Ch. 16 - The Next Step
“Really, you don’t have to do this!” Laura exclaimed, as Sam dragged her into the most expensive department store in downtown Mexico City.
“I think I do,” Sam said grinning very, very widely by now.
“Uh…I don’t know about this…hah!” Laura gasped in surprise.
The department store glittered with all the shining dresses it held on its clothing racks. There was every color from purple to glimmering gold. There were short skirts, and long flowing dresses. There were dancing shoes, and clippity clop shoes. There was just everything you could think of or imagine in whatever size brain you had.
Laura’s mouth dropped within an instant, and it did not shut until Sam shut it for her.
“Oh sorry, I’m just…”
“Overwhelmed?”
“A little,” she said brushing a hand through her flowing hair.
“Come on, let’s try some on!”
“Let’s?”
“Well, you, of course, unless?” Sam asked with a wicked smile on his face.
“No!” Laura said, whipping Sam with her purse. Then, running off to the clothes rack to pick out some dresses. Sam just sat back on a lounge chair and smiled. He loved to see his Laura so happy.
………………………………………………………………………………………
“Are you going to continue?” Lucy asked the much depressed Gary Chapman. He was silent. “Mr. Chapman?”
“Oh, yes, sorry, I was just…thinking.”
“Why don’t you tell me WHAT you were thinking? Hmm?”
“Alright. Her name was Janie Parxton. She was in every one of my classes in highschool: Geometry, Biology, Physics-you name it. She had long brown hair and the most beautiful brown eyes, oh man, I was in love with her before school ever began freshman year,” Gary sighed, treasuring the memory. Lucy listened intently, trying to be patient, and not hurry him along.
“Alright, then what?” Lucy asked as calmly as she could manage.
“Well, I asked her out freshman year, but she didn’t think much of me and after my idiotic attempts to impress her, I decided to befriend her, and see what would happen.
“Sophomore year we were the best of friends, and everyone seemed to think we would hook up eventually. She had forgotten about the scrawny freshman I used to be, and I had stopped trying to be something I wasn’t.
“Junior year she was in love with another boy, Bradley Marxter. She went nuts that they both had Xs in their names. Finally, he noticed her, and when he asked her to the spring fling that year, all she could do was say ‘yes’.
“I was heartbroken as you can imagine, but when he tried to sleep with her that night, quite forcingly as I remember, I rescued her. I beat him up all by myself, and took Janie home to her family.
“After that, anyone could tell she felt indebted to me, and didn’t know how in the world she could repay me. I asked for nothing for her friendship, and eventually she fell for me. I had been in love with her for who knows how long, and finally she was in love with me.
“It came as quite a shock the first time she whispered those powerful words, ‘I want to be with you,’ and ‘I love you’. After about two months of dating, I could take it no longer. I wanted her, all of her! I had waited so long for her to love me, and I couldn’t bear the fact that if I lost her, and never experienced her fully, what would do to my reputation? Would I become the nerd/geek I had been in 9th grade? I couldn’t let that happen. Now, she was in love with me. Now was the time. I took her to my house, we had a romantic dinner, and then, I slept with her. Everything was fine, and we were going wonderfully, until the day she came up to me, and told me she was pregnant.
“She was so scared, and she depended on me to give her all the answers like I had to all her other problems. But I didn’t have the answers. I hadn’t thought of the consequences, and therefore I wasn’t ready for the outcome. All I could think of was, what is this going to do to me? To my reputation? This was worse than knowing that I had never ‘experienced’ the girl of my dreams. Why had I not thought? Everyone will laugh at me now! I didn’t even dare to think how she was feeling, that she was scared, that she didn’t know what to do. She was only 16, and I was 17. I was stupid, and I shouldn’t have treated her the way I did. And after a while she caught on to my egotistical selfishness-she moved away, down south, around Arizona I believe, and she got an abortion. I heard that from her brother Waley, who had been a good friend of mine, up until this point. She finished highschool down there, and got a degree in Children’s Education. I felt so horrible, and I don’t think I ever forgave myself. In fact, it wasn’t until my wife, Chelsea,” he said, starting to stutter with tears running down his face.\
“It’s alright. You don’t have to say anymore. That took a lot of guts,” Lucy said, sympathetically.
“Sam is lucky to have a mom like you. But please, let me finish. I need to do this. For myself, for Laura and Tessa, and most of all for my wife, Chelsea.”
“Alright,” she said, giving in to his conviction, “continue.”
Mr. Chapman took a deep breath and continued.
………………………………………………………………
“You look absolutely gorgeous!” Sam said breathlessly marveling at Laura in the dress she had picked out. It was a satin red with diamonds sparkling everywhere, and a bow tying around to the back. Laura had picked out dainty red slipper-like shoes, and was wearing a jeweled choker around her neck, with sparkling earrings and a darling headband.
Laura was bashful, and couldn’t look Sam in the face. He had done all this for her, and she was the one he was marveling at? How could that be?
“I don’t know to thank you, Sam. I really don’t,” Laura said, with a worried look written in her eyes.
Sam smiled slightly. “Don’t worry about it, baby. All you’ve got to do is spend the evening with me, and let me drive you home when it’s over. That’s all I can ask for.”
Laura sighed. “Surely, I can do something else!”
Sam put a finger to Laura’s lips. “Nonsense! Now, come on and take the tags off and I’ll pay for this amazingly beautiful outfit you’ve assorted, and then, my friend, we will continue our fabulous outing on the streets on downtown Mexico City!” Sam said, tapping his feet together. Laura giggled, giving him the tags. He’s a one of a kind, and I love him.
“I think I do,” Sam said grinning very, very widely by now.
“Uh…I don’t know about this…hah!” Laura gasped in surprise.
The department store glittered with all the shining dresses it held on its clothing racks. There was every color from purple to glimmering gold. There were short skirts, and long flowing dresses. There were dancing shoes, and clippity clop shoes. There was just everything you could think of or imagine in whatever size brain you had.
Laura’s mouth dropped within an instant, and it did not shut until Sam shut it for her.
“Oh sorry, I’m just…”
“Overwhelmed?”
“A little,” she said brushing a hand through her flowing hair.
“Come on, let’s try some on!”
“Let’s?”
“Well, you, of course, unless?” Sam asked with a wicked smile on his face.
“No!” Laura said, whipping Sam with her purse. Then, running off to the clothes rack to pick out some dresses. Sam just sat back on a lounge chair and smiled. He loved to see his Laura so happy.
………………………………………………………………………………………
“Are you going to continue?” Lucy asked the much depressed Gary Chapman. He was silent. “Mr. Chapman?”
“Oh, yes, sorry, I was just…thinking.”
“Why don’t you tell me WHAT you were thinking? Hmm?”
“Alright. Her name was Janie Parxton. She was in every one of my classes in highschool: Geometry, Biology, Physics-you name it. She had long brown hair and the most beautiful brown eyes, oh man, I was in love with her before school ever began freshman year,” Gary sighed, treasuring the memory. Lucy listened intently, trying to be patient, and not hurry him along.
“Alright, then what?” Lucy asked as calmly as she could manage.
“Well, I asked her out freshman year, but she didn’t think much of me and after my idiotic attempts to impress her, I decided to befriend her, and see what would happen.
“Sophomore year we were the best of friends, and everyone seemed to think we would hook up eventually. She had forgotten about the scrawny freshman I used to be, and I had stopped trying to be something I wasn’t.
“Junior year she was in love with another boy, Bradley Marxter. She went nuts that they both had Xs in their names. Finally, he noticed her, and when he asked her to the spring fling that year, all she could do was say ‘yes’.
“I was heartbroken as you can imagine, but when he tried to sleep with her that night, quite forcingly as I remember, I rescued her. I beat him up all by myself, and took Janie home to her family.
“After that, anyone could tell she felt indebted to me, and didn’t know how in the world she could repay me. I asked for nothing for her friendship, and eventually she fell for me. I had been in love with her for who knows how long, and finally she was in love with me.
“It came as quite a shock the first time she whispered those powerful words, ‘I want to be with you,’ and ‘I love you’. After about two months of dating, I could take it no longer. I wanted her, all of her! I had waited so long for her to love me, and I couldn’t bear the fact that if I lost her, and never experienced her fully, what would do to my reputation? Would I become the nerd/geek I had been in 9th grade? I couldn’t let that happen. Now, she was in love with me. Now was the time. I took her to my house, we had a romantic dinner, and then, I slept with her. Everything was fine, and we were going wonderfully, until the day she came up to me, and told me she was pregnant.
“She was so scared, and she depended on me to give her all the answers like I had to all her other problems. But I didn’t have the answers. I hadn’t thought of the consequences, and therefore I wasn’t ready for the outcome. All I could think of was, what is this going to do to me? To my reputation? This was worse than knowing that I had never ‘experienced’ the girl of my dreams. Why had I not thought? Everyone will laugh at me now! I didn’t even dare to think how she was feeling, that she was scared, that she didn’t know what to do. She was only 16, and I was 17. I was stupid, and I shouldn’t have treated her the way I did. And after a while she caught on to my egotistical selfishness-she moved away, down south, around Arizona I believe, and she got an abortion. I heard that from her brother Waley, who had been a good friend of mine, up until this point. She finished highschool down there, and got a degree in Children’s Education. I felt so horrible, and I don’t think I ever forgave myself. In fact, it wasn’t until my wife, Chelsea,” he said, starting to stutter with tears running down his face.\
“It’s alright. You don’t have to say anymore. That took a lot of guts,” Lucy said, sympathetically.
“Sam is lucky to have a mom like you. But please, let me finish. I need to do this. For myself, for Laura and Tessa, and most of all for my wife, Chelsea.”
“Alright,” she said, giving in to his conviction, “continue.”
Mr. Chapman took a deep breath and continued.
………………………………………………………………
“You look absolutely gorgeous!” Sam said breathlessly marveling at Laura in the dress she had picked out. It was a satin red with diamonds sparkling everywhere, and a bow tying around to the back. Laura had picked out dainty red slipper-like shoes, and was wearing a jeweled choker around her neck, with sparkling earrings and a darling headband.
Laura was bashful, and couldn’t look Sam in the face. He had done all this for her, and she was the one he was marveling at? How could that be?
“I don’t know to thank you, Sam. I really don’t,” Laura said, with a worried look written in her eyes.
Sam smiled slightly. “Don’t worry about it, baby. All you’ve got to do is spend the evening with me, and let me drive you home when it’s over. That’s all I can ask for.”
Laura sighed. “Surely, I can do something else!”
Sam put a finger to Laura’s lips. “Nonsense! Now, come on and take the tags off and I’ll pay for this amazingly beautiful outfit you’ve assorted, and then, my friend, we will continue our fabulous outing on the streets on downtown Mexico City!” Sam said, tapping his feet together. Laura giggled, giving him the tags. He’s a one of a kind, and I love him.
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