Settling Old Scores: BWWM Second Chance Romance (4 page)

Kevin
had to see his graduate adviser and round up a book he needed. There
he was at a campus bookstore picking up the textbook he needed; when
he looked up, he saw Pat Washington standing in front of him. He
hadn’t seen her in years. She was tall, about 5-10, and had
filled out a little more since he had last seen her; she looked
fabulous. She had big blue eyes, dark brown long hair, a slight olive
complexion, and a great shape in her snug jeans and sweater.

"Pat,
you look terrific," was all Kevin could stammer out. He was so
mesmerized by those big eyes of hers; he just stood there staring.
She was taken aback by the encounter, too. Slowly, she smiled and her
eyes lit up. One thing that Kevin always loved about her was the
light that came from behind those eyes. It was radiant light; Kevin
could literally see the mind behind it, and the high wattage it
contained was blatantly obvious.

"Kevin,
you look terrific too," she said. Finally, in a delayed
reaction, they awkwardly embraced each other. It seemed to erase some
of the tension. They rapidly settled into a friendly, catch-up
conversation, and agreed to meet for coffee later that day. It was
just as though nothing had happened between them four years earlier.

At
some point, Kevin just accepted that there was no future in the two
of them. He simply stopped writing, and stopped dropping by her house
when he was home. He just couldn't go on with the relationship as it
was. They had been in a static limbo for years before the breakup.
That was enough for Kevin; it was time to move on.

It
turned out she was just finishing up her doctoral degree in music.
She planned to audition violin for several orchestras. She knew just
about everything there was to know about classical music, rock 'n
roll, jazz, and blues. Kevin knew she could talk about her musical
interests for hours. He wasn't surprised by this update. She had
always retreated into her music for as long as he had known her. He
knew she spent hours cloistered in her room listening to music and
practicing violin. Kevin used to hang out with her there. He too, was
seeking refuge from his own self.

Kevin
had mixed feelings when he asked her to coffee. He thought idly about
the scene in the movie
Casablanca
where Bogart
and Bergman meet again. He thought it ironic that music was involved
in that meet up too. As he thought about meeting her, he got
increasingly nervous. They were safe if they kept it light. But deep
down, Kevin knew he couldn't let it go like that. Like Bogart and
Bergman, they had unfinished business.

"I
could use a shot of Bourbon about the size of the bottle Bogart was
working on when Bergman appeared after hours in Rick's place to see
him," he mumbled to himself as he went to see his adviser.

Pat
and Kevin met for coffee at a little outdoor cafe on campus. It was a
sunny August late morning with mild temps, low humidity, and very
faint touch of fall in the air. As she sat there with the sun shining
on her, she had never looked better. The girl had been working at her
passion so hard and so long. Kevin of all people knew how hard she
had worked to get to this point in her life. Kevin didn't say much as
she talked, he just listened to her. Occasionally, he would ask a
question.

“
So
you are getting a graduate degree in finance? What is the difference
between a finance major and yogurt?” she asked with her wicked
little grin.

“
I
don’t know,” he deadpanned.

“
Yogurt
contains live cultures,” she said.

“
It’s
a good joke. The last time I heard it, the question was what is the
difference between Iowans and yogurt,” Kevin said with a laugh.

Pat
was still living with her mom in the old neighborhood. The same
bottom floor duplex that he knew from when he was her paperboy
fifteen years earlier. The same one from when Kevin was home on
leave, and trying to get her to have a more grown-up relationship
with him. Pat did tell Kevin that her mom was pressuring her to be on
her own. She also said that she needed a quiet place that wasn't
cramped to study and practice. Her collection of books, records, and
instruments was starting to really overflow her space. Kevin screwed
up his courage and went for it.

"See
that high-rise down the street? I rent there on the top floor,”
he said.

"There
are two big bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a large living room, and
walk-in closet with shelves big enough to be an office. I am almost
never there except to sleep. If you need some quiet place to study,
practice, nap, or listen to music, I will give you a key to the
place. Call it your home away from home. If you want, you can move
in. It will save you about two hours of commuting time every day; we
both know 8.3% more time is a big deal," he said, in a lame
attempt at humor.

She
hesitated a second. "No, I'm serious Pat. I'll take you there
and show it to you," Kevin said. "I always wanted a big
pimped out Cadillac to drive. Outrageous cars are generally a bad
investment. A pimped out apartment makes more sense. Trust me, I am
almost an MBA," he added with a laugh.

8.
First Moves

“
A
pimped out apartment is for attracting Co-eds; you aren't fucking
kidding me that easily. I know your game," she said as they
strolled down the street to Kevin's place. Then with a look of
relief, she said, "God it feels good to swear. They don't go for
that much in academia, you know."

"I
have sort of become a dual citizen myself. I have the vocabulary of a
crusty old Chief Petty Officer. Nobody can string together the
expletives like they can without repeating themselves. Then I have to
clean it up when I come ashore. So far I have managed to do it,"
he said with a laugh.

It
really didn't look like a bachelor pad inside, because the place had
been occupied by more ladies than men. As usual, Pat had her facts
straight. Kevin usually would attract a female roommate during the
six months every year that he was in school. The roommates he was
sleeping with were always co-eds who were also going to school.

Kevin
had moved on from Pat Washington, or at least he thought he had.
These coeds were witty, pretty, and driven grad students for the most
part. They didn't get Kevin's lifestyle, and love for the sea.
Invariably, they dumped him once they discovered he was not going to
change his ways. Kevin didn't care; he just would go back and get a
new girlfriend when things went south.

He
gave Pat the tour, and she was impressed. She loved the view of the
river, which had plenty of Southern exposure. It was a little awkward
when they finished. For a brief second, they were both aware of the
other’s physical presence. Then, Kevin saw the guardedness come
back over her again. Kevin tried one last time.

"Pat,
you know how I feel about you. Seeing you today has torn me apart. I
won't lie about that," he said quietly.

Her
lower lip trembled. Her eyes welled up in tears. She stepped into
Kevin and put her arms around him. "I thought maybe you had come
to hate me," she said as she struggled to get some composure.
"It took everything I had to come over to you today in the
bookstore," she said. "Just hold me please, Kevin".

Kevin
was on a roller coaster ride himself. She had done this to him
before. He loved her without a doubt. He also knew he couldn't have
the same relationship with her that drove him crazy before they had
parted ways years before. The moment passed. She took his phone
number, and she agreed to consider his offer, but turned down a key.

Kevin
figured he had blown it, and really didn’t expect that anything
would come of his offer. His attitude at least on the surface was one
not caring. He had tried to score another female roommate, and it
didn’t work out. In his less guarded moments, he would have
admitted to feeling all the emotions that go with rejection. Pat had
eluded him again. He couldn't get her off his mind; never had after
all these years. He wondered wearily if he would.

About
two weeks after that initial encounter with Pat, Kevin got a knock on
his door about 7:30 one morning. There she was, nervously standing at
the door. "Come on in Pat, let me get you a cup of coffee,"
Kevin said.

She
came in and looked around nervously. Kevin thought she half expected
that she would find him with a female companion this early in the
morning. He handed her the fresh coffee and look at her directly.
"There is nobody else here Pat."

"I'm
sorry, I wasn't checking up on you. Honest, I wasn't," she said.

"Well,
just so you know, there is no one else here, or in my life right
now," Kevin said.

She
smiled thinly and searched Kevin's face closely. "I have a
little time to kill before my first class this morning, and I thought
I would take you up on your offer and study a little here. Are you OK
with that?” she said.

"You’re
welcome to have coffee and stay as long as you want. I have to get to
the other end of town now for a rather interesting assignment I took
on," Kevin said.

"What
assignment is that?" she asked.

"Mr.
Sharpe, do you remember him?" Kevin said.

"The
Mr. Sharpe from junior high, your old neighbor, our old math
teacher?" she asked.

"He
finally talked me into making an appearance at the school math club.
He thought it would be great if no less than an alumnus showed up and
talked to the kids about how he used math every day while driving a
ship," Kevin said.

Pat
smiled, her eyes lit up. "I know you can't say no to that man,"
she said.

"I'm
going to start out with a little speed math demonstration, and then
I'm going to tie that to algebra," Kevin said.

"So
are any of the old teachers still there?" she asked.

"I
will tell you after I have been there. I usually stop by to see Mr.
Sharpe at his house when I first get to town and start a fresh round
of school," replied Kevin.

"I
am glad to know that you didn't part company with everyone in the old
neighborhood since you left it," she said with a touch of
bitterness in her voice.

Kevin
thought it was a cheap shot, but ignored it. "I have to get
going here. You can take a key and lock up when you go, or just pull
the locked door shut when you go.

"I'll
just pull it shut, thanks for the coffee," she said.

As
Kevin meandered across town, his thoughts alternated between Pat, and
his speed math demonstration. Driving interest for math would very
much help to make Mr. Sharpe's job easier. Kevin felt good that he
was helping his former teacher in some small way. Could there be a
tougher and more fickle crowd than junior high kids?

Kevin
was glad to see Pat this morning too. He was hoping that he would see
more of her, even if she was initially just checking to see if he was
with anyone. It had been a little frosty but he hoped his openness
with her would help ease any suspicions she had about him. He had
just left her free to snoop around his apartment all she wanted. He
didn't care; as far as he was concerned, he had nothing to hide. She
might find some rubbers in the nightstand. So what, he thought.

9.
The Math Club

Kevin
pulled into a parking slot at the school and went inside to the
principal’s office. Mr. Sharpe was paged. Kevin started out the
club talk with his speed math demo. He had the kids volunteer 10 two
digit numbers, and three digit combinations. Then, he solicited a
volunteer for the black board. Then, he just shouted the answers out
rapid-fire without any calculations. He hoped the kids were
impressed. There were several three digit multiplications right at
the beginning. Kevin had planned that deliberately. As he finished
up, they were still writing the digits down on the first couple of
problems. He said to the group, "You can do this kind of math
this fast, too."

Then,
he launched into a discussion of the various techniques he used to
solve these problems. The first problem involved mentally calculating
612 squared, which is a real life area code. The second problem
involved squaring another three digit number. Kevin pointed out that
612 could be split to have a 1:2 ratio just like the number 12. That
the sum of the fractions 6/12 and 6/12 would be 12/12 or one. So,
wouldn't it make sense that instead of 1/4/4 the components of 612
squared would be 36/144/144 assembled into 374,544. It was pretty
simple stuff really; the kids got it right away.