Chapter 4

I spent an hour talking to someone at the Women’s Center the Monday after Melody took me out to lunch. They have a support group that meets once a week, but I’m not sure about attending one yet. It’s still easier for me to write about that night than it is to talk about it.

Fred, Joe, and I talked about our Thanksgiving plans for most of November. Both of our schools were close to train stations, so we decided to take the train into Los Angeles. Fred and Joe would meet me at my platform, as their train would get in 10 minutes before mine.

Andy further proved he was a thoughtful gentleman by delaying his departure for home so it was as close to mine as possible, which was leaving five minutes after I did. It meant he’d leave several hours later than he had to, but as he said, “at least the trains will be less crowded, and I’ll get to spend a little more time with you before we head home for a few days.”

So it was really no surprise that we spent the time between my American Studies class and my World History class the day before Thanksgiving having our first actual make out session. No clothes came off, but we definitely hit a few more bases. It was a lot of fun, and I very reluctantly stopped things so I could get to class. Andy decided to go with me to class, and it turned out to be a quite entertaining overview of what was going to be on my final.

We hopped on a bus ten minutes after my class ended. Most of the kids that were staying for the holiday were heading out to party, so the bus was crowded. Thankfully, the train station was the second stop.

Our trains were announced at the same time, and were on opposite tracks. Mine was right outside the station, and his was on the other side of the bridge. I walked with him to the stairs.

“Thanks for a great afternoon.” I said, smiling.

“You’re welcome. Thank you as well for giving me something to smile about on the train ride home.”

I laughed. “You’ve gotten plenty of that from other girls. More than from me, I’ll bet.”

He looked me in the eye. “I know I have your trust. That means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

I blushed. “You’ve got a good heart. Now get to your train and have a great time bragging about the stud you’ve become.”

He laughed, and we kissed. He walked up the stairs to the bridge that led to his platform. I boarded the train, smiling.

After I settled into a seat, I reached into my backpack to retrieve the scripts that Fred and Joe had sent me along with my train ticket. I started reading through them, and Iaughed a lot at the scripts they’d made out of some of our childhood jokes. My mind started wandering to just how long Fred, Joe, and I had been friends. In some ways, they’re like the brothers I never had.

Fred, Joe, and I were all born, in that order, within two weeks of each other. We were conceived during the apparently very fertile summer of ’74 for the VP’s of Bennington Distribution–Fred’s Dad is the VP of Shipping, his Mom is the VP of Operations, and Joe’s Dad is the VP of Receiving. When we were 14, we came up with a theory that we were all conceived at a secret VP’s swinger’s party. When we told that theory to Auntie Shirley right before our senior year, she laughed and said, “that would definitely explain why the three of you were complete surprises to all of your parents. Though I’ll bet you they didn’t use condoms when they were with their regular partners, but did when they swapped.” Joe and Fred cringed the stereotypical “hearing about my parents’ sex lives makes me squeamish” cringe and put their hands over their ears dramatically, making Auntie Shirley laugh so hard she nearly choked on her champagne.

When we were very young, Fred’s live-in nanny usually watched us on the weekends at his house. His nanny was a very beautiful young woman named Daisy Rose, the daughter of the Director of Internal Communication who just happened to earn her degree in child psychology the same summer we were conceived. She was Fred’s nanny from his birth until we were in kindergarten, when she married Fred’s brother Abraham, a brilliant and compassionate guy who turned out to be a perfect match for Daisy Rose.

Before I knew it, the train was pulling into Los Angeles. The first thing I noticed when I saw Fred and Joe on the platform was that Fred was using his wheelchair. Fred lost part of his right leg when he got hit by a car while riding his bike when we were 12. He generally has a prosthesis, but he outgrows them every couple years.

I jumped off the train and ran towards them. “Hi!” I hugged Joe and sat in Fred’s lap. We all laughed.

“Getting yet another new leg at Christmas. This one should be it for at least 10 years, finally.”

“Cool. So are we taking a taxi to this weekend pad of ours?”

“No, my parents were so grateful Fred’s Mom was saving them a huge amount of money on a hotel that they sprang for a limo.” Joe laughed.

Fred’s lack of prosthesis, coupled with all the checked baggage they brought, entitled us to ride a special little cart to where the limo driver was waiting for us. We were out of the station and in the limo within ten minutes. We chatted away in the back of the limo, catching up on things, and reached the apartment complex in an amazingly short time.

Ironically, the apartment complex was a couple blocks away from the gas station that Claudia and I used to stop at on our way to go clubbing in Hollywood with our fake ID’s. It had an elevator, thankfully, as we were at the top floor.

The apartment was very nice with beautiful hardwood floors, and had three bedrooms. We each picked a bedroom and went to bed without much fanfare.

We all woke up early the next morning, which was Thanksgiving. We opened the refrigerator to discover it was stocked for the weekend. We spent the morning exploring the contents of the refrigerator while doing read-throughs and edits of the scripts and unpacking the recording gear. Fred was going to shoot most of the sketches using this really great camera platform Abraham designed for his wheelchair.

After a nap, we did a little rehearsal during the afternoon, and shot the first script, which was the shortest and one of the more serious bits, in the early evening. We spent Thanksgiving evening smoking joints (something we hadn’t done since Claudia dumped me) and eating a delicious platter of turkey sandwiches while we sort of rehearsed the sketches they wanted to shoot the next day. We laughed a lot, as some of the sketches brought back memories of our childhood that we kept recalling.

Much to our delight, there was tira misu and cheesecake in the freezer for dessert. We devoured both of them, and laughed a bit more while recalling our junior high days.

Black Friday was spent shooting three short but very funny sketches. It took us most of the day to do them because we kept laughing. We had to re-shoot one sketch that involved all three of us when we realized we hadn’t hit the record button before we’d started.

Saturday morning found us a little stir crazy, so we called a cab and went to the Bob’s Big Boy a few miles away. It was crowded, but the people watching was worth it. We all had hamburgers and milkshakes, and ordered more food to go. We had to wait a bit for another cab, but we took some funny pictures outside of the restaurant.

The last sketch was going to be the hardest, because it was their submission for the Fall Undergrad Film Contest. Each submission had to create a 20-minute film that was based upon a dream that someone in the film had. They’d found out about this contest during the summer, and I suggested using the dream I had right before we graduated–the one where I was leaving Elodio and our 3 kids the day before our 10th wedding anniversary. We’d hashed out the script by the time I left for State South, and the three of us were looking forward to shooting the script.

We spent Saturday night taping us rehearsing the sketch in bits and pieces. We were up until 2AM on Sunday. We slept until 10am, when we had breakfast quickly and did the whole sketch in one take. We hooked up the camera to the TV, broke out our last joint, and watched what we’d taped over the weekend while finishing the last of the Bob’s Big Boy leftovers. We were happy with our work, especially the contest entry. We packed up our gear and cleaned up the apartment.

“I’m so glad we decided to do this.” Fred said as he zipped up the last suitcase full of camera gear.

“So am I. It’s been great spending time with you two. It’s weird not seeing you guys at school.”

“I know!” Joe exclaimed. “I’m glad you’ve found other male companionship, though.”

“Yeah, we have to meet this Andy guy soon. Maybe we’ll come down for a weekend after I get my new leg.”

The limo picked us up at 7pm, and we headed back to the train station. This time, their train left 20 minutes before mine. We got another cart ride to the station, and I helped Fred and Joe lug their gear onto their train.

“Oh, what a drag it’ll be to wake up in our dorm tomorrow morning.” Joe groaned, storing his backpack above his seat.

“Yeah, that was a nice apartment.” I agreed, putting Fred’s backpack next to Joe’s.

“Only four weeks until we meet again at our home station.” Fred said, smiling as he settled himself in his seat.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun spending the holidays together.” Joe said. “My Mom expects you for Christmas Eve, Shirley.”

“I’ll be there! Louisa and Melvin insist I be there for Christmas, though. Well, I better get off the train.” I hugged Joe and sat in Fred’s lap again. The three of us laughed loudly, and I exited the train, crossed the platform, boarded my train, and settled myself into a seat. The train wouldn’t leave for a half hour, so I started reading the long essay that was the subject of the next day’s American Studies class. By the time I got back to my school’s station, I was finished with the essay.

Andy’s train got in ten minutes before mine did, and he was waiting for me at my platform when the train pulled into the station. He greeted me with a bug hug and a kiss.

“How was your trip home?” I asked

“Great! All my friends want to meet you.”

“Joe and Fred want to meet you, too.”

“How was filming?”

“Oh, it was a blast! The apartment was great, and it was stocked with food!”

“Cool! Thanksgiving dinner was its usual heavenly feast. I’m glad I’ll have a lot of walking around campus to do to work off all I ate over the weekend!” Andy laughed.

“I had a most unusual and yet very enjoyable Thanksgiving. That was my namesake’s favorite holiday, so it was nice to do something completely different for the first one I spent without her.”

Andy hugged me just as the bus pulled up.

The bus ride home was again crowded, and a lot of people got off at our stop. Andy and I chatted happily on the way back to our building.

“Oh yeah, I brought back the last two pieces of my Mom’s chocolate pound cake. Want to have a snack before bed?” Andy asked me as we approached the front door of our building.

“Sure. My place or yours?”

“Mine. It’s actually clean, for a change.” Andy opened the door and held it open for me.

I laughed as I walked into our building. “Okay. I’ll drop off my stuff and be right over. Should I bring the milk?”

“Yes, ’cause I drank the last of mine before I left.” Andy said. “See you in a minute.”

I smiled at him. “Definitely.”

I was quite impressed with Andy’s Mom’s baking skills. The chocolate pound cake was absolutely delicious.

“Thanks for sharing this with me.” I said, smiling.

“You’re welcome. My brothers were going to eat the last of this until I told them I wanted you to have some. They totally think I’m a stud now.” Andy laughed.

“Well, you have been dating quite a lot this semester in addition to our lunches and sleepovers.”

“I know, but I guess it’s still hard to believe that women finally find me attractive.”

“Believe it. You’re quite special.” I kissed him.

“So are you.” Andy kissed me. The memories of what was interrupted on Wednesday afternoon seemed to linger between us. I knew he was waiting for me to make the first move, so I did.

“We don’t have to be up too early tomorrow. Mind if I sleep over?”

“I was hoping you’d ask. Why do you think I cleaned my room before I left?”

I laughed and kissed Andy again. We got up from the table and walked over to his bed.