Nancy

One of the things Scottie taught me was how to box. Scottie was an amateur boxer in L.A. before enlisting. With so little to do at the base, we spent time in the gym; there's only so many hours you can spend playing video games and surfing the 'net'. The workouts became boring, Scottie suggested he teach me how to box; we ordered gloves, headgear and a couple of training bags on the Internet.

The first two months were a joke; Scottie was like a cat with a mouse, always teasing me with jabs, never too hard. But after those first couple months, I started to get the hang of it. What I learned was I could take a punch; so, like Joe Frazier, I let my opponent (by now a couple of the other guys were getting interested) take a couple of shots while I worked in close and did some damage.

After Scottie shipped out, I did my best to keep in shape, but it wasn't the same until I ended up at a camp that had an official amateur boxing team. Boxing on a team reinforces the discipline boxing requires; it was another step in my maturation.

Two other people that helped my journey to becoming a man befriended me during the six months I was stationed in Germany. Sergeant Major Ramon Morales and his wife Kate took me under their wing. They lived off base in Stuttgart with their two children and they had me over for dinner at least every other week. Was there ever a couple more in love and more respectful to each other? I grew up with a single mother, so I never had a clue what a loving relationship between two adults would look like. Mom was always a supportive, loving parent, but I never saw her with a man. Ramon and Kate taught me what I was missing from my life and how I should have treated Nancy.

They came from different backgrounds growing up in Texas. Kate was a WASP who lived around the corner from Jerry Jones (the owner of the Dallas Cowboys) and attended SMU. Ramon was the son of a Catholic working-class family. They had one important thing in common that led to their introduction and courtship; they both had forefathers that fought and died with Crockett, Bowie, Travis and the other brave men defending the Alamo. Ramon and Kate met in the Alamo courtyard, both honoring their ancestors at the 150 year anniversary celebration. They chatted, had dinner on the Riverwalk, exchanged names and numbers (Ramon was very surprised when he called the number and it was actually Kate who answered it, he knew ladies sometimes gave a phony number and he held his breath until she came on the line).

Twenty-one years later I was sitting at their dining room table in Stuttgart learning how to make a marriage work and wondering if I'd ever get lucky enough to meet another gal as nice as Nancy. I learned it wasn't just about gifts and doing things the other person wanted, it was about respect. And the respect the Morales demonstrated wasn't just between husband and wife; both children treated each other and their parents with the same courtesy (I almost wrote 'common courtesy', but we all know there's nothing common about it.)

This was about the time I started to write my mother and ask her if she was in contact with Nancy. Mom still thought I was the same immature brat that left Washington; that's why she didn't get involved. Besides, by now Nancy had started to date a guy and moved to Ellensburg, Mom just stayed out of it. I can't blame her.

When I returned to Washington I found a job working in a garage and spent at least three out of four weekends driving an eighteen-wheeler on short hauls. That's what I was doing the day I stopped into that diner outside of Vantage. Now I knew where Nancy was working, what would I do next?

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I stopped in the café Sunday night on my way back to the West (wet) side. Nancy wasn't working, but I did get a great slice of apple pie and a hint of when she'd be working again from the sweetheart waiting tables that night. With this new found information I made my plans.

The following Friday night found me sitting in the same spot at the counter. Nancy looked less surprised to see me this evening. She did seem surprised by the bouquet of blue Irises on the seat next to me.

"Doris said some guy stopped by last Sunday night asking about me. When she described the guy, I thought it might be you. Are those for me?"

"Did I get it right? It's been too many years since I brought you flowers, but it seems these were what you carried that afternoon in Vegas."

I thought it only happened in the movies, but as Nancy took the bouquet from my hand, half the diner broke out clapping.

"Thanks Jim." There was a tear near each eye before she brushed them away.

"Would you consider talking to me this weekend? Anytime, anywhere."

"I close up here at eleven. Come back and we'll sit and talk."

As I walked out of the diner, I turned. "I'm not the same guy. Thanks Nancy." I left and drove up to the lookout over the Columbia River, just to get my mind on task.

At ten to eleven I pulled into the diner lot. The place was empty, even the cook had gone home. Nancy locked the door behind me and we caught up on things. Nancy was finally able to go back to school, she was now a junior at CWU and studying elementary ed. I was pleased to learn Cliff, the guy she had been seeing, was now out of the picture.

"This has been nice Jim, but I need to get home and get some sleep. I work a double shift on Fridays and Saturdays."

"Can we have dinner Sunday?"

"Yes, that would be nice."

Nancy and I sat in the booth at the Palace Café in Ellensburg; one of the nicer eating establishments in this part of Washington. The drive from her house had been quiet, but Nancy got the conversation rolling.

"I was so happy to hear you were home safe from the Army; Ginny Hansen told me you were back. The first year you were gone your mother and I spent a few evenings together praying for your safety. I'm glad those prayers were answered."

"Is there a reason you never answered my mother's letters? She really thought of you as a daughter and it broke her heart not to hear from you over the past few years. She even left a couple messages on your machine because she said she didn't have a cell number."

Nancy's face lost its color.

"Cliff must have intercepted the letters and erased the messages. He was very jealous that I had been married and wanted me to end my relationship with your mother. He said it was unhealthy for a woman to be friends with her ex-husband's family. He was adamant that I stop talking to your mom; I was trying to start a new life with a new man and at first I thought I should abide by his wishes.

"When I never heard from your mother, he said it was for the best. That she was just communicating with me to get us back together. I assumed that he was right; especially after a few months with her not calling or writing me. She used to be so good about remembering birthdays and sending cards. Cliff, that controlling son of a bitch, maneuvered me into believing the worse. Please tell your mom how sorry I am."

"I will and I know she'll be happy to know how you feel about her. You can probably expect a call soon after I explain what happened."

"No, I'll call her tomorrow. This has gone on too long. I miss her."

"Well, Cliff was right; Mom does want us to get back together. She was thrilled to hear I ran into you and that you agreed to have dinner with me. But, she also said she didn't want to be playing referee or butting her nose in our business. While I was stationed overseas I asked her to get in touch with you, but she refused; said I had to do it myself. Problem was, I was too stupid and I didn't know how to break the ice. By the time I was discharged, you were gone and Mom said you had moved in with another man."

"I wish your mom had said something. I was still in love with you back then and may have stopped seeing Cliff before it was too late."

I caught the "back then" in her sentence, "was still in love with you back then" and it hurt. Once more I kicked myself in the proverbial ass for being such a dumb shit. Mom's reason for not interfering or relaying my message of love to Nancy was valid, she didn't trust me to follow through. Mom said, "You already burned the poor girl once and I won't be a party to helping you burn her again". For all she knew, I'd come home from the service with some tramp on my arm with a ring on her hand. Mom didn't know I spent those three years pining away for what I lost (although I did pay for some female comfort from time to time, but let's not go there).

Our dinner arrived and we settled on more mundane topics until dessert.

"So, tell me about Cliff."

"Cliff Ray was another of my big mistakes." She realized what she had said and looked at me in horror. "I'm so sorry! That came out wrong." She looked down and her face went red.

I took her hands across the table. "That's OK. I really messed up; you deserved better. But tell me about Cliff."

"Cliff seemed so nice at first. After our divorce I didn't date for months, then dated some OK guys, then Cliff came along. He said all the right things. He was moving to Ellensburg and I decided to get out of Tacoma. We moved in together. Then, the longer we were together, the more controlling he became.

"He'd come to the diner and sit at the end of the counter watching. My boss finally barred him from coming in during my shifts. Said he made the customers uneasy, which was probably true. My tips were half of usual whenever Cliff was there. Once Cliff was barred, he accused me and my boss of sleeping together. Things went downhill from there. We split up six months ago, but he's still around. Ellensburg is a small town and it's been hard.

"It's funny; I left you, but didn't want you to leave and within two weeks you were gone. I left Cliff and never wanted to see him again, but he turns up over and over again."

I took Nancy home and gave her a chaste kiss goodnight; we made plans for the following Sunday.

Nancy must have called Mom Monday morning because Monday night I received an excited call from Mom.

"Jim, I can't begin to tell you how happy I am. I heard your date last night went very well. I had such a lovely talk with Nancy today."

"Mom, I'm glad. No matter how this turns out, I hope you two reconnect."

"Why do you continue to be such a blockhead? Sometimes I think - oh, never mind!"

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that Nancy is still in love with you and if you get your head out of your ass you might get a chance to fix the stupidest thing you ever did in your life."

I was stunned, not just by my mother's language, but by what she had just said.

"You really think that?"

"Yes, I do son. That girl sounded like a woman in love on the phone today. Don't blow it now."

I didn't. I called Nancy that night and every night that week. I picked her up early Sunday morning and we had a great day fishing on the Columbia. Sunday night Ifixed her a home cooked meal complete with barbecued steaks. We sat for hours talking until it was time for me to head home. When I got out to my pickup, I had four flat tires. Nancy and I stood in the drive looking at the four flat tires. All four valve stems were cut.

"I'll call triple-A."

"Forget it Jim. Think you can go into work late tomorrow? My first class is at ten tomorrow, call triple-A for an early morning service and you can spend the night."

I didn't argue; Mom knew what she was talking about. We walked back into her apartment.

"As long as you don't need to drive home tonight, would you like a beer?"

"I'd love one."

Nancy turned around and headed into the kitchen, I took off my shoes and sat on the living room couch. When she walked back into the room her left hand held my longneck while the right hand was unbuttoning her sundress. She handed me the beer and finished the last button, the dress fell to the floor; there she was in just a pair of pink panties. If anything, her body was more perfect than when we were married.

I sat fixated, taking in her beauty; I must have worn out her patience because before I even took a drink of my beer, Nancy took it out of my hand, took a swig and put it on the end table. She sat on my lap straddling my legs.

"You say you're not the same person I divorced; you better not be, because I'm not the same mousy girl that allowed you to treat me that way. If you think you can respect a woman that loves you and treat her as a partner, then take off my panties and make love to me."

I answered her by pulling on both sides of those panties, she raised up enough to allow me to remove them. I kissed her with my entire soul; in all the years we were together before and during our marriage, I never felt such passion. I think that kiss told us both where this relationship was heading.

We continued to kiss as Nancy removed my shirt and then my pants. My cock was sticking straight up between us. Nancy played with it and I took the opportunity to become reacquainted with her breasts; fondling, then tweaking her nipples. The breast play was having the intended effect, as Nancy rubbed the head of my cock on her clit and then between her lips, I could feel the moisture building. With the added pre-cum from my cock she was ready, Nancy grabbed my cock at the base and raised up on her toes, then slid down.

When I entered her, it felt as if I was home. This is where I belonged. We made love on the couch, then in her bed. I slept better than I slept in years. I woke to the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and bacon. Nancy was cooking breakfast wearing only an apron, her cute ass in full view. I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

"Good morning, beautiful."

Nancy laughed. "Never had a man flatten all four tires before, just to see if he could spend the night. I feel very special."

"You know I would have done just about anything to make what just happened, but I can't take credit."

Suddenly Nancy got a worried look on her face. "Cliff!"

"Remind me to thank him."

"Let's hope he's not hanging around this morning. He can get stupid."

Luckily, that wasn't the case. When Triple-A showed up at eight-thirty, there was no sign of Cliff. They replaced the valves, filled the tires and I was on my way by the time Nancy was ready to leave for her class.

I decided to back off the weekend truck driving, I had a fulltime job after all and needed to concentrate on getting back with Nancy. The following Saturday I was sitting in a tavern waiting for Nancy's shift to end when Cliff and two friends came in. They must have seen my pickup out front because after their eyes adjusted to the low light in the bar, they spotted me and walked over.

The three of them took threatening positions around me. I swiveled on my barstool facing Cliff. Over Cliff's shoulder I could see the bouncer at the door take notice of what was happening in his bar.

"Did you have a little car trouble lately?"

I couldn't help but laugh. And I kept chuckling as I told Cliff, "You dumb shit; I have to thank you for what you did. I was about to get in my truck to head home that night. I wasn't looking forward to the long drive, but there I stood looking at four flat tires. I was going to call triple-A, but Nancy told me to call in the morning. Then she took me to bed. It was our first time together since our divorce. Thanks, dufus."

I might have carried it a bit too far because Cliff took a swing at me. Cliff hadn't paid attention to the bouncer that caught wind of the growing altercation. Just as I leaned back to avoid Cliff's roundhouse, the bouncer kicked Cliff in the back of the right leg and Cliff went down to his knees. The bouncer grabbed Cliff by his man-bun (yea, really) and dragged him out the door. Cliff's two friends followed, but didn't try to interfere; they obviously had a few more working brain cells than Cliff.

The bouncer came back in the door and walked over to me. "Am I going to have any trouble from you?"

"Not hardly; I'm going to finish this beer and head to my girl's. Thanks for handling that, I'm pretty certain I could handle Cliffy, but three-on-one is not my idea of fair odds. Can I do anything to thank you?" I was reaching in my wallet to give him a few bills.

"Tip the bartender well. We split all the tips at the end of the night. You may want to watch your ass. That dude looks stupid enough to be dangerous. There are a few assholes that keep guns under their car seats, just waiting for some dumbass excuse to use it."

"Thanks for the words of wisdom. I'll be careful." With that I finished the beer and headed out the back door. I walked around the side of the building and checked out the parking lot. Didn't see Cliff and his buddies, so I got in my truck and headed to Nancy's work - just in case.

It turns out I was right. Cliff was in the diner making a scene. I arrived just in time to see him grab Nancy's shoulders and shaking her. The cook and a few patrons were on their phones, some calling 911, some taking videos of what was happening. I walked up to Cliff and pulled him back; he turned to me with fire in his eyes.

"Look Cliff, be a man. Let's take this outside and go at it one-on-one. You tell your two friends to back off and let's see what you're made of. C'mon, let's do this."

Cliff looked like he was hesitating. He looked at me and then his two friends, trying to make up his mind. I kept up the pressure without being too degrading; people were still videoing this and I didn't want to come off as the bad guy.

"C'mon Cliff, I know you want to take it out on someone and you're too much a man to take it out on Nancy. Let's go outside and you'll have your chance to show everyone you're the man. This is your opportunity. Don't pass it up."

I didn't give Cliff time to think about it; I turned around and walked out the door, standing in the parking lot. Now Cliff had to come out or lose face in front of his friends.

It wasn't a fair fight. Luckily, Cliff's friends stayed back while he and I went at it. Cliff was a typical street fighter, but not a very good one. He tried to get me in a clinch a couple times, but I made him pay for getting in close. He switched tactics, trying to kick me, but he wasn't very skilled with the Kung-Fu or whatever he was trying. After the second time I was able to grab his foot and flip him back, he tried just rushing me while flailing his arms. He got a bloody nose for that effort.

"Give it up Cliff. You gave it a good shot, but it's not working. You proved you're man enough to meet me head on. That's all anyone could expect."

Cliff looked tired and seemed ready to give it another go, but just then a cop car pulled up. The cop was smart and very decent. He didn't go all Barney Fife on us. Instead, he got both sides of the story, talked to a couple bystanders, then watched a couple of the videos offered.

"Mr. Peterson, I appreciate you trying to defuse the situation inside, but I warn you, we don't want fist fights in the county and we don't want this escalating in any way.

"Mr. Ray, I could pull you in for what I see on this video. Ms. Davis isn't pressing charges, and believe me, she could. If she asked, I would be placing you in custody right now. Do you think you can forget all this nonsense, go on home and leave these folks alone?"

Cliff was bright enough to agree with the deputy, he grabbed his hat off the ground and took off in his car.

The deputy walked back to where Nancy and I were standing. "I wish there was something else I could do, but unless Ms. Davis is ready to sign a complaint against Mr. Ray, all I can do is give him a warning. Something to think about is getting a restraining order. From what your cook told me about Mr. Ray's past harassment and what was on the two videos today, I don't think it would be a problem."