Loving the Rain Page 3

  “No, it’s innocent. Do you think I should tell him to stop?”

  “If that’s what you want, Jessie. It’s up to you.”

  “So if I don’t want him to stop, it’s okay with you that another man is flirting with me?”

  “I don’t like it, but it’s not my decision to make. It’s yours.”

  Jessie was in one of those moods of which Clay could never predict and be prepared. She was immediately irritated. “Clay, I made that up. There’s no guy; there’s no flirting. I just wanted to see if you cared. You really don’t care, do you?”

  …Jessie did her best thinking in the rain. As was happening more and more of late, she was becoming determined to find satisfaction in her life, satisfaction that her husband wasn’t delivering.

  Clay and Tanner hauled the groceries from the car and put them on the kitchen counter. Clay unpacked them and put them away before heading to the porch to talk with Jessie. Tanner, cell-phone in hand, thumbs texting away, escaped work the first chance he had and went off to his room for more privacy.

  “Hey, Jess. Quite a rain we’re getting, isn’t it?”

  “We need it.”

  “You didn’t sleep well last night. You feeling okay?’

  “Fine, Clay. I’m always fine.” She was staring out into the steady shower as she spoke.

  “Bad dreams? Stress at work?”

  “No, just things on my mind, I guess.”

  “Wanna talk about it?”

  “No, it’s nothing.” She needed to change the topic, so she asked, “Has the rain messed up your plans for the day?”

  “I’m still leavin’ in about half an hour. The rain’s already letting up here, and it’s heading to the North. We’re golfing at Sugarbush in Davison.” Clay was planning on playing 18 holes with some other instructors and coaches from Mott Community College in a fundraiser scramble for the baseball and softball teams. For what was the second time, he asked Jessie, “You sure you don’t want to come and help out in the clubhouse?”

  To Clay, she seemed a little distracted when she replied, “No, I told you I’d rather not. I’ll be fine here. I’ve got errands to run, and I like the idea of a little time to myself. You know that Tanner’s got plans with friends, right? Swimming and a bon fire.”

  “Yeah, he told me. Well, I’m gonna grab my golf gear and maybe get a bite to eat before I leave. Want anything?”

  “No…thanks, I’m fine.”

  She didn’t seem “fine” to Clay, but he had an obligation to his baseball program, and though he had the mind powers to do it, he wasn’t about to make her talk if she didn’t want to. He threw on a Mott Community College baseball shirt and hat, feeling the strain once again of the temptation to control her mind and the sadness of the knowledge that he had a gift that he felt he couldn’t use. There was an uncertainty developing in his marriage that once again brought on the inescapable feeling of loneliness. The person he was closest to was actually very far away, and yet Clay felt powerless to do anything about it. He grabbed his golf shoes and clubs and a rain jacket. He then made up a couple of sandwiches for lunch. The rain was slowing down, but Jessie was still sitting on the porch watching the drizzle when Clay was ready to go. He leaned down and kissed her.

  He felt the urge to stay home and talk, to be the husband that he wanted to be, but he had a responsibility to live up to, so instead he said, “You sure you’re okay? Do you want me to call this afternoon?”

  “No. I’m fine,” she said again, sounding a little irritated with the question. “Just call so I know when you’ll be home, and have fun,” she added with a little half smile.

  “Since when is a fundraiser fun?” Clay rolled his eyes a bit and smiled. “Maybe my team will win a trophy. See ya.”

  Jessie carefully watched as her husband drove down the street. She pulled out her new cell phone, the prepaid TracFone that she purchased earlier in the week. She had actually hoped that somehow Clay would have changed his plans and she wouldn’t be making the call, but when his car turned at the street corner, she punched in the number.

  “Hello.”

  “Hi, Tony. It’s Jessie.”

  “I’m glad you called. The rain had me a little worried.”

  “My husband just left and should be gone most of the day. My son’ll be gone all day too. Have you made plans for us?”

  “Well, you could come over to my place…a little lunch, then who knows what could happen after that?”

  “I’ve told you that I’m not willing to do anything like that. You have a plan B?”

  Tony smiled, “Um, I could come to your place…a little lunch, then who knows after that?”

  “How ’bout a plan C?” Jessie tried to sound irritated, but in reality, she liked the flirting quite a bit.

  “Plan C is I’ve got two tickets on an Amtrak to Port Huron. We can talk, walk around the port and look at some boats we can only dream of owning, and then take the train back long before dark. How’s that sound?”

  “Much better. I’m actually willing to try plan C. Which station?” Jessie asked.

  “Lapeer. 1:35 departure time. Hopefully the rain’ll stop.”

  “It’s already slowing down. I’ll be there early. See ya soon.”

  Jessie snapped the phone shut and slid it back in her pocket. She was going to meet Tony Blanchard, a 26 year old medical intern that she had met at the pediatric clinic. He had finished all but one final rotation and had somehow ended up at the clinic instead of the hospital, working with Jessie and Dr. Hogue for several weeks. He had been flirting and then hitting on Jessie from day one, and his four-week rotation would be coming to a close in the next few days. Jessie finally agreed to the “date” after seeing him outside of the office on two other occasions, just sitting together in a car and talking. She enjoyed his conversations and the excitement the meetings had provided. Besides Tanner’s sporting events, her life was clearly lacking excitement. She didn’t have a clue what she was doing, but she knew she was searching for something. What would be the harm in a little fun? So while Clay would be playing golf and raising money for his baseball program, Jessie would be on a date to Port Huron.

  “I’m heading out, Mom,” Tanner announced. “I’ll be at Mike Powell’s.”

  “When’ll you be home?”

  “After the pool party, there’s a bonfire. Football starts Monday, so it’s kind of an end-of-the-summer bash for us football players, but I’ll be home by midnight.”

  “Have fun…be good,” Jessie added ironically.

  As soon as Tanner left the house, Jessie began changing, and the same anticipation, excitement, and fear that kept her awake most of the night returned.

  ***

  The following Thursday, while Tanner was at football two-a-days, Clay was at a meeting at the college, and Dr. Hogue was on the golf course with Tony Blanchard, Jessie was at lunch with her best friend, Carlee Simpson, at Applebee’s. Jessie was determinedly poking her way through a Paradise Chicken Salad. Her attention was first riveted upon the pico de gallo that she spread across her salad greens and then grimly focused upon the chunks of pineapple, mandarin oranges, apple, and blackened grilled chicken she was spearing with her fork. Carlee seemed less transfixed on her Grilled Shrimp and Spinach Salad, so she reestablished the conversation.

  “Did you say how the family is doing?” Carlee asked, breaking Jessie out of her food trance. Carlee knew the real conversation would begin soon enough.

  “Everyone’s fine. Clay’s gearing up for the beginning of the fall term in early September and for fall baseball. Tanner’s practicing football twice a day. He has a game the Thursday before Labor Day. How’re Mark and the girls?”

  “The girls are in shopping-for-school mode. Angela has cheerleading and Heather has tennis. Mark is currently repairing the couch.”

  “What’d he do this time?”

  “Okay. There was a light bulb out on our ceiling fan. He couldn’t reach it with a chair, so instead of getting a ladder
, he decided to stand on the back of the couch, which, of course, tipped over. Miraculously the couch survived the tumble, but Mark fell forward and while trying to catch himself on one of the couch legs, he snapped it cleanly off. There’s no telling what kind of damage he’ll do trying to fix it.” The women laughed as they continued to poke away at their salads.

  “So your Tony’s a golfer?” Carlee asked, finally getting to the meat of the conversation.

  “Enough small talk, huh? Get right to it?”

  “What’re friends for? No sense beating around the bush.”

  “Okay…no, he’s not a golfer, but Dr. Hogue is, so he’s along for the free ride. And he’s not ‘my’ Tony. What else do you want to know?”

  “What happened Saturday?”

  Jessie outlined the train trip, the lunch, and the walk around Port Huron. She explained where Clay and Tanner were and how the plans were made.

  “And then…?” Carlee asked.

  “And then I got back in my car at the station in Lapeer and drove home.”

  “I’m hoping that nothing happened.”

  “If you mean physically, no. Well, almost no. We held hands a little, and he kissed me after I got in my car, so it wasn’t much of a kiss.” She then explained how she made it home long before either family member returned.

  “Will you see him again?”

  “I don’t think so. It was exciting, though…scary actually. I have to admit it. But Tony’s rotation is complete and he’ll be moving on. I just did it out of curiosity. I like how he treats me.”

  “Flirts with you, you mean.”

  “Yeah, I like it. He notices everything about me. He bought me a bracelet because he said he’s never seen me wear one. I’ve been wearing it for five days, and Clay has yet to notice it. Clay will compliment me once in a while, but Tony flatters me.”

  “He flatters you because he wants something from you. You do realize that, right?”

  “Sure. He wants to sleep with me; that’s flattering too.”

  “I don’t recommend you do it.”

  “I won’t. It pretty much has to be over. We talked about it a bit. But I sure liked the excitement.”

  “You be careful, Jessie. There’re some pretty rotten guys in the world. You’re married to one of the good ones.”

  “If he’s so good, why do I always feel like he’s hiding something from me? Maybe he’s the one who’s having an affair.”

  “I don’t believe that and neither do you. What’s really wrong?”

  “Let me give you an example. About six or eight weeks ago, I got all dressed up, put on my make-up, did my hair, put on perfume. Then I told Clay I was going out. He asked me where, and I said, ‘Out.’ He asked me who I was going with and I said, ‘Just some friends, Clay, okay?’ He said okay, and he looked away like he always does, like he’s ashamed or something. I asked him if he’d rather I stayed home and did something with him, and he said, ‘I want you to do whatever you’d like.’ So I said I’d like to go out with my friends.”

  “Where’d you go?”

  “Funny you should ask, because Clay never did. I sat in my car and cried. I wasn’t going anywhere; I just wanted to see if he even cared.” Jessie picked at some more fruit slices and a bite of chicken. “He seems so unhappy, Carlee. And my life is in such a rut. He loves me…I know that. He tells me all the time, and he really is kind and caring to me, but I swear he’s drifting farther and farther away from me, and I’m bored with the whole thing.”

  “So this Tony brought you excitement, and you think that’s what your life needs?”

  “Maybe…and maybe not…”

  “Well, I know from experience that whatever you do outside of Clay is not going to work out. You have a good man, Jessie. You’d better figure out what it is you need before you make a mistake that you regret. Whatever you decide, though, I’ll be here for you.”

  CHAPTER 3

  It was a beautiful fall evening, mid-October. Clay and Jessie were watching Tanner’s Friday night football game with Jessie’s parents and about 2,000 other fans. Jessie’s eyes were scanning the crowd for one face in particular, and when she saw it, she gave a smile of satisfaction. John, her newest secret interest, had come to the game simply to see her. He would watch her closely and they would find a way to run into each other somehow; maybe she’d make a trip to the restroom or concession stand. The thought of talking to John again, even for just a couple of minutes, was very exciting.

  The game was away, at Ortonville-Brandon High School, a school about 22 miles southeast of where Kearsley High School was located in Flint, Michigan. Ortonville had a wonderful new facility that included artificial field turf. It was a low-scoring game—7-7 at halftime. When the horn sounded, Jessie slipped away on the pretense of heading for the restroom, and just as she expected, John slid in beside her and lightly gripped her arm. A shockwave of pleasure followed immediately. “I was hoping you’d get away sometime during the game.”

  “I only have a couple of minutes before I have to head back. My parents are up there with Clay. It’s really nice to see you, though.”

  “I came just for you. The game’s boring, but I’ve enjoyed watching you. Are we on for tomorrow?”

  Jessie had been communicating with John for quite a few weeks, since a short time after her date and “separation” from Tony. This relationship seemed to hold more promise. He was a man much closer in age, who had the same concerns about discretion. He seemed to understand Jessie’s situation much better than Tony had, and he’d been very mature and kind. “It looks good. I’ll call you as soon as I get a chance. Thanks for coming.” He smiled the kindest, friendliest smile, and Jessie headed back to her seat. She felt a twinge of guilt, especially as she wondered how disappointed her parents would be if they knew what she was doing. But on the other hand, it’d been almost two months since her talk with Carlee, and her relationship with Clay hadn’t improved at all. Clay seemed more preoccupied than ever. A couple of times, he had looked Jessie in the eyes, and she felt that long-lost tingling of excitement. He seemed ready to open up to her, but then he’d have second thoughts. He’d kiss her lightly, say “I love you,” and go back to his isolated loneliness. John wasn’t like that. He knew how to talk and listen and was always willing to share his feelings. Jessie really liked John, and she smiled, thinking of what was planned for the next day.

  The score remained close in the second half and was just 10-9 at the end of the third quarter. Brandon had kicked a field goal and then Kearsley scored a safety on the last play of the quarter when Brandon’s long snapper let loose of a magnificent snap that ricocheted off the goalpost crossbar and then off the back of the head of the leaping punter. Somehow the punter regained his senses enough to shove the ball out of the back of the end zone before a Kearsley player could recover it for a touchdown, but Kearsley was awarded two points for the safety and would receive the ball to start the fourth quarter. Brandon punted to the Hornets, and after a decent run back, Kearsley started their drive on their own 45 yard line. They managed just one first down when an eight-yard pass was completed to Tanner Thomas on third down with five yards to go. Junior quarterback Luke Simms’s third down pass on the next series went incomplete, and Kearsley was forced to punt.

  The Ortonville Trojans fielded the punt and proceeded to put together a very nice drive, culminating in a 31 yard field goal. With just under three minutes to play, the score was Brandon 13, Kearsley 9. Less than 30 seconds later, the Kearsley Hornets scored the go-ahead touchdown on a pass to Tanner. The stunned home crowd sat silently as the Kearsley faithful celebrated; yet, for some reason, Kearsley’s coach was shouting at his quarterback. No one in the stands could understand what was happening, but Tanner knew….

  It was second down and three yards to go on the Kearsley 47 yard line. Kearsley had run the kickoff all the way back to its own 40 yard line. Tanner’s friend, Mike Powell, the tailback, had run seven yards up the middle and the clock was stopped at 2:37 b
ecause of an injury. The quarterback, Luke Simms, had just returned from the sideline with the next play.

  “Okay, Coach says to run split right, 32 iso.”

  That meant the tight end would line up on the left while the receiver, Tanner, would split out wide on the right. The fullback would be the lead blocker, and Mike Powell would follow his block up the middle. The quarterback would roll to the right after the handoff, faking a run or a possible rollout pass. The play before, they had run the exact play and the cornerback had released Tanner to the safety and had stepped up, thinking the quarterback was running. Simms had made a couple of good runs earlier in the game. Tanner, however, was wide open on the play—the safety had come in on run support also. As Luke looked around the huddle, Tanner began to speak, focusing his eyes on Luke’s. “If we run that play again, I’ll be wide open again, but you won’t have the ball. Luke, run 526 QB waggle. They’ll think we’re running, and I’ll be wide open.” The formations were the same for both plays, but 526 QB waggle had the quarterback faking the handoff and then rolling out to pass.

  “Coach says to run split right, 32 iso.”

  By then the injured player, one hand holding his battered groin, was being helped off the field. The clock would be restarted soon. There wasn’t much time left for discussion. Tanner refocused on Luke’s eyes. “You should run 526 QB waggle. I’ll be open. Run it, Luke.”

  Luke swallowed as if composing himself, and then he said, “526 QB waggle. On two.”

  As Luke prepared to bark off his signals, Tanner looked into the eyes of the cornerback, crouching into position. “Go for the quarterback,” Tanner thought. On the second “Hut,” the fullback dove into the line; Luke faked a handoff to Mike Powell and rolled right. The cornerback dropped two steps back and then let Tanner run past just as before, and he began charging toward the quarterback. The safety fell for the fake and rushed forward to make a tackle, leaving Tanner wide open, just as he expected. Luke lofted a soft pass down the field which Tanner neatly grabbed and ran into the end zone for the go ahead score. The crowd erupted into an exuberant frenzy, but Coach Simms (yes, he was Luke’s very own father) was in an even greater frenzy.