Part One:
I had a busy life. I was 20, a junior in college and also supporting myself with work as a waitress. I was receiving financial aid, but it wasn't enough to support me completely β that's where work came in. And I enjoyed it. I was working in Chicago and I got to meet a great many people in my line of work.
I dug my heels into the bright lights of Chicago upon high school graduation. That's when I met Jack β who was now a frequent customer at the restaurant. I was a crazy kid out on the town, hitting the clubs, using fake I.D.s, getting drunk, etc.
I had grown up in a very academically-driven household and even though I was in college (pursuing my Bachelor's in Creative Writing), I followed my arrow to a liberal arts college. My parents were terribly harsh and strict, and by the time I found myself as an independent adult, I was unable to control my free-spiritedness.
One night I got drunk and threw up on the sidewalk and passed out. That's when Jack found me. He picked me up and carried me to his car, back home to his couch and supplied me with a pillow and blanket. The next morning I had an awful hangover and it was awkward, but we got to know each other. I learned he was an early retiree (only 55) and that he had been divorced for nearly eight years. He had no children and not that I could really blame him. There I was, a horrible mess, and not feeling well, a wild child, and he treated me with nothing but kindness.
There was something attractive about him, although he was average in looks. He had a round stomach and sexy green eyes and was average in height, but he had a commanding presence. For my 20th birthday he had sent me flowers and a card. But I wanted more than a friendship with him. And I think he wanted more than a friendship with me, too. But, God, was he something else! He was a true manly man.
When he was 32, Jack had become supervisor of a UPS unit where he had worked since his early twenties. Before that he had worked at different places, here and there, wherever he could β he seemed restless. He had tried the college thing, but it didn't suit him and I couldn't blame him for that either. College just wasn't everyone's dig. And he turned out to be a helluva man and smart as a whip. You don't need a degree to read the writing on the wall.
We had exchanged phone numbers and occasionally we went out to lunch, but nothing more than that β I think he saw me as a lost child in a big city and he was my protector. I liked our roles thus far.
On that particular day, I had had two classes in the morning and then I had to work second shift at the restaurant. I had my own girlfriends, but my tastes in friends varied, as you can tell. When my second shift was over, I was beat. I stripped and drew myself a bubble bath in my apartment. I had seen the dorms that were available on the campus tour and they were blah. They were cramped, so I decided to pass and instead work for my own independent living space.
I sunk into the cloud of bubbles. I had longish red hair with a natural wave in it and a tight body with pointed, high breasts, a petite stomach and flared hips. I had slept with two men; one was a drunken mistake and the other I had been dating for about two years. They had both been in my age group, but I was curious as to what an older man would be like. That's where my thoughts about Jack came in.
As it turned out, I didn't feel much like a bubble bath, so I made a quick grilled cheese sandwich and hit the hay.
Part Two:
"How is your salad?" Jack asked me.
I nodded. "Real good. How's your sandwich?"
"Really good. Do you feel like catching a show or do you have homework to do?" He looked at me over his glass of Pepsi. Ah, those wonderful green eyes!
"I'm supposed to do some reading, but that's it. I feel like a show." I paused and then showed him my hands. "Look. Do you like my manicure?"
He smiled at me. I loved his smile. "Yes, of course, very nice." He put down his fries and showed me his hands. "Do you like my fingernails?"
"You didn't get a manicure."
He laughed. "I know."
We laughed. He had clipped his fingernails crooked and sideways, with hangnails like ugly hinges.
We had decided to see
Lincoln,
and as I got up from the booth, he helped me slip on my coat, which is something he had never done before. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at him.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The theatre was only about a block away and the weather was permitting, so we decided to walk. Coming out of the restaurant, I strapped my purse over my shoulder when I felt a fierce tug. A man was trying to steal my purse.
"Stop!" I screamed. "Get off of my purse!" I began to tug at it. People around us stopped to watch.
Jack intervened, who was easily three or four inches taller than the perpetrator. He gave him a good sock in the jaw and the man fell back into the gutter and gathered himself up and ran away, shocked.
"Oh my God," I said.
"Get outta here!" Jack yelled at the man. He then held me by the outside of my biceps and stooped, looking into my eyes. "Are you all right?"
I nodded. "I'm okay, just a little shook up. Jesus!" I laughed. I then wore my purse strap across my chest like I always did and we went on our way to the theatre, via a cab this time.
During the movie I was distracted by Jack. I wanted to hold his hand. I liked the way the screen highlighted his face. Occasionally our hands would touch as we would dig into the tub of popcorn and we would exchange a smile. But the popcorn ran out, and now there was no reason to touch. And I wanted to touch him. In the bedroom, I was submissive and wondered what power his charms would work on me. Before I had time to act, he put his arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder. It seemed so natural. I felt so excited inside. This man was old enough to be my father, but that didn't seem to bother either of us. In all his years, he must've had plenty of women, but if we were ever to sleep together, I wanted to be his greatest and his tightest.
Lincoln
ended sadly, but I barely noticed β I was only noticing Jack. Once we got outside, the night had set in and it was lightly snowing. He zipped up his coat.
"Jesus, it got cold," he said. "Now let's catch a cab, we don't want to be walking after what happened this afternoon."
"A cab? Well, at least let me pay for it."
"Oh, I couldn't let you do that."
"But you paid for lunch and the movies."