Hearthstone Entertainment
21 Letdown
I WATCHED ADAM pull out of the ranch driving the bus. He was transporting Heaven and Amy back to the airport to fly to New York. Amy barely made it to the bus before Adam got to the gate. She’d had one more long kiss with Lamar and then ran—still naked—to jump aboard and wave. I waved back, though it wasn’t me she was waving at. We were all waving.
I stood there watching until they were out of sight. I sighed.
“Want to talk about it?” Rose asked.
“Mmm. Not sure what to talk about,” I said. We turned and walked back toward the woods with our arms around each other.
“You’ve just had a lifelong dream fulfilled. You made love to Heaven. What’s next? Disney World?” she said lightly.
“Um…” Eloquent. “I don’t know. You’re right. I… we have both been looking forward to this day. Never ready to commit to it. Never in the same space at the same time. Emotionally remote. And now…” I couldn’t go on.
“And now that it’s over, you feel let down. What’s left? Will it ever be the same again? Did you exchange your guardian angel for a lover? Will she be as good a lover as she was a guardian angel? The mystery is gone.”
“Gosh, Rose. That makes it sound so bleak. I’m sad she’s gone. I wanted her to stay here as part of the family. But what kind of life would she have here? She is a public figure. You saw how she changed when she went in front of the camera. She lives for the lights. I wish her well,” I said. I’d gotten a little heated and shook my head. “And I hate myself for not believing that she’s coming back.” That was it. I cried and Rose pulled me down beneath a tree and held me. I’d been burned by her so many times. Even now, her ‘boyfriend’ was driving her back to the airport and not me. Even when we watched the news on WIUB-TV after her appearance Wednesday night, I found myself jealous that my gay friend was standing with his arm around her instead of me. Of course, I’d never have been invited to the Boosters’ Club dinner.
And Rose was right, too. Some of the sexual tension that had always been between us was gone. We knew what it was like now. We’d gone the last step. What was the big deal? Why did we wait?
What a letdown.
I dozed against Rose’s breast and when I woke up I lifted my head and latched onto her nipple. Rose stiffened and moaned. Then she giggled.
“I think tonight is a night for Patrón and Matrón to make love in the big bed. In front of the air conditioner. Not out here in the hot, sticky woods,” she laughed.
“Let me brush the leaves and twigs off your beautiful derriere and we’ll go back and get something cool to drink.” We headed back to the house. I was glad for Saturdays when we didn’t have to be anywhere or do anything.
“Brian! Rose!” Cassie was calling from the edge of the woods. We ran to find out what was going on.
“Cassie?”
“You’re there. Oh, thank God I found you! Here.” She shoved our gis into our arms. Cassie was in her new green novia gi. We automatically started dressing.
“What’s going on, Cassie?”
“I forgot to tell everyone this morning. My parents are visiting today. My dad called from the airport. He and Mom flew down. I think we managed to find everyone and get them dressed. Oh, my gosh! I am so embarrassed.”
I pulled Cassie into an embrace and kissed her soundly. In a second, she had her arms around my neck and was returning my kiss with fervor.
“Maybe we could send Rose to meet my father and you and I could go play in the woods,” she panted. “You know I love to play in the woods.”
“Come, my novia,” I said. “Let’s go show your father what we are doing with El Rancho del Corazón!”
The visit with Mr. and Mrs. Clinton was actually very pleasant. I guess he left his criticism at home. Or maybe flying just puts him in a good mood. He hadn’t seen the ranch since we agreed to rebuild the interior of the barn. Mrs. Clinton, of course, had been here a week during construction but hadn’t been back since. They were both very impressed with the studio and the cameras. Hannah showed them the lighting. They sat in Elaine’s chairs and made a big fuss over the wall full of schedule boards. Cassie held her breath as we took them upstairs through the big room and the dormitories. Somehow, the entire bedroom had been redone with the beds all separated around the walls and drapes separating some of them. There was at least an illusion of being able to have privacy. They didn’t make any comments.
“Well, you’ve certainly done well with the property,” Mr. Clinton said. “That barn duplex is truly beautiful.”
“And everything is staked out to start laying the cement block basement for the new farmhouse on Monday,” I said as we circled the hole and the cement slab at the bottom of it. Like many Indiana farmhouses, the basement was only partly submerged. Enough of it stuck out of the ground that there could be windows large enough to make legal bedrooms if we needed them. It would also have a storm shelter entrance that everyone could reach. Above would be a full two-story farmhouse with an expansion room in the attic. Typical of the older style farmhouses, the kitchen would be a large one-story add-on. In front and on one side, there would be a screened front porch. As beautiful as our property was, we still fought mosquitoes all summer.
“It’s a beautiful afternoon,” he said. “Have you ever been up in a small plane?”
“I’ve only ever flown once,” I admitted. “Went to visit my sister in Seattle.”
“Well, you’ve shown me your passion. Let me show you mine.”
“Do I need to change?”
“No. In fact, I’ve been thinking about having Bea make me a pair of these all-purpose pajamas you wear. What color would I need to wear?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. Dad had mentioned wanting a gi, too. Hmm. “We all have utilitarian white gis. Some have party outfits that are pastels. The primaries depend on the casa. They all mean something different. The white belts mean just a member of the clan that doesn’t have a casa. The colored belts distinguish the casa from each other.”
“I see.” We pulled into Monroe County’s little airport and he led me out to the private plane section where he showed me his little two-seater. He walked around the plane pushing and pulling things and stuck his finger in the gas tank, explaining what a checklist was. Then we got in and he handed me a headset and a clipboard and had me read things. I really didn’t understand anything that we were talking about, but it was cool when he started the single engine and we taxied to the runway. I heard someone on the headset give the name of his plane and then Mr. Clinton hit the gas and we were off. Well, we were headed down the runway. It took us most of the length before he thought we were going fast enough to take off and we rose up from the ground. Wow! What a feeling. Really different than a big jet. You actually felt like you were flying.
He turned east and we overflew the campus. I pointed out the buildings and where most of us had classes.
“Do you like it down here, Brian?”
“I really do, Mr. Clinton. Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming, but we’re making it,” I said. Seeing the campus first and then the big arc he flew over the fields and hills left me breathless.
“When did you first take Cassandra to that party? Was that sixth grade?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So five… six years ago. I think you can start calling me John.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“John.”
“Thank you, John.” Wow! That felt strange to say. Of course, last summer we’d all called Mrs. Clinton Mama Bea.
“Wait till you see this,” he said. “Look. Recognize where we are?”
“We’re headed for the ranch! How cool! I had no idea what it looked like from the air. I should have brought a camera.”
“Maybe I can take a couple people up tomorrow before we go home,” John said. “Of course, I think Bea took some pictures when we flew over on the way here.”
“Uh…” Oh, no. Cassie said they called from the airport and she sounded the bell to get everyone dressed. But that meant that they flew over and took pictures while everyone was running around naked. Oh shit! My mouth was so dry I couldn’t speak.
“At first, I thought they were running around naked down there. Especially the girls lying out on the deck. Bea assured me that everyone always wore bathing suits, though perhaps a little skimpier than she approved of.”
“Mr. Clinton…”
“John.”
“Yes, sir. John, I can explain… I think.”
Then he started laughing. He laughed so hard the plane dipped and came back up. I guess this is good. I think.
“Bea explained. It was precious. I must come off as a real ogre. Bea was so upset. She said, ‘John, don’t be mad. They’re like a bunch of six-year-olds. It’s hot. They have sprinklers on. They don’t even think about clothes. I think they only put on bathing suits last summer because I was there. With the weather the way it’s been down here, I’ll bet there hasn’t been any clothing on any of them all summer!’ It’s just like when Cassandra was little,” John laughed. “We never could keep clothes on her. If I was sprinkling the grass on the runway, she was out there running through the water naked. Bea insisted that I call from the airport instead of just driving out.”
“Uh… Are you mad at us, John?”
“No, Brian. I wish sometimes that I could regain the joy and freedom of youth. I think it’s why I fly. This is where I am free. I can commune with God. I can see his wonderful creation and take joy in it. A slightly different way than how you take joy in nature. But my way. How many are living there at the ranch this summer?”
“Forty-seven, now. We’ve had a few more. And I believe one is coming tomorrow. This time I have to check the schedule.”
“Forty-seven, forty-eight, fifty. I’ll bet there hasn’t been a sexual offense all summer.”
“What do you mean?” Was he being sarcastic?
“I mean that there has been no assault, rape, or other unwelcome sexual, physical, or verbal advance.”
“That’s correct.”
“I’m not implying there’s been no tomfoolery. But no offenses. No one pressured. No one drugged. No one drunk. No one out of control.” He paused and said something into the headset about coming in for a landing. “I’d trade the world I live in for the one you live in.”
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