Caroline & Michael & Scott

Chapter 9

"May 3, 1982

Hey Anke,

I'm in love! And this time, it's different than all the rest, Scott's the one I've been waiting for. Yeah, I know, I know, I know, I say that every time. But I only thought I was in love before, I didn't know what love was until I met Scott. I really ache for him when I'm not with him. I didn't say anything to you before, 'cause I didn't want to jinx it.

Anyway, one thing that's different is, I didn't have stars in my eyes and fall for him on our first date. Our first date was almost a disaster, I was sorta mean to Scott. But when he asked me out again anyway, I wanted to find out more about him. He's really nice and he doesn't just wanna have fun, he cares about me as a person.

At school, we're called "The Odd Couple", 'cause we're so different. I'm petite and he's the biggest guy in school. I'm a real chatterbox and he's the strong silent type. But that's only what he's like in public. When he's comfortable, alone with me, he talks.

Best of all, I don't have to go through months of dates where I have to fight off boys, until I get back my rep. Now, when any boy starts to say anything about me, Scott just gives him a cold stare and he shuts up.

I can't wait 'til school's over, so we can spend more time together. This summer's gonna be great!

Your American friend,

Caroline"

******

Scott was grinning when he approached Caroline at her locker between classes. "Hi Sweetie" he said, then greeted her with a quick kiss. "Great news!"

"What?"

"The Rileys are having a baby!"

Caroline was puzzled. At best, the Rileys were friendly acquaintances to them both, nothing more. "Uh… that's nice, dear."

An excited Scott explained "You don't understand! Mrs. Riley wants a station wagon for all the errands she's gonna have to run, so Mr. Riley is finally gonna sell his '67 GTO. He's kept that baby in mint condition. He wants 400 bucks. Dad said he'd pay half. I'm already on my parents' insurance policy, so all I'd have to pay is 200 bucks and gas money. I pick it up after school today. You wanna go for a spin after I get it?"

"Sure."

"This is so great… I'm gonna have my own car!"

******

Scott pulled up to the Duffy house after he had picked up his new car. Caroline came outside and he proudly showed her off. It was a white two-door '67 GTO hardtop coupé with black interior. Scott opened the door for Caroline. "Isn't it great?! Mr. Riley really kept her in good shape for a 15 year old car." As he entered the driver's seat, he exclaimed "And she's got it where it counts! Four on the floor, I can get her from zero to 100 in 14.8 seconds!"

"I hope we never test that particular feature."

Scott calmed down a little. "Oh, don't worry… I'd never do anything risky… with you in the car. Let's take her out."

Scott proudly put the GTO through her paces around town. Then he got onto the freeway and showed Caroline how smoothly it accelerated. But he was careful not to exceed the speed limit… by much. After their little spin, Scott returned to Peshtigo, and parked in the lot by the park.

"So, isn't this great, Caroline? Now I don't have to beg Dad for the car every weekend so we can go out on dates. And we can go places after school, too."

"Could you take me to ballet practice?"

"Sure, anywhere! Man, this summer's gonna be great…! So, whatdya think of the car? Isn't she a beaut?"

"Very nice. The interior's nice and clean and it rides pretty smoothly."

Scott's eyes were glowing as he described his new toy. "Yeah, yeah, yeah… But I mean, didn't you hear it purring on the freeway…? It was barely breaking a sweat at 75. This baby's got a 400 cubic inch Ram Air V8, there are 360 horses under the hood! 438 foot-pounds of torque at 3600 rpm, a compression ratio of 10.75 to 1! John DeLorean himself helped design her."

Caroline's eyes glazed over at Scott's recitation of facts and figures. "Who's he?"

"He's an engineer. He moved up to be manager of Pontiac, then Chevy, then all of GM in the US. He got tired of others tellin' him what to do, so he started his own car company. He's making these cool sports cars in Northern Ireland now."

"Wow, you sure know a lot about cars and stuff."

"I should, that's my dream. That's what I wanna do after I get out of school."

"You wanna be a mechanic?"

"No…! I mean, that'd be okay. But what I really wanna do is be a mechanical engineer, design engines. That's why I joined the football team."

"Whatdya mean? Don't you play 'cause you like football?"

"Sure… Don't get me wrong, football is fun enough… I really like being part of a team, working towards a goal… And when we're winning, nothing feels better than kicking somebody's butt. But practice is a grind… You get pretty beat up some times during the games… And let's face it, offensive tackle isn't a glory position. You spend the whole game trying to push around the biggest guys on the other team, just so the quarterback or the running back can score… But if I play well enough, maybe I can impress a recruiter from UW and get a football scholarship. Then I could afford to go to college and get a mechanical engineering degree."

"Oh Scott, I'm sure you will… I mean, you made the all-county team."

"So… you've been following my career, huh?"

An embarrassed Caroline admitted "Well… yeah."

"Yeah… well being all-county is good, but that just means that I'm a big fish in a small pond. There are only seven other schools in Marinette county. UW recruits from all over Wisconsin. In fact, they get some players from outside the state. Players have five years of eligibility and there are 80 players on the whole team. Do the math, that means an average of only 16 new players get scholarships every year."

"Couldn't you get a scholarship to another college?"

Scott answered skeptically "Sure… it's possible. But how many other colleges are gonna send scouts to Peshtigo…? Heck, how many other colleges have even heard of Peshtigo…? The only thing we're famous for is the Great Fire and that was more than 100 years ago… Nope, if I wanna be an engineer, I gotta impress the Badger scout when he comes to town."

"I'm sure you'll make it, honey. You work so hard, you're so dedicated." Then, trying to change from the serious tone of the conversation, Caroline squeezed his right bicep, smiled at him, and half-jokingly added "Besides, you're such a big, strong fella, they gotta take you."

That lightened Scott's mood. He smiled back at Caroline, said "Thanks", and gave her a quick kiss. Then Scott asked "What about you, Caroline? Got any dreams for the future?"

Caroline thought about it and hesitantly replied "Uh… no, not really. I'm just 'live for the moment' Caroline. I'm enjoying my school years."

"Aww, c'mon… Ya gotta have some dreams… What about your dancing?"

"My ballet…? I thought about that, years ago. But the odds against success are pretty high."

"You'll never know if you can make it unless you try."

"It would also take up a lot of time" Caroline continued, looking at Scott. "I wouldn't have as much time to spend with you."

"We'll have plenty of time together, once our careers are established."

Moved by his last statement, Caroline slid closer to Scott and pressed her lips to his. Then she gave him, for the first time, a long, lingering French kiss.

"Mmmm… Whoa…! I'm not complaining, but what was that for?!"

"Oh… Just 'cause I felt like it."

"Well, I hope you feel like it often, 'cause that was great!"

Caroline just smiled at him.