A Life On College Hill

by Lawrence F. Dooling

  “How would you like to meet that brother of mine? He and the rest of the Duffy clan are coming to visit us next weekend.”

  Her smile returned. “It’s about time!” she emphatically replied. “I was beginning to think I embarrassed you.”

  “My family will do all the embarrassing,” I promised. “They’re all coming up next Saturday to take us to dinner. Everyone is very excited to finally meet you.”

  “Your brother is really coming? I can’t wait to see how much you two look alike.”

  “Everyone will be here. Mom, Dad, Ricky, his fiancée Vicky and their son Ricky Junior.”

  There was a long, painful pause before she repeated, “Ricky and Vicky and their son?”

  I tried to act like there was nothing unusual about their situation. “Yeah, they’ll all be here.”

  “Your brother has a fiancée and a son?”

  I nodded in agreement.

  “Your twin brother?”

  “I only have the one brother.”

  Meghan was trying to comprehend what she had just learned. “How old is Vicky?” she asked.

  “Vicky just turned twenty-one, and my nephew is four.” Then I added, “She was sixteen when she got pregnant and seventeen when she had the baby.”

  “Did you just forget to mention this in all the time I’ve known you?” Her tone carried equal measures of sarcasm and anger.

  “Honestly, Meghan, I’ve never told anyone. It was really traumatic when it happened. I thought my brother was going to jail. Paying off her dad and the lawyers all but bankrupted my parents. The whole thing nearly killed my mother. When we started dating, I never imagined we’d get to the point where you would meet my family. I didn’t see any need to burden you with my problems.”

  Meghan looked surprised and hurt. “I know we’ve had our troubles, but you really didn’t think we’d last?”

  “Meghan . . . I always believed you were going to wake up one day and realize you could do better than me. Since that morning in my apartment, when you asked me to your dance, I’ve been waiting for it to happen.”

  She laughed and said, “The only thing wrong with you is that you always underestimate yourself. If you could only hear how my sorority sisters talk about you. All I ever hear is Randy, Randy, and Randy. I should be worried about you doing better than me.”

  “You have nothing to worry about,” I quickly replied.

  “Randy, you made one hell of a first impression. I liked you a lot from the night we met, but it was that morning in your apartment when I knew you were special. You took such good care of me when I was so vulnerable. You have no idea what that means to me.”

  Laughing, she added, “Then I found out you could cook! I’m only human, how much can a girl take?”

  “When I broke up with Eric, I thought I would ask you to my formal. By the time I finished my breakfast that morning, I had to ask you. The way you reacted, I was afraid you were going to turn me down.”

  I laughed at the suggestion. “There was never a chance of me turning you down. I just needed a minute to convince myself you actually asked. When you were quizzing me about having a girlfriend, I got the wrong idea. It seemed like you were trying to make me feel bad. I guess I needed to hear you ask a couple of times to be sure I heard you correctly.”

  Meghan looked horrified. “Why would I do that? I just needed to be sure you were unattached. If I couldn’t take you to my dance, I wasn’t going to go.”

  I knew she was waiting for me to bare my soul and tell her when I realized she was special. After making her cry, I owed her. “I never told you that I saw you cheering at a football game before we met.”

  “Really?” she asked. “I didn’t think you liked football.”

  I told her, “Just trying to fit in and experience college life. Some people I had met at orientation asked me to go to the game. You happened to be cheering right below where I was sitting. As I remember, the game was pretty bad. We were down three touchdowns at half time. You were more entertaining than the game.”

  “That was the first home game junior year,” she said.

  “That was the one.” Then I added, “In my high school, the prettiest and best cheerleaders were always at midfield, between the forty-yard lines. I couldn’t understand what you were doing at the twenty.”

  She looked embarrassed. “You really thought I was the prettiest and the best?”

  I just smiled at her. “You never let up, no matter how bad the score. It was like you were trying to will the team to victory. If the team played with as much effort, they would have won more games.”

  “I rarely look at the scoreboard,” she admitted. “We’re supposed to cheer the same regardless of the score. Half the time I didn’t know if we were winning or losing.”

  I continued, “It never occurred to me that we would meet. When the door hit me, I was mortified to see it was you I was bleeding all over.”

  She quickly replied, “Randy, I was mortified that I caused you to bleed all over me. I thought I had killed you. I couldn’t believe you were more worried about me than yourself.”

  “I appreciated you stopping by Chet’s every day to check on me. I just figured it had something to do with nursing.”

  She cracked a smile and said, “I was checking to see if you were developing an infection, but there were other reasons. Eric was unbearable at that point. Having a normal conversation with you every day kept me from losing my mind. I didn’t want you to heal too quickly because I really looked forward to seeing you.”

  “Well, then you asked me to your formal,” I said. “I kept telling myself not to get my hopes up. When you smiled at me right before that last dance . . . I gave in.”

  She had a sly grin on her face. “You looked like you were paralyzed.”

  “Your smile has that effect on me,” I admitted. “I always hoped you didn’t notice, but I knew you caught me that time.”

  “Randy, you hide your feelings. I couldn’t tell if you liked me or were just being nice because I was such a mess. That look on your face gave you away. It’s what gave me the nerve to kiss you.”

  Changing back to the original topic of conversation, she asked, “So where do Vicky and Ricky Jr. live?”

  “For the last three years, they’ve lived at my parents’ house, in my room.”

  She knew the answer even before she asked, “Would that be the reason you’ve only gone home twice since I met you?”

  “It would be fair to say that has something to do with it.”

  “Would your brother’s situation have anything to do with you paying your own way through college?”

  “It would have everything to do with me paying my own way.”

  “So, he got a free ride, on a baseball scholarship, while you had to do dishes until your hands bled.”

  I had to agree with her. “Doesn’t sound very fair when you put it that way.”

  “Aren’t you angry or bitter?”

  “If being angry or bitter would help, I would be.”

  “What’s Vicky like?” Meghan asked.

  “Vicky is a very pretty girl. She’s also loud, self-centered, and selfish just like my brother.”

  “Geez, Randy, don’t hold back, tell me what you really think.”

  “You wanted me to be bitter,” I reminded her.

  “How about your nephew, what’s he like?”

  “He’s my buddy. He could never understand why Ricky and I looked so much alike. He thought he had two dads. Ricky was always playing baseball somewhere, and the baby saw more of me than his dad. I didn’t think that was healthy. It gave me another reason to leave.”

  Then I paused and added, “I have to warn you that he’s very concerned about the scars on my face. He’s going to say something as soon as he sees me. He thinks I was attacked by a mountain lion.”
r />   “Oh, no!” Meghan cried. “What made him think that?”

  “He kept asking his mom where I had gone after I left for Central Valley. She told him I was at school, far away in the mountains. He saw a mountain lion on television and thought the scars looked like a claw mark.”

  “Did you tell him it was me?”

  “Hell, no! The mountain lion story sounds a lot cooler.”

  “It’s been a long day, and it’s getting late,” I said. “Let’s skip Donny’s, and I’ll walk you home.”

  Meghan wrapped her arms around my waist and said, “I am home.”

  Bottom of the Fifth Inning

  There was a cookout at Meghan’s sorority house the day after graduation. After the first batch of hamburgers became a funeral pyre, I volunteered to take over the grill. The girls appreciated having a professional handle the food.

  People wanted to talk to me about my decision to stay in the Valley and work at Chet’s. Some couldn’t wait to see Central Valley in their rear-view mirror as they headed toward the Interstate. Others had come to love the town, as I had, and were a little jealous.

  A few asked me why I would settle for being a cook when I had a degree in accounting. I tried to explain that it was an entry-level position. My career goal was to be in the restaurant business. To be a restaurateur I needed to know accounting and cooking. Some people understood, and some just gave me a blank look.

  The Delta Theta sisters couldn’t have been nicer to me as I flipped burgers at the grill. They were constantly bringing me drinks and stopping to chat. I thought I might be going crazy because it seemed like a couple of them were flirting. As it turned out, I wasn’t crazy.

  Helen was having an intimate afternoon with a bottle of vodka. When Meghan stepped into the house, Helen came over and took a seat near me. She was wearing short shorts and slowly crossed her toned legs to make sure I had a look.

  “I’m rarely wrong about a guy, but I misjudged you,” she said.

  Uncertain if that was a compliment, I replied, “Thanks, I think.”

  “Let’s be honest, Meghan had done a number on your face with that door. You weren’t the hottest looking guy on campus the night I met you. When Meghan said she was going out with you, I asked myself why.”

  Helen uncrossed her legs as slowly as she had crossed them. Rising from her seat, she slowly closed the distance between us. She didn’t stop until she was brushing up against me.

  I retreated a half step but immediately felt the heat of the grill on my back. She quickly eliminated my half step and pressed up against me once again. Helen was a very attractive girl. If this had happened before I met Meghan, it would have been a dream come true. At that moment, it was more of a nightmare.

  She had a disappointed look on her face and said, “Now I wish I had found you first.”

  It amused her immensely to have me trapped and squirming. Taking hold of my shirt, she pulled herself up to my ear.

  “This is my last night in town. If I hit you with a door, will you walk me home? I’ll make it worth the trouble.”

  I nervously replied, “Um . . . Meghan and I already have plans for tonight.”

  I felt her breath in my ear as she slowly said, “You have no idea what you’re missing.”

  Naturally, Meghan returned from the house at just that instant.

  As she turned and sauntered away, Helen rolled her eyes and said, “Poor little rich girl.”

  Meghan had a very stern look on her face. “What the hell was that all about?” she asked.

  I was completely baffled by what had just happened. “I’m not sure,” I said. “Helen didn’t seem to realize which one of the Duffy boys she was propositioning.”

  Meghan’s stern look turned to fury as she clenched her fists and jaw.

  “Thaaat evil . . . ” she struggled to control her anger and finally blurted out, “ . . . witch!”

  We both burst out laughing so loudly, I’m sure we were heard a block away.

  Meghan knew it wasn’t my fault but still looked hurt and insecure. I hugged her and gave her a kiss.

  “You know I’m all yours for as long as you want me,” I whispered.

  My whisper prompted a question. “What if I want you forever?”

  Meghan looked into my eyes as if she was peering into my soul for an answer. I answered her question as seriously as it was asked. “Choose your requests carefully; a gentleman could never refuse a lady.”

  Meghan closed her eyes and smiled.

  As the afternoon wore on, I couldn’t help thinking about the previous two years. When I first arrived at Central Valley, it would be an understatement to say I didn’t fit in. Around these sorority girls, I felt like an absolute leper. On this day, I felt like I was among friends. Did I change or did they? Is it possible that I was never the leper I had made myself out to be? Once again, questions with no answers.

  The few people remaining grew quiet as the sun set, and the stars began to shine. Meghan and I sat on a blanket and stared up into the heavens. We spent our final moments as college students wondering what the stars had in store for us.

  The following Saturday, we waited for my family to arrive. I warned Meghan that my brother was certain to hit on her before the night was over. She refused to believe he would be so bold. I assured her that he was so bold.

  Wearing a suit and tie, again, my apartment was uncomfortably warm that May afternoon. Meghan and I ambled down the steps to cooler air when we spotted the family station wagon pulling in on Elm Avenue.

  Standing there in our Sunday best, I would like to believe we made an attractive couple. Maybe it was the suit or maybe it was Meghan at my side, but I felt a confidence that I had never known. I had a college degree and a good-paying job. My brother was not going to beat me this time. Better still, I had the best girlfriend.

  The high-pitched squeal of Ricky Jr.’s voice rang out, “Uncle Randy! Uncle Randy, we came to visit you!”

  He came bounding down the driveway, jumped up into my arms, and gave me a hug.

  Meghan held her hand over her mouth and gasped, “Randy, he looks just like you!”

  “You can’t fight the Duffy DNA,” I whispered.

  My nephew finished his hug, reared back, and looked at my face.

  With real concern in his voice, he asked, “Is your nose all better?”

  I didn’t need to look to know Meghan was cringing.

  “It’s been all better for a long time,” I reassured him.

  Touching his finger to the scar, he asked, “Then why is that still there?”

  “That’s so I remember to stay away from mountain lions.”

  He was satisfied with my answer and looked over at Meghan. “Is she Meg?”

  “Yes, that’s my friend Meghan,” I said.

  He replied with genuine conviction, “She’s pretty!”

  “You have a lot of your dad in you, Ricky.”

  In an exasperated voice, he asked, “Why does everybody say that?”

  My brother and Vicky were next down the driveway. Meghan smiled politely as they neared, and Ricky stopped dead in his tracks.

  Meghan giggled as she whispered, “That reaction must be encoded in the Duffy DNA.”

  “See, it’s not my fault,” I whispered back to her.

  Vicky turned back to catch my brother staring, wide eyed, at Meghan. I knew the two of them would put on a show before the evening was over.

  Finally, my parents made their way down the long driveway. Mom burst into tears.

  “Oh, my goodness, you two are a sight!” she cried.

  Sobbing as she hugged me, she said, “I am so sorry we missed your graduation. You had to do it all on your own, and we weren’t here to see you on your big day.”

  Dad wiped a tear and said, “We’re very proud of you, son.”

&
nbsp; There is nothing as contagious as crying. Glancing at Meghan, I could see she was dabbing her eyes with a tissue. Naturally, I choked up when I tried to tell Mom it was okay. Good Lord, what a mess.

  I reached for Meghan’s hand. “Mom and Dad, this is Meghan.”

  Mom pushed my hand away so she could hug Meghan and said, “It is so good to meet you, dear. We’ve heard so much about you. You’re even prettier than Randy let on.”

  Dad, being the gentleman he is, politely shook her hand and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Meghan.”

  Everyone needed a chance to stretch their legs after the long car ride. We decided to walk the couple of blocks to the Valley House. Theo, the maître d’, greeted us as we entered. Theo has an amazing memory, and he welcomed us by name. “Miss Mallory and Mr. Duffy, so good of you to join us again this evening.”

  He turned to lead us to our table, and I realized my parents were staring at me.

  Surprised that he greeted us by name, my mother asked, “Do you and Meghan come here often?”

  “Once in a while,” I replied.

  Mom whispered to Dad, “Here I was worried he was going to bed hungry.”

  She didn’t need to know that there had been nights when I had gone to bed hungry. Another round of tears was the last thing I wanted. Ricky nearly knocked me over when we arrived at our table, trying to get a seat next to Meghan. I knew he wouldn’t let me down.

  My parents had difficulty carrying on a conversation with Meghan. Ricky kept butting in on them, while Vicky constantly complained. Vicky was more than miffed because for once she wasn’t the center of attention. The cocktails she ordered to go along with her surf and turf were going to her head. Her tab alone was higher than everyone else’s combined. Nothing’s too good for our Vicky when someone else is paying.

  Ricky Jr. behaved better than either of his parents. However, he couldn’t conceal his disappointment at not seeing a mountain lion on the walk over. He asked several times if we might see one on the way back to my apartment.

  After dinner we took a tour of the town and campus. We even stopped by Chet’s, so I could introduce him to the family. At the end of the visit, I found myself waving goodbye as they started back toward the Interstate.