Beth had a very enjoyable way of waking me up. She used my inevitable morning wood to great advantage and I was treated to the sight of her long red hair waving above my face as she impaled herself for an early morning ride to start the day. Afterward, we enjoyed a leisurely shower before she left barely before my parents showed up.
The only person who saw her leave was Al and he was full of questions as to how I managed to spend the night with a girl as old and pretty as Beth. He was blown away by my answer.
"How in the heck many of you are there? I figured you were a fluke but if she came back too there has to be more." He had a valid point and I had been thinking along the same lines.
As we watched the race later that day I hoped dad was too happy with the result to be suspicious. I figured if a guy had been struggling like he had to keep the bills paid becoming an instant millionaire would be all that was on his mind. I was wrong of course. Al and I had inherited our brains from somewhere.
Dad got my attention and pointed to the kitchen. When we got there he said "I don't know how you knew that was going to happen and I'm not sure that I want to, but I have to ask... how?" I thought about my answer for some time. I couldn't make myself tell my dad that I was older than him, at least not yet.
I had to phrase this delicately to avoid an outright lie. Finally, I collected my thoughts enough to say "I can't say how I know but sometimes I can tell what's going to happen before it does.
It's strange, and kind of scary. It was like I had seen the race before. I know how the Preakness and Belmont will finish too. It's not just sports either. There are other things more important."
When he asked me for an example I decided to push my luck even more. I told him that if he didn't stop his three pack a day habit he would have emphysema in ten years and die five years later. "
And if I stop?" he asked. I told him I thought he'd be o.k. and hoped I was right. He asked more questions.
"When did this start? Did something happen like getting hit on the head?" And others that made me wonder if he had been watching The Twilight Zone with my mom. Eventually he gave up and said goodnight and that we'd talk again tomorrow.
I filled Al in on my conversation with dad as he got ready for his date. I couldn't tell which he was happier about, the date or the money. I was surprised that they were seeing M*A*S*H, but Al said that's what Joyce had chosen. He was afraid she'd want to see Love Story.
He told me he was going to try and go to the track with pop to collect the winnings because of the amount of cash but I convinced him to bet the Preakness with some of it while he was there. They could do the same for the Belmont and get a cashier check afterward.
I figured we would have enough to afford to pay cash for any house we wanted. I had told him about the move and like me he was pissed but not surprised. He had always called our uncle "weasel" behind his back. I guess he knew him better than I did.
He talked about a new car, too. He had a '62 Nova that was actually in great shape. He was amazed when I told him what it would be worth someday. I was able to talk him out of it for now by telling him he'd practically killed himself once in a 1970 'Cuda AAR.
I got him to promise me not to take any hairpin turns at 100mph if he still bought it. It was easier when I told him what that would be worth someday since only a little over a thousand of the four speeds were made.
I spent most of the weekend doing what I usually did. The most important thing my folks instilled in me was a strong work ethic. Watching them made me feel useless if I wasn't doing something constructive. It was spring, which to me meant making some cash taking peoples storm windows out and putting screen windows in.
Before long I'd start my "lawn service". Kids around here were lazy so I had a lot of customers. I used a sliding scale based on the customers' age, income, and ability to do the work themselves to decide what to charge them.
It ranged from the three bucks for the widow a block over who must have been in her eighties and insisted on sweeping up herself after I mowed to the lazy thirty-something guy across the street who sat around all day drinking beer on the weekend. I charged him ten.
For the windows I charged for each one replaced (again on a sliding scale). I got almost all of them done by five O'Clock on Sunday. The widow never had me change hers until June because she said she would freeze her "wrinkled old ass off" at night. That was another reason she got a big discount. The lady was a hoot.
I couldn't see Jan on the weekends because of her parents but Beth didn't have that problem. She came over Sunday and we spent the day in my room talking (mostly).
I decided to investigate some of the ideas she had given me when I went to bed that night. She said she had her own "personal birth control". She could control her cycle at will, which made me wonder if I could I eliminate the need for condoms.
I always hated them and if I could suppress my sperm production by doing a "vasectomy of the mind" I wouldn't need them. After discovering that this was easily done I moved on to other things.
Could I detect the thoughts of others? I had heard that there were people who actually could do this. Beth said she hadn't had any luck with it and, like me, hadn't met anyone who could and wasn't convinced that they existed.
I thought I knew the concept though. It would take some trial and error experiments to determine if we could do it and to what extent. I was excited about the possibilities but after doing a bit of meditation and giving thanks to the gods I was finally able to sleep.
Jan and Beth were waiting for me with a kiss when I came out of the house on Monday. I wanted to drag them back in to continue but knew we'd be able to take care of things later.
After we met up with Mark and Janelle at the corner Jan said "I think we started something" and pointed across the street. It was an unusual sight. Instead of the usual two groups (1 male, 1 female) there was only one mixed bunch and they were actually talking!
I gave Jan a quick peck on the lips and told her it was all her fault. If she wasn't such a great kisser they wouldn't have gotten ideas.
From the looks our two partners in crime were exchanging I couldn't help but wonder if they had been practicing as well. My thought was confirmed quickly as Mark looked at us and said "I wish we could join you but with Janelle's dad being a preacher and some of those kids going to his church she'd be in big trouble."
At Janelle's nod I got another devious idea to talk over with the girls later. I knew Mark was leaving early today to get his glasses so we could talk on the way home.
After school I brought it up on the way to my house. "You know, I have the whole second floor of the house to myself. What do you guys think about inviting Mark and Janelle over tomorrow? We might have to be quieter but they need some privacy."
Jan thought it was a great idea but added... "I guess we need to get the screaming out of my system today then" was her only reply. Actually, we weren't as noisy this time. The two of them did wear me out though and while I was trying to recover the conversation turned serious.
She looked a little nervous and I asked why. "I've got something to say and I'm afraid you'll be mad" she admitted. I promised I wouldn't and convinced her enough to get her to talk.
"It's just that you're going to be moving and since you agreed that we shouldn't get too attached and since you two seem to be hitting it off so well I wondered if you would mind if I hung out with John."
Jan looked at me with apprehension and seemed relieved when I smiled. John was Mark's brother and was a year older than us. I used to spend a lot of time at their house and knew he was a good guy so I was actually happy for her. When I told her that I wished her well she rewarded me with "one for the road" while Beth fed me some delicious melons.
After we were all exhausted we headed to the kitchen for something cold to drink. I noticed Al's door was closed but didn't think anything of it until Jan stopped in her tracks with a look of disbelief on her face.
That's when I noticed noises not unlike the ones we had been making. "Oh wow!" Jan exclaimed "That's Joyce! It sounds like Al is almost as good as you!"