Chapter 6

Saying good-bye to Rael was not easy. He didn’t erase the memory of Grad Night, but he put a lot of distance behind it. He also made me realize just how selfish both Claudia and Elodio had been as lovers. Guess it runs in the family.

I spent the majority of the next ten days in Louisa and Melvin’s dining room with Fred and Joe, working on story ideas and characters that might come in handy for the next semester. Sometimes Louisa and Melvin sat in on our sessions, giving us ideas and helping refine ours. They reminded us a bit of Abraham and Daisy Rose, who would love to watch us play around when we were kids.

Louisa was quickly transforming from our former teacher into something like an older sister or cool aunt. It was quite amusing to see her mind at work now that she didn’t have the barrier of being our teacher. She reminded me a lot of my namesake. Melvin was a master at dry humor, and he made us laugh the hardest when he imitated some of our former teachers.

When Louisa and Melvin weren’t around, Fred, Joe, and I traded tales of our New Year’s adventures. Both of them were happy that things between Rael and I went so well. They described Hera as “as sexy as she is beautiful, and as adventurous as she is smart.” Fred and Joe were planning on going to visit her over President’s Day weekend to pick up where they’d left off.

“So she wants to continue having both of you as lovers?”

They nodded, beaming. I laughed. “So you two heterosexual males are fine with sharing the same woman?”

“Why, should there be a problem?” Fred asked.

“Well, we’re obviously not going to marry her, so why waste time trying to fight over her and fuck up our friendship?” Joe said, finishing the last of his tea.

“Besides, just because we’re straight doesn’t mean we don’t feel comfortable being naked in front of each other.”

“Yeah, exactly, Fred.” Joe poured himself more tea.

“Seems like my namesake was a bigger influence on you guys than I thought.” I smiled.

I called Melody on the 12th, as I wanted to keep our hair dying date.

“Melody Burgess, at your service.”

“Hi Melody, it’s Shirley.”

“Hi, Shirley! Great to hear from you.”

“Having a good break so far?”

“Yes, it’s been wonderful. And you?”

“Oh, it’s been quite fun.” I laughed.

“Good. Glad you called, ‘cause I was just about to book my hair appointment for next Tuesday. Will that work for you?”

“Yeah, I’ll be home on Friday afternoon. So, what color are you going for this time?”

“Royal blue. What about you?”

“I’m not too sure.”

“Hey, maybe you should try a henna treatment instead. It’s easier on the hair, lasts a long time, and the color will change gradually as it fades and still look cool.”

“Will I have Lucille Ball hair?” I asked.

“No, it’ll probably be more purple-red than orange-red. They don’t use peroxide or bleach when they do it.”

“That sounds good, then.”

“Besides, I think the color will look nice with your eyes.”

I blushed. “Thanks.”

“So, meet me in front of the housing complex at 10AM on the 17th.”

“I’ll be there. It’ll be nice to see you again.”

“Likewise. Later.”

“Good-bye.” I hung up the phone, feeling giddy. I really liked Melody, and it had been a long time since I’d allowed myself to feel that way about a girl. Breaking up with Claudia had been especially vicious because we were literally caught in the middle of sex, drugs, and rock and roll by her parents. Claudia made me the scapegoat, so I got a lot of crap from my parents and was shunned by all of Claudia’s (and formerly my) friends, who were the stereotypical rich, popular crowd. That’s when Fred and Joe started joining me for weekends at Auntie Shirley’s house. Those three helped me through all of that, which is why I adore Fred and Joe so much.

The next day, Melvin interrupted one of our writing sessions to inform me Andy was on the phone. Both Fred and Joe winked at me as I got up from the table.

“Hey, Andy!”

“Hi, Shirley! How have you been?”

“Great. What about you?”

“Fantastic, though my ex left for school today.”

“Hard saying good-bye?”

“Yeah. It was nice to be able to spend that time with her, though. We never really wanted to break up when she went off to college, but we both knew that we weren’t cut out for a long-distance relationship.”

“I’m glad you got to have more time with her. You’ve always spoken fondly of her.”

“She’s great.” He sighed. “So, I just booked my train for Saturday. I’ll be arriving at noon.”

“Cool, I’ll meet you at the station.”

“Would you like to go somewhere fancy for lunch?”

“Define fancy.”

“That place right by the station that requires you to dress up in order to get in.”

“Really? Why?”

“I have an uncle who went to our school. He’s so thrilled that I chose to go there, that he gave me a check that will pay for my housing and food this semester. So I figured we should ring in the semester in style.”

“Awesome! Yeah, that sounds great! I grabbed a few dresses out of storage, so I’ll wear one of them.”

“Wonderful! Well, I have to get going. I’ll see you in two days.”

“Looking forward to it. Good-bye, Andy.”

“’Bye, Shirley.”

I went back to the dining room, smiling. Fred and Joe gave me a look that plainly said, “Spill it!”

“Andy and I are going to a fancy place for lunch after he gets in on Saturday.”

“Lucky you!” Fred said.

“Yeah, you’ve had quite the luck with men lately.” Joe grinned at me.

The next morning, a few hours before I was to leave for the train station, a package arrived for me. I opened it, and there was a note and a CD. The note read:

“Shirley,
This is the album where I got my handle. I figured if we are going to get to know each other better, you should listen to this. It’s still one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it.

Fondly,
Rael”

The CD was a Genesis album called “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.”

“Oh, I think you’ll love that!” Melvin said. “That is a great album, though it caused Peter Gabriel to leave the band.”

“Peter Gabriel was in Genesis?” I asked. Louisa and Melvin laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.” I said, as I put the CD and note into my backpack.

Joe and Fred were leaving around the same time I was, so we went to the station together, accompanied by Louisa, Melvin, Joe’s parents, and Fred’s parents. Joe’s Mom made boxed lunches for us, Fred’s Mom gave us cab fare so we could take taxis back to campus, and Louisa sent us home with something to eat for dinner.

It was a little hard saying good-bye to everyone, as I really enjoyed being home more than I thought. This new little family I was creating with Louisa and Melvin made me miss my namesake less. I didn’t feel guilty about not contacting my parents because they’d made it clear when they threw me out that they had no interest in “having to deal with the company bastard we were stupid enough to take in.”

After I boarded my train and settled into my seat, I pulled out the CD Rael sent me. It was a two CD set, which impressed me. Those were expensive, so he must really like me. I listened to the first CD on the way home. It certainly was different than most of the stuff I’d been listening to, but it reminded me of a musical. The story was very bizarre, but it was intriguing. I was initially taken aback at the lyrics to “Back in NYC,” but then I remembered something Louisa used to say in class—“always take alarming things in context before you react to them.”

Joe’s Mom’s boxed lunch contained her very delicious pasta salad, her excellent fruit salad, some water crackers, and one of those apple-shaped bottles of apple juice.

When I got home, I ate Louisa’s dinner—beef stew–while listening to the rest of the album. It was interesting, and it seemed like good music to listen to while writing.

I wrote Rael a letter after dinner, telling him that I’d gotten and listened to the album he sent me, and what I thought of it. I also told him that I had a feeling that we were going to remain very good friends for a very long time.

I met Andy at noon the following day at the train station, wearing a very elegant navy dress that had apparently been purchased on a NYC shopping spree in the late 1960’s. Thankfully, the dress was the exact shade of my old school loafers, so I had shoes to go with it.

Andy stepped off the train in a dark green suit, white shirt, and black tie. We hugged, kissed, and complemented each other on how nice we looked.

Lunch was delicious—a huge buffet that we could visit as many times as we wanted. Over lunch, we talked about the classes we were going to take, and decided to see if we could add Acting for Non Majors to our schedule so we could take a class together.

Andy talked a little bit about his ex and I talked a little bit about Rael, but I could tell he felt a little awkward about it at first. I guess I am so used to Auntie Shirley’s philosophy about relationships that I forget that most people don’t see things her way.

“You know, I’m not jealous of your ex or anything.” I said, as we sat down after our third trip to the buffet.

He raised his eyebrow at me. I could tell he wasn’t sure what to say.

“Andy, if I’ve been fine with you dating other girls, why should I have a problem with you having a short fling with your ex-girlfriend, whom you dated before we ever met?”

“Well,” he began hesitantly, “I guess I didn’t want you to think that I still don’t care about you.”

“I know you still care about me. We’re having quite an elegant lunch, aren’t we? Besides, sleeping with Rael hasn’t changed the way I feel about you.”

Andy shook his head in disbelief. “This is a bit weird for me. I’m not used to a girl having the attitude you do about dating and stuff.”

I smiled. “I was raised by an eccentric woman who didn’t want me to limit myself to what society deems appropriate.”

Andy laughed. “I grew up pretty much the opposite. I have a feeling my parents expect me to find my future wife here and have a kid by 25.”

“Is that what you want?”

Andy wrinkled his nose. “Only if I meet the right girl. Otherwise, I’d rather go through all the schooling to become a therapist.”

“I think you’d make a great one.”

“Thanks. So, do you want to brave the bookstore tomorrow and get our books?”

“Sure. We can do that after breakfast.” I smiled.

“Where do you want to have breakfast?”

“At my place. Want to spend the night?”

Andy laughed nervously. “Yeah, as long as we keep to what we agreed to right after Thanksgiving.”

“Of course.”

Andy looked relieved. “Good.”

I helped Andy unpack and tidy his apartment a little, and then we retreated to my place for the rest of the evening. We opened up a little more about our holiday experiences. Andy said he was truly glad I’d found someone like Rael to help me get re-acquainted with sex. I told him I definitely felt better about the prospect of having future lovers, but I was still a little nervous.

Andy and I had an early breakfast the next morning, and got to the bookstore just as it opened. We lucked out and got through the whole process rather quickly.

We spent a lot of time together over the next few days. It was a little more enjoyable making out with Andy now—we were less hesitant and more confident than we were before.

On Tuesday morning, I left my apartment just before 10AM and waited in front of the housing complex. Melody pulled up at 10AM in a beautiful, dark blue Nova that had to be at least 20 years old.

“Shirley! Lovely to see you again.” Melody said as I got into her car.

“Hi, Melody. Nice to see you, too.”

The ride to the beauty school was quiet, mostly because she was listening to The Doors, which had been a favorite of my namesake.

We spent a lot of time talking while we were waiting for the coloring process to complete. I told her about Rael, and she said that we’d remain lovers, as our lives would permit it. She also said that I’d meet three new people this semester, and I’d end up dating two of them. It was a little weird to be told all this information, but it had been foretold that I’d meet a young woman like Melody.

The henna treatment turned out great, and Melody looked even cuter with royal blue hair. I invited her in for tea when she dropped me off, and she accepted.

We had green tea and talked a little bit about the upcoming semester. I could tell she wanted to tell me something, but she was a little nervous.

“Something on your mind?” I asked as I picked up the cups and put them in the kitchen sink.

“Well, yes. I like you, Shirley.”

I blushed. “I like you, too.”

“But I can’t date you because technically I’m faculty.”

“I see.” I said.

“But technically, the semester hasn’t started, so I have a request.” Melody was blushing now, too.

“Yes?”

“I’d like to kiss you good-bye. Just once, so I know what it’s like.”

I smiled. “I think that can be arranged.”

Melody rose from the table. I walked over to her.

“Thanks for a lovely afternoon.” I said.

“You’re welcome.” She said.

I don’t know if she kissed me or if I kissed her. But it felt wonderful.

“Hey, you’re . . . home.”

The sound of Andy’s voice startled me, and I jumped back. I looked at Andy, who looked confused.

“Sorry, but the door was open.” Andy said.

“Oh, I guess I didn’t close it all the way. Well, I should get going.” Melody said, smiling at me.

“Yeah. Uh, Melody, this is Andy. Andy, this is Melody.”

Melody walked over to him and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Andy said, still looking confused.

“Good-bye, Melody.”

“Good-bye, Shirley.”

Melody walked through the door. Andy closed the door behind me.

“I’m uh, sorry I didn’t knock.”

“It’s okay.”

“Isn’t she the teaching assistant from your American Studies class?”

I nodded. “We’re not going to start seeing each other or anything.”

“So why the kiss?”

“We both were curious to see what it would be like.”

“Oh.” Andy sat down on my bed.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, starting to get nervous.

“No, it’s just that the last thing I expected was to walk in on you kissing a girl.”

“Ah.” I said, and sat down next to him. “Yeah, I can see how that would be surprising.”

“And I guess I sorta just assumed that Claudia was a phase.”

I smiled. “No. I haven’t given girls a whole lot of thought since I broke up with Claudia. But something about Melody sparked an interest again.”

“So if she wasn’t a teaching assistant, you’d date her?”

“Probably. But I wouldn’t drop you to date her.”

Andy laughed. “Thanks. By the way, your hair looks great.”

“Thanks. So, want to share a pizza for dinner? My treat.”

“Sure.”