“Once More With Feelings”
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A new story by Night Hawk
© 2004/2005 by Night Hawk
Chapter 25: Game, Set and Title
_______________________________
I woke with a quickly fading dream of brightness to find the
sun streaming in above the curtains, the apartment quiet, and
Wendy snuggled close in my arms on the couch. My movement must
have wakened her, and she opened her eyes as I glanced down,
“Happy New Year, Darling!” She gently pressed her lips to
mine, then pulled away and made a face. “Ughh! I need to brush
my teeth!”
I felt the same way, so after cuddling a minute or two we
disentangled ourselves and as I stood, I stretched, feeling
something was wrong.
“What’s wrong, Honey?” asked Wendy, interrupting my
introspection.
I looked at her concerned face, realizing as I did what had
bothered me. “It doesn’t hurt!” I answered, and then at her
confused look I went on. “The last time I woke up on a couch,
it took me half an hour to straighten out all the kinks!” I
took her in my arms again. “But that was a long time ago, and
now I have the bestest ever anti-kinker I could ever have!” I
kissed her nose. “Shall we go see what happened to Einstein?”
We tiptoed to the bedroom to find three nude bodies, Linda and
Julie bracketing a softly snoring Einstein.
Giggling, we went to the bathroom to relieve our bladders.
“I wonder who wore who out first,” said Wendy, and then we
headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. We wanted to give them
as much time to sleep as possible, but it was already past
10:00, and we had to get presentable before any of the parents
turned up to check on us!
The smell of bacon crisping woke Linda up first and she walked
into the kitchen nude. It was the first time I had seen Linda
nude. For that matter, except when we peeked in on them in the
bedroom, I had not seen either of our angels of mercy in the
buff.
“Excuse me for staring,” I said, “but you look damn good, Linda!”
She smiled at us, but made no effort to move. Her crystal blue
eyes spoke volumes.
“Was he good?” asked Wendy. “Did Julie teach him right?”
“Mmm hmm,” Linda sighed. “Did you know that was my first time
with a man?” she finally asked.
“It was nearly my first time too,” said Wendy, “but Pete pulled
him out of me! She said we had to be on the pill first.”
I was still staring at Linda. Her bush was trimmed, but only
the edges. The rest of her pubic patch was thick and curly, a
light brown that matched the hair on her head. Okay, so I was
really into the role that the Goddess had given me. That of a
14 year old girl, but as I looked at Linda, the remnants of a 45
year old horny male mind made this little girl’s body wet!
“Oh,” said Linda. “I can take care of that for you, girls.
Just be sure to hide them from your folks.”
I thought back to Einstein’s first disaster when she turned up
pregnant at 17. Hell, I had a life to look forward to. I was
not going to make that mistake and I wasn’t going to let Wendy
make that mistake either. I assured Linda that we would be very
discreet with the pill. Ann was standing fast on her rule about
me not dating till I turned 16, and I smiled to myself as I
wondered if that rule applied to fucking!
Julie sauntered in a few minutes later, also without clothes on.
Julie was very closely trimmed, and it was hard to see any hair
at all. I asked her if she shaved, but she said that since
childhood she had been very sparse of hair down there. She said
some girls just didn’t have a lot of pubic hair and thanked me
for bringing it up. She would discuss it during her next sex-ed
class at St. Ursula’s. She said that for some girls, pubic hair
was like a rite of passage, and a lot of them felt less than
developed because they weren’t bushy.
I told them that by the late 1990’s, most girls would trim to
just a small strip, many of them shaving on a regular basis.
Linda and Julie couldn’t understand why, and I had no reasonable
explanation for them. My knowledge was based on the women I had
dated after my divorce and what I saw in the various adult
magazines I had bought.
“So?” Wendy asked Julie, “did you just referee, or did you
participate?”
Julie’s brown eyes glazed over. “What can I say? Patrick has
stamina, and Linda could only take so much!”
We all laughed and then decided to all pounce on Einstein. He
woke up to four naked females in bed with him.
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
Mike didn’t come for us till close to 4:00, with a smile on his
face would have to be chiseled off! I briefly wondered how he
and Mom had spent the hours ringing in the New Year!
Wendy and I hugged Linda and Julie goodbye, thanking them for
“babysitting” us. Einstein gave both nurses a hug as well, and
said he hoped to see them again soon. Mike was too busy smiling
to notice the look that passed between them.
We returned to school Sunday night January 5th, and quickly
settled back into our regular routines.
The Watergate scandal dominated the news. It seemed that even
though he had resigned in disgrace, everyone still wanted to
know where Nixon’s missing tapes were. I thought to the day
when everyone would want to know where a certain President’s
dick was! Anyway, the year started with four of the remaining
“Watergate Seven” found guilty and sentenced.
By the time the week was over, few people were interested in
Watergate any more as the price of crude oil jumped by 10
percent. I should have remembered this from the first time
around, but I had only been 14 then as well and I had thought it
funny watching Americans line up to get gas. Never having had a
car through a gas crunch, the TV news was funny the first time
around, but this time I was wishing someone would take me
seriously and check the waters just outside of the international
boundary. Just a look at all the oil tankers waiting for word
to come to shore as prices steadily climbed higher at the
pumps. But, with a sigh I resigned myself to the fact that
those who could do something about it already knew about it, and
those who didn’t, well, they weren’t going to listen to a 14-
year-old girl.
At least Canada wasn’t as hard hit as the US. We had our own
oil supply flowing freely from Alberta.
More of a problem for us was the Metric System. As of New
Year’s Day, Canada had officially adopted the metric system of
measurement, which meant that for most schools, new math,
science and physics books were released. At St. Ursula’s, the
school board had already replaced most of the textbooks. We did
have fair notice from the government after all, but most public
schools held off until the very last minute, hoping that the
government would repeal its decision. After all, we were still
members of the British Commonwealth, and England hadn’t changed
from the old Imperial system. And it didn’t look like the US
was going to either. At least Einstein was better prepared for
the change than his classmates.
Mike and Tom were cussing at the change in the road speed
signs. Their cars being older only had miles per hour on the
speedometer. Both Einstein and I pressed home the idea that 50
was 30 and 100 was 60 and that was close enough for anybody.
On the streets in town, 30 would be good, on most major roads
50 was safe, and on the big highways 60 was well within the
legal limit.
Ann and Rita took the change in stride. What looked like a
good-sized roast was still a good-sized roast and it didn’t
matter if it was measured in pounds or kilos.
What Annette, Mandy, Wendy, and I had the most fun with, was
measuring ourselves under the new metric system. All four of us
went to see Julie who was working evenings now at the school
nurse’s office.
Wendy was elected to go first, over her protestations. Julie
smiled as she had Wendy strip after locking the door and pulling
down the blind.
Wendy had lost another few pounds since we had been checked the
night we had our ears pierced, but that was all metric now as
well. She laughed when Julie said she only weighed 55.5Kg. Her
bust had “grown” dramatically to 91cm. Annette and Mandy were
having a riot with this talking about how embarrassing it would
be for Wendy to go and buy a new bra now, but I knew that even
30 years later, bras and nearly everything else related to
consumer goods would still be measured in inches.
Wendy had trimmed down a bit more in the waist and had dropped
from her previous 30 inches to a nice 26 or 66cm under the new
system. Her hips, though, retained that flare I loved so much
and under the new system she now measured 91, 66, 88.
Annette and Mandy were howling, but I reminded them that they
would be in for a shock as well! Wendy had grown a couple of
inches since the fall and now stood 165cm tall, or 5 foot 5
under the old scale.
Mandy volunteered to go next, curious as to what her bust would
be. Annette tried to help out with the measuring but that only
caused Mandy to stiffen up in her nips! When Julie was
finished, Mandy’s official school record now read, 52Kg, 170cm
tall, and a very nicely rounded 92, 66, 86.
“It sounds like such a difference, doesn’t it?” asked Wendy
standing next to Mandy. “But it isn’t really. Well, except for
being two inches taller than me!”
Mandy laughed and agreed. It did sound like a lot, but the two
girls had nearly identical builds. Taking a deep breath,
Annette stepped up to be weighed.
“You know,” she said. “I used to walk stooped over so that I
didn’t look so tall, but damn it, I’m proud of my height now.
Nobody is ever going to make me feel like a freak again!”
“If you get judged by your appearance,” I said, “then whoever
is doing the judging isn’t qualified!”
“That’s right,” said Julie. “As you get older, your appearance
will change. You’ll end up looking all wrinkled and out of
shape like me!”
This started Wendy laughing, and I had to try hard not to let
my smile show. Not too long ago we had seen just how wrinkled
and out of shape Julie really was, and if that was the way it
would be, we were in for a great time!
Annette topped the scale at 52.2Kg. Her height was impressive
for the times but not for the future, standing 178cm in her bare
feet. She sighed as Julie recorded her bust, waist, and hips.
81cm bust, 66cm waist, and hips that measured 71cm.
I turned out to be the lightest of the group weighing in at a
mere 49Kg. I was also the tallest at 180, which caused me to
moan. I was only 14, and I had hit the 6-foot mark. I could
still grow! Julie assured me however that the chances of me
growing any more were very remote, and reminded me that Mike was
a very tall man, and Ann wasn’t short either. Annette and I
could swap bras if we ever wore them. I measured 80cm in the
bust. I had a waist that could be hidden behind a telephone
pole at 64cm and my hips were 70cm. In all, I looked like a
beanpole, and I was glad that I didn’t have any preconceived
notions about what size I should be. I knew that I would
probably fill out some as I got older, but if I was careful with
my diet, I would be way ahead of the trend for tall thin women.
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
Wendy and I continued to put the bulk of our efforts into
scholastic achievement. As I explained it to her, our school
sports activities would look good on a university scholarship
application, but it was always possible an injury could destroy
those hopes. It was imperative we excel in those subjects that
I knew, from my former life, there were real scholarships for.
Mathematics, English and Applied Sciences, those were the
subjects that garnered the most attention.
Between classes, volleyball games and practices, it was a good
thing we had our curfews lifted! Rarely was there a night we
got to bed before 11, and then we were never too tired to make
sweet passionate love.
Between volleyball and basketball practice alone, we spent two
hours a day in the gym. We still had time to socialize with
Father Ed, Linda, and Julie during the week, and we tried to fit
in as much time with Annette and Mandy as well. We would hit
the books at around 8:00 and just keep on going till we were
done - except for game nights of course!
We had managed to get in nearly all the same classes the second
term, which made studying much easier. Wendy had to pick up a
couple of the English subjects I had taken first term, and I
badly needed to catch up with her math classes.
Let’s face it. I didn’t like math the first go round, and it
didn’t appeal to me much now, but my darling Wendy stuck with me
like glue till I got it drilled into my head. With 15 weeks
till the third term began, we planned our classes carefully so
we wouldn’t be apart again for the rest of the years we were at
St. Ursula’s.
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
The volleyball elimination games were set for the third
Saturday of February, and it promised to be a long day with the
top eight teams playing for the city championship. We were
going in with a record of 16 wins, no losses, our first match to
be against Catholic Central, which was fitting as they were the
first team we played this season. The winner would play one of
the three other winning teams of the first quarterfinal, and if
we played right and suffered no injuries, we would be playing
three matches in the day. It would be a test of our endurance
and mental toughness, and we were determined to win!
We had our last official practice on Wednesday. On Thursday,
the team had a spiritual guidance night with Father Ed and a
strategy session with Sister Gabe. I think we were all starting
to feel a bit nervous. We were the only undefeated team in the
city, and the entire day would be televised. Friday afternoon,
Sister Elizabeth cancelled classes for the school, and a pep
rally was held for the team. By three o’clock it had become a
community rally as parents and alumnae started to show up.
Pressure? Nah. We didn’t feel any pressure! The team spent
the time snacking on celery and carrots while all around us
people were gobbling down cake and sodas. I pulled Annette
aside and had a quiet discussion with her. She readily agreed
to my plan and left to make arrangements. Mike and Ann walked
around with Wendy and me as our proud parents, and Tom and Rita
showed up with Einstein for a “proud to know you, got faith in
you,” show of support. Linda and Julie were standing by the
sidelines, smiling as we made our way around the gym for the
fourth time, shaking hands and growing hungry.
Linda and Julie had been seeing a lot more of Einstein since
New Years than previously. Early pregnancy tests hadn’t been
invented yet, and as Julie was so proud of telling us, Einstein
was making regular home deliveries. Linda had quit smoking,
something I was glad of. I loved my circle of close friends too
much to let any of them take any unnecessary chances with their
health.
At eight, Annette took the stage and announced that while she
hoped the students, parents, and alumnae would stay and enjoy
the party, she, as team captain, was calling a curfew for the
team. “We will probably play three matches tomorrow,” she said
which was immediately met with a cheer from the crowd. She
waited for the cheering to settle down and continued. “As much
as we would like to stay and participate, the team will need
their rest. So on behalf of the team, I thank you for the
support you have shown us this season and we hope to make you
proud tomorrow!”
As Annette walked off the stage to be hugged by her father,
Wendy and I gave Mike and Ann a kiss and hug goodnight, hugged
Tom and Rita and Einstein, and slowly made our way out of the
gym. Linda and Julie met us at the door, promising to check in
on us before we really went to bed, and then moved on to spend
time with Mike and Ann.
With a relieved sigh, the team gathered outside of the gym
doors and headed off to our rooms to get changed for the night.
In 30 minutes we would gather in the seniors’ common room for
our last meal of the night.
Of course we could have made it there earlier, but like Wendy
and me, the rest were too pumped to be eating. The additional
time was for winding down. We stripped off and instead of
something sexy, Wendy and I just slipped on a set of men’s
pajamas. They were loose and comfortable if not especially
alluring. Wendy and I just sat for a while looking out the
window at the stars shining above, she on my lap as usual as I
softly stroked her side. Reluctantly we got up and headed for
the common room where the rest of the girls and close friends
were slowly gathering. Skinless roasted chicken breasts had
been specially ordered from the Swiss Chalet on Dundas Street,
and smuggled in courtesy of Robert Denure. There were
containers of steamed broccoli covered in cheese sauce, baked
potatoes with sour cream and chives and those grill fried dinner
rolls that Swiss Chalet was so famous for. These were smothered
in butter of course!
I don’t want to give the impression that we didn’t eat healthy,
but we were athletes. We had a big day ahead of us, and in all
probability a long one. We stayed away from what would become
known as “trans-fat” and other seriously unhealthy things, but
moderation and common sense played a large part of our lives.
We knew in the morning we would start with bacon and eggs and
lots of fresh fruit and orange juice by the pitcher. A
maintenance diet would see us counting calories, but it could
not take into account what we would burn on the court tomorrow.
After eating our fill, and drinking ice-cold London-bottled
“Wishing Well” cream soda, someone turned on the radio and
turned off most of the lights. It was strangely kinky. No boys
in sight, no adults to interrupt us, and all of a sudden these
older girls are dancing together with some pretty blatant
groping going on! One part of my brain was telling me that this
should be a fantasy come true, but whereas in my previous life,
sex had been pretty much reduced to begging or oral sex… the
kind where I was told to fuck off, I now had the most and best
sex ever. I didn’t really want to get involved in a group
grope. I wasn’t judging, just observing. I guess I had too
much respect for Wendy to be groping another girl without her
involvement, and I loved Annette and Mandy as close friends. I
did notice they weren’t participating either. Mandy was on
Annette’s lap the same way Wendy was on mine. Our eyes met
across the room and Annette smiled at me. She understood. I
raised my bottle to her, which made her laugh, and caused Mandy
to twist around and look at Wendy and me. I think I learned an
important lesson that night about love and sex. When Wendy and
I joined Linda and Julie on the bed with Einstein, it wasn’t for
an orgy. It was a sign of our mutual love and how comfortable
we were with each other. When Wendy and I went naked with
Annette and Mandy at the pool, it was simply a matter of comfort
and convenience. I remembered an old truism that my grandmother
used to say. “Too soon old, too late wise.” In this lifetime,
I was lucky. I had over 40 years of bad experience to show me
what a good life could be like.
{While I might be giving the impression that all the girls at
St. Ursula’s were closet lesbians, remember that the girls in
the senior common room that night represented less than 5
percent of the school population. While I can’t speculate what
went on in the other rooms, I do know that like attracts etc.,
and many of these girls were the original bisexuals of the
generations to come. Sexperts tell us that homosexual
tendencies tend to become more pronounced in segregated
institutions, but I like to remember this period of my life as
young girls exploring their own sexuality, having fun, and
making life long friends.}
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
Annette and Mandy headed off to their bedroom at the same time
Wendy and I did. It was still early, just before 11:00, but
some of the friendly groping had turned into serious necking and
clothing was being discarded faster than an after Christmas
closet change!
Linda and Julie came around as promised just after we had
returned to our room and we made tea for them as we discussed
what tomorrow would hold. It was a moment of quiet reflection
as we sipped our tea. Knowing the truth about how and why the
school had such a winning team this year made it easier to talk
strategy with them. I hadn’t created the team, I had only
introduced a few new moves that hadn’t been seen yet. They were
easily copied and many other teams did. Our real advantage was
we had none of the distractions that other schools had. No long
holiday breaks, no school dances and no rushing home after class
to help out with chores or to go to work. And, we had a team
that was divinely inspired by the Goddess herself!
Linda and Julie left just after midnight, promising they would
be back to wake us up on Saturday, but since it was already
Saturday, we could actually sleep in!
Yeah, right!
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
Wendy and I made tender love after Linda and Julie left, and
then took a shower. As we waited for Wendy’s hair to dry, we
sat in our favorite chair just looking out the window at the
city lights below. Nighttime was our special time. We were far
enough from the city that we could see the stars quite clearly,
yet looking at the city itself outside of the wooded area at the
edge of the school property, it was like a sea of starlight
itself. We could make out some landmarks, and I told Wendy that
in just a few more years, what we saw now would all be changed.
A move to the city spurred by the gas shortage increased the
housing starts in London and that in turn pushed more malls and
plazas to accommodate them.
Wendy had put her finger on my lips, hushing me. “Let’s just
enjoy what we have now, Pete,” she whispered in my ear.
That was one of the things I adored about Wendy. In a field of
manure, she could spot a flower, and took the time to enjoy the
view.
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Who in the hell was pounding on my head?
BANG! BANG! BANG!
I rolled over and looked at the clock. It wasn’t my head after
all! Somebody was pounding on the door and it was only SEVEN!!!
“Go away!” I shouted. “I’m sleeping!”
The next sound I heard was a key opening the locked door.
Shit! The only person I knew who had a key to our room was
Sister Elizabeth, and here Wendy and I were naked in the same
bed.
I tried to get out of Wendy’s embrace and get something on when
a familiar face appeared in the door. Mom!
Fuck! Caught red handed!
Mom looked at Wendy, who was still sound asleep, then back to
me, still naked, and she smiled.
“Linda has keys to all the rooms in case of medical
emergencies,” she explained. “She and Julie are waking up the
rest of the team, but I wanted to have a word with my girls
before the big day.”
Wendy woke up hearing Mom’s voice and smiled that beautiful
sleepy smile she always has in the morning, then she realized
she was in our bed nude. She blushed a beautiful shade of pink
that traveled all the way down to her boobies before she grabbed
the sheets and covered up. I grabbed the housecoats that Rita
had made for us and tossed Wendy’s to her after I pulled my own
on. Mom just kept smiling as she walked to the counter to fill
the electric kettle.
There are times when it’s best not to say anything, and I
figured this was one of them. Anything I offered in the way of
an explanation would be a lie, and I wasn’t ready to try and
explain the truth.
As Mom made tea for us, Wendy and I went to the bathroom to
change into our gear, and slipped our tracksuits over top. We
brushed our teeth and combed Wendy’s hair before we came back
out.
Mom had three steaming cups ready when we emerged and nothing
was said about our earlier appearance.
As we sipped on the hot tea, and nobody made it better than
Mom, she started to speak. “You girls are going to be playing
at my old Alma Mater,” she said. “I don’t think either of you
girls have ever been there. I lived there for three years while
getting my diploma, and while I was not as sports inclined as
you girls, I do know how the gym will be set up today. I just
wanted to give you a word of advice to help.” Ann laughed as
she realized she was speaking to two of the starting players of
the best Volleyball team the city had ever seen.
“You can pass this on to Annette and the other girls,” she said
as she continued with her insight. “Those who are not on the
court during the game should pay particular attention to the
players from the other teams. They haven’t been idle since the
Saints upset CCH. They’ve been watching the Saturday broadcasts
of your games and their coaches will have been looking for any
weak areas in your play. Now it’s time for you to look at their
best players and moves, and they will be playing their best in
the hopes of beating you. See which players you need to pay
attention to, and look for the weak players so you can attack
those positions.”
I thought about that for a minute and realized that Mom, who
had been a staunch supporter of the team from the first game,
also had a brain and she understood what today meant to us. It
would be devastating for us to have come so far and then lose
out to someone we had beat earlier on in the season.
“Thanks, Mom,” said Wendy. “That’s really good advice!”
I agreed and said we would have a final strategy session with
the rest of the team before we got on the bus. Then I asked the
important question. Where was Dad?
Ann laughed and said that he was waiting in the car with
Patrick. “Your father has a good idea of the relationship you
two have,” she added somberly, “and he’s not one to judge,
especially…” and she let that sentence trail off. “Anyway, it’s
not necessary for him to know everything,” she added with a
smile. “Sometimes a bit of mystery keeps life interesting.”
I smiled at this woman who had unknowingly become my mother
just a half year earlier, and Wendy got up and gave her a kiss
on the cheek and a hug. I did the same and softly whispered
“Thanks, Mom.”
“But isn’t it early for you and Mr. J to be up and ready for
the game?” Wendy asked. She looked at the clock and realized it
was now 7:30.
Ann smiled again and said that Mike was not going to be in the
nose bleed seats and that he and Patrick had posted a sign at
the store saying they were at the Saints game! She had just
wanted to have a girl talk with us, and then they were off to
Elias Brothers for the breakfast buffet.
We hugged and kissed once more and walked with her to the door
where we waved at Mike and Einstein. Then we went off to find
Annette and Sister Gabe.
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
Breakfast with the team was animated and full of kinetic
energy. Everybody was raring to go, but Sister Gabe and Annette
passed on the hint Ann had provided. Silence descended pretty
quickly as most of the team realized every other team wanted the
chance to beat the unbeatable Saints.
Annette quickly brought their spirits back up though and said
we hadn’t made it this far worrying about who we were playing,
just as long as we gave it our best. While she didn’t say it, I
could see in Sister Gabe’s eyes that her dream of having a team
make it to the playoffs had been replaced by the desire to win
and have a trophy cup to display in the lobby!
Father Ed, along with Sister Elizabeth Ann, came for us at
8:30. Robert Denure was following them at a discreet distance.
“Ladies,” said Sister Elizabeth, “I’m afraid I have some
unpleasant news before we head to the games. It seems some of
the schools have complained about our brass band, and your war
chants before each game. They claim it is a distraction giving
you an unfair advantage.”
Groans could be heard from the girls.
“You mean to say, Sister, that our band has been banned?” I
asked.
Even Sister Elizabeth could not hold back her smile. Father Ed
just chuckled.
“Yes, Patti, I’m afraid you will have to win without the brass
section today.”
“Well,” said Annette. “Ask them to stick around till we sweep
this meet. As the reigning champs, nobody could deny us a
victory march.”
Everybody laughed at Annette’s optimism, but we were ready and
we were good. Barring stupid mistakes or injuries, we should be
able to finish the season undefeated.
Linda and Julie had been sitting quietly during breakfast, but
now Linda spoke up. “I can’t believe that anyone thinks the
band is a disruption. This is just plain petty. The other
schools have cheerleaders.”
Father Ed raised his hand in a calming gesture. “I quite agree
with you, Miss Jackson, but rather than waste our time arguing
something like this, why not prove to them all that this team is
not superstitious. This team is comprised of winners and we
certainly don’t need a band to win!”
That seemed to mollify Linda, but I could see Bob still
seething. Finally, after a hug from his daughter, he smiled and
announced he was personally driving the winning team to Fanshawe
College. He wasn’t going to trust any other driver! Based on
our previous rides with him, I started to worry about the other
drivers!
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
We arrived at Fanshawe College just before 9:00. Our Deep Blue
Travel Coach with its gold lettering made the regular school
buses blush. A path had been cleared for the participants of
the day’s games and the doors were held wide open.
We were laughing as we pulled up to the doors, as our Brass
Band was standing outside in the cold ready to blow their own
horns! “And the band played on!” Just not in the gymnasium.
Somebody had clued in that no one had thought to mention the
band couldn’t play. It was just not going to be allowed
throughout the games. So, with our cue from the band, who were
probably freezing their own brass balls off, we descended from
the bus with our own war cry! It was a real Kodak moment as
CFPL TV had a camera by the door to catch all the arriving
teams, and I knew this piece of footage was going to be used!
Once inside though we took our cue from Sister Elizabeth and
Sister Gabe who marched us to the gym. Four nets had been
placed in the middle of the giant gym, and there were four fixed
cameras focused on the floor and two in the bleachers on big
swivel units that the cameramen sat on.
We saw Jim Blake sitting at a special table for reporters.
This was one time he couldn’t ride to the game with us, as it
might show bias, even though he had made the prediction we would
sweep the series. I liked Jim. He had been one of the first
outside the school community to show faith in us and had proven
to be a true friend and someone we could count on in a pinch.
We also saw a lot of photographers, and judging by the equipment
they were lugging around, these were not just local papers! I
sidled over to Annette and told her that if she fell on her ass
today, it would make the front page of every paper across the
country.
She laughed. “That sounds like a dare!” she said.
“Don’t you dare!” I hissed at her. “This is only the city
finals. Regional will be next week if we survive today, and
then provincials!”
“Ah, alas. It might be better if we forfeit now,” she said
with a grin. “That way I can spend more time in bed with my
honey.”
I laughed and told her about how my Mom had caught Wendy and me
earlier in the morning. Her eyes got as big as saucers. “And
she didn’t say anything about it?” she asked incredulously.
“Not a single word,” I said.
“Wow. I wish I had your nerve. I’d love to tell Dad that I
love Mandy.”
“Maybe he already knows,” I said. “Parents are a lot smarter
than what we give them credit for.”
She was about to say something else when a piercing horn
sounded bringing the gym into silence. The opening ceremonies
were a bit of a bore, but I think all athletes feel that way
when they are waiting to do their thing. Out of the 22 high
schools in London, 8 had won enough matches to be playing for
the city title. We were the only team to have won every single
match. Catholic Central, the early on favorite before the
season started, had won 14 of their regulation 16 matches. Beal
had been disqualified from the finals after their deliberate and
obvious attempt to injure Annette but would not have made the
playoffs anyway having won only 7 matches in the regular season.
Saunders had managed to squeak in as had Laurier. Tecumseh and
Lucas had managed to win 10 games each. The surprise that lay
in store for us was the two schools we hadn’t played during the
regular season. Though in truth, their records might have been
a bit lopsided because the Saints had never defeated them
either. Clarke Road and Oakridge had 12 and 13 wins
respectively.
Someone must have thought the real action was going to be in
the center court as that is where our bench was located,
directly across from CCH!
It has never ceased to amaze me how sports people figure they
are going to get a good playoff series when they take the top
two teams and have them face each other right off the bat! But
then again, had we started against a weaker team, all it would
do is tire us out…
The referees were in place as were the linemen. We took our
positions on the court, and as I looked up and over the CCH team
I could see Mom and Dad and Einstein in the perfect location to
be able to see over top of the net while not up so high they
couldn’t see who was playing. In front of them in reserved VIP
seating were Sister Elizabeth, Father Ed and Robert Denure who
had his arm wrapped through Hilda’s!
I looked at Annette to see if she had seen it, but the grin on
her face and the big thumbs up she gave her Dad told me she had
a good idea of which way that breeze was blowing.
I took a last look at the remaining members of our team and was
glad to see they were all focused on different teams. Then the
whistle blew and Wendy served the first ball for our side. A
CCH player immediately, illegally blocked it, but even before
the ref could blow his whistle, Mandy was on the ground under it
and managed to lift it high enough for me to spike across the
net! Since this was a planned strategy on the part of CCH to
throw us off guard, illegal as the maneuver was, a time out was
called by the ref to discuss with the captains and coaches how
to resolve this. A big book of rules was brought out and Jim
left his reporter’s bench to get involved himself as well as a
few other sports reporters. We stood idly by, watching some of
the other matches underway while waiting for a verdict. It took
five minutes before Annette came back and told us the news. The
offending player had been suspended for the rest of the series,
and the point went to us.
It wasn’t the way I wanted to win. I wanted equal opportunity
for all teams, and a good fair game, but as I remembered all too
well from my previous life, wishing doesn’t make it so. Even
with the loss of one of their best players, it was easy to see
why CCH had dominated Girl’s Volleyball for so many years.
Unlike the first match, they had studied and practiced and were
more prepared for us. Just not quite enough though. We took
the first match 25 – 4 and the second 25 – 3. We shook hands
and exchanged hugs with the serious players and there was a lot
of good-natured ribbing about next year. Then we took to our
bench to watch the end of the other three matches.
Half an hour later, we got our official break, and we trudged
off to the room set aside for our use. After the first round,
only Oakridge, Lucas, Laurier, and the Saints were still in the
standings. While we cooled off, and most of us did it with our
uniforms off, walking around in bras and panties, or in the case
of Annette and me, in camisoles, Sister Gabe arrived to tell us
we would face Lucas in the next match.
Some of us were lying on benches sipping water, while others
were flexing tight muscles or having them rubbed by teammates.
We had another 30 minutes to go before the next match and we
could not leave the room, nor could anyone enter. Good thing
there was a bathroom attached and lots of clean towels!
When we got back to the court, two of the nets had been removed
and the bleachers moved in closer. Since the outcome of the
first quarter couldn’t be predicted, Board of Education rules
dictated we would play against the team that had won its match
with the greatest odds.
Okay. Not knocking the other teams at all, but we girls had
practiced and practiced for months and ate together, most of us
sleeping together for that entire period of time. We knew what
our team mates were doing before they did, and we had already
beaten the only school with any real chance of giving us a run
for the trophy. Lucas went down 25 – zip, 25 – zip, in little
less than 30 minutes. We had to once again wait for the other
game to be completed before we got our official break.
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
We were in for a bit of a shock when we hit our designated cool
down room. Balloons hung on the ceiling, streamers from the
walls and the room was crowded with family and nuns. I sighed.
Annette looked at me and asked what was wrong.
“It’s bad luck to be celebrating before we win,” I told her.
“We’ve got a good team, Annette, but if we start thinking now
that we’ve already won, they’ll slack off. We need to win one
more match!”
Annette nodded. She always was quick to pick up on the thread
of an idea and unwind it. Putting her fingers in her mouth, she
let out a very unlady-like piercing whistle. The room
immediately fell silent.
Stepping up on a chair, she said, “While the girls and I
appreciate your obvious confidence in the Saints, I must ask you
all to please leave. I will give all of you five minutes to hug
and kiss your daughters and friends and then if you are not out
of this room, you will wear one of our uniforms and join us on
the bench for the final game!”
This was met with a resounding laugh, but 4 minutes and 40
seconds later, only the team members and Sister Gabe were left.
Mike and Ann had hugged, squeezed and kissed both Wendy and me,
and hotfooted it out of there fast. Einstein was discussing
with Mandy how she thought he would look in a Saints uniform,
and I was happy. Mandy had no family close enough to attend,
and clearly Einstein knew this. I was shocked though when he
gave her a hug and a kiss for luck before ducking out!
“That boy has all the makings of a Casanova,” I heard Linda
whisper behind me. I jumped. I was startled that she and Julie
were in the room.
Julie noticed the look in my eyes, and said, “Official business.”
Right! We had played the equivalent of two regular season
nights and still had another to go. Sister Gabe cut her speech
short. “Girls, I don’t have to tell you how proud I am of all
of you right this minute. I could retire now and be happy the
rest of my days.”
“Yeah, right,” said Wendy, which caused everybody to laugh.
Sister Gabe laughed as well. “Okay, so I could still be
happier. Rest up, food will be delivered shortly, and then go
out and win one for the Gipper.” She chuckled as she walked
out, and I swear I heard her say that she had waited 30 years to
say that line!
Lots of the girls looked at each other in confusion. Who the
hell was the Gipper? I shook my head and started to get out of
my uniform. We had spares to change into so that for our final
game we would look fresh and spotless. The attached bathroom
had a large shower, and Annette announced that while it wasn’t
as big as the one at our gym where we all showered together, it
was certainly big enough for four and then announced that she
and Mandy were going first and taking the two youngest players
in with them. It hit me like a brick when I realized she meant
Wendy and me!
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
We peeled off our undies in the bathroom and Mandy said she
wished she had brought another pair with her. Wendy echoed her
sentiment, so I walked out in my birthday suit and asked Julie
and Linda if they could get somebody to get fresh underwear for
all the girls. Somebody could run back to the school and pick
them up.
Linda said she would take care of it as Julie was inspecting
Krissy’s calf. It had been two hard fought games no matter what
the outcome, and some of the girls were showing some wear and
tear. As I stepped into the steaming shower, I told Annette
about Krissy’s leg.
Annette was leaning up against the shower wall using her hands
to brace herself as Mandy dug in with her strong fingers working
the lather into the tight-knotted muscles. Wendy was at floor
level doing much the same to Annette’s legs! Joiners always
have more fun, so I lathered up my hands and started on
Annette’s arms. Soon Annette was moaning and it wasn’t from
pain, so Wendy and I stepped away and allowed Mandy to embrace
Annette properly working her skillful hands in the two places
that nobody had washed yet. Annette’s butt hole and her clit.
With a shake and a spasm, Annette climaxed and slid down to the
ground, twitching in a way very familiar to the rest of us. As
we allowed her to recuperate, Wendy and I started on Mandy.
It felt strange rubbing the body of a female who wasn’t my
lover, but Annette and Mandy were the closest female friends we
had our own age, relatively speaking. Linda and Julie were
great of course, but I couldn’t picture Wendy and me in a shower
with them, even though we spend enough time nude around them to
be totally comfortable. We had just never touched.
Wendy worked on Mandy’s back and I knew how strong her fingers
were! I kept to the upper arm muscles and soon we heard a moan
from Mandy. A sexual moan. I looked at Wendy but both her arms
were still in plain sight. Then I looked down and saw that
Annette had started working on Mandy’s legs, just a bit higher
with each stroke! Wendy and I backed away as Annette got to her
feet and slid her soapy body against Mandy’s. Breast to breast,
legs intertwined except for Annette’s hands which were busy
bothering Mandy’s puckered back door and the other we could only
guess at. Mandy moaned and Annette kissed her at the peak of
her orgasm and then held her as she went limp. I smiled at
Wendy and told her to turn around so I could do her shoulders
and back.
Of course with my Wendy, I couldn’t keep my hands from
wandering to her luscious apple tits every few strokes, and just
as my hands started to work on her bum muscles I felt a pair of
hands on MY ass!
“These young girls,” said Mandy from behind me. “You have to
show them everything don’t you, Sweetheart?”
“Absolutely,” said Annette who had moved up to soap in Wendy’s
arms. “Why don’t you two hold on to each other and let us take
the cramps out of your muscles?” she asked. I didn’t need to be
invited twice, and took and turned Wendy to face me. We kissed
and molded our pussies together as Annette, and Mandy did all
the work on our backs, shoulders, and thighs. As Mandy spread
my ass cheeks to soap them, I reached my peak and ground myself
into Wendy who was also breathing hard, and seconds later we
managed to climax together. Annette and Mandy kept their arms
around us so that we wouldn’t fall.
Three minutes after recovering from our delicious orgasms, we
were rinsed off with cold water and felt fresh and refreshed.
We wrapped our towels around us and left the shower to catcalls
from the other girls but four more quickly took our place.
We dried each other off, and then I had a brilliant idea!
Annette’s hair was still less than two inches long as was mine.
I remembered an old favorite movie from the first time around.
I looked around and saw that there were five members of the team
who had donated nearly all of their hair to the Toronto Sick
Children’s Hospital, and all I needed was some hair gel. Where
could I get that?
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
I didn’t have to explain much to Linda and Julie as they knew
about my return, and they didn’t question my strange request.
They had one of the hall attendants run for Einstein. He would
understand exactly what I wanted to do and as a former girl, he
could probably tell us what was available.
Five minutes later, I was in the hall explaining my needs to
him and he instantly started to laugh. “Wild Thing, I think I
love you,” he said. Then he asked Linda and Julie for the brand
name of the toughest hair gel available. This was an age when
Brylcreem ruled and the natural look was in, but some of the
older drug stores would still carry something called “Dippity-
Do.”
“We’ve got less than a half hour before we have to get back
in,” I said. “Think you can do it?”
“Does a chicken have lips?” he retorted as he tore off down the
hall.
Linda looked at me strangely. “Is this the way we’ll be
talking in a few years?” she asked, “because I am going to be
totally confused!”
I laughed and we went back inside. While Wendy and I had been
sharing some secret moments with Annette and Mandy, food had
been delivered. Most of it was fast food from Rotten Ronnie’s
and Kentucky Flied Schmiken, and some of the girls were actually
going to dig in! I quickly reminded them that after the last
game there would definitely be food enough for all of us back at
the school, and to take this kind of crap into our stomachs half
an hour before the last game was just asking for trouble!
There were sighs and good-natured grumbles as they put down the
food, and we nibbled on the appetizers and drank water or Ginger
Ale. Munching on cauliflower might not seem so appealing, but
it hit the spot and would tide us over for what we hoped would
be a quick win over Oakridge.
The idea of a shower had been a brilliant one as most of us
were starting to feel tired. Oakridge had narrowly defeated
Laurier in a game that ran 90 minutes. If they didn’t use their
hour break to shower and eat sensibly, this game could be over
very quickly. They too had played two games, but both were
longer and more tiring than ours.
There was a knock at the door and Linda stepped out. Two
minutes later, she came in carrying five jars of “Dippity-Do”
and a large jar of gold flakes. I looked at her quizzically.
“He never even attempted to make it to a drug store,” she
explained. “He went right to the girls’ dorm and pounded on
doors up and down the hallway. Julie smiled. “He sure has
brains!”
“Yeah,” I said, “and balls to match!” making her giggle.
Annette joined us and asked what the plan was. I explained
that we would not only win by our skill, but since this was the
last game we would also intimidate!
“What’s the gold dust for?” asked Wendy.
“Just wait a minute and you’ll see, Honey,” I said. I had
Annette wet her hair, patted it reasonably dry, then took a
handful of the gel and slathered it all over her hair. Then I
combed it straight up. Now I needed help if we were going to do
this in time before the next match started!
I showed everyone how to grab a twist of hair and turn it until
it looked like Annette had spikes coming from her head. While
it was still damp, I wrapped a towel around her neck, sprinkled
gold dust in her hair, and blew. Stars suddenly appeared.
All around me I could hear murmurs of shock and surprise, but
those of us with short hair quickly had wet hair and everyone in
the room helped to twist little antennas on our heads. Linda
and Julie helped apply the gold flakes, which I learned Einstein
had sort of helped himself to from the art department!
Annette looked in the mirror and just said, “Wow!”
At just over six inches, Wendy had the longest hair of the
girls remaining as she had donated her hair with me that day we
first went out with Mom. We slicked their hair back after
smoothing in the gel, and blew gold dust over it. Krissy got
gold tiger stripes, while Jeannie chose leopard spots and Linda
spent extra time tipping each of my little antennae in solid
gold. It was getting close to game time and so far, Sister Gabe
had not come for us, and then another knock on the door signaled
the delivery of our fresh underwear and socks. We quickly
dressed in our fresh uniforms then tried to breathe naturally
for the last few minutes.
When Sister Gabe finally came for us, she walked right in, and
for a minute I thought she was going to have a coronary! She
put her hand over her heart and paused for a minute before she
said, “If I were the coach of Oakridge, I would just forfeit
right now!”
We breathed a sigh of relief, and as we entered the gym, we let
loose with our normal war cry! Flash units went off all over
the place and kept firing as the cameras zoomed in on us, which
now wasn’t a far distance. There was only one net in the middle
of the gym, and chairs had been placed on the floor on one side
of the net. I looked for and saw Mike and Ann and they were
smiling! Einstein was laughing, and Bob Denure was waving at
Annette and Mandy! Thank the Goddess there would be no
repercussions from this stunt!
But I spoke too soon. I could see the coach of the Oakridge
School stomping towards the head referee. She was some pissed.
I couldn’t hear what she was saying but the next thing we heard
was the ref’s whistle and out came the rulebook again and there
was our champion, Jim Blake, right there with his own rulebook.
Jim was laughing as he tried to turn the pages, but nowhere in
the book did it say anything about hair or color as long as it
didn’t interfere with the player seeing the ball for their own
safety.
The game started two minutes later, and the flashes were still
going off. Oakridge served first and it was easily lobbed back
by Krissy who it turned out was only suffering from a slightly
pulled muscle. Annette wanted every team member to play in this
last game so she had put Krissy in the first group. Julie had
put a tensor bandage around her calf to keep the swelling down.
We allowed Krissy to set up every ball that came close to her,
but pretty soon the Oakridge team was targeting her. At the
first switch up, Krissy bowed to the crowd and went and sat on
the bench.
Annette came up to me and said, “Let’s end this quick, okay,
Patti?” I nodded and she, Jeannie, and I turned our backs to
the net. Mandy served and it was returned but a look from Mandy
told me that it was coming right for me so I leapt up in the air
doing a 180 in the process and drove that ball straight down for
an easy point. We took the first set in 20 minutes and the
second set had just started when one of the Oakridge players
puked her lunch onto the court. We went back to the bench while
they cleaned up the mess, and Annette glanced at me as we walked.
“Fast food?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“Oh, dear,” she said without much sympathy. “That poor girl.
How embarrassing to throw up on national television.”
Ten minutes after the restart, another Oakridge girl broke from
the court in the middle of play and raced over to the bench,
where she barfed into a teammate’s lap. The teammate promptly
turned green, put her hand to her mouth, and ran off toward
their player’s room, trailing pieces of two all beef patties,
special sauce, lettuce, cheese etcetera off her skirt as she
went, followed by the girls who had been sitting on either side
of her. It was a good thing the Oakridge School colors were
shades of green as most of the team members’ faces now matched
their uniforms!
That practically ended it for Oakridge. They never regained
their rhythm and didn’t make another point in the set, which
took almost an hour and a quarter with interruptions. By the
end, Annette had managed to rotate all our team onto the court
while they had only six exhausted girls still fit for play.
As we lightly touched hands with them, the big double doors at
the end of the gym opened to the sound of our theme song, and
the brass band marched in to cheering and a standing ovation!
St. Ursula’s had just finished winning the city championship
with a 19 game unbeaten streak! London was going to send a very
serious contender to the regional games, and Jim Blake predicted
we would go all the way to the Nationals.
“Nationals?” No London team had ever gotten past winning the
regional tournament.
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
We had to stay for more pictures, interviews, and nonsense like
that, and we were hungry and tired. The school photographer
took pictures of us with our parents and with the Alumnae’s
Society, and of course with Sister Gabe, Father Ed, Sister
Elizabeth and Linda and Julie, and then we took the ride back to
our school.
You could hear the party in full swing long before we arrived
there, but we had stopped off. Robert was still driving, and he
had gone through all the major streets in London. Cars of
supporters followed us honking their horns right up to the time
we pulled into a pizza shop.
Again I cautioned the girls about eating too fast or too much,
and Linda and Julie backed me up on that saying that after all
that exertion and excitement we should only eat a little and
wait till things settled down a bit.
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
Mike was pretending to hurt his hand on my hair when I noticed
Bret Faison interviewing Sister Gabe on camera. Jim Blake was
seated in another chair beside Sister Gabe and Annette was
sitting beside him! It damn near looked like an election wrap
up!
I knew that Mike was a Basketball fan, and I sorely wanted to
tell him that this hair color was nothing compared to what
Dennis Rodman would be doing in less than 20 years, and I
couldn’t explain the inspiration for the hair without telling
him that I had seen Charlie Sheen use similar intimidation
methods in a movie called “Major League.” I passed the buck on
to Wendy saying that her hair was falling in her eyes. Bless
his heart; Mike didn’t question my little lie, though Ann gave
me a curious look.
I excused myself for a minute so that I could listen in to what
Sister Gabe was so animated about in her interview.
I heard Bret say that 19 consecutive wins had to be some kind
of record, that wouldn’t be matched again for some years to
come, if ever. Jim told him exactly the last time that a team
had a run that exceeded it by one win back in 1962. It seemed
that CCH had won 20 straight games, though not all the matches,
and had been knocked out of the running in the Regionals in the
semi finals.
“So,” said Annette, “for Sister Gabriel, who has inspired this
team so much, I guess we’ll have no choice but to win the
Regionals as well.”
Bret turned to Jim. “And what does Canada’s foremost sports
writer think of the Saints’ chances to make it 22 consecutive
wins?”
Jim smiled at Annette, placed a friendly arm on Sister Gabe’s
and said, “Bret, I’ll go on the record, publicly, that I predict
a minimum of 25 consecutive wins for the Saints, and I am
willing to wager half of my next year’s salary to the charity
the Saints have adopted.”
I could have sworn that Bret’s jaw hit his chest, but he
recovered quickly and said that the pressure would now be on the
Saints to make sure that Jim didn’t end up with a pay cut.
Annette should have been an actress! Her face went sad, and
she wiped an invisible tear from her eye with a knuckle.
“What’s the matter, Miss Denure?” Bret asked. “Too much
pressure for you?”
Annette sniffled and then said, “Don’t you see what a bind the
two of you have put our team in? We want to win for Sister
Gabriel, but that money would sure help those poor kids
suffering from cancer.” She turned to Sister Gabe. “If we win
24 games for you, Sister, would you mind if we forfeit the final
game? Those kids need the money much more than we need a
trophy.”
“Bless you, child,” said Sister Gabe, “always thinking of
others.” Then she turned to Bret. “I guess winning the
Provincial title will not be for London this year. I totally
support Annette’s decision as Team Captain.”
Bret looked uncomfortable for a minute and Sister Gabe took the
time to explain to him why so many of the students at St.
Ursula’s had such short hair, having cut their long locks to
make wigs for child cancer patients. Of course anyone who had
read Jim’s column already knew this, but it was a chance to get
the message out again. Sister Gabe was becoming a real TV
personality, looking right into the camera as she continued her
plea. I noticed someone slip Bret a piece of paper, which he
quickly scanned and then smiled. When Sister Gabe finished her
spiel, Bret said, “Well, Miss Denure, I guess you can have your
cake and eat it too. I’ve just been informed by my line
producer that if you WIN 25 matches and take the provincial
championship, CFPL TV will double Jim’s wager and donate it on
behalf of the Saints!”
I could have cried and cheered all at once, but instead I
backed away dying to see how this report would play on the news
tomorrow. To say I had not been very social minded in that past
life would have been a major understatement. I know that
hindsight is 20 / 20, but something had changed in me, something
even more profound than my gender. I actually cared about
people and as much as I was enjoying every second of this life,
I still wanted others to enjoy their lives more! I wanted to
make a difference!
I meandered back to Wendy and Einstein who were holding court
with Mandy and Mom and Dad, my mind filled with confused
thoughts about how I could make more positive changes in this
world. It seemed the more I did for others, the happier I was.
The party lasted most of the night. Bret and his crew packed
up and left around 8:00, but Jim stuck around. He and Mike got
into some deep discussions about sports. Funny, but I never
figured Mike to be a big sports fan. But then again, I had only
really known him for just over half a year. Around 8:30, Tom
and Rita showed up. The looks on their faces were priceless as
Mike showed them my new do! Einstein was straining his jawbone
trying not to laugh. Both of us remembered the multi-colored
Mohawks from the 80s.
Soon, Tom was into the discussion with Jim and Mike when
Robert, with an arm around both Annette and Mandy, wandered on
over. Hilda walked demurely behind.
Ann was filling Rita in on the game and Sister Elizabeth joined
them. Father Ed saw the men talking and he sauntered over
there, leaving Hilda standing on her own.
I elbowed Annette and as she turned to look at me, I said, “You
really should say something to her.”
Annette sighed and said, “Yeah, I know, but what? Dad hasn’t
shown any feelings for her in front of me and I don’t want to
intrude.”
“You think that might be because he was waiting for you to
graduate and go on to university?” I asked.
It was like a light bulb went on behind her eyes. “Shit! And
for over three years I haven’t been living at home. I must be
totally blind!”
“No,” I said, “just too busy growing up.”
“Thanks, Patti,” she said as she dragged Mandy away with her.
I couldn’t hear the conversation, but I could see the big smile
that grew on Hilda’s face.
“Well, Peppermint,” said Einstein, “think we can screw up
anybody else’s time lines?”
That caught me off guard. “You think we’re interfering too
much?” I asked him.
Wendy said, “I think you two should do more. I know enough now
to realize what would have become of me if not for you two
coming back. I’ve heard enough about both of your parents to
realize that life for them is a whole lot better and happier.
There are kids in Toronto wearing hair donated from this school,
and Sister Gabe would never have seen a team of hers win.”
“And don’t forget about us,” said Linda, as she and Julie moved
in closer. “Our lives have changed, and everything is for the
better. I heard from one of the nuns that until the Saints
started to play as well as they did, they seldom saw or heard
from Robert Denure. I think seeing Annette happy and bringing
some pride to the school has made it possible for him to show
his feelings for Hilda.”
“The only negative thing I can think of,” I said, “is Father
Bob. I promised myself that after him, I was not going to
interfere with anyone’s life again.”
“You can’t take the responsibility for that on your own
shoulders,” said Julie. “I think he was a walking time bomb and
if not you, he might have actually killed someone. I have a
feeling that you can’t die at this point in your life, though
God knows you have scared us enough times with how close you’ve
come.”
“And look at your Dad,” said Einstein. “Repairs are only half
of his business now. That stunt you pulled with the Bose
speakers has turned him into a high-end audio store. By the
time CDs and Wal-Marts change the landscape, he’ll be retired
and happy. In the lifetime before this one, he was not a happy
man and he sure as hell wasn’t too pleased with the daughter he
had then.”
“So you think we should just let our conscience guide us?” I
asked him. “Make changes where we think they should be made?”
“Nope. I think we should forget about that other lifetime and
make the most of this one,” he said. “Live right and do right
by our friends and family, and just be the best people we can
be.”
“I know that you’re the best thing that has ever happened in my
life,” said Wendy turning towards me. “I wouldn’t change a
thing about you or me. I love you, Pete!”
Einstein arched his eyebrows at me. What could I say?
~~~~~ // ~~~~~
The fatigue hit me faster than I expected, and I ate very
little. At first I thought it was just me but then I saw Wendy
starting to fade as well and as I looked around the gym, I could
see other players starting to yawn.
We hugged everyone and said our goodnights, and headed off to
bed. My hair was stiffer than dried iron, but I was too tired
for a shower. Wendy and I undressed and cuddled in our favorite
chair with her on my lap as usual. I planted soft tender kisses
on all the parts of her body I could reach without stretching
and she leaned her head against my shoulder and fell asleep.
To be continued…
OMWF_25