Requiem for a Heavyweight Ch. 01

Finally, Ken reconciled with the fact that just because he didn't have a college degree didn't mean that he was a failure. He gave himself closure by thinking, 'So, I didn't graduate from college, we all can't be Dr. Wizard.' Only and indeed, he was Dr. Wizard. Helping him to be more positive, he took an inventory of his successes.

Taking inventory of his successes uplifted his spirits. He had a long list of professional accomplishments. Only, now he needed some personal accomplishments to round out his life. His anticipation for a new life wasn't allowing room for self-pity; that period in his life was over. Resurrecting himself for the first time in the two years since his divorce, finally, he took control back of his life. Finally, able to change his internal monologue, he embraced positive thinking.

* * * * *

The first thing that he did was to walk over to Newbury Street for a new hairstyle. He'd been wearing his hair the same way since he was a kid. He finally decided that his barber wasn't doing him any favors. Finally, going with the times, it was time he graduated from a barber to a hairstylist.

Newbury Street is Boston's version of Fifth and Seventh Avenues in New York or Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Especially when unable to find a parking spot, it sometimes seems that Newbury Street supports more hair salons than parking spaces. Newbury Street is infamously known as the double-parking capitol of Boston. So much so that there are an army of meter maids who patrol the street writing so many tickets that their fingers cramp and they have to run to their car for more ticket books.

Since, the street level storefront property is so very expensive to rent, most salons are on the second floor and above. All have large picture windows where they advertise for business. The closer you are to the first block the more expensive are the hair services. Ken walked a few blocks before deciding on a particular salon. A friendly and attractive girl of Italian heritage named Anna, cut and styled his hair consistent with today's latest hair fashion. It was amazing how just the right haircut could transform his looks. Looking totally different and better, his new hairstyle gave him an updated and fresh look.

Anna spent the ½ hour that it took to cut his hair while making friendly chatter. She touched his hand, arm, and shoulder as she talked, and rubbed her C cup breasts against his back and shoulder whenever she leaned in close to him. At one point, trying to cut a hard to cut pieces of hair, she stood between his legs to cut the front of his hair. Making him horny, he was so tempted to pull her closer and give her a big, wet kiss. Indeed, she was very attractive and he was slowly building the courage to ask her out when he noticed her wedding ring.

'She's married,' he thought. 'Why are all the good women married?'

He left 'Hair Flare' determined to find that elusive GQ look he had envied while flipping through men's magazines at the salon. Uncomfortable shopping at the upscale men's clothing stores of Louis and Zegna's, he walked over to Brooks' Brothers. Louis and Zegna's had valet parking and the curb outside their stores were lined with Bentley's, Rolls Royce's, Mercedes, BMW's, Porsche's, Lamborghini's, and Ferrari's.

The fine automobiles that conspicuously were parked out front made him feel a bit inadequate, since he didn't even own a car. Preferring to ride his bike, he didn't have time for a car, especially with the convenience of the rapid transit, trains, streetcars, and buses in and around Boston. Nonetheless, Brooks' Brothers had an ample abundance of wool, plaid, argyle, oxford, and high end cotton to make any yuppie feel welcome. He exercised his charge card limit with a new wardrobe of shirts, pants, sweaters, and shoes.

* * * * *

Now, properly coiffed and suitably attired, probably after experiencing the feelings of inadequacy in not owning a car, especially after having seen some exquisite automobiles, Ken decided to buy a car, but not just any car. He wanted something special, only he didn't know what that was, yet. Because of his proximity to the public transit that took him anywhere he needed to go, so long as it was in and around Boston, he hadn't felt the need to own a car. Yet, now, if he was to date someone seriously, he would need a car for those long drives to the White Mountains of New Hampshire or to the sandy beaches of Cape Cod.

Being a bit reclusive the past few years, discounted his reasons for needing a car. He really didn't go anywhere or visit anyone, but all that was about to change. Suddenly, disenchanted with work, his personal life finally took precedence over his professional life. He wanted a new Ken, different from the old Ken. Now, he couldn't wait to buy the reddest, fastest, and more attention-grabbing car affordable. Not this excited since the birth of this daughter, Elizabeth, he could not wait to buy his new car.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed up his best friend, Jeff, a State Street lawyer. His childhood friend, he had known Jeffrey since grammar school. Growing up in the same North End neighborhood, only two streets away, Jeff was the brother he never had and he was the brother that Jeff never had. "Good morning, Parker, Palmer, Dunn & Associates, how may I direct your call?"

Having not spoken to her in some months, he recognized Jennifer's voice. She was their receptionist and looked like a dead ringer for Loni Anderson of WKRP in Cincinnati, who played Jennifer Marlow, when that situation comedy was popular in the late 70's and early 80's. As tall, blonde, busty, and beautiful as she was sexy, every lawyer in Boston knew who she was. When they weren't trying to bed her, they were trying to hire her away.

"Good morning, Jennifer, how are you today?"

After his divorce, when he was lonely, horny, sexually frustrated, a little drunk, and was unable to sleep, he spent a few restless nights masturbating over imagining Jennifer naked and having sex with her. Only, she wasn't his type. Although she had a lot on the ball in the way that Jennifer Marlowe did, he much preferred brainy women over beautiful women with a hot body. He'd much rather date a scientist with a Ph.D. than a receptionist who had an eye out for marriage while hoping to bag a rich lawyer. In the way that Sheldon, played by Jim Parsons, hooked up with Amy Farrah Fowler, played by Mayim Bialik, and Leonard, played by Johnny Glecki, hooked up with Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco, Ken would have chosen Amy over Penny.

"I'm fine, Ken and yourself?"

Now that he heard Jennifer's sweet voice again, he couldn't help but imagine her naked and her in bed with him. No doubt, with his hand around his erect cock, he'd be having a sexual fantasy of having sex with her tonight. No doubt, with his hand stroking his cock, he'd imagine her blowing him. No doubt, with him masturbating himself and with her big tits bouncing up and down and side-to-side, he'd imagine making sweet love to her before fucking her hard and fast.

"I'm very well, thank you. I took the day off and am playing hooky," said Ken while wishing he could play hooky with someone who looked like her.

Hoping she'd say something sexy and/or invite him to go with her somewhere, he waited to hear her response.

"Lucky you," said Jennifer with a sexy laugh. "I could use a day off to go shopping."

Wanting to end the conversation before he said something sexually in appropriate and made a fool of himself, he had the sudden urge to ask Jennifer to go shopping with him. A perfect lead-in, she was the one who mentioned shopping and he was the one who needed to go shopping and to buy everything, albeit without the help of his ex-wife, Diana.

"Is Jeffrey in?"

He heard her pressing computer keys to check his schedule.

"He's about to go in a meeting. Can I have him return your call?"

Disappointed, Ken was hoping that he wasn't busy. He was hoping that he could play hooky with him. He was hoping that he could at least talk to him about helping him to buy a car.

"Um, it's kind of important," he said with a pause. "Can you catch him before he's too busy to talk? Can you catch him before he goes in the meeting?"

Bad enough that he had to go shopping, it was worse if he had to shop alone.

"Just a minute. I'll try grabbing him before he goes in," said Jennifer. "Hold please."

Ken didn't have to wait very long. Jeffrey picked up the phone within a minute.

"Kenny!"

Ken was happy to talk to his friend. Maybe he could persuade him to take the rest of the day off. Something he had never done, even with his wife, it would be fun to go shopping with his friend.

"How are you doing, Jeff?"

Jeffrey sighed.

"Busy. A very litigious city, with everyone suing everyone, Boston must hold the record for the city with the most lawsuits. How are you doing?"

He could already tell that Jeffrey was too busy to leave work. Yet, worth a try, maybe he at least could meet him for lunch to give him some advice on buying a car.

"Good. Listen, I took the day off. If you can't leave early, how about lunch?"

Someone else was asking Jeffrey a question about a case while he was on the phone with Ken.

"Is there anything wrong, Ken?"

Knowing what he was about to say would get Jeffrey's attention, he paused dramatically.

"Wrong? No. There's nothing wrong," he paused again with trepidation while knowing his friend would react with jokes. "I, um, want to buy a car."

Hurting Ken's ear, Jeffrey laughed out loud in the phone.

"What? Huh? Are you kidding me? You? A car? What did you get a flat tire on your bicycle? You're kidding, right? In the way that you call me to chauffeur you around everywhere," said Jeffrey, "do you even know how to drive?"

Ken laughed with his friend.

"Yeah, very funny. I still have my license," Ken said with another laugh. "Although, now that I think about it, I could probably use a lesson or two. Moreover, I could probably build a better car than I could drive one."

Ken made Jeffrey laugh again.

"In the way that Tesla did, I'm sure you could build a better car but the car that you'd build would look more like a lunar landing vehicle than a car,' he said with another laugh. "Where are you?"

Jeffrey was talking by the reception desk because he could hear Jennifer's voice answering the phone in the background. As soon as he heard her voice, getting horny all over again, he imagined her in her sexy, low-cut bra and her bikini panties. He imagined her in her short, sheer, low-cut, sexy nightgown. He imagined her topless while imagining her big, naked, breasts.

Unable to stop the sexual images from flooding his head, he imagined her big C cup, naked breasts, her round areolas, and her erect nipples. He imagined her naked. He imagined her trimmed blonde pussy and her round, shapely ass. He imagined her in bed and having sex with him. He imagined the sounds she'd make and what she'd say while having a sexual orgasm. Only, even though she was beautiful and sexy, she wasn't his type.

"I'm at the corner of Berkeley and Newbury Streets."

Even though Ken knew exactly where he was, a habit hard to break when double and triple checking everything in his scientific experiments, he still looked up at the signs to make sure he was where he said he was.

"I have a meeting to make, but I can cut it short," said Jeff. He looked at his watched. "I'll meet you at Café 29 in half hour. Grab us a table."

Ken felt better knowing that if Jeff was unable to go shopping with him, at least he could help him buy a car. He thought about all the hot, sports cars that he could buy. He thought again about asking Jennifer to go shopping with him. It would be more fun shopping with her than shopping alone. It would be nice to have a woman's opinion when buying his clothes. He wondered if she'd go in the dressing room with him while he tried on his pants.

"Thanks, Jeff."

Ken was excited about enlisting his friend's help in buying a car.

"I'll see you in a bit, Ken."

* * * * *

Jeffrey had a passion for cars. In his spare time, he dabbled as a car broker. He was a car buff type of guy. He loved cars and knew everything there was to know about cars, which is why Ken called him first.

He worked as an exotic, sports car salesman to help pay his way through law school. Now, he sells his services for a nominal fee to those who know little about cars. He helps them with which cars to buy, with which options to add, and at what price to pay. He also picks up clients that way and helps the clients that he has who are looking to buy a car, especially after they won a big, legal settlement. Jeffrey's automotive expertise is a win/win situation for all.

In Jeffrey's case, discussing cars was a good way to break the ice with a woman. Moreover, some of these women were gearheads and enjoyed talking cars to someone in the know or in Jeffries case, in the business of buying and selling expensive, exotic cars. There was always someone who had an interesting tale that they were eager to tell about a car they once owned. Ever since he was a kid, he subscribed to every automotive publication and read them cover to cover.

Successful enough to afford any vehicle, Jeffrey owned several cars, but preferred driving his BMW, tanzanite blue, Alpina B6 coupe. He said that it was one of the best cars he had ever owned and he had owned them all, Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Corvettes. He said that he's too old for pure sports cars and wanted something more luxuries and something that would impress his clients at the same time, which is why he bought the BMW Alpina.

Prompt to meet Ken, they sat at a table with a view of Newbury Street. Even though Jeffrey's office was close enough to Newbury Street that he could have walked, he preferred driving his car. Somehow, he found a parking space in front of the restaurant. Instead of using quarters, he used Chuck E. Cheese tokens. After taking his nephew to Chuck E. Cheese, he inadvertently inserted a token instead of a quarter. He discovered quite by accident that Chuck E. Cheese tokens would not only give him two hours on the meter but also would jam the meter and stop it from moving.

Even though he could well afford to park his $140,000 car in any parking lot, he preferred sticking it to the city by using Chuck E. Cheese tokens to jam the meter. The two friends sat talking about cars with the same enthusiasm as they had when they talked about cars in high school. They named every exotic sports car from Japan to Germany to Italy and Jeff had something interesting and informative to say about each vehicle.

"After talking cars now for more than an hour," he said looking at his watch while sitting back in his chair, "I know the perfect car for you. I'm ready to make my recommendation."

Ken could hear the drumroll of suspense, as Jeff took a long sip of his beer while scanning the room for available foxes. Focusing upon a beautiful and sexy brunette sitting across from them at the bar, he smiled at her and she returned his smile while slowly crossing her long, shapely legs. Having built up the appropriate amount of suspense, as he always does with everything he says, he awaited Ken's reaction before speaking.

"Okay, Jeff. Jeff!" Ken hated playing games. He hated being in competition in trying to distract Jeffrey's attention away from the sultry woman. "So, which is it the BMW, the Porsche, or the Audi?"

'Knowing Jeff, surprising him and catching him off guard, he'd probably suggest that he'd buy a Corvette of a special version of the Mustang,' thought Ken.

Jeff turned to look at Ken and smiled his ever present self-confident, smug smile. He gave him the same smile that he gave the jury when talking to them as if they were all close friends instead of total strangers. With Jeffrey always so relaxed and Ken always so high-strung, he talked to him in the way that he talked to the jury as if they were sitting his living room having a beer or sipping coffee.

"None of those," Jeff answered quickly and looking away from Ken to look at the leggy woman again.

Enjoying another slow sip of his beer without removing his eyes from the gorgeous woman, he delayed answering Ken to further build the suspense.

"None of those?" Ken looked at his friend as if he was nuts or pulling his leg. He figured that Jeff was going to suggest that he'd buy another bicycle or a motor scooter. "What do you mean none of those?"

He hated it when Jeffrey acted so smugly smart.

"I know a guy," he said. He pulled a pen from his inside jacket pocket and wrote a phone number on the back of his business card. "Give him a call. You'll have to make an appointment, of course. Just tell him that I recommended him to you and he'll take care of the rest. Trust me. He will help you to pick the perfect car."

Jeffrey stood to leave.

"Hey," Ken looked at his friend was deserting him in his time of need. "Where you going?"

Jeffrey turned to give Ken a Cheshire cat smile.

"Where do you think, I'm going," he said with a laugh? "I have more pressing business with a brunette."

He turned from him to walked to the woman.

"Wait, tell me before you go," said Ken. "What kind of car?"

Jeffrey turned to Ken and smiled.

"Don't think small. Think big, very big. Don't think socially responsible. Forget everything I ever told you about fast cars and sportscars. Loose your carbon footprint conscious. Think angry Rottweiler instead of timid Chihuahua. Think sledgehammer instead of carving knife," said Jeffrey with a loud laugh. "Then call the guy on the card. His name is Jake."

Ken looked at his friend stunned as he approached the beautiful woman.

"Rottweiler? Sledgehammer? But I want a car, not a dog or a tool."

To be continued...

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