The Brass Ring Ch. 03

Chapter 3: Getting to Know Her

It was a great afternoon. We headed out into the surrounding countryside and just cruised for while before stopping at an old auction barn on a whim. It was long past the auction time, but people were still there paying for their purchases and picking up their prizes. We wandered around, looking at the various items that hadn't been sold or weren't picked up yet. I always liked auctions, especially these country kind. All sorts of old stuff turns up, and you never know from week to week just what you might find.

Merilee apparently shared my feelings because I think we spent an hour just looking and touching and wondering what some of the items were. It was too late to buy anything, but that was just as well. The 'vette wasn't designed to carry much other than two people.

It was starting to cool off as you would expect in the late afternoon, and I handed her my windbreaker so she wouldn't get cold. She thanked me with a kiss on the cheek, something I sure didn't expect, but made me feel pretty good. We wound the windows up and I turned on the heater so we would be comfortable on the ride back to her house.

As I walked her to the door, she had her arm wrapped in mine, another thing I didn't expect. We weren't talking, just slowly walking toward what I thought was the end of a very nice afternoon.

"Do you want to come in?" she asked me. "My parents are out at some association function and won't be home until late. We could have dinner together if you like."

"Uhhm ... yeah ... sure ... that would be nice. You sure I'm not ... well ... you know ...."

"No ... I don't know," she said with a funny look.

"I mean ... I really had a good time this afternoon. I just don't want to ... I don't know ... maybe take advantage of you ... your ... what do you call it ... hospitality?" I couldn't have sounded like much more of a jerk if I'd tried.

She smiled at me with that beautiful, easy smile. "Dieter, I had a wonderful time this afternoon also. You are a very nice man and I like spending time with you. Please ... I don't enjoy eating alone, and besides, you can help me in the kitchen ... even if it's just doing the dishes."

"I can do that. The dishes, I mean. Otherwise, I'll let you decide if you want me to do more."

"You make your own meals, don't you?" she said as she walked to the kitchen.

"Yeah. Nothing fancy, mind you. But I eat proper food. Not just burgers and burritos."

"Good for you. That's smart. It's almost what I expected," she said, looking back at me with a little grin.

"Jeez, you've got me pegged pretty good, have you?"

"If you mean I've figured you out, you're wrong. I haven't got you figured out at all, as a matter of fact. You're nothing like I expected," she said as she went about pulling things out of the refrigerator and cupboards.

"So ... what were you expecting?"

"I'd rather not say," she said.

She looked at me with that funny look I saw once in a while.

"I guess I expected someone more ... rough," she went on. "Not mean or nasty, but ... you know ... rough!"

I shook my head. "Merilee ... I am rough. I'm not slick and polished like some college guy. I come from a working class background and I'm not ashamed of it. I know I don't talk like the guys you're used to being with, but that's just who I am. So why wouldn't you expect me to be ... rough?"

Now she was shaking her head.

"I'm not talking about how you speak. I'm talking about what kind of person you are. How you act around other people. I could see how close you are to your parents. You love them and they love you. They don't pretend to be something they're not either. I like them. I like them a lot. And ... I like you."

She had a nice smile on her face when she finished her little speech. It was a surprise ... but a nice surprise. I didn't know how to respond to it, though.

"Maybe I should clear up something, Merilee. Marla is my step-mother. My Dad hired her for the business, and one thing led to another. She wasn't just good for the business, she was good for the ... I mean, Pop."

"Were you ever going to tell me that you are the majority owner of your business?" she asked slyly.

"How did you find that out?" I was surprised she knew.

"It wasn't hard. I just checked the county record files when the business was incorporated. You started that business and your father joined you later on. That makes you quite a remarkable young entrepreneur."

"Why would you go to all that trouble?"

"Curiosity. I told you ... you aren't what I expected ... so I was curious."

"I don't tell anyone about the ownership because Pop is the guy that runs the show. I mean ... he really runs the show. I just do my thing with the customers and suppliers and make sure we have new business whenever I can find it."

"My father thinks you are the engine in that company. You are always looking for ways to make it better. That's why you've grown as fast as you have. People like doing business with people they can rely on. You don't have the lowest prices, but you have the best quality and service. So ... end of sermon," she grinned.

"Yeah ... let's get off this business talk," I agreed.

I was sitting on a stool at the island in the middle of their big kitchen. It was damn near restaurant size and everything was either cherry wood or stainless steel. There was a silence for a few moments before Merilee turned to me.

"What would you say if I suggest we should get to know each other better? You know, go out together?"

This girl was full of surprises.

"Are you sure, Merilee. I mean, I wouldn't fit well with your normal gang. I'm sure they'd be disappointed in you."

I saw her eyes flare and her face turn red. Oh, Oh. I'd said the wrong thing.

"Dieter Hunsinger, I'll have you know I don't look down on you and you are not ... I repeat ... not ... going to get away with suggesting I do!" There wasn't much doubt she was pissed with me.

"Okay, okay ... I'm sorry. I wasn't implying anything other than ... aw shit ... I don't know what I was trying to say except when I look at you, I see a beautiful woman who's way out of my league."

I don't exactly know what I said that put a stop to her being angry with me. She walked over to me and draped her arms over my shoulders and gave me a hell of a kiss. No tongue, mind you, but a hell of a kiss.

"Do I have to hit you over the head with a brick to make you understand?" she said softly, her eyes boring into mine. "I'm interested in you. I like what I see. I want to get to know you better ... much better. It's as simple as that. You, Dieter Hunsinger, are plenty good enough for me. I like strong, confident men. But I don't like arrogant men. That's the difference between you and the other guys who want to date me. Most of them are arrogant. You are not! Understood?"

"I don't think I qualify as confident," I replied meekly.

"Not around me ... but we'll work on that. I'm sure I can help," she grinned.

"I'm sure you can," I replied, pulling her back in for another kiss, this time one of mine.

We didn't hop into the sack that evening. We made a nice supper for ourselves, then sat on the sofa in the great room (that's what she called their big living room) and watched a movie on the flat screen TV. She had her arms around me and was slouched against me. I couldn't make up my mind whether to take this farther, but decided against trying anything that night. I really wanted a second date.

When the movie ended, Merilee yawned and stretched, giving me a good look at just how nice her body was, even though it was covered by a tight-fitting sweater and jeans.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" she asked as she pulled me to my feet.

"Whatever you want. I didn't have any plans. We could go out for a drive someplace again."

She smiled. "That sounds fine. Why don't you come for brunch tomorrow morning and we can go from here?"

"You sure about that?" I asked.

"You can't be afraid of my parents, mister," she grinned, poking me in the chest. "Don't worry, you'll be welcome. Besides, one of these days, I want to see your place. Fair is fair." She was in a playful mood, so I couldn't deny her anything at that point.

"Okay ... what time?"

"Ten o'clock and don't be late," she said as she pulled me in for another big kiss.

Damn, this was the last thing I expected. Merilee Jenkins was interested in me.

When I got home, Marla and Pop were still up, so I went in to say goodnight. They were sitting together on the sofa pretty much the same way me and Merilee had been a little while ago.

"Hi, Dieter. How was your date?" Marla asked immediately.

"Good ... I mean great. She wants me to have breakfast with her folks tomorrow morning. Actually, brunch ... so it doesn't happen until ten o'clock."

"I knew it! I just knew it!" Marla said with a big smile. "She's really interested in you. I could tell at the awards banquet. She had that look in her eye. Probably the same look I had the first time I met your father." She turned her head and kissed the old man and snuggled back into his arms.

"Well, it's all a big surprise to me," I admitted.

"Me too, Kid," the old man said with a wink. I knew what he was thinking. It was the same thing I had been thinking. She's out of my league.

"If it can happen to me, it can happen to you," he said, giving Marla another cuddle.

"Aw, I'm nothing special, Sweetheart. I just got lucky when I met you and you liked me," she said, nuzzling Pop some more.

"Hey ... now don't you go puttin' yourself down, hear!" he said seriously. "First of all, you're smart ... real smart. Second, you're a hot babe."

I thought I could hear Marla snort even though I couldn't see her face.

"Third, you got me out of the dumps and got me thinkin' life was a whole bunch better with you in it," he said, kissing her again.

"Jeez, you two. If there's any more syrup I'm going to gag," I said with a phony look of disgust.

I knew what Marla was thinking, though. A week ago, she and I had a long talk when the old man wasn't around ... mostly about her past.

"I got married to the first guy that I had sex with, Dieter. I was eighteen years old, and I thought sex meant love. Boy, did I have a lot to learn. Anyway, he wasn't a bad guy, but he wanted kids, and we found out that I couldn't have any. We talked about adopting and some of the other alternatives, but none of them worked for him.

"Finally, he gave up and told me he wanted a divorce. That really hurt. I mean, I loved him, but he stopped loving me when I couldn't give him any kids. There wasn't any point in kidding myself, so I agreed to the divorce and at the ripe old age of twenty three, I was a divorcee.

"I got a job in a department store, but it was a dead-end thing. I could still be there, but I got stupid again. I met a guy and we started dating. Pretty soon, we were goin' at it hot and heavy, you know what I mean? I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice, so I figured I'd be the smart one and just move in with him. We lived together for nearly eight years until one day he decides he wants to add another woman. He figured I would be okay with sharing.

"So just like that, I was out on my ass, alone again. Then I got a good job. I was dispatcher on night shift at a cab company. That was tough. Trying to get the right cab to the right place, remembering which cab was free and who reserved which guy to pick them up, when to call the cops. It was complicated, so I worked out a system for myself. Turns out, I got good at it. I memorized a lot of it, so it was pretty easy for me to keep everybody busy without screwing up.

"Anyway, I was there for eleven years. Worked my way up to day shift, then supervisor. Everything was goin' great until the big boys moved in and bought out our outfit. They had their own computerized system which they figured was way better than mine, so I wasn't needed any more."

Marla had been telling this story like she was reading it from the newspaper. No sign that she was pissed off about how she was treated. It just was what it was. I didn't want to interrupt her, so I just let her go on.

"I had a few jobs after that, but nothin' I really wanted to do. I was okay for money, but I wanted something I could do that would make me feel like I was doing something special. You know ... useful. I had dated a few guys at the cab company, but nothin' serious. I'd already been burned twice, so why keep doing it, you know? Anyway, that's when I saw the ad in the paper for a driver. I already knew every street and alley in the city, so I figured that would be an advantage. Turned out I was right," she smiled at last.

"You sure were," I said right away.

"So ... like you already know ... I wasn't there very long before I figured out how to get the deliveries done quicker, and damn ... first Freddy ... then you guys noticed. I mean, I liked working there to start with. Decent pay, good people, and you ran a real good operation. Everybody I talked to on my deliveries said the company was first class."

"Didn't you figure we'd notice if you did a real good job?" I asked.

"Doesn't always happen, Dieter. Most of the time the guys upstairs don't have a clue what's going on down on the floor. That's what made you and your dad so different. You guys pay attention to that stuff."

"Yeah ... I guess we do," I agreed. "Anyway, it was hard to ignore you. It didn't take you long to get our attention. I don't think Pop could believe what Freddie was telling him."

"When your father came down to talk to me, he asked me a couple of questions and I guess he was wanting to make sure everything was on the up and up. I told him about me being a cab dispatcher, and I saw the light go on. He knew right then how I did what I did.

"Then, he did something I didn't expect. He asked me if I had ambitions. Like, did I want to get ahead? Hell, yes, I told him. So he said if I kept going the way I was going, he might want me to run the whole show down there. Teach the other guys how to do what I do. He didn't have to beg, that's for sure. I was really pumped up about it.

"So then, we just sat and talked for a while. He told me about how the company got started; not about the ownership thing of course. He told me what you and him believed in when you started it, and how you wanted to run it. It was growing on you pretty quickly, so you two were running just to keep up. I knew from talking to the customers that you were always talking to them, trying to figure out better ways to do things. That really hit me. Hardly anybody does that."

"Yeah ... it's something Pop and I believe in," I nodded.

"I guess we talked for a couple of hours, then out of the blue, he asks me out to dinner so we can talk some more. Well, I wasn't going to say no, but I wasn't sure about what he had in mind. Maybe he was going to put a move on me, you know?"

I chuckled when I heard that.

"Yeah ... it's funny now," she smiled, "but back then I didn't know for sure. But ... I figured ... what the hell ... take a chance. So I did ... and here we are," she smiled.

"Love at first sight, huh?" I suggested, shaking my head. It was the last thing I would have expected from my old man, but that's what had happened. I still couldn't quite believe how quick the two of them got together.

"Yeah. We were two of a kind, Dieter. Both of us had been burned. Both of us were sure we weren't going to get hurt again. So ... I can't tell you how surprised I was when it just sort of happened. Your father is a big softie, you know. Your mother nearly ripped his heart out when she left. I wasn't that bad off, but not much better. I don't know what made the two of us think we were safe with each other, but that's what happened."

"Well, I'm happy for both of you," I said. "I only hope I can find someone like you someday."

"You will, Dieter. You're a nice guy, smart, going places in this town ... maybe more. You'll find somebody. You might have to take a chance, but ... we all do sooner or later," she said softly.

I gave her a hug and that was the end of the talk. I could still remember the look in her eyes when she talked about Pop. I think I made up my mind then that I wouldn't be happy until I had that look from someone too.

Sunday morning I was up at my usual time. I did the triple S and then spent all kinds of time trying to decide what to wear. I came to the conclusion that I needed some new clothes. That gave me an idea. The big stores would be open today, so maybe I could get Merilee to give me some advice. Most women like shopping ... right?

I finally decided to wear a pair of dress slacks and a short sleeve collared shirt. A little more fancy than yesterday, but since I was having brunch with her family, I thought I'd better dress up a bit. I didn't need to bother as it turned out.

I was a little nervous when I rang the chimes at their front door, but Merilee was there in a flash with a big smile, taking my hand and pulling me in.

"Hi ... right on time," she beamed. "Come in and say hello to my parents."

We walked into the big living room and right away I saw Mr. Jenkins putting down the morning paper and getting up, wearing a t-shirt and a pair of well-worn jeans. Mrs. Jenkins came out of the kitchen and was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and some snug fitting shorts that went to her knees. Definitely no need to dress up. I was quickly informed that I should address them as Gerry and Paulette. I began to relax.

Now Merilee was a different story. Altogether different. She was wearing a nice blue short-sleeved t-shirt with a scoop neck that was really scooped! Her jeans were the fancy designer kind with all sorts of trim, but looked like they had been sprayed on her. I was beginning to sweat a bit, thinking that a few more jiggles from the top of her t-shirt would cause me some problems. I did everything I could to avoid looking at her very nice front.

I caught Gerry's hand and got a nice, firm handshake and a smile. I didn't have to guess that we were okay with each other. He made that plain. It was Paulette that I was more concerned with. She was the mother, and I had to make sure she wasn't worried about Merilee going out with me. When I greeted her with a soft handshake, she pulled me in for a hug and when she stepped back, I could see a look of fun in her eyes. I guess I was going to be okay after all.

We settled down for a few minutes until the food was served. Small talk was the order of the day, with Paulette wondering where Merilee and I were going today. I said I had thought about a drive along the river, but I wondered out loud if Merilee would help me find some new clothes. I thought her judgment would be better than mine.

"I'd love to," she gushed. "I get to dress up my man just the way I want him," she said to her mother.

My Man? That caught me off guard, but when I looked at Mrs. Jenkins, she was grinning and then I caught a chuckle from Mr. Jenkins. I think they were getting the idea that Merilee was teasing me and seemed to be okay with it. I was the one who wasn't sure. Just the same, they made we feel welcome and we had a nice breakfast of omelets, toast, and fresh fruit.

It was nearly noon by the time I'd finished helping Merilee in the kitchen with the cleanup. I'd insisted that since Paulette had gone to all the trouble of making a nice meal that I should be allowed to help with the dishes. There wasn't much argument and Merilee quickly volunteered to help as well.

She went upstairs to get ready to go and I waited for her in the living room. I saw some photos mounted on the mantel over the fireplace and in one of them, there were two young guys in the picture with Merilee. I guessed they were family, and Paulette confirmed it.

"That's Calvin, our youngest. He's in military school. That's why he's not around. His older brother, Ralph, is in college and that's why he's not here. Merilee is the oldest at twenty-five."