her advantage, but not even those eyes could move him on this issue. Connor Kelly wasn't her daddy except when they were fucking.
"Jill, listen. I've always been into health and fitness. You know that. And a drunk driver killed my dad just after he and my mom opened a gym in town. Thankfully, he had enough life insurance to pay for the little building it's in, but Mom depends on membership fees to pay the bills. The last thing I want to do is become like one of them. And as for giving me what I want, I haven't heard any complaints out of you."
Jill had to admit that after a few awkward attempts to get it right, Connor had gotten very good at making sex enjoyable for her. She liked intercourse itself, but she loved the way he used his fingers and tongue on her pussy. And she absolutely loved sucking his cock. It was just so...bad and Jill learned she liked being bad and giving blow jobs was her own private, dirty little secret. So, yes, she liked sex as much as he did.
She decided to try another avenue of approach. "Connor, you're such a saint. You're not going to turn into an alcoholic by having one beer. Come on, there's a party at Kiley's house this Friday. Her parents are out of town and they're bringing a keg. Let's go, okay? Please? Please, please, oh please?" she begged using those eyes for all they were worth.
Unmoved, Connor replied, "Jill, you know I'm a Libertarian. I believe in freedom of choice. If you want to do this, that's up to you. I'm not angry and I'm not threatening you when I say this. Let me clear here. If you do go, you're gonna do it without me." He paused for effect then looked directly into those beautiful eyes and said calmly with no malice, "And if you do, we're done."
Jill opened the door of his car and said, "Fine. Then I guess we're done because...I'm going." She slammed the door then turned around and said through the closed window, "You used to be so much fun. What happened to you?"
Over the noise of the idling engine he said, "Nothing. I'm not the one who changed, Jill."
She turned and headed inside and Connor dropped the transmission into reverse and headed to work. He was a short-order cook at a small hotel and restaurant in downtown, Buckley, Washington. Downtown sounded funny to anyone from a large city because in Buckley it meant main street. The one and only real street in town. He worked at place called the Country Kitchen after school and on weekends.
The owner, Jimmy Denton, didn't how he did it all, but Connor managed to play three sports, stay on the honor roll, work part-time for him, and volunteer at the Rainier School. He'd never even heard him swear. He was not only an Eagle Scout, but perhaps like Bruce Willis, the last true Boy Scout.
He clocked in, said hello to Jimmy's wife, Marge, who was waiting tables, pulled on an apron and grabbed the first ticket off of the rotary to which Marge clipped the tickets. It said: chicken fried steak, hash browns, and lima beans. Connor shuddered at the thought of putting that kind of crap in his body, but dutifully threw the food on the grill and went to work preparing it for the guy who didn't mind doing that.
Around eight o'clock, he saw an attractive woman who seemed to be a little younger than his mom come in with a special-needs boy who looked to be about ten. Neither of them noticed Connor, but he most definitely noticed them.
His Aunt Ellen worked at Rainier School and from the first time he'd visited there he found himself unable to stay away. Kids with Down's Syndrome and other similar challenges really tore at his heart so he would go over there as often as he could to help out with special events like the upcoming Easter Egg hunt on Sunday.
She ordered a salad and water while her son wanted pancakes for dinner. Connor heard him say a little too loudly, "Country Kitchen pancakes are the best!"
Connor smiled and decided to make them in the shape of Mickey Mouse as a special surprise. He didn't know the boy, but that didn't matter. He watched as Marge set down and his plate. He heard the boy call out, "Look, Mom! It's Mickey Mouse! I love him. He's so cool!" The little boy was excited beyond words. Connor was thrilled when the mom thanked Marge profusely for doing that.
Just as she was setting her salad down, Connor heard the front door. He looked over and saw him walk in and thought, "Uh-oh. Here comes trouble."
Wade Lucas was a drunk. So were his two buddies, but neither of them were loud, angry drunks like Wade. They all worked at the Weyerhaeuser sawmill in neighboring Enumclaw, Buckley's chief rival in football. Both teams were The Hornets and the annual football game between them was one of the biggest events in both towns. This year, Connor had led White River to a 21-14 win making him a local hero for at least the rest of that year. Five years ago, Wade had been a standout defensive back for Enumclaw. Now he was just another guy who drank too much and who couldn't hold his liquor.
He heard the little boy holler again, "Momma! Look! It's Mickey Mouse. I love HIM!"
Wade walked past and said, "Oh, look. It's a retard. I just love THEM!" His buddies snickered but didn't speak.
The boy's mother stared at Wade and said calmly, "My son is not retarded."
Wade bent over the table and looked at the boy and said, "Well, he sure LOOKS retarded. If you can't see that then you must be as retarded as he is."
Marge sat them in the back and said, "Wade, if you say anything else, I'm throwing you out. You understand me?"
Lucas pretended to be afraid and said, "Oh, yes ma'am. Please don't throw me out. If you do, where else will I go to get slop like this?" Again, his buddies laughed while Wade just stared at Marge.
"So what do you want tonight, Wade?" she asked.
