Tuesday, May 3, 1983
Dear Eric,
I decided to go to junior prom with Kimberley instead of that guy from my class. You're right. I don't think he's just interested in friendship.
I don't suppose you are either?
Anyway, Kimmy and I are going to get high on punch and dance the night away and then maybe have a pillow fight. At least that's probably what you're imagining. Really, we're going to sit at one of the tables half the time and exchange running commentary on the stuck-up cheerleaders. And I'm just wearing a regular dress I already own and we're going out to dinner at the DQ first, so it's not like I'll be blowing much money on this. I'll save it for my senior prom dress, in case I have some good-looking guy to go with who took dance lessons once because his mom made him. Not that I'm thinking of anyone in particular.
- Tami
[*]
Friday, May 6, 1983
Dear Tami,
I AM interested in friendship. You're probably the best friend I have in Euless right now. But I'm not gonna lie and say that's ALL I'm interested in. I liked kissing you. A lot.
Good choice of date for the prom. I haven't met Kimberley yet, but she sounds cool. I'm sure you'll look gorgeous in any dress you already own. Not all of the cheerleaders are stuck-up, you know. Only about 70 percent.
Billy's all healed up and grandpa is running him ragged. Dante just got a scholarship offer to college. Billy says he's going to go for his GED. Me, I'm studying from all these text books my dad mailed me so I can a leg up and I've already registered for summer school. I wanted to work to earn money this summer, but I'm going to be in classes six hours a day, so I'm only going to be able to work weekends, which is going to cut into our dating time, but we can still figure out how to see each other. I might have to change the Saturday afternoon lake picnic to a Friday dinner picnic? Hey, we can watch the sunset. That's romantic, right?
It's getting too hot for football already, so we're wrapping up the ranch league with the championship game next weekend. I think we'll win tomorrow and then make it into the final game. Wish me luck. How was junior prom?
- Eric
[*]
Tuesday, May 10, 1983
Dear Eric,
So are we officially dating now? Because that's kind of how it sounded from your letter, which is kind of weird, since we haven't actually gone on a single real date yet. But I can run with that.
I'm enclosing a Polaroid photo Kimberley took of me at the junior prom. You can judge for yourself whether or not the dress sucks. This was taken before Carolyn Miller slapped Bobby Johnson across the face for cheating on her with Karen Jackson and he stumbled back into Mo McArnlod's new girlfriend and she spilled her red punch all over the dress. If I hadn't seen the entire domino chain reaction with my own eyes, I'd think Mo's new girlfriend did it just because she was jealous or something. I wonder if I should tell her he's got another girl in Grapevine? Not my rodeo, not my bull I guess.
Did you win your last game? Give me the play by play. Actually, please don't. Just let me know if you won or not. And maybe have Billy or Dante snap a Polaroid of you playing and send it to me? The sweatier the better. And, you know, if you're playing shirts vs. skins...make sure you're on the skins.
- Tami
Eric chuckled and pulled the Polaroid out of the enveloped and smiled to see Tami in her dress. It might be an old dress, but she sure looked good in it.
A whistle sounded from behind him on the porch. Eric jerked his head around to see Billy standing there. "Nice tits," he said.
"Hey!"
"Well, they are. Especially in that get up."
Eric tossed the letter and photo on the end table beside the rocking chair he was sitting in and leaped into a standing position to whirl on Billy. "You watch your mouth when you're talking about my girlfriend."
"Oh, she's your girlfriend now?"
Eric shrugged. He gathered up the photo and letter. "I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe."
Billy laughed. "It's time to milk the cows again, Romeo." The screen door creaked as he went back into the ranch house.
[*]
"Oh, wow," Bonnie said. She laughed through her heavy breaths. "Oh wow that was...wow."
"Not bad for a dinosaur, hmm?" Deacon asked.
She rolled from her back onto her side and curled up against him, a hand on his bare hip and her head on his shoulder. "You do seem to have a few tricks up your sleeve. But you're not that old. You're not even old enough to be my father."
"I'm not sure I'm old enough to be anyone's father."
"Trouble with Eric?" she asked and propped her head up on one hand, her elbow on the pillow.
He looked up into her pretty green eyes. "Not really. Things have actually been pretty good between us lately, but, then again, he's not living here. He comes home in two weeks. I'm a little worried we'll lock horns."
"Then don't lock horns with him. Deacon, that's entirely within your power."
"He thinks he can push through his failed junior year in one summer and load up on difficult classes his senior year. But with football...it's going to be harder than he thinks."
"Maybe he can do it," she said. "Maybe he can't. But if it's what he's decided he's going to try to do, why not encourage him? If he fails, it's not going to be less disappointing because you told him he probably would."
"I'm a little worried his game will suffer."
She stroked his cheek. "You might have to choose between being his coach and being his father on this one."
"But as his father...Bonnie, I pulled him from the team before the season was over. If he goes straight into his senior year, he only has one last season to make an impression. This is going to determine his scholarship chances. His future. If he's taking a heavy course load..." He shook his head. "And he's seeing Tami?"
"Is he going to be seeing Tami?" Bonnie asked.
"I suspect."
"She does talk about his letters an awful lot."
"That and the making out on the porch before he left."
Bonnie sat all the way up in bed. "What?"
"Well, they were kissing before he went back to the ranch."
"And you're just now telling me this?"
"I assumed you knew," he said. Now he sat up because it felt odd to be lying down with her all riled up.
"Why would I know?"
"I thought you were the hip aunt and Tami told you everything."
Bonnie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Well, clearly she doesn't. I know she likes him. I didn't know they'd already kissed. Was it a long kiss?"
"It's not as if I watched the entire time. But..." He nodded. "They were playing tonsil hockey."
Bonnie chuckled. "Tonsil hockey."
"So I shouldn't try to be hip and use the kids' vernacular?"
"No."
He smiled. So did she. He lay on his side and patted the bed. "Come back down here and curl up."
She did. "We only have another hour," she warned him.
He kissed her shoulder, her neck, and then her ear. "Plenty of time to show you a few more of the tricks I have up my sleeve." He toyed gently with one of her breasts. "so what are my odds now? When I pop the question in five months?"
"51.75 percent."
"Hmmm..." He slid his hand downward. "Let's see if I can elevate those."
"You're going to elevate something, all right."
He laughed. "God, woman, you make me feel like a teenager again."
She rolled over and faced him. "See, the sneaking around's kind of fun, isn't it?"
"For now," he said, "But..." His protest was swallowed by her kiss.