Early Saturday Morning

A few more tokes each, and we’re feeling fine. Reaching to put the joint in the ashtray, I brush my arm against her breasts. She grabs and kisses me as I sit back. Her nipples harden. “Call Me the Breeze,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, plays. “This is a great song to dance to.” She slips past me, pulling me up, and we start to dance. Her breasts swaying under her t-shirt draw my interest. “Black Water,” by the Dobbie Brothers, is next. It’s a bit slower, so we hold each other close. She rests her head on my shoulder. We sit down when they sing the a cappella part at the end of the song. We drink a good portion of our margaritas. Sitting back, she cuddles up to me, laying her head on my chest. My arm feels natural between her bare legs. “Roll on Down the Highway,” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, plays.

“How was the drive back? Any problems?”

“No, not really. I spent the day at Trish and James’s before I left.” She giggles. “I couldn’t have picked up the pot at my aunt and uncle's house.”

“True.”

The stoner pause fills the room. “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” by Steely Dan, plays.

“Sorry, folks, but the station demands I play the following commercials. I guess I don’t have to, but if they don’t get paid, I don’t get paid, so …”

Sighing, “This is nice.” I kiss the top of her head. “I missed you.”

She looks up at me. “I’ve missed you, too. I don’t know what’s going on with the family, but everyone is bitchin’ at each other. Diane and Kathy. Their husbands. All that everybody did was fight. She squeezes me tight.

I look down at her and kiss her. She drapes her leg over me. We hold each other tight. The kiss becomes more passionate. We pull each other tighter. “Musta Got Lost,” by the J Giles Band plays.

The warmth and passion of the woman I’m holding is so much more than anything I’ve had these last few days. Isn’t that why we moved in together in the first place? We seem to know what the other wants. We’re so relaxed together. Is what I’m doing worth losing this? I slip my hand under her t-shirt; her breast is soft and full. “Doctor Doctor,” by UFO, comes on.

“Yeah, another dance song. She jumps up and pulls me up with both hands. It’s followed by ‘Some Kinda Wonderful,” by Grand Funk Railroad. And then “Train Kept a Rolling” by Aerosmith. We fall back onto the couch, finishing off the margaritas.

“I’ll refill them while you light up the joint.” She says, jumping up and heading to the kitchen. “I Shot the Sheriff,” by Clapton, plays. She sways to the reggae beat. I light up the joint and take a hit. She sets the glass on the floor near us, taking the joint from me.

Back on the couch, she leans over me to put the joint in the ashtray. I take her in my arms and kiss her. She kisses me back even harder. I run my hand along her bare leg, and she pulls me tighter. I slip it under her shorts, and she stiffens. I pull it out and slip it under her t-shirt. She softens into me.

“Ready for Love,” by Bad Company, begins playing. She unbuckles my belt, then unbuttons and unzips my pants. I pushed up her t-shirt and started licking her nipples. She moans. Good sign. Sometimes she freezes when I do this. She wiggles her shorts down; I slide them all the way off. I push my pants down. She slides down on the couch. I slip on top of her. She needs me to go slow, not a bad thing. Deeper, she spreads her legs more. Deeper, she wraps them around my waist.

We move together. “Rock Steady,” by Bad Company, begins. We move in rhythm, and she starts wanting more. Faster. I indulge her and urge her on even more. The song ends, and we’re still going. This is the best sex. No lovemaking I’ve had. God, I love this woman. We moan in unison as we cum together.

I lean against the back of the couch. “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” by Gladys Knight & The Pips is playing now. I kiss her on the cheek and say, “You are. You know that?

She smiles up at me, “And you me. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

We stop while the words hang in mid-air. It’s the first time we’ve actually said, ‘I love you.’

“Hey, our song.” The first few notes of “Midnight at the Oasis” by Maria Muldaur play. “You won’t need no harem, honey, with me by your side.” She brushes her knee tenderly against me. I twist her bush around my finger. We kiss.

“Turn down the volume, commercial time,” the DJ warns.

We set up, and I gulp about half of my margarita. The DJ comes back on. “Here’s a couple from a year ago. Hoping your early morning fun continues. “Tequila Sunrise,” by the Eagles, begins. I look at her lying naked next to me. Her cute blond bush, her bouncy tits. Her smile, her half-closed eyes. Am I feeling contentment? Could this be love? If it is, then I guess I love her. I kiss her belly. I finish the rest of my margarita. “I’m going pee.”

I come back, and the song, “The Morning After,” by Maureen McGovern, is finishing. I look at her drink. When did she finish that? I look at her, and she’s asleep. I pick her up and carry her to bed. I collapse next to her.

Saturday

The jarring ring of the phone echoes around my skull. I sit up. My head hurts more. I crack open my eyes. I look around. My mind is spinning. The room is spinning. A thousand questions hurt my head. Where am I? Is this my house? Stacey Lyn is next to me. I’m home. The phone is still ringing. Oh, shit, what time is it?

“Hello?” My voice is thick with sleep.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I wake you? Good, I’m glad. I can’t take this. I gotta use my grandparents' old VW Bug to go anywhere. She’s so excited I’m home, she won’t shut up.”

The throbbing pain in my head is easing. The throbbing pain in my ear keeps right on talking. When she takes a breath.

“Fine, we’ll take her. But you have to bring her here.”

“What? Why?”

“Do you want me to take her?”

“Yes.”

“Then you need to bring her here.”

“Fine.”

I hold the phone away from my ear as she slams it down.

Stacey Lyn’s beautiful, half-open eyes, look at me. “What’s going on?”

“Gale’s bringing Patti by for the day.”

“Nice. She’s fun.” I kiss Stacey Lyn’s sleepy grin.

A pot of coffee later, I should have known she would take her time coming over. I’m sitting outside on our brick porch waiting to prevent Gail from realizing Stacey Lyn is here.

She pulls up, blocking the driveway. Patti opens the door, running to me. I catch her and spin her around before giving her a big hug. “Run inside; I need to talk to Mom.”

I walk down to the car. Peeking inside I greeted with, “UGH, she’s here again.”

I look behind me to see where she’s looking. Stacey Lyn’s station wagon is in the driveway. “Ah, yeah, she kinda lives here. You know, since her old landlord’s brother threatened to kidnap her.”

“They never arrested him?”

“No, they all left the state after stealing the entire monthly rent for the Tiki Tabo apartment building.”

“You know I could report –“

“If the State takes custody of her, YOU don’t get any money.”

She puts the VW bug in gear. I close the door. She spins its wheels, trying to pull away on a hill.

Patti comes running to me as I come through the door. “We’re going to have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.”

I catch her as she leaps towards me. “We are? How cool.”

Wrapping her arms around my neck. “I love Stacey Lyn. Do you love her, Daddy?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. We told each other that last night.”

I carry her into the kitchen. Stacey Lyn is pouring chocolate chips into the pancake mix. I’m about to ask her where that came from when Patti shares some news.

“Stacey Lyn, Daddy said you told him you love him.” Patti is grinning like she’s telling a secret.

“Yes, I did, sweetie.” Stacey Lyn kisses me on the cheek.

“Does that mean you guys are going to get married?”

Stacey Lyn looks at me. “Well, ah –“

“That’s OK if you do, Daddy. Mommy is going to get married. She told me.”

“Oh, ah, I guess we will. I’m not sure when, but … OK.”

Stacey Lyn has busied herself with the pancakes.

Over breakfast, Patti talks about her friends at school. Stacey Lyn and I nod like we know who she’s talking about. I ask her what she’s been learning in school. With a big smile, she replies, “Bunnies are soft.” We all laughed. All too soon, it’s time for me to go to work.

Walking into the control room this afternoon was way different than yesterday. Today, the only noise is from a new oldie station, KRTH. They’re playing one of my favorite Coasters songs, “Charlie Brown.”

As soon as I finish my turnover, RJ calls me over to his desk. “An old supervisor of yours, Pruitt, wants to talk to you. I’m a Union Rep if you want someone in with you. You’re still a trainee for another few months, at least.”

“Do you think I need someone?”

RJ shrugs his shoulders. “They didn’t tell me what it was about.”

I run my hand over my long, collar-length hair. “Ah, how about I don’t sign anything without a rep. I can always ask for one halfway through, right?”

“Yeah. You can stop them at any time.”

Sighing, “Ok, I’ll go in, and if I need anything, I’ll yell for help.” I take a few steps, turn, “Thanks.” RJ chuckles. We haven’t gotten along all that well.

Knocking on the open supervisor’s door, I step in. Tim, my current boss, is sitting behind his desk. Pruitt is sitting in the only other chair.

“You asked to see me?”

“Yeah,” Tim answers. “Pruitt needs to talk to you about your work record.”

Shit. Pruitt has always been on my ass. Usually, because I screwed up.”

“I was going to come by yesterday, but with the upset and all, I figured this could wait. Let’s find an empty office.” He musta had one in mind because he walked right into one four doors down. “Close the door and sit down.”

For a second, I thought about calling RJ, but I didn’t.

“There’s no easy way to tell you this.”

Fuck I’m getting fired. I stir in my chair. Before I could ask for RJ, he continued.

“It seems someone lost some of your records when the #1 Catalytic Reformer became part of the LSFO. As such, I have good and bad news. Which would you want to hear first?”

I’m not getting fired? “Ah, well, ah, bad news?”

Pruitt smiles. “The bad news is you don’t have enough process plants to qualify for promotion to Operator. Some of the lost records were proof of your qualification for units that no longer exist. You will need to learn a few more plants. That’ll push back your qualification to Full Operator by about six months. Sorry.”

I’m not getting fired! “And the good news?”

“Some of the other lost records concerned your attendance. Or lack thereof. Since I was the supervisor who wrote most of those records, I could try to find them. However, I don’t think that would be in your or the company’s best interests. You have great potential. I’ve always thought that.

He must have seen something in my face.

“Yeah, I know what you think of me. But you did learn.”

I smile and sigh. “That I did.”

“So, the good news is you still have a job. It was close, and if your records weren’t misplaced, in all likelihood, they would have fired you. But now you have a second chance.” He stands up and offers me his hand. “Don’t fuck it up. Find yourself a nice country girl and settle down.”

I shake his hand. “I’ll do my best. Sir.” I walk out of the office. Sir? Where the hell did that come from?

I go back to the control room, getting my stuff to do my rounds.

“Crawford, what did Pruitt have to say?”

I lean on RJ’s desk. “Well, he said the company had lost some of my certification records. Meaning the older dismantled units I certified on no longer count. I won’t become an “O” for another six months or so.”

“We can fight that.”

“No.”

RJ looks at me.

“Seems those weren’t the only records lost. Something about my attendance?”

RJ starts to laugh. “Damn, Pruitt is a crafty one. Yeah, no problem. Now get out there and do your damn job.”

This part of my job is routine. I look at gauges and numbers and things. If everything is good, no problem. Tonight, everything here is good. Not so much everywhere else. Especially in my head.

When I’m having problems in my life, I climb to the top of one of the distillation columns. It’s close to a hundred-twenty-five feet tall. I watch the planes fly in and out of LAX. I watch them pop into sight way in the east. Follow them until they disappear behind the tall buildings north of El Segundo. Then follow others flying out of LAX, going south, north, or the rare planes going west.

I had no sooner reached the top when the radio squawked. “Crawford, your wife is on the phone.” They know she’s not my wife. They know that one’s shrill voice. They call her my wife to make it simple for her. “I’ll be there in ten.”

Picking up the phone on RJ’s desk, I catch the sound of stifled sobs. “Waz up, honey?”

“Your parents came by and took Patti. They said I shouldn’t be watching her since I’m only your girlfriend.”

“Fuck,” I mutter. “Gail musta called them. I’m sorry. She’s jealous because you’re a better mom than her.”

I hear the smile in her voice. “You’re going to get an extra hug for that when you get home.”

“I can’t wait. You want me to buy some beer on the way home?”

“Sure.”

“OK, I’ll see you in a few hours. I love you.”

“I love you too,” she drops the phone. The sound of her dancing and whooping it up makes me smile. I hang up the phone.

RJ raises an eyebrow at me.

“Go ask Pruitt what he told me after we finished.” I walk behind the control panels, looking for an empty engineering office. Damn it, Mom.

I dial my parents’ number. “Hi, Patti. Are you having fun with Grandma and Grandpa?” They had Patti answer, being pretty sure I was calling.

“Yes, but I was looking forward to playing Chutes and Ladders with Stacey Lyn.”

“Yeah, I know. I need to talk to Grandma about that. Can I?”

“Sure.” The phone goes clunk as I hear her call, “Grandma, Daddy wants to talk to you.”

“Yes, honey,” Mom says, nice and sweet. As she always does when she knows she’s screwed up.

“You had no right to come and take her away. She was happy there. They had plans to play games, and then Stacey Lyn was going to tuck her in bed.”

“But we missed her. We hadn’t seen in a week.”

“Mom! You’ve had her for the last three days. I was looking forward to spending time with her in the morning.”

“You still can. We were thinking that you and your girlfriend might want some time alone.”

My skin crawled the way she said girlfriend. “We have plenty of time alone together. Besides, Stacey Lyn looks forward to Patti coming over as much as I do. She made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast this morning.”

“No young girl should have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.”

“Mom! What does Patti order every time you take her to IHOP?”

“Well, I still don’t think it’s right.”

“What? Chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, or Stacey Lyn.” She doesn’t reply, meaning I won this battle. The war is still on. “You keep her tonight, and then we’ll pick her up in the morning. And since Monday is my day off, she’ll spend the night with us.”

“Patti dear, your daddy wants to talk to you.”

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Hi, kid. I have a deal for you.”

“Oh, goodie.”

“You stay with Grandma and Grandpa tonight. Then, about nine o’clock tomorrow, Stacey Lyn and I will pick you up and take you to Marienland. OK?”

“Oh, goodie goodie. I love you, Daddy. Give Stacey Lyn a good-night kiss from me, too.”

“I love you too. And I’ll tell Stacey Lyn the kiss is from you.” I hang up the phone laughing. That should have pissed off Mom.

The rest of the shift goes quickly. I pick up a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon, her favorite. Then the song Desperado, by the Eagles comes on the radio. I’d heard the song before. I knew the words. Tonight, I took them to heart.

She’s waiting for me at the door. She’s wearing a thin maxi dress. I don’t need to hug her to know she’s not wearing a bra. We hug and she pulls me tight; I pull her even tighter. The longer we hold each other close, the more I know I made the right decision. I kiss her deeply but swiftly. “Let’s sit down and have a few beers. And a joint?” I pull out four beers for now and put the rest of the case in the fridge.

She sits next to the side table and a joint appears in her hand. I sit down and give her a beer. We pop it open and see who can chug it fastest.

We are cuddling. The beers are gone, and most of the joint. “An old boss talked with me this afternoon.”

She sits up. “You’re not getting fired, are you?”

I try not to laugh, but I can’t help it. I snort, falling off the couch laughing so hard by side hurts. She looks down, her body contracting in fear. “No. No. I’m not getting fired.” I’m on my knees in front of her. “I’m laughing because that is the exact same thing I was thinking until they told me no, I wasn’t. Seems there were some mix-ups in my records. They say I won’t get promoted as soon, but the good news is, they lost my sick time records. All those times I’ve called in sick have disappeared. Apparently, I was close to getting fired, but now I’m not. Pruitt did say that I should try to clean up my act.” I chuckle, “He told me I should find some nice country girl and settle down.” I smile at her. I’m on both knees in front of her. She tilts her head.

This whole time, I’ve been bending one of the beer tabs into the shape of a ring. “Would you, Stacey Lyn Elsbeth Patrica Collinwood, agree to be my wife?”

Her eyes go wide. There’s a half-second pause. “Yes.” She flies off the couch, pushing me onto my back. We kiss. We hug. We hold each other tight and kiss some more. She rolls me on top of her. She undoes my belt. I pull her dress up. She pushes my pants down. I kiss her neck and her breasts on the outside of her dress. She spreads her legs, wrapping them around me.

We don’t have any music to guide our rhythms, but we have each other. I lead, she follows, and we are together. It isn’t the over-the-top lovemaking of last night, but we move together, we hold each other tight. We cum together. I lay my head next to hers. She is grinning. She is happy. She has this sparkle in her eye that makes my heart swell.

“Oh, wait.” I roll off of her and sit up, looking around. Where did it go when she tackled me? I see a glint of something. There it is. I crawl over and get her ring. “I’m sorry it isn’t a diamond, or even real. But I want you to have something to commemorate this night. I slip the beer tab onto the fourth finger of her left hand. It’s a bit snug, but it works. She has tears in her eyes. “I love you so much.” She kisses me. I kiss her back, holding her tight.

After some more kisses and hugs, I say, “There’s also another bit of good news. But first, let me get us more beer.” She sits back on the couch. I give her one and sit next to her. We pop and gulp. “We are taking Patti to Marineland tomorrow, and she’s staying overnight with us. We’ll share the news with her in the morning. What do you think?”

I thought she was going to leap on me again, but she didn’t. She leaned over and kissed me. “That’s great news. Patti told me yesterday that she wanted to spend the night with us. We play games and talk to her. We make her part of our lives. Her mom doesn’t do that. She spends most of her time in her room.”

I sigh. “Then I’m thrilled we’re doing this.” We cuddle on the couch, falling asleep to something on TV. I wake up about one in the morning. I pick up Stacey Lyn and carry her to bed. She cuddles up to me when I crawl in. I fall asleep with my hand on her breast.

Sunday

I wake up with a start. I’m still holding Stacey Lyn. The sun is out. What time is it? I roll over, and it's half past seven. I wake Stacey Lyn with a kiss. “My sweet undine, time to pick up our mermaid and take her to Marineland.”

We have a blast. It’s early, and only a few people. Patti has a great time looking at the penguins and sea lions. As we are getting ready for the dolphin show, she takes Stacey Lyn’s hand. “I need to go to the bathroom.” Stacey Lyn looks at me and I nod consent.

“Sure, let’s go.”

They walk into the nearest bathroom. There are three much older women. Stacey Lyn guides Patti into a stall. “Did you see those two?” one of the old women says to another. “She can’t be that little girl’s mother. She must have been twelve.”  Another says, “Has to be an older sister.” “Yes, an older sister.” They all agree.

Patti finishes and it’s Stacey Lyn’s turn. Drying her hands, Patti shouts, “I’ve washed and dried my hands exactly like you taught me, MOM.”

Stacey Lyn steps out of the bathroom stall to see the old bitties turning pale and close to fainting. Stacey Lyn washes her hands. They deliberately walk out holding hands. Out of ear shot of the old ladies, they start laughing and running towards the Dolphin show.

They are still laughing when they sit down on either side of me. “What’s so funny?”

Patti leans forward, asking Stacy Lyn, “Can I tell Daddy?”

“Sure.”

“There were these three really old ladies. Had to be ninety years old, or something. And they were saying how Stacey Lyn couldn’t be my mommy. So, when I got done, I showed them. I called Stacey Lyn Mommy, and they were choking so much they could have died.”

Checking with Stacey Lyn, I see she’s nodding her head. “That’s great, kid. Would you like Stacey Lyn to be your mommy? I mean, she can’t really be your mommy.”

“Why not?”

“Well …”

“Yeah, why can’t I be her mommy?” Stacey Lyn is grinning at me.

“OK, ok, then. Patti, would you like Stacey Lyn to be your mommy?”

She hugs me, “Yes, Daddy, I would like Stacey Lyn to be my mommy. Are you getting married?”

“Yes, we don’t exactly know when, but yes, we’re going to get married.”

“Oh, goodie, goodie, goodie.” Patti gets up and gives Stacey Lyn a big hug. Then pushes me aside to sit next to her.

We get back home in plenty of time for me to get ready for work. I kiss them both goodbye, and Patti is already setting up Candyland for them to play. I haven’t seen either one this happy.

The shift is going well. It’s our Friday night, even though for the rest of the world it’s almost Monday morning. I’m out in the unit getting a piece of equipment ready for them to work on in the morning.

“Crawford, you got a phone call.”

“I’ll be right in.”

It’s on RJ’s desk. “Hello?”

“You’re engaged? You asked her to marry you?”

“Well, yeah, Crystal, that’s what it means.”

“When were you going to tell me?”

“I didn’t think we were talking anymore. You seemed rather upset that I put my daughter first, so …”

“It was your ex I was –“

I hang up the phone. That wasn’t going anywhere, even before this.

That night when I got home, Stacey Lyn was wearing a heavy T-shirt and knee-length shorts. Hugging her, I could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra. I smile. “Trying to be well-behaved in front of a young girl.”

Giggling, she squeezes my hand. We go to Patti’s bedroom. I go in and kiss her goodnight. She stirs but doesn’t wake up. We stand in the doorway. I have my arm around Stacey Lyn’s waist. This is living. This is what it’s about. Being with the people you love, and who love you.

I get us a few beers, and we sit down on the couch. I look at Stacey Lyn’s ring. “I will get you a real one. I promise.”

She kisses me. “Whenever. This is so special.”

We finish one beer and start on another. “Hey, do you think this audit at work will find anything wrong? Find who might be stealing?”

“I haven’t given it much thought. With Aunt Jerri.” She smiles, “And you.” She kisses me again, and I kiss her back. I finger her hard nipples. She giggles and leans back on the couch. “I mean, if someone is stealing, the way they made this sound, they’ll find them. I can’t think of who it could be.”

“You said you thought it might be Crystal?”

“Yeah, but that’s only because she’s on the phone all quite sometimes. Nan, I don’t think it’s her.”

We finish the beers and go to bed. Cuddling, but exhausted, we fall asleep mid-fondle.

Monday

The alarm shatters a nightmare of something chasing me down a long, dark hallway. I sit up and look around. My mind is spinning with a thousand questions. Where am I? Is this my house? I see Stacey Lyn next to me, a blanket covering her lower body. Damn, she has nice tits. I sigh, OK, I’m home. Oh, shit, what time is it? I look at the clock, six AM. I remember Patti in her room. I let Stacey Lyn sleep a bit longer. Pulling on my jeans, I walk down the hallway to Patti’s room. I touch her shoulder, and she jumps. I immediately hug her. “It's OK.”

She’s holding me tight. Scared tight. “I was having a dream that someone was chasing me. And was reaching out to grab me when you touched me.”

Still holding her, “So next time I just call your name, and touch your foot. OK?”

“OK.”

“Time to brush your teeth and get ready for school. I’m not sure what we have for you to wear.”

“That’s OK, Stacey Lyn and I have it all worked out.”

“OK, I guess I'd better wake her up then.”

“She told me she likes you to wake her up with a kiss like Sleeping Beauty.”

“Then that’s what I’ll do.”

I go back in and kiss her on the forehead. “Sleeping beauty, time to wake up.”

She smiles. “She told you. It was to be our secret.”

I kiss her again. “I’m glad she told me.”

She and Stacey Lyn had worked it out. She was wearing pink tennis shoes, a pink dress, and a matching pink sweater. None of which I knew we had. Walking her up to the office, I remind her, “If Mom or Grandma Boyd don’t pick you up by four, you call me. OK?”

“I will.” She hugs me, and I kiss the top of her head. I watch her walk into school.

Stacey Lyn left for work right after I left to take Patti to school. I had a relaxing day, getting the trash ready for Tuesday's pick-up.  Doing a few dishes. And reading my new book, Breakfast of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Four O’clock comes and goes. I call Gail at five.

“What!?”

“Hello to you too.”

“I thought you were Dave.”

“Dave?”

“My boyfriend, if you must know.”

I thought of saying something about them getting married, but I didn’t want to talk to her any more than I needed. “You have Patti, right?

“Of course, I have Patti. Why wouldn’t I?”

“No reason. Bye.” I hung up. I sure didn’t want to get caught in whatever was bugging her. I felt sorry for Patti. I’m going to have to fight Gail for custody one of these days.

I’ve no sooner had I hung up, Stacey Lyn bursts through the door all bubbly and laughing.

“Work was good?”

“Oh yes, the best. We still have a couple of beers left, don’t we?”

“Yeah. Sit down, I’ll get them.”

“I can’t sit down. Get the beers, and I’ll tell you what happened.”

I give her a beer and sit down. She stands in front of the couch and chugs the beer. Putting it down, she begins. “They called us all into the office. They wouldn’t even let us clock in. They spend an hour and a half explaining all these charts. Summarizing it, they found only a few minor errors. Everyone in the room exhaled. Everyone thought they were the one the company was going to fire. I started laughing, thinking about what you told me Saturday night. Everybody thought I was crazy for laughing. They finally let us clock in and start our day. Everything’s normal. Even Crystal is once again talking secretly on the phone. She hangs up, and two FBI agents come in and take her away.”

I look at her in disbelief. “Crystal was stealing?”

“She wasn’t only stealing. She was selling company secrets to the Soviets. And her husband was a spy too.”

“Wait. Derek was a spy. I got him that job in the refinery.”

“Don’t worry. He’s the one who turned her in.”

“Wow, he did? You had a hell of a day.” She sits down next to me, taking my beer and chugging it.  “How was your day? Oh, I take it Patti got home to her mom’s house, OK?”

“Yeah. When I called to check up on her, Gail was in one of her moods. I hate that Patti has to deal with that. I wish I could do something.”

“You know, after we’re married, we could sue Gail for custody.”

We hug. “I was thinking that same thing.” We kiss. We fondle. I led her into the bedroom. She has a lot more clothes on, and I want to get them off as fast as possible. She lets me.

The waterbed does its thing, enhancing our every move. Helping me give her every inch of my love. Helping her give me her all.

Tuesday

Getting up, Stacey Lyn stirs the waterbed. The gentle sloshing lulls me awake. Hearing her humming and singing, ‘Ready for Love.’ I open my eyes as she’s pulling on her pantyhose. Always nice to wake up to a beaver. I closed them, going back to sleep. I opened them again to see a beautiful smile as she kissed me before leaving for work. I go back to sleep.

The noise of trash trucks coming up the hill. Small planes landing at the local airport rustle me awake a few hours later. I lay in bed listening to the sounds of the city. The sounds of life. A day off. A day off from work. A day off from whatever it was I was chasing. A day to do something different. Something new. I pick up the phone.

“Stacey Lyn, how may I help you?”

“By telling me what’s ya doing for lunch.” I smile, knowing I’ve surprised her.

“Oh, hi. I guess eating a sandwich I made this morning, why?”

“How ‘bout I come by with, ah, KFC? And we have a private lunch in the camper?”

She lowers her voice, “How private.”

“As private as you want. We will be in the parking lot.”

“That’ll be nice,” she laughs.

“I’ll see ya about noon. Love ya.”

“Love you too,” she can’t hide the grin from her voice.

I’m standing by the truck, backed into the parking space. It’s parked away from the other cars. I wave to her when she comes out. Inside the camper, I have the table set with paper plates, a flower, and pieces of chicken. “I know you like breasts, as I do.”

She snickers, sitting down. “The flower is a nice touch.” She leans over the table and kisses me.

“I have an idea, why don’t you sit next to me?”

She does, and we kiss some more. So much we forget to eat more than a few bites. She stops and looks at her watch. “Shit, I have to go.”

Wrapping up her half-eaten piece of chicken, “I’ll eat this on my break.” She kisses me one more time, then hurries out of the truck and into work.

I have the dining room table set up with the same flowers and the same food when she comes home from work. This time I have drinks, Margaritas, for us. Not the triples.

“How was work today? A lot less drama, I expect.”

“Some, but the FBI was still going through our records and interviewing people. But overall, back to normal.”

We talk some more, drink some more. On the couch, after dinner, we cuddle and watch a TV show. About nine o’clock, I get up. “I’m going to take a shower and go to bed. I’m working the day shift tomorrow.”

“OK.”

I kiss her, and she kisses me back. I take my clothes off in our bedroom. Walking down the short hallway, I hear the shower running. I see a shape through the shower curtain. She pulls it all the way open. “Care to join me? We need to save water, to save the planet.”

I don’t know if we saved any water. We took our time soaping each other up, rising off, and soaping up and rising off. We decided it might be better if we dried each other off and continued playing in bed.

We cuddled and began making out. I shifted to kissing her neck, then lower, and lower, coming to her breasts, she moved, giving me more access. I kiss and suckle, fingering her other nipple, she moans. I slide my hand down her belly. Her moaning stops, but she moves closer to me. I move my kisses down her body, playing with her nipple as I do. She shifts, and she runs her hands through my hair. I shift to give her access to me, and she does. I use my fingers, and she spreads her legs. I slip on top of her. Straddling her, she takes me as I begin licking the lips of her vulva with my tongue. She is giving me the best head I’ve had, and I’m giving her all I can when she stops.

“I want you. I want you now.”

I’m never one to say no to a woman who wants me. I slide around, and she wraps her legs around me. I go to kiss her, and she wraps her arms around me. “I love you,” I tell her before proving it with a deep, long kiss. With her legs, she begins riding me as no woman ever has.

“I love you too. I’m never going to leave you.” Her desperation is palatable. She clings to me. Consummating the upcoming marriage, as only two people in love can.

Wednesday

Seven AM, bright and early Wednesday morning, I’m back at work. An electrician I’ve never seen before comes up to me asking about a work-listed repair item. We go out into the unit to see what I need to do so he can fix it.

As I’m isolating the piece of equipment, he asks, “You’re a friend of Lorelei’s, right?”

“Yeah, we’ve worked together. Why.”

“Do you have any idea why she would take her two-week vacation and give notice she’s quitting?”

I stand up so fast my hard hat hits an eight-inch pipe. “She did what?”

“Yeah. She called in and did it this morning.”

“Nope. This is the first I heard of it.” I continue isolating the equipment.

Saturday, three months later

It’s halfway through the first afternoon shift after my days off have changed. I’m eating lunch when coworker Owens walks in.

“How’s it coming with your daughter?” She came into his life a few months ago. I told him I was happy for him. “I heard she’s ecstatic having you back in her life.”

“Fuck you, Crawford.”

“Fuck you too. What the fuck happened?”

“You haven’t heard?” He sits down at the kitchen table with a huge sigh. The weight of the world on his shoulders. He looks straight at me. “She fucked me over. Ransacked my house, and disappeared. She even took the car I’d given her.”

“Did you call the cops?

“And tell them what? She took the eight pounds of pot I was selling, and my Kilo of coke? What do you think?”

“Hey, Crawford, you got some mail.” The supervisor tosses a regular letter to me. Most mail inside the refinery is in Manila paper envelopes. It’s addressed to ‘Steve Crawford, LSFO A crew. Then the refinery’s address. The handwriting looks familiar.

“You going to read it?”

“No.” I tuck it into my shirt pocket. “Man, I’m sorry about your daughter. What does her mom say?”

“How the fuck do I know?” He stands up. “I haven’t talked to her since she told me she was pregnant.”

After he leaves, I open the letter.

“Steve,

I’m writing to you because out of everyone you’ll take it the best. You were a lover and a true friend. Too many others would get butt hurt reading this.

Tim and I were going to our yearly Army Reserve monthly training down at Ft Benning. I knew it wasn’t the best time, but I didn’t know when else to tell him.

With extreme restraint, I calmly folded the letter and put it back in my pocket. I let RJ know I’m going out to check on the unit.

Outside, I take one of the bicycles reserved for inspecting the far reaches of the division. I ride way past the division. I park it on a hill overlooking the ocean. The sun is setting, not quite caressing the horizon. I reopen the letter.

He took it better than I expected. On our way home, he told me he was going to retire in Reno by the end of the year. He suggested I retire from the refinery and move up there, ahead of him. He would stay here, sell our Mobile home, and get ready to move. I did and got a job there.

He did retire, but not before he filed divorce papers, so I don’t get any of his retirement. And he moved without a forwarding address. He could have done much worse.

Tell everyone hi from me, and that I’m doing fine. You’ll know the ones who deserve the truth.

Love to you all, Lorelei.

Riding back to the control room, I had a lot to think about. Our friend Jack is my relief tonight. When we’re done with our turnover, I slip him the letter. He looks at me. “Just read it. You’ll know what to do if you don’t give it back to me.” I never saw Lorelei or the letter again.

On my Friday night, I’m drinking a beer, watching Nightline. “Coming up, the shocking true story of a Russian spy living in the Los Angeles area.” They show a picture of the Russian Spy.

“Stacy Lyn, you gotta come watch this.”

“Well, I was thinking you might want to watch this.”

I look up, and she’s standing between the dining room and the living room. She’s wearing a pale blue lacy baby doll top. From what I can see, she isn’t wearing matching bottoms.

“You are correct, I do.” Leaping up, I take her in my arms and kiss her. She pulls me into her, nibbling my neck. The commercials are over. Ted Koppel comes on. “In a shocking true story, the FBI has released the file on a notorious spy living in our midst. She was living right here in Los Angeles County. Using the alias, Crystal Williams.”

Stacy Lyn pushes me away, running to the couch.

“I knew you’d want to see this.” She waves at me to be quiet.

“She wasn’t alone. There was a co-conspirator, posing as her husband, a Derek Williams. Together, they sold an untold number of industrial secrets to the Soviets. Who knows how long they could have operated undetected?

“As with so many criminals, they are their own undoing. It seems Derek, real name Boris, had fallen in love with Crystal, real name Natasha. He suspected her of becoming overly fond of American Bourgeois ways and taking an American lover. For her own good he decided to turn her in.

“Only today did the FBI reveal that Natasha took a plea deal. She agreed to plead guilty to industrial espionage. Thus, staying out of prison in the US, she is returning to Soviet Russia as a hero of the State. Boris, granted immunity for his service to America, is now in Witness protection. The FBI stated they had bugged their home for almost nine months before arresting her. With the plea deal, all relevant data and recordings are being destroyed.”

We look at each other. “She was in our house,” Stacey Lyn says.

“They were in our house several times. Do you think they planted bugs or something?”

Stacey Lyn laughs, “Why would they, our friends? We sure aren’t keeping any big secrets.”

“I know.” We laugh. “Now, where were we?” I pull her towards me. “I like this, by the way.”

“I guessed by your reaction.”

After a few minutes of making out, she leads me to the bedroom.

Now I did see Becky one more time, again, early in December.

It was a Saturday night. Patti was over. Stacey Lyn had come up with an idea, and to my surprise, Gail agreed. It was having Patti spend every other weekend with us, regardless of my days off. If I were working, Patti and Stacey Lyn would hang out. We were playing the “Game of Life” when there was a knock at the door. I answered it, and Becky is standing there.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Do you have plans for New Year's Eve?”

Panicking a bit, not sure what kind of answer would make her go away, I said, “Well, I’m getting married on New Year's Day.” Stacey Lyn’s cousin had done that a few years before.

“OK, but that still doesn’t answer my question.”

I look at her.

“What are you doing New Year's Eve?”

“Spending it with my future wife and daughter.” I opened the door wide to show her, who was sitting at the table. They wave to her.

“Oh. OK. Bye.” She turns and leaves.

“Who was that?” Patti asks as I shut the door.

“An old girlfriend.”

“Really?” Stacey Lyn is looking at me with her head tilted.

Grinning. “Yes. She wanted to know what I was doing on New Year's Eve. I told her spending it with my fiancé and daughter. She didn’t like that answer, so I told her we were getting married on New Year's Day.”

“You and Stacey Lyn are getting married on New Year's Day?” Patti leaps off the chair and into my arms.

Stacey Lyn follows suit, hugging us in a group hug. “I guess we are.”