The Best Job I've Ever Had

I explained about the guy getting caught putting the drug into Julie's drink and the cops taking him away. "We didn't want her to take a cab home in her condition and I was the only one who hadn't been drinking so I decided to bring Julie home. That's about it Mr. Reynolds."

"Where is that bastard now?" Mr. Reynolds asked. "He needs to be punished."

"Sir if you found him you would beat the hell out of him and probably end up in jail. He isn't worth it and your daughters need you at home not rotting in some cell because of what you did to that asshole."

I also explained that the frat brothers had touched him up pretty good before the cops could get the guy out of the apartment. Laughing, I told him that one of our guys seemed to be trying to rip the man's arm off when the police stopped him. My drunken frat brother said that he was going to use the arm to beat the hell out of the guy.

"Believe me sir; it will be a long time before that ass tries anything like that again. He'll be reminded of his punishment for the next month or so every time he looks in the mirror. And by Monday afternoon the story will be all over school so his welcome is pretty much worn out around there too."

Kelly walked over to my chair, bent down, kissed me on the cheek and looked into my eyes. "Thank you James for helping Julie. It was a very decent thing for you to do."

If I hadn't been in love before, I certainly was after the kiss and that look. How could I feel the way I do when I've just met her I thought? I didn't have an answer to my question but I knew that I loved Kelly. Finishing my coffee I said good night to the Reynolds and got up to leave.

Mr. Reynolds walked me to the door and explained "I guess I'm a little over protective of my girls since their mother passed away six years ago."

He shook my hand, thanked me, and he said he hoped to see me again. I don't know if you're just being polite, I said to myself, but I will bet that we do meet again.

The story about the guy trying to drug a girl at our party and the results quickly spread around school and as I had predicted the jerk was shunned by everyone, especially the young ladies. The only people who did greet and talk to him were some of my frat brothers. A lot of them made it a point to greet him between classes and some of them suggested the many bad things that could happen to him in the next few days. No direct threats were heard but he got the idea anyway. He left school before the week was out.

Some of the lovely young coeds at the "house" paid more attention to me when the story got around and Julie made it a point to write a letter to say thank you. It was funny, my frat brothers were the ones that "saved" Julie but I got to be the hero because I was the only sober one there. Go figure. I guess fate or cupid or whoever decided I deserved to be rewarded.

Three weeks after the incident at our party, Julie's car broke down and she had to scramble for transportation. She caught a ride to school with a friend but her return trip home was an adventure the first 3 or 4 days. Neither Kelly nor her dad could pick Julie up because they were working. Mr. Reynolds was a dispatcher for a trucking company and Kelly worked in the administration office of a hospital. I heard about Julie's problem from one of the brothers and stopped by Harris Teachers on my way home from my teaching job. Julie was surprised and happy to see me.

I offered to stop by every afternoon and give her a ride home. Julie's house was only about two miles out of my way and I felt responsible for her a little; even though we banned drugs from our place and even though it wasn't one of the fraternity members that tried to drug her, it was still at our party that she almost got raped. Also I had an ulterior motive.

Okay, honesty time. The chance to get to see Kelly was the main reason I offered to help. I had to do something because I hadn't heard or talked to Kelly for almost a month. Usually I wasn't backward or shy around young lovelies but this girl was different. I used the excuse that I didn't have her phone number. But I could have gotten her number in several different ways including looking in the phone directory. I guess I was worried about being rejected; being in love sometimes undermines your confidence you know.

Julie and I would talk during the ride to her house and after a week she asked a question that I didn't have a good answer for.

"Why haven't you called my sister? I know you're attracted to her and she asks about you every night when I get home."

I mumbled something because I couldn't think of an answer. We pulled up in front of her house before the silence became too awkward. Whatever my motives or my reasons, my plan worked; Kelly was sitting on the front porch when we got there. I hoped she was waiting for me.

Normally I would stop my car, Julie would say thank you, and jump out. Today I got out with her and walked to the house; Julie was giggling as she went inside.

"Julie's knight in shining armor saves her again or at least saves her the hassle of riding the bus," Kelly said with a big grin. "Hello James. Very nice," she said pointing at my Mustang.

"Hi Kelly, it's nice to see you," I responded. "Thanks, the car belonged to my dad." I tried to think of some witty thing to say but looking into her eyes my brain took a small vacation. She waited for a few seconds for me to say more and then continued.

"Why didn't you call me after that evening you brought Julie home? The way you were staring at me I thought you would be on the phone the next day." Apparently Kelly was nothing if not forthright.

Busted. I stuttered and stammered a little and finally found my voice. "Considering the circumstances of how we met I didn't think you would want to talk to me. I mean, it was at our party that Julie was almost hurt."

"Circumstances? Let me tell you what I think about those circumstances. Julie told us what happened, at least what she remembers of it and a couple of my friends were at that party and told me what went on and how you and your frat brothers handled it." Kelly paused as Julie brought us some coffee and then went back inside.

"In spite of the party animal reputation that your frat has, you guys did an honorable thing. You and your fraternity brothers protected a young woman that was defenseless. That's the circumstances. Julie, my dad, and I are grateful and admire all of you. Julie considers you our knight in shining armor." Kelly made me feel ten feet tall saying this.

I smiled at her and said, "Okay so we're knights. Got any dragons you need slaying?" I was trying to cover my embarrassment at her praise. "Thanks, I'll tell the guys and they will appreciate you saying that."

"No, Julie and I want to tell them. So I guess you have two dates for the next party, don't you?" Kelly giggled at the look on my face. "Unless you would rather not be our escort."

"That's not it but you two don't have to do that. Besides things can get a little rowdy at "Lamda House".

"No problem, Julie and I will have our knights to protect us. So what time will you pick us up tomorrow night?"

The next evening Kelly, Julie, and I went to the usual Saturday night party at "Lamda House". I carried a case of good bourbon, Gentleman Jack to be exact, into the party. The bourbon was a thank you gift from the Reynolds clan. Kelly and Julie circulated during the party personally thanking the guys that had protected Julie. The girls were the hit of the evening. My frat brothers got together and vocally passed a resolution that adopted Kelly and Julie as the official fraternity mascots.

After that Saturday evening, anytime Julie or Kelly came to the apartment; they were not only allowed to come in but were welcomed like visiting royalty. The word went out to all the fraternity brothers and their male guests that those two ladies were special guests and were to be treated with respect.

Kelly surprised me one evening by arriving at Lamda House to cook dinner for me and any frat brothers that were there. It was a Thursday so she and I were alone; she was surprised that no one else was there.

"Where is everybody? I brought enough pasta to feed a small army."

"No parties allowed except on the weekends. The rest of the week the place is all mine," I explained. "We can go out for dinner if you don't want to be here without others around. I know you don't know me very well I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"Don't be silly; I'm perfectly comfortable being here with you. After all you are our family's knight in shining armor," she said laughing. "But if you're uncomfortable I guess we could go somewhere else."

"Now who's being silly, fair damsel? Come on, I'll help with dinner."

That evening set a precedent and sort of a schedule for Kelly and me. For the next month we would usually have two dates a week. One would be on the weekend and we would come back to Lamda House and join the party; the other date was always during the off nights and we would be by ourselves.

Those two dates a week turned into three and then four and then into almost every night. We always found time to spend a couple of evenings a month with the frat members at a party but the times alone were the most enjoyable. It was a good thing that I had a deadbolt on the door to my room because Kelly and I didn't always wait to be alone in the apartment; several times we capped off the week with a love making marathon.

We went and did all the things that any young couple would do; but it wasn't all drinking, dancing, and frat parties. Kelly enjoyed the outdoors as much as I did and we took several day long hikes, went fishing, and even tried water skiing a couple of times. The two guys that owned the craft shop below Lamda House invited us to a big arts and craft show in town. Surprisingly I enjoyed it almost as much as Kelly.

Kelly and Julie took their role as fraternity mascots seriously and even came to the house during finals week several times to cook dinner for the brothers that were cramming for their final tests.

When I first met Kelly I felt that I wanted to be with her, now I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life. Like I said I was in love and the depth of my feelings almost got me sent to prison. The confrontation might have happened anyway but I wouldn't have reacted with the same anger if it had been someone other than Kelly.

We had been out to an early dinner and came back to top off the night at the frat party. Kelly and I were circulating, having a drink, and talking to my frat brothers. I went back to the kitchen to make some coffee; I wanted some and knew that several of my guys would probably need coffee before they started home.

I heard an angry Kelly say "Get your hands off me you pig", and went to investigate. I don't know who invited this asshole but it really didn't matter; he had just made a bad decision.

Coming into the party room I saw Kelly standing in front of a large man giving him hell. Her blouse was ripped almost entirely off. This jerk reached out, put his hand over Kelly's face and shoved. She took a couple of steps backward and fell to the floor. Before she had time to bounce I was all over the guy.

Let me say that I have no martial arts training, no training in boxing, and no experience with the feint, strike, and kill military type self defense. I had to hear later from people what I did because I don't remember. A red haze came over my eyes and for the first time in my life I was ready to kill someone.

I came back to myself as I was bending the asshole backwards over the railing of our second floor balcony. Two of my police buddies, John and Sam were at the party and pulled me off of the guy and two of my frat brothers were holding on to him to keep him from falling to the pavement below.

Someone was pulling on my arm, trying to get me back into the apartment. I started to shake them off and then realized that Kelly was the one pulling on my arm. She led me back inside and to the table in the kitchen. Kelly got some coffee for me and sat down beside me asking if I was alright.

"I guess so," I answered. "What happened? I remember that guy pushing you down and running at him and the next thing I knew you were pulling me off the balcony."

Kelly began to tell me what happened as John came into the kitchen and took over telling me the story.

"Man, don't ever get that mad at me; I'd have to shoot you to stop you," the cop said laughing. "You know I've run into guys that were so mean that we would joke that if you shot them you would just piss them off. That's the way you were when you started after that man. You yelled at him, ran at him and Kelly, and he hit you." John paused to put a folded hand towel over my left eye. I hadn't noticed but I was bleeding from a cut over that eye.

"He had something in his hand when he hit you; not brass knuckles but close enough," John continued. "We saw your head snap back when he hit you but you didn't even slow down. You screamed like a wounded bear and kicked him in the nuts. When he bent over you kicked him in face and broke his nose. We saw your blood fly everywhere and then you grabbed him and started to pound on him. "

John noticed the bruise on Kelly's cheek and said, "Here let's get some ice on that cheek Kelly." He took another towel, wrapped some ice in it and put it on Kelly's cheek.

The two frat brothers who had kept the ass from going over the rail had joined us. "Man you were like the Tasmanian Devil from the cartoons. I never saw anyone hit someone else that hard or that fast. When you finished pounding him you sort of picked him up over your shoulder and headed out onto the balcony."

"That's when Sam and I got involved." John told me. "We didn't care what happened to that jerk, but we didn't want to have to arrest you for manslaughter."

Kelly was holding my hand and I looked at her and asked her, "Are you okay?"

She nodded her head and I continued, "I must have really lost it John because I don't remember much until you and Sam pulled me off the guy."

John said, "He must have half ass knocked you out or something and you went into shock. It was too bad for him that he didn't put you down. I think you'll be okay but you better go to the ER to have that cut taken care of and check you out for a concussion."

"Did I really hurt him? Will that ass press charges against me?"

"Not really, you did break his nose and it will be a while before his bruises fade away. Sam explained to him as he was lead out of the building that he could be charged with sexual assault on Kelly and assault with a deadly weapon for hitting you. I think it's a push," John answered. Time for me to go; see you all at the next party."

"Don't you ever get tired of being a knight in shining armor, James?" Kelly asked with a smile; it was a rhetorical question. "Come on Sir Galahad; let's get that cut taken care of." Kelly led me down to my car and drove me to the hospital.

The crew at the ER put in 9 stitches over my eye and kept me for observation over night. Kelly picked me up and took me home from the hospital the next morning. She mothered and fussed over me until I finally told her to cut it out. Kelly fixed some lunch and as we ate I asked her what caused the incident last night.

She told me that she had just finished a dance with one of the frat boys and the guy asked her to dance. Kelly told him that she only danced with friends and he grabbed her hand and said "Let's get friendly then" and pulled her toward the sofa. She pulled away and started to leave; that's when he grabbed and tore her blouse.

"I slapped him and that's when he pushed me down," she said. "The next thing I saw was you coming at him like a giant angry bear. Your eyes were opened very wide and were crazy looking James. John pretty much told you the rest. You were past angry, more like crazed. Why were you so upset? I wasn't really hurt just really mad."

Kelly knew that I liked her and enjoyed being with her but I realized that it was time that let her know how strongly I felt about her. The dates and the time that Kelly and I had been spending together just confirmed what I felt the first night I saw her. My feelings had grown and intensified as we got to know each other.

"Kelly I've been in love with you since that night I met you when I brought Julie home. Every date, every evening, every hour we've spent together have made me love you more. I don't want to scare you but I thought I should tell you before we go any further. The reason I went berserk was because that asshole attacked the woman I love." I stopped to catch my breath.

"I'm not proud of going berserk like that but I couldn't let him hurt you again," I told her shrugging my shoulders.

"You big dummy, I know you love me; I've know it since our first date. The way you looked at me and the way you've treated me told me that. I've been waiting for you to say something so I could tell you that I love you too," Kelly had taken my hand and pulled it up to her cheek.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and all night in my locked bedroom. A couple of the frat guys knocked on my door but I told them to leave me alone that I was busy. Kelly and I spent the night showing our love in a very physical way. We didn't get much sleep and were a little the worse for wear the next morning.

There was another wonderful thing that happened that night; aside from the love making that is. When Kelly and I emerged from my room the next morning we were engaged.

Mr. Reynolds, Charles is his first name by the way, was surprised and impressed that I asked for his permission to marry Kelly. He smiled, slapped me on the back and said this called for a drink. Kelly had to drive me home after my afternoon with her dad; I was in no condition to walk much less drive. Good old Charley could really put away the booze.

*******************

Our wedding was at a non-denominational church near Gaslight Square and of course the reception was at Lamda House. Mr. Reynolds walked Kelly down the aisle and Julie was her maid of honor. My friend and former president of the fraternity, Chuck Long, was my best man. At the reception John and Sam our police friends kept things from getting too much out of hand. It may not have been the biggest or classiest reception but no one ever had more fun at one.

After we were married Lamda House had two resident "house mothers". But things were changing and not for the better. I could see that the best job I've ever had was coming to an end. Almost a year after our wedding I could tell that Kelly wasn't overjoyed to still be living at the apartment.

We had discussed having a couple of kids and she wanted to start pretty soon. Her reasoning was that she wanted to have children, enjoy them as they grew up, and still be young enough to enjoy our time together after the kids left home. The apartment was no place to raise children.

In addition I was getting some flak from the fraternity. I wasn't really close with the new frat brothers and they started to bitch about my salary. Most of my friends in the frat had graduated and moved on with their lives. Some got jobs and moved away and some got married but most had progressed past the fraternity.

The current frat members took away the slush fund and I had to go to them to get money to maintain the apartment and pay the lease. Several times I had to remind them to pay me.

I finally had enough when the "Lamda House Committee" told me that they wouldn't pay a salary anymore. They said I could live there rent free and that would be my payment for taking care of the house. I told them what they could do with their offer and we moved out the same week. Kelly and I moved in with her dad until we could find our own place.