Saturday, April 23, 1983

Dear Tami,

Congrats on your game. How did your second game go and how did you feel about the SAT? I bet you aced it.

I don't think it's very nice to accuse me of ulterior motives with the whole lake date plan. I just want to take you on a nice picnic, and it gets hot in summer, so we ought to swim. You need a bathing suit to swim, right. And if you HAPPEN to want to wear a bikini instead of a one piece, who am I to judge? So I'll pack us up a picnic basket with ham and cheese sandwiches and ice tea with lemon, a nice blanket, and we'll call it a date.

Please do NOT keep me informed about your aunt's lingerie purchases. I don't want to think about that. I mean, about my dad doing the wild thing, getting jiggy with it, doing the nasty – am I missing any terms for it? Don't want to think about it. Period. On the other hand, if your aunt keeps him relaxed maybe he'll more easily agree to my plan not to repeat my junior year.

How do you think she feels about him? Don't get me wrong here. I'm not criticizing your aunt, but, you know, she's never been married and it sounds like she's had a lot of boyfriends. Do you think she's going to be done with him at some point? And, if so, could you persuade her to at least hold off until after the next football season? That would be helpful. Because I don't want him taking it out on the team if he gets dumped.

- Eric

[*]

Monday, April 25, 1983

Dear Tami,

So I got the letter with your four questions.

1. I don't have a favorite color. I really couldn't care less. But not pink.

2. My favorite actress is Jamie Lee Curtis. She was pretty awesome in those Halloween movies, right?

3. My favorite movie candy is Junior Mints. That way your breath is minty fresh if you want to make out while you're watching the movie.

4. Yes, I will totally go to the movies with you on our second date. I don't know why you had to add that "if we make it to the second date" part. Have a little faith in me. I can be very charming when I want to be.

- Eric

[*]

Wednesday, April 27, 1983

Dear Tami,

It was cool to get another letter from you already. Glad you feel good about the SAT. Sorry you got slaughtered in your second game, but it's good practice for when you play for school, right? I'm actually proudest of my performance in a game we lost. We lost by 14 points, but to a team that usually beats our school by twice that. I closed that gap. With my team's help, of course.

Okay, I will add "doing the horizontal" to my terminology list.

I'm glad you don't think your aunt is going to dump my dad anytime soon. It's still weird to me that he's with someone who's not my mom, but, you know, I don't want him crying into his beer either, right? Especially not now when we've kind of started getting along again. Also, he's probably a good catch for any middle-age woman - financially stable, sober, cleans up nice. Behaves himself. I guess at that age that's the best a girl can hope for. I mean, most guys who are still available at that point are fat gamblers with skin problems, I'm guessing.

- Eric

[*]

Thursday, April 29, 1983

Dear Tami,

I'm liking this every other day letter thing. No, I was not joking about Jamie Lee Curtis. What's not to like?

No, you should NOT go to the junior prom with that guy from your math class as "just a friend." I don't know that guy, but I DO know he doesn't just want to be your friend. He wants to get in your pants. 100% guaranteed.

Listen, no one who is anyone goes to junior prom, anyway. Everyone's saving up money for senior prom. That's the big one. And I'll happen to be back in Euless well before then, so, you know, if you don't have a date and I don't have a date…Just makes sense, right?

- Eric

P.S. I miss hanging out with you in person. I had a really good time doing that. I mean, the kiss was great, but I liked playing Atari with you, too.

[*]

The shrill beeping of the alarm clock was worse than the sound of nails on a chalkboard. Coach Taylor rolled over, reached an arm across Bonnie's naked body curled beneath the sheets, and slammed down on the snooze button before throwing himself onto his back and closing his eyes again.

"Did we doze off?" she asked.

"Mhmmm."

"Good idea to set that alarm just in case." She slid out of his bed and began dressing. How could she be so cheerful and bouncy after an unplanned nap? He always felt groggy.

He pulled himself into a sitting position against the headboard, the sheet falling to his waist, and rubbed his eyes. When she was mostly dressed, she sat back down on the bed beside him, put a hand on the sheet at his hip, and leaned in to kiss him. "That was nice," she said.

"Nice?"

"Better than nice." She smiled, and her green eyes twinkled. "I had a very good time."

"I wish you could stay the night."

"Tami will be back from that movie in thirty minutes. I have responsibilities, you know."

"It's a good thing you're doing for your niece." He turned a little toward her and rested a hand on her arm. "Listen, I need to talk to you about something."

She pouted a little. "Oh, that's never a good opening. That's what my second to last boyfriend told me when he dumped me."

"I'm not dumping you."

"Good. Because I just bought a new pair of crotchless panties."

Coach Taylor blinked. "Never heard of that."

"Because you're a dinosaur. But you'll like them, I promise."

"What's the point, exactly?"

"Well, you can leave them on while we..."

"But I like to take them off," he said.

"Then you can take them off."

"Hmmm..."

She laughed. He smiled. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Where do you see this relationship going?"

"Wow. It's usually not the man who asks that question."

"May I be blunt?"

She nodded. "I like bluntness."

"Well, you like being blunt. I'm not so sure you like being on the receiving end."

She smiled. "Be blunt with me."

"Well...here's the thing. I liked being married to my wife. It wasn't always perfect, but I liked the married state. I want to be married again someday. I don't like being alone. And I don't like..." He waved a hand up and down her dressed body and then his naked body. "This rushing off thing. I know it's too early to pop that question, but I also know you've never been married. And I know you were more reluctant about this relationship than I was from the start. I'm wondering if...what I'm trying to say is..." He sighed. "I don't want to waste my time. I'm not getting any younger. My chances of finding a second wife grow dimmer by the hour. If this relationship goes well for another six months, I'm going to ask you to marry me."

"Oh. Wow."

"And if you already know you're going to say no, I'd appreciate it if you would just tell me that now and put me out of my misery, so I can concentrate on finding someone who will say yes."

"I thought you loved me."

"I do."

"Well..." She shook her head. "You're making it sound like I'm perfectly replaceable to you."

"You're not. It will probably take me a long time to find an adequate replacement for you. That's why I want to get started sooner rather than later if you already know you aren't going to marry me."

"Deacon, honey, you may well be the least romantic person I have ever met."

He shrugged. "Maybe I've just developed a different concept of romance."

"And what's that?"

"Agreeing to love someone and making it work."

"How can I know what I'll say in six months?"

"You can't," he admitted. "But surely you can hazard an estimate. If chances are over 50 percent that you'll say no, maybe we should acknowledge we want different things out of life."

She raised an eyebrow. "What if chances are 49.5 percent that I'll say yes? Would you give it another month to see if you can get it up to 50 percent?"

"Yes."

"What if the chances are only 48.95 percent that I'll say yes in six months? That's it? We part ways today?"

"Well...I mean, that's not that much of a difference."

"47.235 percent?"

"Bonnie, be serious. I'm being serious."

"You're always being serious." She bent and kissed his lips, then his ear. "Enjoy the journey," she whispered.

Then she stood and headed for the doorway of his bedroom. "Hey!" he called after her. "You didn't answer my question."

She turned and leaned with one arm stretched out an up against the door frame, in a way that emphasized her figure to full effect. "I don't need to answer the question, Deacon. Admit it. You want to see those crotchless panties, and you're not going anywhere until you do."

She turned and began to walk out.

"Next weekend?" he called after her.

"Yep," she answered as she disappeared down the hallway.