The Invitation — Bring It: Chapter 2

It was Pam’s idea — sort of. While we were talking on the phone Friday night, she mentioned that if I could come up on Sunday morning, I could go to church with her family. That way I could finally meet Aunt Claire.

“Too bad I don’t live in Tipp City,” I replied.

“Or had someone you knew here who you could stay with. Wait, maybe I can ask Dad if you could stay in one of the boy’s rooms… hang on.”

When she returned, she was excited. “Okay, I know you have to sell the idea on your end, but Dad and Mom are okay with it. You can sleep in David’s room.”

“I don’t know, I have to be at practice with Coach Friske on Sunday by two-thirty.”

“Church is over at noon. You should have enough time to eat lunch with us and still make it to practice.”

“I don’t know if my folks will go for it.”

“Ask them.”

“I will, I’ll let you know.”

“When?”

“I’ll ask them in the morning. They’re both in bed right now.”

“And your practice is at noon tomorrow. I’ll be back from shopping with Aunt Claire around one.”

“I’ll take a break and call you from the payphone at the fieldhouse.”

“How long is your practice?”

“I don’t know. I’m doing conditioning and weight training as well as wrestling, so, probably all afternoon. I was planning to shower and dress there before driving up.”

“Then you’re coming directly here?”

“Yeah, I’ll just pack everything I need and leave it in my car.”

“So, you think your parents will say yes?”

“I really don’t see why not. Dad doesn’t like me driving home after midnight, anyway.”

“I’m excited now.”

“Me too.”

“And you’ll finally meet my dad.”

“And get the second part of the parental…”

“It won’t be that bad. Mom told him a lot about you. And he’s heard everything I’ve said.”

“What have you been telling him?”

“You know, things like you have a good sense of humor.”

“Oh great, so now he’ll expect me to be an amateur comedian.”

“You’re funny.”

“Yeah, but it’s not intentional.”

Pam laughed. “Look, I know this is your call. I’m already looking at having to work a job after school to pay my part of the bill. I’m sure you’re facing the same thing.”

“It’s worth it.”

“I’m glad you feel that way. I do too.”

“Dream about me.”

“You too. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Pam.”

Phone to its cradle, I swiveled on the stool. Mom was standing in the archway between the family room and kitchen. I smiled at her, not knowing how long she was standing there, but I assumed she caught the tail end of the conversation.

“It’s awfully late.” She walked to the refrigerator to fetch a pitcher of cold water from within.

“I know. I can sleep in a little tomorrow. I don’t have to be at practice until noon.”

Mom took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with the pitcher. “You thirsty?”

“No, I’m fine.”

She took several gulps before setting her glass down and returning the pitcher to the refrigerator. “So, you dated three girls in the past year and now there’s a fourth. How many are you in love with?”

“What?”

“Dad said Annie called and spoke to him the other night.”

“She mentioned it at school.”

“And Dawn was not that long ago. I know Renée still…”

“Mom, the only girl I’m in love with is Pam. Okay?”

“For this week.”

“I hope it lasts longer than that. I really like hanging out with her.”

“Liking to be with someone is fine, but that is a lot different than love, honey. You seem to think you can just flick it on like a light switch. Liking someone is not the same as loving someone.”

“It’s not like that, Mom. I’m still getting to know Pam. I’m friends with Anne and, even if I hardly hear anything from Renée anymore, we were always on friendly terms.”

“And Dawn?”

“Mom, she’s getting married, remember?”

“What?”

“I didn’t tell you?”

Mom stared at me. “That was sudden.”

“Not really. A childhood sweetheart.”

“But just now you told Pam you love her, too. So, I know she told you–”

“It’s what you’re supposed to say when someone says they love you.”

“You shouldn’t say it if you don’t mean it.”

“I mean it when I say it.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure I love her. Okay?”

“At least until you meet someone else who draws your attention?”

“No, Mom. That’s not how it is at all.”

“Isn’t it? You were in love last year and now three times this year. What’s going to happen when you start college?”

“I’ll be coming home when I can to see Pam at Wright State.”

“You think that now.”

“Those are my plans.”

She shook her head. “Go on to bed. We can talk some more in the morning.”

“Uh, Mom. Maybe you and Dad can discuss it in the morning before I get the chance to mention it to Dad.”

“Discuss what?”

“Pam wants me to go to church with her, her dad, mom, and aunt on Sunday. She asked her parents and they’re okay with me sleeping over in one of her brother’s rooms.”

“You haven’t known her long enough, honey. We don’t know her parents. It’s — ”

“This way I won’t have to drive home after midnight. I can take my stuff and go to wrestling practice on Sunday from there. It makes a lot of sense if you think about it.”

“I don’t like the idea of you staying overnight at a girl’s house.”

“I stayed over at Renée’s once.”

“That was different.”

“How was it different? Because you know her parents? My point is, when I stayed over with Renée, nothing happened.”

“That doesn’t mean it won’t this time.”

“Mom, you need to trust me. Besides, you’ll like Pam’s family, I’m sure.”

“What do her parents do?”

“They sell real estate.”

“We haven’t met them or Pam. At least we knew Renée and her parents.”

“You’ll love Pam.”

“Your dad and I will talk about it in the morning.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I gave her a hug and kissed her goodnight.

“I’m not promising anything,” she called after me.

After I dressed for bed, I did something I hadn’t done for a very long time. I slipped on the headphones and cued up my reel-to-reel tape to The Who’s Quadrophenia. I listened to it all the way through, falling asleep to Love Reign O’er Me.

At around eight, I woke, which was delightfully late for me. I stretched, trying to ease the stiffness in my back, arms, and legs before attempting any part of my usual morning ritual. Bedcovers flipped back, I stepped out onto the carpet and continued to stretch.

How did being in great physical condition equate to taking so long to get out of bed first thing in the morning? As I stood there, I stared into my eyes that were reflected in the dresser mirror. The presence of The Other was there, of course, but not quite the same as it always was. I’d felt Carlos’ thoughts for as long as I could remember. But recently they converged with my inner monologue. And lately, I wasn’t sure where Brent ended, and Carlos began. Perhaps there never was that much difference.

I didn’t want to stare into my eyes or give any deep thought to the matter because every time I did, I lapsed into blankness for a moment. But I could feel the draw, being pulled into my reflection — or was it being pulled deeper inside of me? It was already too late.

I didn’t recall walking down the hall to the bathroom, still, I recalled evacuating my bladder. And then I flushed and turned toward the vanity.

Another mirror I tried to avoid. I brushed my teeth but did not look up from the sink basin. I rinsed and spat with eyes averted. I dreaded the adjustment whenever there was a lapse, even if it was only for a few seconds.

Knocking. I heard it distinctly, I was certain of it. But when I opened the door, no one was there, but Dad was approaching.

“G’mornin’,” I greeted him.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, just a little sore, still.”

“Been using some muscles you didn’t know you had?”

“Yeah, I guess I know I have them now.”

“It seems we need to talk.”

“About sleeping over at Pam’s.”

“Yes.”

“Before you say, no, at least talk to her parents.”

“We don’t know anything about her family, son.”

“I do, Dad. I’m gradually meeting all of them. During spring break her brothers and her sister are coming home from college.”

“Pam’s the baby of the family, too?”

“Yeah.”

“Why is it so important for you to sleep over?”

“Sunday morning I’m going to meet her favorite aunt. We’re all going to church.”

“You don’t go to church here, not anymore.”

“See, they’re being a good influence on me already.”

“What kind of church?”

“I don’t know, Dad. I didn’t ask.”

“Are they Catholic?”

“I don’t think so. Why would that matter, anyway?”

“They’d want you to convert to their religion.”

“Maybe, if Pam and I end up marrying. But we’re not there yet. Look, whatever happens, happens. What I know right now is I need to know these people because they are important in Pam’s life and she’s important in mine.”

“So, you are thinking that these are your future in-laws?”

“I don’t know, Dad. But I know I want to meet everyone in her life. And she wants to meet all of my family, too. Okay?”

“Well, I need to meet them first.”

“We can arrange for it, but not today, not before tonight.”

“I understand that.” He drew a deep breath. “It’s not that we don’t trust you, son. We just don’t know anything about them. How long have you known her, about a month?”

“A little over that.”

“Is this going to be a weekly habit?”

“I wasn’t planning on it. But it might make some sense if we were planning to do something on both Saturday evening and Sunday morning. But for now, I have wrestling practice both days in the afternoon. So…”

“You call us when you get there. I want to talk to her parents.”

“Okay. So, I can stay?”

“You take your things. I’ll make a decision after we’ve talked to them.”

* * *

The prospect of being with Pam was the only thing that saw me through the torture Coach Friske meted out. He called it conditioning. After running twenty laps, we took to the football field and set up cones at two-and-a-half intervals. I ran whistle sprints for the next thirty minutes as if it was football practice. Over an hour into practice and I had yet to wrestle.

Next, I lifted weights while the coach spotted me. I did box squats, leg extensions, leg presses, curls, French curls, and bench presses. He was more concerned about my repetitions and how quickly I could execute than increasing my strength. I did incline sit-ups and progressive leg lifts followed by trunk twists and windmills. Two hours into practice, I still hadn’t wrestled.

I asked for a fifteen-minute break so I can call Pam.

“It’ll cost you extra time.”

“Put it on my tab,” I allowed.

She picked up on the second ring. We exchanged hellos.

“How’s it going?”

“Well, if the coach doesn’t kill me first, I’ll be there before seven if not earlier. My dad wants me to call when I get there.”

“That’s fine.”

“He wants to talk to your parents.”

“So, he hasn’t approved it yet?”

“No, not completely. But I know he will — once he’s talked to your folks.”

“I hope so.”

“It’s just he doesn’t know your parents. It will make Mom and Dad feel better.”

“Okay. I can’t wait to see you, so hurry up.”

“I’m going as fast as I can,” I said.

“I love you, Brent.”

“I love you, too, Pam.”

After the brief break, the coach and I finally did something wrestling-related. With his massive weight across my chest, simulating how it would be in a match, I sustained neck bridges in 30-second intervals, with a one-minute rest between. The coach’s point was that if I could sustain them for longer periods, I’d be tough if not impossible to pin. He intended it to build my confidence. He wasn’t going easy on me. He was trying to force my shoulders down to the mat, but he didn’t succeed. I refused to let him.

For the next hour, we did drills, working on the speed of my execution against the coach. Every move he taught me over the course of that week, we practiced until it became a reflex.

During the final hour and a half, he and I wrestled. He was imitating no one. I was wrestling Barry Friske with all his expertise. He made a bet that he could pin me. Didn’t happen. Then he bet me I couldn’t pin him, but I did. Best two out of three. Best four out of seven. I pinned him, repeatedly.

We returned to the track and we both ran twenty more laps. This time he kept pace with me for much longer than before. All the while, he was keeping track of the split time for each lap. How fast I should be running was measured against how fast I was. Always, he chided me, demanding I pick up the pace. I drew into my energy reserve. Waiting for my second wind wasn’t working, always chasing it until… I found something inside, buried deep, hiding exactly where I didn’t expect it, where it might be easily overlooked, at my core. Connected with it, I discovered the power in reserve even as continued to run, past any previous extreme of endurance, beyond what I believed was possible. The worst Coach Friske threw at me, I survived.

He persisted, compelling me to run faster than I believed possible. He stopped when I had only two laps left and counted down the remaining time in ten-second increments. Then, on the last lap, he wanted me to run as fast as I could for as long as I could, sprinting for the last eighth of a mile. All the time, I was thinking of being with Pam in a few hours, having dinner with her, holding her hand, hearing her voice, her laugh, caressing the soft skin of her cheek, running my fingers through her silky blond hair, smelling the remnant herbal fragrance of her shampoo, and tasting her kiss.

The whistle blew.

“Where are you going?”

“What?” I turned around but kept jogging in place.

“You’re fifty yards past the finish.”

“My brakes are shot. It takes some distance to slow this bulk down. You know?”

Coach Friske laughed. “Okay, except you weren’t slowing down. The last lap was your best one, again. And the best one yet!”

“Great!”

“Hit the showers. When you’re dressed let me know.”

Hot water directly overhead, running down my neck, cascading down my back — wherever it hit — felt amazing. I didn’t want to step out of the steamy stream except that I knew Pam was waiting for me.