Chapter 40

Standing next to the kitchen table, Jerry and Bill waited in the kitchen for Melissa to come out for breakfast. The table was set with a stack of pancakes at her place complete with seventeen candles. Bill smiled at his father and said, “Won’t she be surprised.”

“I think so.”

Melissa came out of her room and entered the kitchen in dire need of a cup of coffee. She looked up and saw the two men standing by the table. Her mouth dropped open in shock. It took her half a minute to recover enough to say, “You got robes!”

“Happy Birthday!” said Bill as he twisted and turned like a fashion model. Jerry ginned at the antics of his son and the surprised expression on Melissa’s face.

“I don’t have to look at you in your boxers any more,” exclaimed Melissa. She actually jumped with joy. Unable to contain her pleasure at that prospect, she said, “That’s that best birthday present you could have gotten me.”

Grinning at his father, Bill said, “I told you she would like it.”

Melissa noticed the stack of pancakes with the candles sticking out of them. Her eyes misted at the idea that they had taken such an interest in her birthday. Recalling what they had done for Abe, she wondered what else they had planned for her.

Touched, she said, “I love the candles on the pancakes.”

Jerry pulled out a lighter and lit the candles. Once they were all aflame, he and Bill stepped back to sing ‘Happy Birthday.’ She stood in place feeling the typical mortification that young adults feel on that specific occasion. Through it all, she was pleased. When they had finished, Bill said, “Blow out the candles and make a wish!”

Making a wish that things would continue to get better, Melissa bent over and blew out all of the candles. Standing up, she grinned and said, “All right. That’s one wish that I hope will come true.”

They sat down at the table and started in on their breakfast. Mondays were hot breakfast days and they appreciated the routine. For a short time, eating occupied most of their attention. When their appetites had been sated, Jerry sat back and emitted a long happy sigh.

On cue, Bill asked, “So what’s the plan today?”

“Well, today is Melissa’s birthday. So I thought we’d do a few things to help her celebrate it,” answered Jerry.

Wondering what her father had planned, Melissa looked up and asked, “So what do you have in mind?”

“To start off, I thought I’d drop Bill off at school and then take you to get your driver’s license.”

The news that he was going to let her skip school to get her driver’s license was a major shock. Like most seniors in high school, the opportunity to skip school was just too great to pass up. She squealed and shouted, “Really?”

“Yes, really. Then I thought that I’d take you out to lunch at the Crimson Rose,” said Jerry.

“You’re finally taking me to Jenny’s place?” asked Melissa with her surprise evident in her voice. As far as she was concerned, the plans for this day were good and getting better.

Nodding his head, Jerry said, “You bet. After that, I thought we’d head over to the house. They’re delivering the furniture today and I thought you might enjoy directing the delivery guys as to where everything goes.”

Melissa stared at her father upon hearing the great news. She hadn’t known that the furniture was getting delivered that day. Once the furniture was delivered, they could move in!

She screamed, “All right!”

Bill grinned at his sister knowing how much the news about the house meant to her. Jerry waited for her to calm down. Once she was paying attention to her father again, he said, “After school gets out, we’ll come back here. Some of the people in the neighborhood want to stop by and wish you happy birthday.”

“You’re kidding. Some of the people around here want to wish me happy birthday?” asked Melissa with emphasis on the ‘me.’ The suggestion that folks around there would want to have anything to do with her was totally unexpected.

“You’ve met quite a few people around here. I know that things started rough, but they’re good people who know how to forgive,” said Jerry. Abe had been one of the prime movers in getting some of the kids to come over.

“I never knew,” said Melissa humbled by his description of the people around the neighborhood. It was true. She and Shauna had buried the hatchet. Despite herself, she found that she liked Abe and his smart mouth, even though she was frequently the subject of his quips.

“Your day isn’t over yet,” said Jerry with a smile. He looked over at Bill and said, “You tell her the rest.”

“Dinner at the Bon Fromage. You’ve got reservations and the bill is all taken care of. I talked to your friends last Friday and they’re going to be waiting for you there,” said Bill. He knew how much she and her friends liked that fancy French restaurant.

“My God! This is such a surprise,” said Melissa as tears flooded her eyes. She couldn’t keep herself from crying tears of happiness.

At the worried look on Bill’s face, Jerry winked. Picking up a clean napkin, he handed it to Melissa and said, “Bill and I are pleased to see you so happy.”

It dawned on Bill that although she was crying that they were tears of happiness. He relaxed and watched his sister struggle to say something. After blowing her nose into the napkin, she finally said, “This is so much more than I expected.”

Jerry looked at Bill with more than a little pride and said, “Bill has paid for your dinner tonight. He thought you’d like the chance to drive there yourself and enjoy an evening alone with your friends. That’s his present for you.”

Melissa reached for Bill with an energetic lunge that almost knocked him out of his chair. She hugged him tightly and cried, “Thank you. Thank you.”

By the time that his sister released him, Bill was nearly on the verge of tears himself. He looked up to see his father watching them with a smile on his face. Bill, uncomfortable by the attention, said, “Happy Birthday, Melissa.”

Jerry reached into his pocket and pulled out a key ring. Handing it to her, he said, “It’s time for me to give you your present.”

Looking at the key, Melissa asked, “What’s this?”

“Well, I didn’t know how wealthy your grandmother was until recently. The estate has passed to you and Bill to share. I talked to the lawyer and he told me that it would take about a year for everything to get cleared up, but that the house could be used until then. Bill and I talked about it. If it is okay with you, we thought that you’d like to keep your grandmother’s house rather than sell it.”

Melissa’s eyes had grown larger with each word that her father had said. If she understood what her father was saying, she was being given her grandmother’s house. Swallowing, she asked, “What are you saying?”

“Bill has agreed to get his half of the estate out of the stocks, bonds, and cash leaving you with the house and about a quarter of her money. The money should see you through college and pay for the upkeep on the house. For all intents and purposes, you are set up for the rest of your life if you take care not to blow the money,” said Jerry. He had been staggered when he learned how much the kids were set to inherit.

Melissa thought about it for a moment and then, afraid to learn the answer, asked, “Are you saying that I’m not going to live in the new house?”

Laughing at the worried look on her face and understanding that it arose from a sense of abandonment, Jerry said, “No. You’re seventeen years old and will live with us as long as you want. I’m just saying that on weekends and afternoons, you have a house of your own that you can go to. It has a swimming pool and a garage for your cars.”

“Cars?” asked Melissa, relieved to learn that her Dad wanted her to live at home with him.

“Your grandmother had two cars,” explained Jerry.

Melissa was silent for a minute and then asked, “What about mom’s sports car? What’s happened with that?”

“What car?” asked Jerry. He hadn’t thought about his ex-wife’s possessions other than what she had been given by her mother. Thinking about it, he realized that her car must be parked in front of the courthouse ... if it hadn’t been towed away.

“She had a Mustang convertible,” answered Melissa. She looked at Bill and saw the effect that mentioning the name of the car had on her brother. She smiled and said, “When we find it, Bill ought to take it. The girls will love that.”

“Oh, boy! Billy Boy’s gonna get a chick magnet,” Bill quipped with a grin and giving a giving a little disco-fever dance move. It would be almost two years before he could drive it, but it was nice thinking that a convertible was waiting for him.

Jerry laughed at the Bill’s joke and saw that Melissa was smiling as well. He said, “Anyway, that gets me back to your birthday present. You’ve got three cars, a house, and enough money for life. That didn’t leave much for me to get you. However, I figured that you might enjoy going skiing between Christmas and New Years with some of your friends. I know they usually go to Aspen, so I’ll cover your trip there.”

The young woman threw herself at her father and wrapped him in a hug. She was amazed that he was able to do just the right thing for her over and over. Every year, she had watched her friends go skiing over the winter holiday wishing that she could go with them. She stepped back and said, “Thank you, Dad.”

“Happy Birthday,” said Jerry. Glancing over at the clock, he said, “Hey, we better get dressed so that Bill isn’t late for school.”

The kids carried their plates to the sink and then rushed off to change clothes. Jerry took his time while getting his clothes and then going into the bathroom to change into them. As he changed, he thought about the strange position that he was in with regard to the kids. They didn’t realize it yet, but they had far more wealth than he did.

He chuckled to himself at the thought of asking Bill for an allowance.

Bill and Melissa were waiting by the Camaro when he finally got out of the house. Looking at them, he said, “Hey, we need to take the BMW. How’s Melissa supposed to take her driver’s test if she isn’t driving her own car?”

Feeling a little foolish at their lack of foresight, both kids went over to the BMW. Melissa had headed for the passenger’s seat until she realized that her father was getting in that side of the car. The prospect of driving through rush hour traffic to school was a little daunting. She started the car and pulled out of the front yard. Just before the front tire left the curb, she stopped the car and said, “I heard a redneck joke the other day.”

Surprised by the fact that she was mentioning a joke, Jerry asked, “What was it?”

“You might be a red neck if you have more than three cars parked in your front yard,” answered Melissa. She gestured behind her with her thumb at Bill’s car, the truck, and the Camaro parked on the lawn.

Jerry and Bill laughed at the joke as Melissa drove down the street dodging the hundreds of potholes that littered its length. As she made her way around a particularly bad pothole, she knew that driving a cone lined path would be simple compared to missing the potholes.

Melissa pulled up to the high school feeling much more confident about her driving skills. When she parked the car, Bill leaned over the front seat’s back and said, “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” answered Melissa.

“I’ll meet you at the house after school,” said Bill after getting out of the car and before shutting the door.

“Okay,” said Jerry. He watched as Bill raced off to meet his friends. Woody, Larry, Sandy, and a third guy were waiting for him. Jerry recalled that Sandy now had a boyfriend and decided that the guy he didn’t recognize was the boyfriend.

“He’s got a large circle of friends,” commented Melissa. She added, “The nerds, the geeks, the band, and the elites all like him. Even the football players wanted him to join the team as center. It surprised me when they accepted his decision not to join and remained friends with him.”

Not fully aware of the complexities of the social structure of high school, Jerry was clueless as to why she would be surprised. He guessed that you didn’t turn down the football team. He asked, “Who are the nerds, the Greeks, the band, and the whatever you called the other groups?”

She smiled at her father’s lack of knowledge about the social hierarchy of high school, particularly when he called the geeks the Greeks. She pulled away from the curb. While navigating through the school zone, she answered, “The nerds are the brains that love computers, dungeons and dragons, and form Xena fan clubs. The geeks are those kids that want to be cool by copying the cool kids, but come across as fake. They try to fit in, but can’t. The band, well, those are the kids that are in the band and really enjoy it. They are basically their own social group. The elites are the leaders on campus. That includes the football team, the cheerleaders, and the trend setters.”

“Oh,” replied Jerry knowing which group she belonged to based on her descriptions.

Although Bill was a freshman and she was a senior, she had watched her brother moving through the school crowds on a couple of occasions. He greeted everyone and dealt with each person like an equal. The social misfits appreciated the attention and the elites liked his honesty.

Melissa said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill doesn’t end up with a cheerleader for a girlfriend. Who ever he ends up with, she’s going to be a lucky lady. I think Shauna taught him a few tricks that they are going to enjoy.”

Deciding that she was headed into territory that he wasn’t interested in exploring, Jerry said, “I don’t want to know about that.”

She laughed at his obvious unease with the topic of his son’s sexuality. She smiled and said, “Okay. I understand. I just thought that you’d like to brag that your son is seen as the neighborhood stud.”

Jerry groaned and said, “It’s none of my business. So long as he uses precautions, he’s a free agent.”

The thought came to her that her father had given her the keys to the house just to allow her a private place knowing full well that she could use it for that kind of activity. Looking over at her father, she realized that one of the things that she respected about him was the fact that he allowed her to keep her sex life private.

The truth was that she hadn’t had much of a sex life to that point in time. Yes, there had been a few dates, but her mother had instilled barriers to intimacy that she was only now breaking down. How many times had her mother told her to keep her thighs together until the man put the ring on her finger? She couldn’t even begin to guess. Blow jobs? Forget about that. A lady, at most, would calmly jack a guy off into a handkerchief and she would only do that if it was necessary to keep his hormones under control.

She pulled into the parking lot of the DMV and looked around for a place to park. It took her a few minutes to find one. She groaned on seeing that she would have to parallel park. Seeing the smile on her father’s face, she said, “Good practice.”