This excerpt depicts a special father-and-son moment between Sam Caldwell and his two sons, Mac and Peter from my newest book, Now and Forever 3, Blind Love. Sam is about to tell his sons how and when he lost his virginity.
“Come on, Dad. Confess.
This story sounds too good to pass up,” Peter urged.
“So, you all want to hear a
juicy story, do you? I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.” Sam smiled.
The men took their drinks
and sat down to listen to Sam. Sam leaned against the arm of the sofa, cradling a glass of
tonic.
“Okay, okay. I was eighteen
and green as they come. I grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia, with a sister and two
brothers. My parents worked hard but they didn’t have much money. My father was a postal worker
and my mother taught school. We had food and all, but there was no money for college. So I
took myself off to the recruiting station and joined the army.”
“Get to the good part,
Dad,” Peter urged.
“I’m getting there. Don’t
rush me. I had a girlfriend, Linda, in high school. I kept trying to get her to sleep with me,
but she refused. After two years of begging that got me nowhere, I washed my hands of her when
I went to war. She cried and said she’d bake me cookies. Cookies!
Hah! She still wouldn’t
give me what I wanted…which was a good roll in the hay. She had a body…well, it was
unbelievable…but you’ll just have to use your imagination,” Sam said, color creeping into his cheeks.
“When I got to basic
training camp in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, I was a tall, skinny, horny kid who didn’t know much about
anything, especially women. But several nights a week, I tagged along to a bar with a bunch
of guys who went into Pine Bluff looking for a good time. For the first few nights, I got
drunk and sick because I wasn’t used to liquor. After a while, I understood my limits.
“The guys kept
getting…finding women. But not me. So they were going to make me a cause célèbre, if you get
my drift. The next Friday night, we went to The Sunrise Bar, one of the favorites with the guys
because the woman who ran the place, Jeannie, was the widow of a Viet Nam vet. So the guys
figured drinking there was like keeping it in the family. Jeannie was a pretty brunette who kept
the guys in line by not falling for their crap. They teased her and she teased them back. But no
one got to first base with Jeannie.
“That Friday, they all kept
an eye out for a girl for me at The Sunrise. None of the girls there were interested in a tall,
skinny kid who didn’t know what he was doing when they could go off with one of the experienced
guys who had muscles and smooth talk. So it was another lonely night for me,” Sam said,
pausing to take a sip of his tonic.
“The next night, I got to
The Sunrise earlier than the rest. Jeannie was setting up. She was upset, but refused to talk
about it. But I was persistent. Jeannie had always been nice to me and I wanted to help her out if I
could. She finally opened up. She had a son, a boy of nine, who was having trouble in school
with math. I was a whiz at math, always have been. So I agreed to sit with him and help him for
an hour. Jeannie took me upstairs to the apartment they had above the bar. Jeannie’s son, Tommy,
was up there, sullen and uncooperative until he saw me in my uniform. He sat up straight
at attention. I guess I reminded him of his dad.
“I spent an hour with him.
Jeannie was grateful and gave me a couple of free drinks. Before long, it became a regular
thing. Every night I showed up an hour early and went to work with Tommy, then I’d go downstairs
and get drunk for free. It seemed like a good arrangement.”
“When did you get laid and
with who, Dad?” Peter asked, impatiently.
“I’m getting there, Pete.
Just hold on. So one night, I stayed until closing. I had missed my ride back to the base and
was swearing because I’d have to walk. Jeannie said she’d drive me.
Tommy was asleep and Arnie,
her helper, had cleaned up already. I met her upstairs where she was tucking in the blankets
around Tommy.
“Jeannie turned and looked
at me in the moonlight coming in the window. ‘You’re a good man, Sam,’ she said to me.
The moonlight was shining on her dark hair and for the first time, I noticed how beautiful she
was. She just stood there, looking at me. She knew I was a virgin because the guys weren’t
shy about teasing me about it in front of her, or anyone else. She stepped up close and put
her arms around me, pulling me right up against her. I can still remember the smell of her
perfume when she kissed me.”
“It gets very lonely here,
sometimes,” she whispered in my ear. I didn’t really know what she meant, because I was so
incredibly stupid and naïve. Then she took my hand and led me into her bedroom, which she kept
locked to keep the GIs out. It was a small, simple but beautiful room, very feminine with
heart-shaped pillows, a collection of fancy dolls sitting on a bookshelf and pink walls. Jeannie
took off her blouse and skirt and pulled me down on the bed with her. I began to get the idea my
ship had come in and I was going to learn all about love from someone who actually knew a lot
more about it than I did. I was right too. I was in Pine Bluff for only three more weeks, but every
night I went to The Sunrise, tutored Tommy and spent several hours learning about love from
Jeannie in that back bedroom.
“The guys kept teasing me
because they hadn’t figured out what was going on. After all, what would a beautiful,
worldly woman like Jeannie want with a skinny inexperienced kid like me? I let them think what
they wanted. What Jeannie and I had together was special, so I kept it to myself.
“I was sorry to leave her,
not only because I’d miss the sex, but because I was going overseas and I was scared
to death. Jeannie refused to say goodbye. She shut down, realizing she had gotten attached to
someone else who’d be going to Viet Nam and maybe not coming back. I think it was more than she
could handle.
“I liked and respected
Jeannie, maybe even loved her, and it hurt when she refused to see me off. I never forgot the
things she taught me about how to make love to a woman. I’m not going
into any of that here, so
before you ask the answer is no. She was some woman,” Sam said,
sighing at the memory of
her body and her sweet soul.
“What a story, Dad,” Peter
said.
The men all agreed Sam had
had the most meaningful first experience of anyone. It sure beat a too-quick first time in
the backseat of a car leaving a young woman frustrated. Sam felt closer
to his sons, man to man,
after sharing his story.
“Are you sure you won’t
share any of what you learned from Jeannie with us?” Peter prompted.
“Peter, I doubt you or Mac
need to learn anything from me about how to make love to a woman. You both seem to be
doing very…no…extremely well on your own. You both could probably teach me
something.” Sam shook his head and laughed.
Happy Father's Day!
To buy Now and Forever 3, Blind Love go to:
2 comments:
Great story! I think as a parent, it's important to share things like that with kids at the appropriate time.
Very nice! Great writing and the photos add to the moment. Much success to with your book :)
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