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{\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}\pard\plain \qc\nowidctlpar\adjustright \cgrid {\b REWIND
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
\ldblquote BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER, THERE\rquote S FAR TOO MANY OF YOU DYING\rdblquote
}{
}\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\b NOVEMBER 24th, 1980}{
One of the problems with reliving your life is pinning the memories to the date of an event. In other words, things sneak up on me. I\rquote ll be going merrily along, maybe get a glance of the date, and then a memory will sneak up and me, and I\rquote
ll go \ldblquote Oh, yeah, }{\b that\rquote s}{ about to happen!\rdblquote
Today, it was, \ldblquote Oh, }{\b no}{, that\rquote s about to happen!\rdblquote Because I realized what was going to happen exactly two weeks from today.
My idol, John Lennon, was going to be murdered.
This is the problem with foreknowledge, especially foreknowledge of bad events. I felt like I should be doing something to stop this. But should I? And, if so, }{\b what}{? I\rquote
m gonna go to New York, knock on the front door of the Dakota, somehow get }{\b in}{ to see Lennon, and tell him he\rquote s going to be shot on December 8th? Yeah, right. Even if I were successful, they\rquote
d lock me up. And then probably arrest me as an accessory--I mean, how }{\b else}{ would I know about it, right?
But, shit, I had to do }{\b something}{, didn\rquote t I?
}{\b Didn\rquote t}{ I?
There were days when the fucking ethics of being a time traveller gave me a throbbing headache. This was one of them.
Look, I figured I\rquote d been sent back for a reason. Now, what reason, and }{\b whose}{ reason, I had no idea. I guess the point is, I didn\rquote t figure that this was just some sort of random chan
ce exercise, if you see what I mean. Because I knew that, in the grand scheme of things, just my existance as a person with future knowledge meant that I was a variable, and a severe one. I knew I had changed countless lives just by being sent back.
But I\rquote d done that just by }{\b living}{
, you know? The alternatives were to go hide in my room for thirty years, or retrace my steps exactly from the first time. And neither of those options were really options. Hell, if I thought I had to relive my life exactly the
way it was the first time, I wouldn\rquote t ever }{\b make}{ it back to 2007--I\rquote d throw myself off the Tobin Bridge long before then. Once was enough, thankyouverymuch. And, honestly, I didn\rquote
t think that the whatever that sent me back expected that, either. That\rquote s not much more than an educated guess, sure, but that\rquote s the way I felt about it. I know I wasn\rquote t going to throw away a second chance like that.
That all being said, though, just the act of me reliving my life differently changed umpteen other lives, and I knew it. I mean, just start with this--four out of the six other people in the band were people I never even }{\b knew}{
in the first life. Though I like to think I changed most people\rquote s lives for the better--because I was a better person--I know that wasn\rquote t always t
he case. And what about people I did know in the first life but never met in this one? How had their lives changed? I\rquote d probably never know.
This wasn\rquote t something I dwelled on--that would probably just drive me insane--but it did pop up in my head from time to time. I knew it was there, and just hoped everything would turn out OK.
But this? This would be different. This would be }{\b actively}{ trying to }{\highlight7 preempt}{ an event. This wouldn\rquote t be just me sending off waves by merely existing--this would be me inserting myself into a future event.
I decided I just had to give it a shot. How, though? As I said, I didn\rquote t want to implicate myself.
I decided on a letter--typewritten, of course. Basically saying that I know this is hard to believe, but I can see the future, yadda yadda yadda, and you\rquote re going to be killed on December 8th. Ending with a plea that even if he didn\rquote
t believe me, it wouldn\rquote t hurt to protect himself on that date.
Now, where to send it from. I didn\rquote t want it postmarked Cabot, that narrows it down too much. It would be better to have it postmarked Boston. That was easily solved.
}{\b NOVEMBER 28th, 1980}{
You see, on this day, the day after Thanksgiving, I was in Boston. Camping out again to see Bruce. He was coming to the old Boston Garden for shows on the 15th and 16th of December.
No Cousin Sandy this time. Mom figured I was old enough to camp out without Cousin Sandy. Olivia\rquote s mother couldn\rquote t care less. Michelle\rquote s parents were a little harder to crack, but they agreed. Stan\rquote
s parents had no problem with it. So, it was the four of us. We got tickets to the show on the 15th. And, while we were there, I slipped away and found a mailbox.
}{\b
DECEMBER 8th-9th, 1980
}{
And it didn\rquote t work.
Damn it all.
I don\rquote t know if he ever got the letter. I never heard anything about it, no news reports of a mysterious warning letter, nothing. I can only assume it vanished into an unread pile of \lquote fan\rquote
mail; or that he got it, read it, and dismissed it. The former was more likely.
It happened}{\highlight7 ;}{ I found out about it, just the way I had the first time around. I was watching the Patriots play the Dolphins on Monday Night Football. John Smith, the Patriots\rquote
kicker, was lining up for a game-winning field goal--which he\rquote d miss--as Howard Cosell told us all that John Lennon had been murdered.
The first time it had happened, I screamed so loud I woke up my parents. This time, I just cried a little bit. I didn\rquote t really have a lot of hope that my letter-writing idea would work, but I had a little hope. It was dashed with Howard Cosell
\rquote s words.
Either I made more noise than I thought I did, or my mother has a }{\b really}{ well-defined sixth \lquote Mom\rquote sense. Because she came downstairs to see me sitting there, sobbing. \ldblquote Eddie? What\rquote s wrong?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh, Mom, I didn\rquote t hear you come down,\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote John Lennon was murdered tonight.\rdblquote
\ldblquote What?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Howard Cosell just announced it on the game,\rdblquote I said, still sniffling a bit. \ldblquote Apparently he was shot to death in front of the Dakota building, where he lives. They don\rquote t know much more than that.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh, honey,\rdblquote she said, coming over and giving me a hug. I didn\rquote t mind, not even at almost-sixteen. I\rquote d always had a good relationship with Mom, even the first time around, even at this age.
\ldblquote You\rquote ve had a rough year,\rdblquote she said sadly. \ldblquote I know this isn\rquote t the same as Beth, but I also knew how much you admired John Lennon.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah,\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote What really sucks is that he\rquote d just made a comeback. First album in five years, and it\rquote s great. He was even talking about touring.\rdblquote I sighed. \ldblquote
A lot worse for other people than me, though. His and Yoko\rquote s son is only five.\rdblquote
\ldblquote That\rquote s tough,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote You gonna be OK?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah. I\rquote m going to go to bed soon.\rdblquote
I did so, not sleeping all that much.
I got up, and went downstairs for breakfast. Dad, who always gave me shit about my music, especially the Beatles--he was more of a Sinatra/Benny Goodman guy--actually said, \ldblquote It\rquote s a shame. That man was a genius.\rdblquote
I was stunned he actually admitted it!
I was munching on breakfast, when the phone rang. Since I was sitting underneath it, I answered it.
\ldblquote Oh, God, I just heard. Are you OK?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah, I\rquote m OK, Livvie,\rdblquote I told her. \ldblquote I\rquote m glad to hear your voice, though.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Good, then I\rquote m glad I called. I knew how much he meant to you.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I\rquote ll wait for you in front of school. You\rquote ll need a hug.\rdblquote
\ldblquote That I will,\rdblquote I laughed, thankful for the laugh. \ldblquote Thanks.\rdblquote
I went down to catch the bus to school, and I found out it wasn\rquote t just Olivia. Danica Rosen got on and immediately sat next to me. \ldblquote Figured you needed a friend this morning,\rdblquote she said. I told her I did, and that I was grateful.
When I got into school, there was even more of that. Although, in my circle, it wasn\rquote t just me that needed consoling. Stan was as broke up as I was, even though we\rquote d
often joked that I was the Lennon guy in the band and he was the McCartney guy. He was still very upset.
Honestly, everyone in the band was upset. We were all Beatles fans.
That night, after supper, I got a phone call--Kara. Thank goodness for Kara. She\rquote d heard the news and had called to make sure I was OK.
After we talked about Lennon\rquote s death, talk turned to other things. \ldblquote Peter and I slept together for the first time this weekend,\rdblquote she told me.
\ldblquote Good for you.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah, it was his first time ever.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh, really?\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote How was it?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Not bad, considering,\rdblquote she laughed. \ldblquote And he seems very trainable.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Uh-huh,\rdblquote I laughed.
\ldblquote Of course, the trick is trying to train him while I\rquote m acting all innocent and previously virginal.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Excuse me?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Peter\rquote s under the impression that it was my first time as well. No, I didn\rquote t tell him that. But I also didn\rquote t correct him. If he asked me outright, I\rquote d admit I had other lovers. But I\rquote
m not going to volunteer it. Peter\rquote s fragile, especially when it comes to girls and sex and all.\rdblquote
\ldblquote So, what did you tell him about me?\rdblquote
\ldblquote I told him you and I were very, very good friends. I also told him you used to go out with my best friend Kelly. All true, right?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well, part of the truth,\rdblquote I laughed.
\ldblquote I\rquote ll tell him everything sooner or later. Right now, he wouldn\rquote t take it well. It would be a kick in the male ego, and his male ego is very underdeveloped.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Your business,\rdblquote I told her. \ldblquote You know I won\rquote t spill the beans. Just be careful.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I will,\rdblquote
I laughed. \ldblquote Doesn\rquote t it kind of amaze you that we can talk so easily about these things?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah, kind of,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote I\rquote ll admit it, I have the odd twinge.\rdblquote
\ldblquote The odd twinge?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well, like at the dance. Look, I\rquote m crazy about Peter. I\rquote m definitely falling in love with him. So, there I was, dancing with this guy I love--and I look and up on stage is this }{\b other}{ guy I love. There are times when it
\rquote s weird.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Of course, you didn\rquote t notice, not at the dance. I might as well have not been there. You couldn\rquote t keep your eyes off of Olivia,\rdblquote she teased.
\ldblquote Well, I\rquote d never seen her dressed like that. It was a complete surprise.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Uh-huh,\rdblquote she laughed. \ldblquote And it didn\rquote t surprise me when you\rquote d told me you\rquote d slept with her the next day.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You have a dirty mind.\rdblquote
\ldblquote And where, pray tell, did I get }{\b that}{?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Why, I\rquote m sure I have no idea!\rdblquote
\ldblquote Uh-huh. Anyhow, you can\rquote t hide me from Olivia, she already knew, so how does she deal with it?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Perfectly fine.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Doesn\rquote t mind that we\rquote re still friends?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Not at all.\rdblquote My voice dropped a bit. \ldblquote She told me that because she was such good friends with Beth, she knows how loyal and trustworthy I am.\rdblquote
\ldblquote That makes sense. And good. I\rquote m glad Olivia doesn\rquote t feel threatened.\rdblquote
}{\b DECEMBER 20th, 1980}{
It had been a busy week. We went to see Bruce on the 15th, and it was great (as it always is). On this day, a Saturday, it was Winston Craymore\rquote s party.
Cabot\rquote s middle class, most of it. But there are pockets. There\rquote s a few poorer sections, like where Livvie lives. And there\rquote s some rich sections, too, out in far West Cabot. I think the richest section of all was Win Craymore\rquote
s house.
Jeez, what a mansion. We got there early, of course, to set up, and Win was there to let us in. He showed us the room where we were going to be--jeez. It was like the big ballroom in the Sound of Music. And that was only the \lquote dancing\rquote
room--there was another adjacent room where the caterers were spreading out the food. Yeah, caterers. Unbelievable.
It\rquote s too bad Bruce Springsteen hadn\rquote t yet released the song \ldblquote Mansion on the Hill.\rdblquote If he had, I\rquote d be tempted to play it!
Win was cool, though. As I said, I didn\rquote t know him well, and had never met him in the first life. He kept to his own crowd so I hadn\rquote t talked to him much. I guess I figured he was a snob. He wasn\rquote t, r
eally. Olivia was there with me, of course, and Win was even very nice to her. If he was going to look down on anyone snobbishly, it would\rquote ve been dirt-poor Livvie. He didn\rquote
t. The more I talked with him while we were setting up, the more I liked him.
And that became clear when a girl came into the room and walked over to him, smiling, and kissed him. He introduced her to us as his girlfriend. He didn\rquote t have to introduce me, though, I knew her--her name was Kerry Roddicks and I\rquote
d known her since grammar school. She lived one street over from me, as a matter of fact. She was a nice kid, we\rquote d always gotten along. And Kerry wasn\rquote t in anything even resembling Win\rquote
s socioeconomic class. Not like Livvie, but my neighborhood was strictly middle-class; and on the \lquote lower\rquote end at that. Seeing Win cuddling up to Kerry explained why he wasn\rquote t a snob.
\ldblquote Eddie!\rdblquote she said on seeing me.
\ldblquote You know each other?\rdblquote Win chuckled.
\ldblquote He lives on the next street over from me, I\rquote ve known him since first grade,\rdblquote Kerry grinned. \ldblquote Although he was always the class nerd, not the class rock-and-roller.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I\rquote m still the class nerd, I\rquote m just branching out,\rdblquote I laughed.
\ldblquote Branching out well,\rdblquote she teased. \ldblquote I was at the dance. You guys are terrific. I was thrilled when Win told me he\rquote d lined you guys up to play.\rdblquote
Win had gone off to greet other people coming in. Kerry sat down to chat a bit. \ldblquote I\rquote ll admit, I\rquote m a bit surprised,\rdblquote I told her. \ldblquote I never figured you for an A-lister, Ker.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I\rquote m not,\rdblquote she laughed. \ldblquote Look, Win is sweet as all get-out. We\rquote
ve been going out since the end of last year and I really like the guy. Some of his friends, however, I can do without. Some of them only hang around with him because he\rquote
s Win Craymore, rich handsome football player. He knows that. But he just puts up with it.\rdblquote
I got what she meant a little later when some of Win\rquote s friends started piling in. Mostly A-listers, of course. Some of them were OK. Some of them were not--like Jim Samuels.
Jim was a dick. Gorgeous, football player, girls all over him--you know. He was cocky as hell. Convinced his shit didn\rquote t stink, basically. All high schools have guys like him, right? I just tried to ignore him.
And I would\rquote ve this night, as well, if it weren\rquote t for the girl he had tucked under his arm.
Kelly.
Jesus. What the hell did she see in }{\b him}{? Look, we tried to avoid one another--but we went to the same school. We ran into each other every so often, we couldn\rquote t avoid it. We didn\rquote t talk much except for the odd \ldblquote Hi\rdblquote
. I knew sooner or later I\rquote d see her walking with her arm around a guy. Hell, if she\rquote d walked in five minutes earlier, she would\rquote ve seen me sitting there with Livvie on my lap! So, seeing her with a guy...well, I figured it\rquote
d happen.
But Jim Samuels? Jeez.
Debbie saw me looking. \ldblquote You know her?\rdblquote she asked.
\ldblquote Kelly Cullinane. Known her since first grade.\rdblquote
\ldblquote She\rquote s in trouble,\rdblquote Deb said.
\ldblquote Hm?\rdblquote
\ldblquote If she\rquote s with that ass Jim Samuels, she\rquote s in trouble. Guess who was the number one contributor to my reputation?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh, shit, Deb,\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote I knew he was an ass, but I didn\rquote t know he was a talker.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Like a fucking megaphone,\rdblquote Deb spat. \ldblquote Oh, and he dumped me right after he\rquote d gotten me in bed.\rdblquote
And Kelly was with this asshole? Jeez.
It took a couple of minutes for Kelly to look towards the stage and spot me, sitting on the edge tuning my guitar. She looked upset, but she walked over anyhow. \ldblquote Hi, Eddie,\rdblquote she said.
\ldblquote Hi,\rdblquote I said back, then deliberately turned to my right and slightly behind me. \ldblquote Deb, dear, are you done with my pitch pipe yet or what?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yes, boss,\rdblquote she smirked. \ldblquote Here you go.\rdblquote
I took my pitch pipe, blew an E, and went to tune my low E string. When I looked up, Kelly was gone. Good. I did not feel like making small talk with her. Not tonight, not if she was going out with that ass. Yeah, it was a brush-
off, but.....I probably would\rquote ve said something. Which wouldn\rquote t have been smart.
Anyhow, Livvie came back from the ladies\rquote room shortly thereafter and I forgot all about Kelly and the Jerk.
The place was starting to fill up. There were more adults there }{\highlight7 than}{ I\rquote d expected. There were a lot of people, though, adults and kids our age. Then it was time to play. Win introduced us.
I stepped up to the mike. \ldblquote This is a joyous occassion, a Christmas party. And we\rquote ll get all happy in a minute. But we\rquote d first lik
e to play a slower song. Twelve days ago, a man who was very important to the members of this band was killed. He was my idol, and basically the reason I took up the guitar. So, we\rquote d like to start off with one of his songs.\rdblquote
We\rquote d discussed this--which Lennon song to play to start off with. Karen suggested \ldblquote Imagine\rdblquote but that was already a cliche. Since we were going to play some Christmas songs anyway, Stan suggested starting with \ldblquote
Happy Xmas (War Is Over)\rdblquote but we decided to play that later on. I wanted to start with a song that was just Lennon, without the Christmas overtones. Michelle said, \ldblquote It should be one of his hopeful songs. Maybe \lquote
All You Need Is Love\rquote ?\rdblquote I teasingly asked her if she had an orchestra to play along with us, because that song needed one
. She suggested re-arranging it, and we thought about it. But that song was almost a cliche, as well. I joked that if we were going to start re-arranging Lennon songs with orchestral parts, I wanted to do \ldblquote I Am The Walrus\rdblquote
. Michelle hit me.
Then Debbie, agreeing with the \lquote hopeful song\rquote thing, came up with the perfect choice.
She and I started it, me on electric and her on acoustic, playing almost in unison. I softly counted us in, and we hit it--the stately run of finger-picking that announces the beginning of \ldblquote Dear Prudence\rdblquote .
The room hushed. There was no dancing and little talking--just listening. I think there were a lot of Lennon fans in that room, because there were a few eyes that weren\rquote t quite dry. Including most of the band. But we
nailed it, perfectly, right through. I was afraid I might be a little too emotional to get through the vocal, but I got through it fine. When Deb and I hit the little finger-pick on the outro, the place exploded.
Then we started in on the promised Christmas Party--before the applause had died down, Stan hit the opening guitar riff, and we were off into \ldblquote Jingle Bell Rock\rdblquote .
What we had planned was, mostly, the setlist that we\rquote d played at the dance. However, we\rquote d made a few changes--Christmas songs. \ldblquote Jingle Bell Rock\rdblquote
was just the first. We threw some stuff out of the original set and inserted Christmas songs in. We did \ldblquote Rocking Around the Christmas Tree,\rdblquote which Michelle sang. I did a (barely) passable Elvis on \ldblquote Blue Christmas\rdblquote
. We worked up a little arrangement for \ldblquote The Christmas Song\rdblquote which I love singing. We did the Drifters\rquote arrangement on \ldblquote White Christmas\rdblquote with Stan having a blast on the bass vocal part.
Michelle did her best Darlene Love on \ldblquote Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)\rdblquote and also sang \ldblquote Winter Wonderland\rdblquote . I worked up a rock and roll version of \ldblquote Let It Snow\rdblquote that kind of sounded like
\ldblquote Eight Days A Week\rdblquote ! We did \ldblquote Rudolph\rdblquote based on the Caddilacs\rquote arrangement of it. Stan and I sang the Beach Boys\rquote \ldblquote Little Saint Nick,\rdblquote him on Mike Love\rquote s part and me o
n Brian Wilson\rquote s falsetto, to a great ovation. We did play \ldblquote Happy Xmas (War is Over)\rdblquote to applause and the odd tear or two. And we ended the whole shebang with a screaming take on \ldblquote Run Run Rudolph,\rdblquote
straight into Springsteen\rquote s arrangement of \ldblquote Santa Claus is Coming to Town\rdblquote .
Another successful gig for The Narcoleptics!
About halfway through the first set, I noticed something--a cute girl I\rquote d never seen before had worked her way over to the side of the stage, close to our esteemed keyboard player. When we
went back up for the second set, she went right back to that spot and stayed there like she was rooted. After we finished \ldblquote Rocket Man\rdblquote , I made sure to say into the mike, \ldblquote On the piano, Kenny Russell!\rdblquote
The applause from a certain cute girl was rather enthusiastic. And I don\rquote t think our esteemed keyboard player minded the attention one little bit!
I noticed Kenny chatting with her between the second and third set. And between the third and fourth set. And after the gig!
While we were packing up, I went over to him. \ldblquote So, what\rquote s up with that cute brunette that couldn\rquote t keep her eyes off the piano player?\rdblquote
He laughed. \ldblquote Her name\rquote s Lisa. She\rquote s Winston\rquote s cousin, actually. She lives over in Salem. She seems really sweet.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Get her number?\rdblquote I asked.
\ldblquote Her number, and a date for sometime over Christmas break,\rdblquote he smirked. Kenny was almost a year older than me, he\rquote d been sixteen since back in February, so he already had his driver\rquote s license, the lucky dog. \ldblquote
That\rquote ll be my first date since I got my license,\rdblquote he said. \ldblquote So much more convenient.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Don\rquote t rub it in,\rdblquote I said to his chuckle. \ldblquote Anyhow, she\rquote s very cute.\rdblquote
\ldblquote She is,\rdblquote he agreed. \ldblquote And, like I said, she seems very nice. I\rquote m amazed. The girls are usually going for you damn guitar players.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I think Livvie had the \lquote don\rquote t bother, he\rquote s mine\rquote sign on tonight,\rdblquote I laughed.
\ldblquote Yep. And you }{\b know}{ Michelle did. I\rquote m so glad the guitar players in this band are attatched. More groupies for the piano man!\rdblquote
}{\b DECEMBER 21st, 1980}{
I got a call around noontime from Kara. She was home for Christmas break. So I went over to visit for a while.
It was great to see her. Mostly. Why only mostly? Well, Kara herself said it: \ldblquote You know, I\rquote m very glad to see you, but I\rquote ll admit it\rquote s not easy to sit here calmly talking to you. Part of me wants to jump you!\rdblquote
\ldblquote I know what you mean,\rdblquote I laughed. \ldblquote Though probably worse for you than me.\rdblquote She looked at me. \ldblquote Well, I can go jump Olivia any ol\rquote time I want. You won\rquote t see Peter for close to a month.
\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah, that\rquote s part of it,\rdblquote she agreed.
\ldblquote Part of it?\rdblquote
She blushed a little. \ldblquote Well, you know, I do love him, don\rquote t get me wrong. But when it comes to }{\b that}{, well, he\rquote s not quite up to your standard.\rdblquote I had to laugh--Kara grinned back. \ldblquote He\rquote
s getting better, mind you. And he does have certain advantages...\rdblquote she trailed off, a full blush creeping up her face.
\ldblquote Advantages?\rdblquote She shook her head. \ldblquote C\rquote mon, Kara, fess.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well,\rdblquote she started, \ldblquote uh, he\rquote s, well, he\rquote s got you beat in size.\rdblquote
I had to laugh, while rolling my eyes. \ldblquote I\rquote ve spent enough time in locker rooms, most of the world has got me beat in size.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You\rquote re not self-conscious about it?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh, very,\rdblquote I laughed. \ldblquote You kidding me?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote Well, you have other major advantages. Stamina, for one. And recovery time. Even when you were thirteen. And that\rquote s not just with Peter, that\rquote s with every other guy I\rquote
ve been with. But the big problem Peter has is, well, other things.\rdblquote The full blush was back.
\ldblquote Ah,\rdblquote I laughed. \ldblquote Are we referring to my magic tongue?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yes, we are,\rdblquote she laughed back. \ldblquote Peter doesn\rquote t know quite how a clittie works. He either ignores it or tries to bite it off!\rdblquote
\ldblquote He\rquote ll learn,\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote Just keep giving him the verbal encouragement when he hits it right.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote I hope he learns. Either that or learns to last longer. I }{\b can}{ climax vaginally, but not in a minute and a half!\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well, I wish I were bigger, but I don\rquote t know if I\rquote d trade that for stamina.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You wouldn\rquote t want to,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote I\rquote ll take the stamina any day.\rdblquote
\ldblquote He\rquote s young. You\rquote re his first. He\rquote ll learn.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You were better from the get-go,\rdblquote she said.
\ldblquote When we were at the get-go, we were using rubbers. That kills the sensitivity some. By the time we were on our second go-round and you were on the pill, I was far more experienced.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Good point,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote Since I\rquote m on the pill, Peter and I have never used a rubber. And it\rquote s probably too late to suggest it.\rdblquote
\ldblquote No doubt. But he\rquote ll get better.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I hope so.\rdblquote Kara changed the subject. \ldblquote I talked to Kelly this morning.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah?\rdblquote
\ldblquote She says that she was at that party you guys played last night.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah.\rdblquote
\ldblquote She also said she tried to talk to you and you completely blew her off.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I guess I did,\rdblquote I admitted. \ldblquote Look, if I had talked to her I would\rquote ve ended up sticking my nose in her business and pissing her off.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Why?\rdblquote
\ldblquote The guy she showed up with.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Jim? They\rquote ve been going out for about a month. She says he\rquote s really sweet.\rdblquote
\ldblquote She\rquote s either smoking something, or she\rquote s desparate and lying to herself. Jim Samuel is so completely full of himself his ego has its own zip code.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Really?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yep. And that\rquote s not the worst of it. He\rquote s a talker.\rdblquote
\ldblquote A talker?\rdblquote Kara asked.
\ldblquote Fuck and blab. If Kelly gives him what he wants, she\rquote ll end up with a reputation.\rdblquote
\ldblquote What makes you think that?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Debbie,\rdblquote I said. Kara looked at me blankly. \ldblquote The blonde in the band?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh, yeah, Debbie. What about her?\rdblquote
\ldblquote She\rquote s the school slut. That\rquote s her rep, anyhow. And she told me that Jim Samuel was the biggest contributor to that rep. Not the only, but the biggest. She also told me that after he screwed her, he wouldn\rquote t talk to her.
\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh, shit. So you really think this guy is bad news?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Very bad news. And Kelly surely wouldn\rquote t have listened to me about it. And I couldn\rquote t just talk to her about small-talk shit and not say anything.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You\rquote re probably right. I\rquote ll try to see if I can say something to her.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I hope you can get her to listen,\rdblquote I said.
}{\b
DECEMBER 25th, 1980
}{
Olivia, as I\rquote ve said, didn\rquote t have much of a family life. Considering she didn\rquote t have much of a family. Christmas had never been anything special for her. So, this year, I invited her over to my house for Christmas. She was thrilled.
Well, \lquote my house\rquote meant just that in the morning, for the gift-opening, but we went over my Grandmother\rquote s for dinner.
Livvie had a surprise for me. My Mom had offered to go get her, but she said she had that taken care of. I didn\rquote t know how--I didn\rquote t expect her mother to drive her over--but that was the surprise. She\rquote d gotten her driver\rquote
s license a couple weeks before, I knew that. Another older woman--she\rquote d been 16 since May, and sixteen and a half was the driving age in MA. Anyhow, she got her license, but figured it would be kind of pointless because she didn\rquote
t have anything to drive. Getting her mother\rquote s car wasn\rquote t going to happen.
But her brothers surprised her. They\rquote d really grown up since they moved out of that house. They got her a beater car, and the brother that was a mechanic fixed it up. It didn\rquote
t look like much, but it ran well. That was their Christmas gift to her. She was surprised and very touched. So, she surprised me by showing up at my house at seven in the morning in her very own car.
I had money. Not only that fifty grand I\rquote d won on the Olympics, but I kept it up. I also had started investing a bit into the stock market. Knowing what stocks were going to explode was a nice little gift! I wasn\rquote
t rich, but I had money. So, I made sure Livvie had a good Christmas. She didn\rquote t have nearly the money I did, but she was very good to me as well. After the gift-swap, we went to Gram\rquote s for the traditional feast.
I\rquote d missed Gram in the first life. She\rquote d died in 1997, rather suddenly. She fell down at her house and broke her hip, and was in the hospital. Just a broken hip, right? She could heal from that, right? Well, the strain, plus the diabetes she
\rquote d had for 20 years, kicked her into kidney failure late one night. She was dead in minutes. So, it was nice to have her around again.
I was the first grandchild, so she spoiled me rotten! Now, don\rquote t get me wrong--I loved her to pieces, but she could drive you up the wall. Especially my brother--she drove him up the wall until the day she died. Sh
e was the stereotypical Italian grandmother--smother, smother, smother. The woman could crawl right up your ass and lay down roots. Drove my brother crazy. I was a lot better, I didn\rquote t mind as much, and knew that Gram\rquote
s heart was in the right place. But she really could be overbearing, if you didn\rquote t know her well.
Livvie didn\rquote t know her well at all. In fact, they\rquote d never met up until today. And it didn\rquote t matter. She }{\highlight7 attached}{ herself to Livvie the minute we walked in. And Livvie ate it up with a spoon.
Thirty seconds after I introduced them, Gram pulled Livvie into the kitchen to help with the cooking. She made }{\highlight7 Livvie}{ baste the ham and mash the potatoes and help stuff the mushrooms and all of it. And Livvie couldn\rquote
t stop grinning.
Declan, my brother, was 12--and a smart 12, so I could talk to him about stuff. And, as I\rquote
d said, my Grandmother drove him nuts. So, after watching Gram two Livvie around the kitchen like a puppy on a leash, he plopped down next to me on the sofa in the living room. \ldblquote God. Gram\rquote
s going to drive your girlfriend right up the wall.\rdblquote
\ldblquote No, she\rquote s not.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Right! Did you see the two of them?\rdblquote
\ldblquote I sure did. Look, Dec, you have to understand something. Livvie\rquote s mother is a useless drunk. And there\rquote s no father, no grandparents, nothing li
ke that. All there is are two older brothers, and until recently they were pretty useless themselves. Livvie needs attention. She gets a lot from me, but that\rquote
s different. Trust me on this. If Gram is doing the smothering Grandmother routine, Livvie\rquote s basking in it.\rdblquote
\ldblquote If you say so,\rdblquote Declan said, sceptically.
About ten minutes later, Livvie proved my point. She came into the living room and plopped herself on my lap. \ldblquote Oh, Eddie, your grandmother is }{\b so}{ nice!\rdblquote she enthused.
I shot Declan a little grin. He just rolled his eyes at me!
After we ate, and opened presents, Livvie and I decided to take a little drive. She was all excited that she finally had her license and a car. We drove around for a while. It was starting to get dark, so we cruised looking at Christmas lights. I\rquote
d always been a nut about Christmas lights. Livvie enjoyed them, too.
\ldblquote This has been the best Christmas of my life,\rdblquote she sighed happily.
\ldblquote You really liked my grandmother,\rdblquote I teased.
\ldblquote I did. She\rquote s awesome.\rdblquote
We were driving near the Cabot Mall. All of a sudden, Livvie turned into the parking lot. She wasn\rquote t going to the mall, of course--it wasn\rquote t open on Christmas night. Livvie didn\rquote
t say anything, she just headed through the parking lot and up the back of it.
Then I realized--she knew about the parking spot.
It was one I\rquote d used in the first life. There was a road along the side of the parking lot in the mall, parallel to the highway. After a while, the road just ended, turning into a dirt path. However, you could still drive on the
path, and it led to an area surrounded by woods, set way back away from anything. It was an excellent place to go parking.
\ldblquote My brother told me about this place,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote I\rquote ve been waiting to get my license so I could take you here,\rdblquote she grinned.
\ldblquote Oh, really?\rdblquote I teased.
\ldblquote Uh huh. Push your seat back as far as it will go.\rdblquote I did--it went back pretty far, this wasn\rquote
t a compact car. As soon as I got my seat back, before I knew it, Livvie was kneeling in front of me and was undoing my jeans. Before I could say a word, she had my dick in her mouth!
I\rquote d not gotten a blowjob from Olivia. It just never seemed to work out that way. Generally, I went down on her--and by the time I\rquote d done that for a bit she was begging me to fuck her. Not that I minded, mind you! But I\rquote
d never asked for a blowjob and she\rquote d never offered.
Well, she was offering now. Actually, she didn\rquote t offer--she just did it. And }{\b well}{. This might have been the first blowjob she\rquote d given me, but I doubt it was her first ever. It was just too good.
She made love to my dick with her mouth. And, when I looked down at her, she was looking up at me, her mouth in a small smile as it wrapped around my dick.
It was that whole unbridled enthusiasm thing again. I mean, this was enthusiasm writ large. Livvie devoured my dick--and didn\rquote
t take her eyes off me the whole time, looking up at me with a completely blissful expression on her face. It was fantastic.
As I was starting to get worked up, she pulled off. She grinned up at me, nudging my dick with her cheek. \ldblquote You know I love you, yes?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yes,\rdblquote I said, confused.
\ldblquote What\rquote s the difference between like and love?\rdblquote she said with a little smile.
\ldblquote Uh, what?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Spit and swallow.\rdblquote With that, she completely engulfed my dick in one stroke, and started pumping he
r mouth up and down on it. My GOD. It took about five seconds of that before I blasted her tonsils. And she was true to her word--she swallowed every drop. Shit, I came so much she probably gained five pounds!
After I was done bathing her larynx, she pulled off and said, \ldblquote Mmmm, dessert!\rdblquote
I had to laugh. \ldblquote Dessert? Didn\rquote t you get enough Christmas cookies at Gram\rquote s?\rdblquote
\ldblquote That was carbohydrates. This was protein.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Ah,\rdblquote I chuckled. \ldblquote Livvie? That was unbelievable.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Glad you liked it. I figured, you\rquote ve done me so many times that way, it was time to return the favor.\rdblquote
\ldblquote So I\rquote ll continue to keep doing you that way, right?\rdblquote I laughed.
\ldblquote Well, no, but yes!\rdblquote
\ldblquote Like I wouldn\rquote t anyway,\rdblquote I said.
\ldblquote I know,\rdblquote she laughed, then gave me this coy little grin. \ldblquote So, does that mean you want to switch places?\rdblquote
I thought about that for a minute. Livvie was wedged in between my seat and the dashboard, down on her knees. She fit, but just barely--and she was about 5\rquote 4\rdblquote . I was well on my way to the 6\rquote 3\rdblquote I\rquote d top out at.
\ldblquote I think if we tried to switch places, I\rquote d get stuck and never get out.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh,\rdblquote she said, disappointed.
\ldblquote Back seat,\rdblquote I quickly suggested.
\ldblquote Good idea!\rdblquote
We quickly got back there, and pushed the front seats all the way forward. As I said, this was a big car, so there was plenty of room. I took no time getting Livvie\rquote s pants off--and took even less time diving in.
As much as I loved blowjobs, especially great ones--and I\rquote d just gotten a great one--I think I liked pussy-eating better. For one thing, it was th
at enthusiasm thing--I liked nothing better than watching an enthusiastic girl have an orgasm. For another thing, I genuinely liked the feel--and taste--of a pussy on my tongue. For a third thing, it was a turn on. }{\highlight7 Pheromones}{
and all that. I\rquote d been drained limp by that fantastic blowjob, but after a couple minutes of my tongue in Livvie\rquote s cunny and I was an iron bar again.
After a couple months of having sex with Livvie, I\rquote d figured out what she liked. Her whole pussy was sensitive, so I didn\rquote t have to go
right for the clit. Long licks down the middle of her labia got her going in a hurry. And if I did that long--and well--enough, when I did go for the clit, it was pretty damn explosive.
As I\rquote ve said, Livvie showed her mounting passion with ragged breathing and wheezing and the like. Which, in a shut-off cold car, you could }{\b see}{ coming out of her mouth! But she must\rquote
ve been getting more comfortable with me, because she was getting more vocal. I still got the wheezing at the start, but, when she came, I got a very loud \ldblquote nnnnnnggggggyyyyyYYYYEEEEEEEEE!!!\rdblquote I loved it!
I let her come down from that screaming orgasm--but not for long. Because she immediately hissed, \ldblquote Get that thing in me! NOW!\rdblquote
I chuckled, reached in my pants for a rubber, slipped it on, and kneeled between her legs. \ldblquote God!\rdblquote she moaned as I slipped into her.
Look, I know I\rquote m in the minority in this one, but it\rquote s something I\rquote ve felt since the first life--sex in the back seat of a car is vastly underrated. It gets a very bad rap. People say it\rquote
s uncomfortable--but I never had a problem. Hell, in the first life, I\rquote d had sex more times than I can count in a }{\b Hyundai}{ and didn\rquote t have a problem! And this boat that Livvie\rquote
s brothers had given her was no Hyundai. It was almost as b
ig as the car my first-life best friend Walt used to drive; a 1971 Oldsmobile Delta 88. Shit, you could have probably had an orgy in that thing! For sure, you could have one couple fucking in the front seat and another couple sixty-nineing in the back sea
t--and I know that one for a fact because I was in the back seat.
Livvie\rquote s car was a bit smaller than that Delta 88 tank--fucking in the front seat would\rquote ve been a little tough--but there was plenty of room in the back seat. And, with enough room, fucking
in a car is fun. First of all, you can get a good angle--she on the seat, slumped forward a bit, you on your knees. It was like fucking Kara on the couch, same kind of deal, only a little better--because Livvie got her feet up against the back of the fro
nt seat, which increased her leverage. It was a good platform for us to slam into one another. And the angle was good for both of us--I hit her clit square-on with every thrust.
The other cool thing about sex in cars is that slight hint of danger. No matter how isolated you get, there\rquote s always a chance you might get caught. I liked that. I think Livvie did too.
As Livvie got closer to her peak, I realized another cool thing about cars--decrease of inhibitions. It wasn\rquote t just that she was getting more comfortable with me, it was that she wasn\rquote t in her house. Though she knew her mother wouldn\rquote
t say shit to her about us being in her bedroom, she must\rquote ve still been inhibited enough to keep the noise down. Because, here in a car, as I pounded into her, she actually started screeching. And when she came? A flat-out }{\b scream}{
. Featuring my name! And, well, I guess even I was a bit louder than usual when I came.
Afterwards, still naked and cuddling on the back seat, Livvie looked up at me with a wicked grin and started softly singing, \ldblquote All I want for Christmas is my boyfriend\rquote s cock, my boyfriend\rquote s cock, my boyfriend\rquote s cock....
\rdblquote
I cracked up. \ldblquote Well, then I guess it\rquote s a Merry Christmas.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Uh HUH!\rdblquote
}{\b JANUARY 10th, 1981}{
My sixteenth birthday, and a Saturday.
I had nothing planned, really. I knew my parents were going to have cake and ice cream, and Livvie was coming over for that, plus supper beforehand. Then we\rquote d probably go out.
I\rquote d been conditioned not to be a nut about birthdays. Why? Look at the date. Two weeks
after Christmas. I was lucky anyone even remembered my birthday. My parents tried, but they were always tapped out. My wife in the first life had been worse--my birthday was just another day. Maybe I\rquote
d get a kiss and a card. Of course, if I dared forget her birthday--which was in the summer unencumbered by Christmas--I heard about it. Typical.
Anyway...I was still conditioned not to make a big deal about my birthday. Even my sixteenth. Luckily, other people weren\rquote t so conditioned.
There was a knock on the door just before noon. I went to open it, and there stood Stan, Michelle, and Debbie. The minute I opened the door, they started singing at the top of their lungs:
\ldblquote Da-na-na-na-na-na, YOU SAY IT\rquote S YOUR BIRTHDAY!
Da-na-na-na-na-na, IT\rquote S MY BIRTHDAY TOO YEAH!
Da-na-na-na-na-na, YOU SAY IT\rquote S YOUR BIRTHDAY!...\rdblquote
You get the idea. I cracked up. And I think half the neighbors came outside to find out what the Godawful racket was!
\ldblquote Get your coat, asshole, we\rquote re taking you to lunch,\rdblquote Stan grinned.
I grabbed my coat, and we all piled into Stan\rquote s car. He\rquote d had his license for a month or so. \ldblquote So, where you taking me to lunch, Vetsy\rquote s Subs?\rdblquote I joked. That was Stan\rquote s father\rquote s sub shop.
\ldblquote I never go in that place unless I have to,\rdblquote Stan said. \ldblquote No, we figured the Ground Round would be cool.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I love that place,\rdblquote I said. So that\rquote s where we went. It was great, and the gang pitched in for my meal. We had a great time, laughing and joking. \ldblquote So, the baby of the group has finally hit sixteen,\rdblquote Stan
teased.
\ldblquote Yep, and I\rquote m sure Olivia is very relieved she\rquote s no longer committing statutory rape on poor innocent underaged Eddie,\rdblquote Michelle joked.
\ldblquote Yeah, right,\rdblquote I said.
\ldblquote It\rquote s funny when you think about it,\rdblquote Stan said. \ldblquote I don\rquote t think you\rquote ve ever had sex with a girl who wasn\rquote t older than you.\rdblquote I just looked at him. \ldblquote Well, I know of four girls you
\rquote ve had sex with, and they were all older.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well, there\rquote s been five,\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote And the one that you don\rquote t know about is the only one that was younger,\rdblquote I laughed.
\ldblquote Do tell,\rdblquote Stan laughed. \ldblquote I didn\rquote t know there was a fifth.\rdblquote
\ldblquote She doesn\rquote t live anywhere near here and it only happened once,\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote Let\rquote s just leave it at that. But she\rquote s a year younger than I am. Heck, very few people know who the other four are. I don\rquote
t fuck and tell. I think the only people that know all four are you guys, Olivia, and Kara.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I only know two,\rdblquote Debbie said. \ldblquote You\rquote ve told me about Kara. Livvie is obvious,\rdblquote she grinned.
\ldblquote Since you\rquote re trustworthy, and one of my best friends, I\rquote ll tell you. One of them I should probably tell you anyhow. But the other was was Christine Seneca.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You are kidding,\rdblquote Debbie gasped. \ldblquote Little Miss Priss?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Not hardly,\rdblquote Michelle snorted. \ldblquote That\rquote s only for public consumption. She\rquote s not prissy at all.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Though our relationship was a big mistake,\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote Anyhow, the one I should tell you? Kelly Cullinane.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh, shit. The girl that was with Jim Samuels at Win\rquote s party?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yep.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh, man,\rdblquote Debbie hissed.
\ldblquote What\rquote s this about?\rdblquote Stan asked. Debbie and I explained to Stan and Michelle what we were talking about.
\ldblquote From you to Jim Samuels? Talk about moving way down in the world,\rdblquote Michelle laughed.
We chatted all through lunch, then we went back to my place, just chatting and joking.
After a while, my Mom came in. \ldblquote Well, I know Olivia is coming over, but were you planning on having all these guys for supper and cake as well?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh, no, Mrs. Bovilas, you don\rquote t have to go through any trouble for us,\rdblquote Stan said. Michelle and Debbie nodded agreement.
\ldblquote No trouble at all,\rdblquote Mom told them. \ldblquote I\rquote m making spaghetti and there\rquote s plenty. And since we\rquote re talking about Eddie here, I bought a }{\b big}{ cake. Chocolate, even.\rdblquote Everyone laughed at that.
\ldblquote I\rquote m sure Eddie would like you to stay, even if it does cut down on his cake leftovers.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I will definitely live,\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote I\rquote d love you guys to stay. And my mother\rquote s spaghetti sauce is to die for.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Convinced }{\b me}{,\rdblquote Debbie grinned. \ldblquote OK if I call my Mom?\rdblquote She did so, as did Michelle and Stan. The parents all
agreed. Shortly after they got off the phone, Livvie showed up. I told them that the gang had taken me out for lunch.
\ldblquote Wasn\rquote t that nice!\rdblquote she said.
We all gathered around to get supper. My parents, brother and sister, and grandmother were all there. Afterwards, we had the cake. The family did get me some presents, as did Olivia. Afterwards the five of us decided to all hit a movie.
We went to see \ldblquote The Competition\rdblquote , a Richard Dreyfuss-Amy Irving romance about two people in a classical piano competiton. It was a decent movie and I\rquote d always liked it.
And afterwards, Livvie and I went parking.
It was a very good birthday!
}{\b FEBRUARY 11, 1981}{
A Wednesday. Typical school day.
Not.
In the morning, in between classes, I stumbled into a bathroom. The urinals were occupied so I went into a stall.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
It was in big black letters: \ldblquote KELLY CULLINANE IS A SLUT!!!\rdblquote
I went out and grabbed a paper towel and wet it in the sink. It didn\rquote t work--it wasn\rquote t coming off. Curious, I looked in a couple of the other stalls.
In the first one: \ldblquote KELLY CULLINANE GIVES GREAT HEAD!\rdblquote
In the second one: \ldblquote FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL KELLY CULLINANE!\rdblquote
Shit.
I had to tell her, didn\rquote t I? Well, she might already know, but I had to make sure, didn\rquote t I? Yeah, I did.
At lunch time, I hung around the entrance to the cafeteria, looking for her. I spotted her right off.
\ldblquote Kelly?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Eddie? What do you want?\rdblquote
\ldblquote I need to talk to you.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Why?\rdblquote She obviously would rather not talk to me.
\ldblquote Look, Kelly, it\rquote s really important.\rdblquote
\ldblquote OK,\rdblquote she sighed. We went out in the hall and I lead her to a quiet spot.
\ldblquote I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you really should know. Before last period, I stopped in the men\rquote s room on the second floor. Kelly, I found graffiti on the stalls. With your name in it.\rdblquote
\ldblquote What?\rdblquote she hissed.
\ldblquote Yeah. Three different stalls. I tried to get it off but I couldn\rquote t.\rdblquote
\ldblquote What did it say?\rdblquote she croaked in a near-whisper. I told her. The poor girl turned white.
\ldblquote I\rquote m sorry, Kel, but I thought you should know.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I know. Thanks for telling me.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You know who did this, right?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yes,\rdblquote she hissed. \ldblquote Jim. He dumped me a week ago. I should\rquote ve listened to Kara.\rdblquote She looked at me. \ldblquote Kara got her information from you, didn\rquote t she?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah. I knew you wouldn\rquote t listen to me. I hoped you\rquote d listen to her.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I should have.\rdblquote She took a breath. \ldblquote Eddie, why?\rdblquote
I knew what she was asking me. I gave her a little grin. \ldblquote I still consider you a friend, Kel. You should know that.\rdblquote
She looked dumbfounded. But all she said was, \ldblquote Thanks.\rdblquote Then she turned and went back into the cafeteria.
I looked up and saw Livvie standing there. \ldblquote What was that about?\rdblquote So, I told her. \ldblquote Damn, poor Kelly. I\rquote m glad you let her know, at least.\rdblquote
Damn. I thought I\rquote d get the riot act for talking to an old girlfriend. Livvie really was something else.
--end of chapter--
}