Chapter Five Draft

Chapter Five

Katy spent a lazy Saturday.  She read the paper, did some laundry, and loaded the dishwasher.  She went grocery shopping, followed by a long hot bath.  She read some in the afternoon, having a bit more concentration, and really getting involved in her book.  She followed that with an all-important nap.  She wanted to be well rested for tonight. 

She and the girls were going out to the Corral tonight, and she intended to have a full-on blast.  To do that, she had to ignore her misgivings about Todd’s cell phone call, and that wouldn’t be easy, but it was necessary.  She knew that she was worrying prematurely.  Her grandmother always told her, “Don’t create trouble, be creative in the face of trouble.”

She also convinced herself not to wait around for him to call.  She was pretty sure that the four-day rule applied to first dates as well.  And she had his number, if she wanted to see him.  Yeah, right.  Katy had never been good with that.  For being such a strong and independent woman, she’d never been able to get over that last bit of shyness about calling guys.

The gang had decided to make Saturday nights at the Corral a weekly thing, just like they had back in college.  They had had such a blast last week that they wanted to keep the night as a Girls’ Night Out.  When she thought about it, Katy laughed to herself.  At this rate, they’d be having Girl’s Night out seven nights a week. 

As it stood now, they would save Friday nights as their date night from now on.  So, just like in college, Katy had decided to pick up each woman at her home, rather than meeting at her house or the club.  It just meant that it would be easier to get them back to their cars.

She waited until she had all three of her friends in the car before she recounted her tale of last evening’s date.  They all sounded pleased about the kiss on the forehead, as well as the handholding.  Then she asked them about the four-day rule.  She learned that she was correct, it did still apply to first dates, as well as all of the early dates.  According to Jasmine, it only became redundant when some form of exclusivity became implied.  Katy was relieved.

Her relief was short-lived.  She mentioned the phone call and asked them what they thought.

“Married,” Claudette spoke first, before Katy had even finished her sentence.

“Really?” Katy asked.

“Well, duh.”

Lindsey weighed in next, “I disagree.  I could see it if you had only seen him out once and then had a date.  Then married would make sense.  But what kind of married man can get out of the house on both nights of the weekend without his wife?”

“One whose wife is out of town for the weekend,” Claudette responded.

Lindsey was not shaken.  “And then he can still get out of the house the following Friday night for a date?  No way.  Besides, he gave her his home number.  Married guys don’t give out their home numbers.”

“True dat,” Claudette responded, “But I still think that married is a possibility.  Maybe he’s just not an experienced cheater yet.”

Jasmine settled the argument, “He’s not married.”

“How do you know?” Katy asked.

“Because he didn’t try to get you in bed.  Married men don’t have affairs just for the heck of it, there has to be some sex involved.”

After deep thoughts about this profundity, all four women agreed, and the argument was settled.  Katy put her fears to rest, and planned to relax and enjoy her evening.

The night was great.  They spent the entire evening together as a group.  They shot pool, talked, and danced.  For most of the evening, Katy forgot all about Todd.  There were only two exceptions.  The first was while they were shooting pool.  For a moment, she found herself half-expecting him to walk through the door.  She was bothered by how disappointed she was when he didn’t. 

The second was while they were on the dance floor.  She laughed to herself thinking about him dancing around like the tin man having a seizure.  Other than that, it was out of sight, out of mind.  She still had an exciting evening, even without Todd.

Sunday was supposed to be another lazy Sunday.  Katy read the paper with breakfast, and then met her mother for church.  They went to the early service and then out to lunch afterward.  Katy updated her mother on all of the developments with Todd, as well as the other events of the week.  She mentioned the fact that she still knew next to nothing about Todd, as well as his suspicious cell phone call. 

“Don’t borrow trouble,” her mother said simply.  That was all that it took for Katy to realize how silly she was being.  She decided to start measuring her life by significant events, and stop measuring it by contacts with Todd.  Katy loved her mother for many reasons, not the least of which was her ability to snap Katy back to reality.

Katy’s intention was to go home and relax.  When she returned to her apartment, she saw that she had a message waiting.  She retrieved it and heard, “Hi, Katy.  This is Todd.  I know that this is short notice, but if you are available today, please call me back.”

Katy was immediately excited by the call.  Todd had not waited four days after their last date to call.  She hoped that this was a sign that he didn’t play “The Dating Game.”  She was tired of games, and wanted a relationship where she could be open with her partner. 

It scared her a bit that she was already thinking of it as a relationship and of Todd as her partner.  They’d only had one date, but she had to be honest with herself, it was the way that she felt.  She decided not to bother getting a vote from the woman’s consortium; she would just follow her heart this time.  Katy returned Todd’s call.

“Hello?”  Todd’s voice was so smooth; Katy loved the sound of it.

“Hi, Todd.  It’s Katy.”

“Hey, Katy.  I am so glad that you called,” he sounded excited.  “I hope that this means you’re available today.  I have something I want to show you.”

Katy immediately became suspicious.  This sounded an awful lot like the old Wanna come up and see my new puppy line that always ended up with the puppy being five years old, and the owner trying to get in your pants.  She asked warily, “Well, what did you have in mind?”

“It’s a surprise,” Todd replied.  Katy could almost hear the twinkle in his eye.

She laughed, “You have to tell me more than that.”

“Why, don’t you trust me?”

Uh, oh.  There it was, the infamous phrase uttered by men the world over.  It was the phrase that stirred absolute horror in the hearts of the women who heard it.  Trust me.

“It’s not that,” Katy tried to sound casual, realizing that those were probably the last two words that a woman heard before getting into a car with a serial killer.  “It’s just that if I don’t know where we’re going, how do I know what to wear?”

“Dress casual.  Please,” Todd implored, “You just have to come.”

The sweet longing in his voice was all that it took.  Katy agreed to go, never thinking that serial killers probably had longing in their voices as well.  It was a leap of faith on her part, given that she knew so little about Todd. 

As a backup plan, Katy told Lindsey about her spur of the moment date with Todd.  That way, at least they would have some idea where to start looking for her body.

In the car, Katy was quiet.  She was torn between her anticipation as to where they were going and her trepidation about going there with a man that she barely knew.  She was able to quell her fears by reminding herself that if he really wanted to hurt her, he could have done so on Friday night, when they were out walking alone together in the dark.  She chuckled to herself about how ridiculous she was being.

Todd didn’t notice the chuckle, he was obviously too excited about whatever they were doing, and was saying things like, “I’m so glad you came,” and “I think that you’re really going to enjoy this”.  He was sweet and childlike. 

As they pulled onto the campus of the local college, Todd parked the car and turned to Katy.  He very seriously said, “Ever since I first laid eyes on you, I’ve wanted to share this with you.”

It was a sweet but strange statement.  Katy had gone to college here, and she couldn’t think of what he could be bringing her here to see.  She knew that the drama department showed old movies on the big screen, but that was only on Monday and Wednesday nights.  The swim team practiced weekday mornings and Saturday afternoons, but they took Sundays off. 

All of the teams took Sunday afternoons off, except for the girls’ volleyball team.  She hoped that he wasn’t some kind of pervert who wanted to “share with her” watching the girls’ volleyball team work up a sweat.  She couldn’t think of a single thing that happened on Sunday afternoons.  Sometimes, the theatre department did matinee showings of their plays.  As far as she knew, they didn’t have a play on now.

They were walking towards the science building, and both of their excitement started to build.  As they entered the building, it occurred to Katy, the planetarium.  She had done all of her studies here, from the first day of her freshman year all the way through her master’s work, when she was working towards her Nurse Practitioner’s Certification. 

While she had made sure to enjoy almost all of the aspects of college life while enrolled, she had never made time for the planetarium.  Now she was looking forward to it, and she was pleased that it was something that Todd wanted to share with her.  It was a romantic notion.

They entered and sat near the center of the planetarium.  There were only a few others in the room.  Katy was certain that they were all students, but there were few majors for which astronomy was required.  Katy had always thought that it was a waste to have a planetarium on a campus that only required less than five percent of its students to utilize it.  Suddenly, today, it did not seem a waste.

The show was amazing.  It showed photos of all of the planets in the solar system and reviewed the basics of each.  Then Todd and Katy watched the sun and moon rise and fall during a section on the earth’s rotation.  During the next section, on the revolution of the earth around the sun, they got to see the moon in all of its phases.  As the full moon rose, Katy looked at Todd and thought I hope that I am half as beautiful in the moonlight as he is.

Just then, Todd turned to her and said, “God, you’re beautiful.”  It was as though he had read her mind.  Then he pulled her close to him.  As Katy leaned into him, he kissed her gently on the top of her head.  They watched the rest of the show in that position: She leaning against him, his left arm around her, her head on his shoulder, and his cheek resting on the top of her head.  Most importantly, her right hand was in his, and she’d never felt so close to a man before.

They enjoyed stargazing together.  They enjoyed it so much, in fact, that they decided to stay for the second show.  Between showings, they had a chance to talk.  Katy noticed that the second show was far more populated than the first and Todd explained that Sundays were the only days that the planetarium ran shows. 

All astronomy students were required to see at least two of them per month during the semester.  The second show had always been more popular, as it allowed drinkers to sleep in on Sunday morning, and it allowed people who had gone home for the weekend time to get back for the show.

Their discussion was brief, but Katy did learn that Todd had gone to school here, and that he had taken astronomy while a student.  She was unable to question him any further than that before the next show started. 

It did confirm her idea that he would be interested in science, as well as let her know that he had gone to college, although she had had little doubt about that.  There were few majors that required Astronomy, physics being the primary one.  The other option was that he had taken the course as an elective, which was a romantic thought for Katy.

Normally, Katy would have spent the entire second show pondering on Todd.  Her mind had the tendency to race at all times, and she often had difficulty slowing it down.  Somehow, today was different.  Sitting beside Todd, cuddled up like lovers, and watching the mysteries of the universe unfold (even for the second time) was all encompassing.  She was engrossed in what she was seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling. 

This was one of the few moments in Katy’s life so far where she was able to relax her mind and enjoy living in the present.  A great sense of calm and joy flowed over her like ocean waves over jagged rocks, slowly eroding her stress and her defenses.  She should have been concerned about the loss of her defenses, but she relished the feeling too much to care.  She didn’t know much about Todd yet, but she did know this feeling and that was enough for Katy.

She started noticing things that she had not before.  She noticed that her usually sweaty palms were dry.  As her comfort with Todd increased, her anxiety decreased.  She felt no anxiety at all, sitting in the dark clinging to Todd with him clinging back.  She felt no sense of claustrophobia from the closeness either. 

She also noticed the way that he smelled.  He wore no cologne, and his natural scent was a light, musky, male scent.  It was sensual and pleasant.  She drank in his aroma with every breath.  Her breaths were deep and even, and they matched Todd’s rhythm with perfect synchronicity.  His hands were warm and soft.  Katy was amazed by how his right hand fit hers perfectly, while his left hand fit her shoulder perfectly as well.

Katy noticed the firmness of his bicep under her head.  It was firm, but not hard.  Her head fell perfectly into the divot between his bicep and his shoulder like a key in a lock.  The sounds of his breathing were almost imperceptible, as it matched hers so well, but she heard the gentle breaths of the students around them. 

It should have felt intrusive, but didn’t.  To Katy, the students’ breaths were like the sounds of crickets and tree frogs in the woods; a part of the experience.  Katy and Todd were camping in the woods, looking up at the night sky.  The breeze was musky and manly, the night warm, and they were surrounded by student tree frogs and a heavenly show, written and cast by God and performed just for them.

When the show was over, the students began talking and filing out of the venue.  Katy and Todd remained seated, not wanting to break the spell that they were under.  When the last of the students rose to leave, Todd turned to Katy and smiled.  “Shall we?” he asked.

“Let’s shall,” she laughed.  They rose and walked to the car hand in hand.

Todd opened every door for Katy and then let himself into the car once she was seated.  Katy felt the magic still intact.  Whatever the spell was, she was grateful for having experienced it.  On the ride home, both were silent for a while.  Todd finally broke the silence when he stated, “Thank you for coming.  Ever since we first met, well, I just really wanted to share that experience with you.”

“I’m glad you did,” was Katy’s reply.  The rest of the ride was silence.  Often, silences were uncomfortable.  Especially in the early parts of a relationship, whether it be a newfound romance, or a blossoming friendship. 

Most people found silence so overwhelming that they would do anything to fill it.  This usually led to a chattering of rambling nonsense.  Most people were unable to relax and enjoy the silence.  Katy had always been one such person.  It was true of her until this day.  Today, Katy was able to relax and drink in the melodic silence.  It was hypnotic.

After Todd had walked her to her door, Katy went in to reflect.  She was not tempted to invite him in this time.  The date had been so perfect that she didn’t want to change a thing about it.  She didn’t want to spoil it with conversation, or sexual intimacy, the date had been intimate enough. 

This afternoon would remain with Katy for the rest of her life as a perfect one.  It would always be a sweet and delicate perfect moment.  In life, such things are rare, and Katy would cherish this one forever.

Sitting in her recliner, thinking about the date, Katy didn’t worry about the fact that she didn’t know much about Todd.  She didn’t wonder if he was married.  She didn’t care about the rules in the stupid Mandbook.  What she thought about was how old-fashioned the relationship seemed. 

They had been on two dates, and the most that Todd had done was kiss her forehead.  He’d waited until the second date before he even put his arm around her.  There was no sexual pressure, no psychological pressure.  The relationship was progressing at a nice slow pace.  At that pace, Katy could afford to take her time getting to know Todd.  Todd made her feel like a young woman from a forgotten time.

Later that night, as Katy drifted off to sleep, she imagined herself as a young woman in a dress with petticoats.  She invited Todd to come calling for cocoa on the front porch swing.  In her dream, Todd said yes.

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Christy Parker is the author of three blogs:  Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind, Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day, and You Be the Editor.

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