Now and Forever 5, Love's Journey

by Joachim, Jean C.

  “No one likes to give an F, Mac. Especially when it’s a mistake, you know.”

  “I know, Alan. That’s a pretty big mistake. Didn’t Jenna complain to you?”

  “No, she didn’t.” Alan crossed his legs.

  “Why not? She was a very conscientious student one who’d question an F. Why did Jenna fail your class?”

  “Frankly, I didn’t want to say, now she’s dead, but she did fail the class. I changed her grade to make things a little easier on her parents, you know.”

  “No, Alan, I don’t know. Did she fail or not?”

  “Yes, she failed.” A few drops of sweat appeared on Alan’s upper lip.

  “But I checked and there were no warning emails sent to her. No notice was sent to her advisor or to our office. Did you discuss this with her? Did you recommend her for tutoring? Did you call her advisor?”

  “No, no I didn’t.” Alan uncrossed and recrossed his legs.

  “Why not, Alan?”

  “Because…because, well I forgot.” He leaned over and opened his briefcase.

  “You didn’t forget to go through channels for Jimmy Scott or Mark Stevenson. You gave them several warnings and called their advisors. Our office received official notice too. I checked. They ended up passing your class. Why did you fail Jenna, Alan?”

  “I made a mistake, Mac.” Mac watched the color slowly drain from Alan’s face.

  “What kind of mistake?”

  “I fell for Jenna. When she wouldn’t go out with me, I threatened to fail her.”

  “You what?” Mac shot up out of the chair, pushing to his feet.

  Mac heard the faint sound of footfalls in the hall.

  “Didn’t that ever happen to you, Mac? Didn’t you ever fall for a co-ed?”

  The footsteps got louder and Mac was momentarily distracted by the sound of a person approaching getting louder. Then the sound stopped. He turned his attention back to Alan.

  “No, Alan. That never happened to me. You’re in big trouble, here.”

  “What about Callie?” Alan crossed his arms then uncrossed them.

  “She was a graduate student and twenty-six years old. We dated, I didn’t threaten her. She was not under my jurisdiction at all. That is completely different and you know it.”

  “I guess…” Alan slipped his hand inside his briefcase.

  “I’m going to have to fire you, Alan, and turn you over to the police. You say Jenna wouldn’t go out with you…is that the truth?”

  Alan pulled out the gun he bought after Rex threatened him and trained it on Mac.

  “No, you idiot. She wouldn’t have sex with me. I told her if she had sex with me, she’d pass. She wouldn’t. So I failed her.” He held the gun with both hands.

  “What are you doing? Put that away.” Mac stepped back toward the door.

  “I’m holding you here until I can get away. Go ahead and fire me, but I’m not going down for murder. I didn’t kill her.” Alan aimed the gun at Mac’s chest.

  “You did kill her, Alan. With that F on her transcript, her chances of going to med school were finished. You’re disgusting. It makes me sick to be here in the same room talking to you.”

  “You don’t know what it’s like to be really lonely, Mac.” Alan tried to explain while his hand holding the gun began to shake.

  “Yes, I do, Alan. That doesn’t mean you can force young women to have sex with you. You’re a monster.”

  “I’m sorry, Mac. I didn’t want Jenna to die. I liked her. She had a beautiful body, you know? Now get out of the way. I’m leaving and I don’t want to hurt you,” Alan said, aimed the unsteady gun at Mac.

  “Put the gun down, Alan, before you hurt somebody,” Mac said.

  “Mac, get out of the way.” Alan waved the gun at the dean.

  “Alan, did you force Stephanie Harrison to sleep with you?”

  “Stephanie? Oh, Stephanie…she was lovely. She did. Then she stopped. She wouldn’t cooperate. Said something about a boyfriend. So I failed her. Her suicide was a real tragedy.”

  “You’re a pig. Put the gun down, before it goes off accidentally and you kill me.”

  “No. I’m leaving and you can’t stop me. I’ll kill you if you get in my way. I mean it. I’ve got nothing to lose now. Get out of my way, Mac,” Alan yelled, his control slipping, his forehead bathed in sweat.

  “Alan. Put the gun away. You can’t run away from this,” Mac said.

  “I can and I will.” Alan started to move around his desk.

  Mac heard heavy breathing from the hall, then the word “pig” muttered softly. He turned to look as a man stepped into Alan’s office, raised a gun and pointed it directly at Alan’s chest.

  “You’re going nowhere, mister. You killed my daughter. You can rot in Hell.” John Walker emptied his gun into Alan’s chest. Alan went down, his hand squeezing the trigger and his gun discharged as he fell. The bullet grazed Mac’s upper arm and blood started flowing.

  Callie called the police on her cell phone while Danny rushed to Alan’s office. He grabbed John Walker, subduing him before he could harm anyone else. There was blood everywhere.

  “Drop the gun, Mr. Walker,” Mac said. “Drop it or Danny will break your arm.”

  John Walker was in shock. He dropped the gun, but Danny continued to hold on to him. Casey woke up and began to cry. “I’ve got him, Danny,” Callie called from down the hall.

  Dave Williams arrived along with an ambulance, which was too late as Alan Littleton was dead. The medics cleaned and bandaged Mac’s wound. Dave took John Walker into custody.

  “I hate days like this,” Dave said to Mac.

  Danny returned to his office to comfort his son. Callie flew down the hall to Mac.

  “Are you okay? He was going to shoot you. Oh, Mac, you’ve been hit!”

  “I’m okay. I’m okay,” Mac said, hugging Callie with one arm but feeling shaky.

  “Dave, I had no idea Walker was out in the hall,” Mac said.

  “That’s okay, Mac. Who could have predicted this? We’ll be needing your statement as to what Littleton said before Walker shot him.”

  “No problem, Dave. When do you want me?”

  “In an hour?”

  “I’ll be there.” Mac walked down the hall with Callie.

  “What happened, Mac?” Callie asked him.

  “I’ll tell you when we get home. Some people…you never know.” He opened the car door for Callie with his good arm.

  * * * *

  Rex had to check into a hotel for a few weeks as Alan’s house was being swept by crime lab people with a fine-tooth comb, looking for evidence of liaisons with other girls.

  “Hey, Sarge, look at this. Isn’t this a nanny cam?”

  “Yeah. It’s a miniature camera parents hide to catch the nanny beating up their kid. Let me see that, Carl. Can you get anything off this?”

  Carl looked at the tiny camera.

  “I think there is stuff recorded on this. Give me a couple of hours and I’ll pull whatever’s there off and put it on the computer in the lab. This afternoon, by three.”

  At four Carl summoned Dave Williams into the lab’s office.

  “Weren’t you looking for the goods on this guy, Dave? Look at this.”

  Carl played the tape which had Rex’s confession to Alan on it. It seems Rex had left one of his cameras in the living room.

  “Carl, this is the best news I’ve had all week. Pick up Rex Vesson, Jackson. This closes the Deena Johnson murder case. A confession is a beautiful thing, Carl. Alice, can you get me Mac Caldwell on the line, please?”

  * * * *

  Mac returned home to a pot roast dinner and Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers playing on the CD player. Callie was wearing a negligee and the kids were in bed. Nine o’clock was late to be eating dinner but Mac had been working late hours since the Deena Johnson murder investigation destroyed his ability to concentrate.

  Tonight he came home wearing a big grin. He sat d
own and dug into his favorite meal with a hunger for food he hadn’t had in weeks.

  “This is the best pot roast yet.”

  “You’re so hungry newspaper would taste good.”

  “Seriously…it’s the best.”

  “The case is over?” Callie sat back, letting the negligee fall loose, exposing some of her curves.

  “They have a taped confession.” Mac cut some meat and stabbed it with his fork.

  “Perfect. Now we can return to our lives?” She leaned forward.

  “Yup.” He shoveled a big helping of potatoes and carrots into his mouth.

  “Excellent.”

  Mac finished the pot roast on his plate, sat back and eyed his wife, his gaze sweeping her from head to toe.

  “Is that new?”

  “I thought you wouldn’t mind. Franklyn’s was having a sale and when I got your call I thought—”

  He stopped her words with a strong kiss.

  “Who said anything about minding?”

  She grinned at him.

  “On to another topic…”

  “Oh?” Mack raised his eyebrows.

  “About another baby…” Callie leaned forward, letting the silky fabric fall away from her body.

  “Were we talking about another baby?” Mac eyed her breasts, clearly in view.

  “Now the threat is over…we should be.”

  “Another baby…hmmm.” His hand followed his gaze to slip under the soft fabric and caress her.

  “Come on, Mac, you know I want one.” Callie’s breathing began to get heavy.

  “Do you? The first two are so great…” His attention wandered as she leaned closer.

  “They are, aren’t they?” His lips were but a breath away.

  “So?” He brushed his lips lightly against hers.

  “What do you say?” she whispered into his mouth.

  “Go for it, baby.” His mouth captured hers in a passionate kiss.

  Callie stood up from the table, took his hand, and led him into the bedroom.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Callie and Mac agreed with Danny and Eliza the bachelor parties for Peter and Lara should be small and private. After the near-disaster of Danny and Eliza’s bachelor parties two years ago, this seemed like a safe plan. Danny would take over his house and have the party for Peter in his basement man-cave. The guys would eat, drink, tell dirty jokes and play pool. He invited Peter, Sam, Mac, Jim Caterson, and Bill Jones. Little Casey would sleep through it all.

  The women took over Cold Spring Spa. Both parties were scheduled for the same Saturday night. The spa would be empty then. The women booked the whole spa so they could have the sauna, massage, manicures, pedicures and facials in total privacy. Callie had a local caterer deliver finger food like cold shrimp with cocktail sauce, warm tiny quiches, stuffed mushrooms, chestnuts wrapped in bacon, crudités with dip, mini éclairs, napoleons and cannoli, and a case of cold peach champagne, her favorite drink. The guest list included Callie, Eliza, Kaitlyn, Sally, Pat and Jonesy.

  Sam was the designated driver of Mac’s SUV because he said too much alcohol made him sleepy. He delivered the women to Cold Spring, then picked up the men and took them to Danny’s place. The men had man food, wings, pizza, a case of beer, scotch, and chocolate chip cookies, Peter’s favorite. The guys started doing shots and beer around six-thirty. Sam cued up the balls for pool.

  “If you guys keep drinking, I’m going to be able to beat you all,” Sam said.

  “Not me. Alcohol doesn’t affect my game,” Danny said.

  Everyone got their favorite stick and the game began. As the drinking progressed, Danny, Jim, and Sam started telling dirty jokes. Mac and Peter didn’t join in right away.

  “Don’t you boys know any dirty jokes…no limericks? What kind of sons have I raised?” Sam chuckled.

  “Your being here is not exactly…conducive…to telling dirty jokes, Dad,” Peter piped up.

  “Yeah, if we make comments, you’ll yell at us.”

  “Hell, if it’s directed at me, yeah. But dirty jokes…come on!”

  “All right, all right. I can rise to the challenge. Let’s see if I remember how this goes. ‘There once was a lady named Venus…’” Mac began.

  “I know where this is going,” Peter chimed in.

  The more they drank, the raunchier the stories and jokes got. Peter and Mac clapped each other on the back and laughed until they cried. Sam didn’t want to say anything to embarrass his sons, but he was overjoyed to be included in the bachelor party and be an important part of the lives of both of his sons.

  “I bet I lost my virginity younger than any of you guys,” Peter boasted.

  “Don’t count on it,” Danny said with a smirk.

  “Yeah? Okay, okay. I was seventeen,” Peter said.

  “I’ve got that beat. I was sixteen,” Danny said with pride.

  “I was a little older, but not much…just eighteen,” Sam said, quietly.

  “Dad, if this involves Mom, I don’t think we want to know,” Mac said.

  “It doesn’t involve your mother. Do you think I’d discuss anything about sex involving your mother with you or anyone else? You must be crazy! No, no. Besides, I didn’t meet her until college, I was older, at least twenty-two, if I remember correctly. I went into the service at eighteen. I served in Viet Nam. When I got back, I used the GI Bill to pay for college. Seemed like a good plan at the time for a young man with no money.”

  “You served in Viet Nam? With what branch?” Danny asked.

  “Army, of course.”

  “Me too. In Iraq,” Danny said, extending his hand to Sam, who shook it.

  “Viet Nam too, but Navy,” said Bill Jones, shaking hands with Danny and Sam.

  “So, who took your virginity, if it wasn’t Mom?” Peter asked, his eyes glazing slightly, a sexy grin on his face.

  “I’m not going to tell you that! Danny understands, don’t you, Dan? In the military you have certain…opportunities you might not have otherwise. Right, Dan?”

  “Hell, yes! And I don’t mean prostitutes, either…except when you’re deployed. But there are so many townies around…you can almost have your pick, right Sam?”

  Sam blushed and nodded. He didn’t intend to explain anything about his sexual experiences to his sons.

  “Come on, Dad. Confess. This story sounds too good to pass up,” Peter urged.

  “No.”

  “To be fair, you’re the one who brought it up, Dad,” Mac said, hiding a smile.

  “I was just answering the challenge. That’s all.”

  “You were bragging, Dad,” Mac said.

  “Now you have our attention. Give,” Peter chimed in.

  Sam shook his head.

  “Aw come on, Sam. Both boys are grown men with wives of their own,” Bill said.

  “I’m not married yet!” Peter exclaimed.

  “They’re both over thirty, Sam. I doubt we have any virgins here,” Jim coaxed.

  “So, you all want to hear a juicy story, do you? I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.” Sam smiled.

  The men took their drinks and sat down to listen to Sam. Sam leaned against the arm of the sofa, cradling a glass of tonic.

  “Okay, okay. I was eighteen and green as they come. I grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia, with a sister and two brothers. My parents worked hard but they didn’t have much money. My father was a postal worker and my mother taught school. We had food and all, but there was no money for college. So I took myself off to the recruiting station and joined the Army.”

  “Get to the good part, Dad,” Peter urged.

  “I’m getting there. Don’t rush me. I had a girlfriend, Linda, in high school. I kept trying to get her to sleep with me, but she refused. After two years of begging that got me nowhere, I washed my hands of her when I went to war. She cried and said she’d bake me cookies. Cookies! Hah! She still wouldn’t give me what I wanted…which was a good roll in the hay. She had a body…well, it was unbeli
evable…but you’ll just have to use your imagination,” Sam said, color creeping into his cheeks.

  “When I got to basic training camp in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, I was a tall, skinny, horny kid who didn’t know much about anything, especially women. But several nights a week, I tagged along to a bar with a bunch of guys who went into Pine Bluff looking for a good time. For the first few nights, I got drunk and sick because I wasn’t used to liquor. After a while, I understood my limits.

  “The guys kept getting…finding women. But not me. So they were going to make me a cause célèbre, if you get my drift. The next Friday night, we went to The Sunrise Bar, one of the favorites with the guys because the woman who ran the place, Jeannie, was the widow of a Viet Nam vet. So the guys figured drinking there was like keeping it in the family. Jeannie was a pretty brunette who kept the guys in line by not falling for their crap. They teased her and she teased them back. But no one got to first base with Jeannie.

  “That Friday, they all kept an eye out for a girl for me at The Sunrise. None of the girls there were interested in a tall, skinny kid who didn’t know what he was doing when they could go off with one of the experienced guys who had muscles and smooth talk. So it was another lonely night for me,” Sam said, pausing to take a sip of his tonic.

  “The next night, I got to The Sunrise earlier than the rest. Jeannie was setting up. She was upset, but refused to talk about it. But I was persistent. Jeannie had always been nice to me and I wanted to help her out if I could. She finally opened up. She had a son, a boy of nine, who was having trouble in school with math. I was a whiz at math, always have been. So I agreed to sit with him and help him for an hour. Jeannie took me upstairs to the apartment they had above the bar. Jeannie’s son, Tommy, was up there, sullen and uncooperative until he saw me in my uniform. He sat up straight at attention. I guess I reminded him of his dad.

  “I spent an hour with him. Jeannie was grateful and gave me a couple of free drinks. Before long, it became a regular thing. Every night I showed up an hour early and went to work with Tommy, then I’d go downstairs and get drunk for free. It seemed like a good arrangement.”