The Family Date — Bring It: Chapter 11

When I called Pam during a break in Saturday afternoon’s practice, she said she really needed to get some homework done after she finished cleaning her room. So, she didn’t know if we’d have time to go out on a date that night.

“We can just hang out at the house, watching another movie on TV or something.”

“You want to drive all the way back up here to watch TV with me?”

“Sure.”

“I really have to study, Brent.”

“What about Sunday?”

“You know I can’t go out on a school night.”

“Who said anything about night. I’m talking about anytime, after church… whenever. I really need to be with you.”

“You don’t have practice tomorrow?”

“The Coach and I decided to practice an hour later every night so we could both take Sunday off. For him, he can spend the whole day with his wife, which he hasn’t done for a while. For me, there is one entire day a week I have for spending with you.”

She was silent.

“Look, some of the problems we’ve had come from not knowing each other well enough, from not seeing each other enough, and having the time to talk. I want to remedy that. I don’t think anything in the world is more important than that.”

“You’ve been saying all along that we don’t know each other.”

“Because it’s true. It’s only going to get better if we talk, learning what kind of people we are, become good friends, share a lot of things we don’t tell anyone else and learn how to combine our special secrets — you know? Together. Right now, we don’t have the level of trust we need for any of that to happen. If we did, there’d be no doubt in your mind about anyone else having my attention. You’re the only lady in my life, and I plan to keep it that way, but only as long as it is what you want as well.”

“I’m not over the kissing thing quite yet, Brent. I’m being honest. I mean — this morning was nice. I found out how much we are alike, but since you left, I’ve thought about it. It really hurt me, a lot.”

“I understand that.”

“And it’s not just an excuse. I really do have a lot of homework.”

“Okay, all I’m asking is we’re honest with one another.”

“That’s what I want, too.”

“I was thinking, if you get everything done tonight, then tomorrow you and your folks could come to my parent’s farm after church.”

“What?”

“Spend the afternoon at my house, see the farm, the bedroom I barely ever use except for sleeping, meet my dog, Rusty, feed the chickens, see the cattle, the haymow, the creek…”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious.”

“Your dad and mom wouldn’t mind?”

“It was actually Dad’s idea. It’s been warm enough lately. He said we can grill some burgers outside on the back deck and have an early spring cookout — it’ll be fun having everyone together.”

“I don’t know if Mom and Dad have anything planned. I’ll have to ask.”

“Don’t forget Aunt Claire.”

“Oh, she’ll want to come, too. I’m sure of that.” Pam laughed. “She told Mom and Dad to adopt you.”

I chuckled. “That wouldn’t work for us. We’d be brother and sister then. That could get complicated.”

Pam laughed.

“I’ll be home tonight around seven. I can call you then and give you directions.”

“Okay. I should know for sure by then.”

“I’m excited now. I really need a big hug. Do you have any left?”

“I think I can scrounge up one of those.”

“I gotta get back to the torture before the coach misses me. I love you, Pam.”

“I love you, too, Brent.”

When I called in the evening, of course, there were no objections.

“Everyone’s excited,” Pam said.

“I hope the contrasting reality of how boring it is on a farm isn’t too much of a let-down.”

“Everything will be new and different. We’ll have fun,” she promised.

“I can’t wait to see you. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you.”

“You were just here this morning.”

“Whenever I’m away from you it seems like time slows down.”

“Claire can do that, you know.”

“You don’t think she’s doing that to us, do you?”

“No. Why would she?”

“To make me realize how much I need you.”

Pam laughed. “She tricky but not like that.”

“This is kind of bizarre like our families have a date.”

“It’s great. I think we need everyone to know everyone else. This is a good way to make that happen.”

* * *

As the expected time of their arrival approached, the carpeted floor in the library deadened my impatient footfalls as I maintained vigil from the picture window in the library. From the front-most room in my parent’s house. That gave an unrestricted view of the front yard and Jamestown Road. Pam, her mother, father, and Aunt Claire would arrive any minute!

Worried that my directions might have been too confusing, I hoped they didn’t take a wrong turn or get lost. It was the first time I ever gave instructions to anyone on how to get to my house. Rarely did we have guests who weren’t neighbors or people we brought to the house. It wasn’t that my parent’s farm was difficult to find. Just it was out of the way, in the middle of nowhere. A considerable distance from Tipp City, driving involved many turns onto several roads, the last few were back roads through farmland.

Although Aunt Claire said she knew where South Charleston was, it was some time ago that Mr. Sprague fixed her flat tire. Since Pam’s father knew the way to Springfield, I gave the directions from US-68, which was the closest, most direct route through the countryside to my parent’s house. I avoided a shorter route because it required turning off main roads and using country roads to transverse the landscape. From Xenia, they would take US-42 to Selma. From there it was only a few miles. Unfortunately, the last few turns were off country roads, but that was unavoidable. When you’re driving to nowhere, you should be happy directions don’t involve traversing gravel roads or worse, I guess.

Pam lived in a city, albeit one less than half the size of Springfield. Her house was within walking distance of elementary school and middle school. The high school was a short drive. The public library was even closer to her house than her school. She was aware of country life, having cousins who owned a dairy farm near New Carlisle. Though she claimed to have some basic first-hand experiences and skills — for example, she claimed she could milk a cow — she had never lived on a farm.

When I saw their car cresting the slight ridge that began the grade toward Massey Creek and our farm, I shouted, “They’re here!” I flew to the front door, snagging the doorframe to check my momentum and change direction. After I slipped on my shoes, I rushed out onto our enclosed porch.

Leaving the front door wide-open, upon reaching the double wrought iron gates, I swung both open wide in anticipation of accommodating Aunt Claire’s wheelchair. Waving, standing on the front step, it felt like time as well as the Roberts’ family car was moving far too slowly. They saw me, honking their horn as they pulled into the driveway, parking close to the garage.

“I hope you didn’t get lost,” I called out to Mr. Roberts as he stepped out of the car.

“No, your directions were great. That’s quite a drive, though.”

“You get used to it after the first dozen times.” I continued to approach the car. “And there are a couple of shortcuts, but I didn’t want to confuse you.”

“I appreciate that,” we shook hands.

Pam was retrieving Aunt Claire’s wheelchair from the trunk as I shared hugs with Mrs. Roberts. Then, joining Pam at the passenger door, I lifted her off her feet, hugging her in a way that left no doubt how great my need for her was. “You are more beautiful each time I see you.”

“I doubt that.”

“Why would I lie about that?”

“Hello, Brent. Don’t forget about me. I’m right here.”

“Why, it’s Aunt Claire. What a surprise!”

“You two were beginning to worry me, there.”

“Well, the door was in the way.” I opened it wide. “It was kind of hiding you. But I knew you were there.” I reached into the car and lifted her out before setting her gently onto the inflatable ring across the seat of her chair. “I’ve missed you too, Aunt Claire.”

“I could have used you today at church,” she said as she gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Pam’s good, but she’s no match for how well you assist me.”

“The secret is in the muscles,” I whispered.

“You definitely have those.”

“I haven’t figured out how to be in two places at once, though. As soon as I do, I can remedy that church thing.”

Claire laughed. “Just keep working on it and let me know.”

“Are you completely over the flu, now?” Mrs. Roberts asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It was mostly over by the time I wrestled on Thursday.”

Mom and Dad came out to greet everyone. After introductions, I managed to lift Claire’s wheelchair past the front step. I wheeled her through the front porch, up and across the threshold, and into the foyer. From there Pam took over, wheeling her into the family room. A nice early spring breeze stirred through the open triple sliding glass doors. Dad returned to the back deck to check on the burgers he’d put on the grill the moment I announced the arrival of Pam’s family. Mr. Roberts stepped out on the deck to join him. “You have quite a view here, Bruce. You own all this?”

“As far as you can see or just about.” He pointed, “That over there is a farm I manage for Bill, my business partner. He grew up there. He’s an attorney now.”

“I see. This makes a nice place to sit, enjoy the sun and the breeze.”

“We just added it a couple of years ago.”

“It’s perfect,” Pam’s mother said. She stepped outside as well, delivering a bowl of coleslaw and a tray of potato salad to the folding table we’d set up on the deck to handle the food and condiments.

Pam explained to me that at some point late yesterday afternoon, her mother connected with my mother and the two arranged to share the load of making lunch. Claire wheeled herself into the kitchen to get to know my mother better while Pam looked at me and smiled. “Well, we’re here!”

“I noticed.”

“Looks like everyone’s getting along.”

“So far.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“Actually, I’m optimistic about today, but I barely slept last night. It was like the night before you know you’re going to the county fair.”

Pam smiled. “I was looking forward to this, too. It was a great idea. Everyone seems to be having fun.”

“Do you want to see my room?”

“That’s a good place to start, I guess.”

“Well, I can show you the house and we’ll end up there. It’s sort of the last stop on the grand tour.”

“That could take a while. This is a big house.”

“Yeah, it seems bigger since the hourly shuttle bus service from one end to the other was canceled.”

Pam laughed.

“When Joy and Jean were still at home, it felt smaller. They both have rooms here, even though Joy has her own house now and Jean is away at college.”

“Kind of like it is at my house.”

“Exactly. I guess as to the babies of our families, we get to feel the progressive emptying of the nest right before we also get booted out to fly on our own.”

“That’s one way of looking at it. Let’s go see your room. We can do the grand tour after lunch.”

“Yeah, that’s probably better anyway. C’mon.”

As we walked down the hallway, I pointed out which room belonged to my parents and each of my sisters. Pam paused to look inside the bathroom as we passed by.

“And this is my room, the place I see far too little of.”

“This is nice,” she stepped inside. “So, did you spend a lot of time cleaning it up for me?”

“I didn’t have to do all that much. I dusted, changed the sheets, and vacuumed. Oh, and I had a little trash to take out.”

“I’m impressed, then. You maintain it well.”

“As I said, I’m barely ever here. I have so little time to mess it up.”

“Your desk is in front of a window. That’s good. You can look outside when you need inspiration for writing.”

“Let’s check out that theory.” I drew back the curtains. “And yes, there is an uninspiring view of a pasture field with a chicken coop positioned near the shade of an old oak tree.”

Pam laughed as she sat on my bed. “The view from my window is no better. I see the wall of the neighbor’s house. At least you can count the chickens.”

“That’s my number three pastime.”

“I won’t even bother asking what number two and number one are.”

“Number one is thinking about you, of course.”

“That’s sweet.” She kissed my cheek.

After switching on my stereo, I clicked on my reel-to-reel to play music, turning down the volume enough so we could still talk. Then, I sat beside her on my bed.

“That’s your bass amplifier?” She indicated the massive cabinet and amp head in the corner beside my stereo system.

“All my music on one wall. My other amp and cabinet are at Darren’s house where we usually have our practices. My guitar has a special stereo output feature called Rick-o-Sound. When we perform live, I use both amps and cabinets so I can use the effect. Sometimes it makes for an interesting sound.”

“I need to see you perform live sometime.”

“Next time we have a gig. Or maybe practice.”

“Lunch is ready!” My mother’s voice came from the hall.

“Good, I’m hungry.” I tugged on Pam’s hand as I stood and led the way back to the deck.

It was a little too cool to eat outside on the deck. So, after our plates were filled, Pam and I sat on the couch in the family room, setting our glasses of iced tea on the coffee table. Mom had a TV tray that fit perfectly across the arms of Aunt Claire’s wheelchair, making a small table for her. Everyone else sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen.

“There’s plenty if you want more,” Pam’s mother said, as she glanced into the family room to see about us.

“We’re fine Mom.”

“The potato salad is really good, Mrs. Roberts.”

“Thank you, Brent. I was just telling your mother we need to swap recipes. These baked beans are the best I have ever had.”

“The hamburger is excellent,” Pam told me.

“We raised the heifer.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We raise one heifer each year for our own beef. We store it in the chest freezer downstairs. There are some steaks and roasts, but we make mostly hamburgers, so there are better cuts of meat ground up than you’d normally find at a store.”

“It makes a difference.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Before you ask about the other night, I’m over it, now.” She smiled. “Dad and Mom talked to me about it on the way here.”

“There really was nothing.”

She nodded.

“If I could go back–”

“Just like you said, it comes down to trust. We really need to know each other better.”

“I’m sorry you had to deal with those people at school.”

“It was bad but not as bad as I thought it would be. Honestly, after I thought about it, it didn’t matter to me what they thought, because I know the truth. That’s what Aunt Claire asked me if I know the truth in my heart. And I did. You wouldn’t do that to me if you could prevent it. I know you couldn’t.”

“Maybe you do know me, just a little, then.”

“Not well enough, yet, but we’ll get there.”

“There’s no one else I want to know but you.”

Pam leaned in to kiss me. Pulling back, she laughed. “Sorry, that was a little greasy.”

“I’m not complaining.” I licked my lips.

“You’re easy to please.”

“Sometimes,” I said. I met her eyes and we both smiled.

Aunt Claire rolled into the room, smiling broadly. “That was the best hamburger I’ve had in a long time.”

“Aren’t they good?” Pam asked rhetorically.

“I think I’ll just move in here with you, Brent. That’ll solve all our problems on Sunday. I’m sure there’s a good church around here.”

“Several, actually.”

“See, I had a feeling.” She chuckled.

“There’s plenty of room. You can take Joy’s room. She isn’t using it anymore.”

Claire continued to smile, savoring the fantasy.

“What about me?” Pam asked her.

“You can come to visit Brent and me at the same time,” her aunt said, winking for emphasis.

“You have it all figured out.” Pam laughed.

“I think it should work just fine.”