JACK AND JILL
Y01
'Jack and
Jill went up the hill'
Y02
'Jack fell
down'
Y03
'And Jill came tumbling after
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L07Y01 'Jack and Jill went up the hill'
The weather was not a predictor of the
event that was about to take place and Jack was enjoying his last
beautiful summer day at the lake, he would leave tomorrow, football
practice started Monday. Jack was a good athlete, but not
exceptional. He came from a long line of athletes. Both parents were
large, athletic people, they could do almost anything and so could
Jack. Jack's biggest liability was that he couldn't go on the attack,
he didn't have a killer instinct. In wrestling and boxing, he was an
excellent counter puncher, but didn't have any offense, he enjoyed
the sport, he, just, didn't want to beat the other guy.
He did
much better at team games, football, baseball, and basketball, but he
wasn't quick enough to be excellent. He was invited to try out, but
was not offered a scholarship, because he had large, 'soft' hands,
and was an excellent pass blocker. His six three two thirty frame
made him a candidate for tight end. He thought he could make the team
his freshman year and then maybe they would offer him a
scholarship.
His parents could not afford the cost of his
education and he had not saved enough. He took a summer life guard
position because it was the only job he could find. He did his
exercises every morning followed by a five mile run around the bottom
half of the lake before he went to the beach at ten.
He followed
the same route every day. From his cabin he followed the asphalt road
all the way to the end and then continue on dirt road which became a
two track to a turn around. He stopped running and walked a short
distance to a seclude cove with a marsh on each side.
He sat on a
log and look at the lake through a gap between the trees on each side
of the cove as it narrowed before rejoining the lake. After he rested
for about five minutes, he walked back to the turn around and resumed
his run back to his cabin on the other side of the lake.
At sunset
he helped close the beach and returned to his cabin, ate a Spartan
meal, read and listened to music, and retired. He rarely did anything
else, he went to a campfire get together once in a while, but he
tried not to spend money, he needed every cent. If he didn't get a
scholarship he didn't know how he was going to continue his
education.
This was one of the things he was thinking about as he
neared the dirt road, his major and what was he going to do for
transportation were, also, on his mind. He was so absorbed in his
thoughts, he didn't look around, his eyes were fixed on the ground a
few feet in front. He didn't notice a lawn care truck parked in the
drive way or a small person spraying fertilizer, herbicide,
fungicide, and insecticide on the lawn of the only year around home
on this part of the lake. He ran past the house and down the dirt
road past the marsh to the turnaround and walked to the log.
Jill
also had trouble finding a job. If her father had not been a friend
of the owner, she would be unemployed. One of his men quit without
notice and no one answered the ad he posted in the local grocery
store. He mentioned this to her father when they were fishing and was
surprised by, "My daughter could do it."
"A woman
can't do that kind of work."
"My daughter can. She's
been driving since she was twelve. She was to small for the heavy
work so she convinced me to let her drive the tractor pulling the hay
wagon, from then on she drove all the vehicles on the farm. Try her
out and you'll see." He did and she did.
She was strong for
her size, five two one thirty, she could wrestle her two younger
brothers to a draw most of the time. She called herself, fat, but she
wasn't. She often referred to herself as 'dumb little fat one' when
she made a mistake. She wasn't dumb either.
After the state bought
their farm to extend the freeway, her father retired to the city
where she finished her last three years of school. She was a football
cheer leader and fairly popular, but she was not very good looking so
the boys didn't pay attention to her, she never had a date except for
group social functions and double dates when a friend was not allowed
to go out alone.
Her mother was aware of how much she wanted a
date and she annoyed Jill, by saying so others couldn't hear, as she
left the house for a social event, "Don't come back pregnant."
Her mother had a strange sense of humor at times. Other than that,
both parents were very supportive.
Her family spent their summers
at the lake, but their cabin was on a good beach so she never went to
the county park. She, like Jack, needed money for school. Her parents
would pay for her education, but she had to earn her spending money
and pay for her car. Later, she was glad she started her last work
day early because she was able to finish on schedule, she wanted a
week off before cheer leading tryouts.
She saw Jack as she turned
to make her last pass near a small picket fence by the road. She let
go of the valve, good thing because she would have burned the grass
with to much chemical. She couldn't explain it, but she followed him
like a radar locked on to a target. As he approached, she said to
herself, "Boy, I sure would like to wrap my legs around that
hunk. Jill, what a thing to say. Come on, admit it, you sure would."
As he passed she studied the back of his head until he disappeared
around a bend in the road. She was peeved that it took him so long to
come back, she knew he would.
She wanted his attention, but
couldn't say a word, she was afraid she would never see him again.
Reflexively, she did the only thing she could. She intended to fire a
shot across his bow, but she misjudged his speed, Jack didn't jog, he
ran and he accelerated as he moved from the dirt to the asphalt. She
squeezed the value full blast and hit him in the middle of his
chest.
His large hands served him well because they instantly
protected his face. Jill froze when she realized what she had done,
"Oh, what have you done, you dumb little fat one," was a
silent thought. Jack didn't, he turned out of the spray, leaped the
picket fence, and knocked the hose from her hands.
"I'm going
to beat you to a pulp you little runt." He had never been so
mad, how could anyone be so stupid. Before he could swing, his chest
felt like it was on fire. He didn't want to let his antagonist
escape, but he had to wash the chemicals from his body.
Instinctively, he picked her up and put her across his shoulders with
her head on one side of his head and legs on the other and his arms
over her shoulders and legs. He ran back to the cove, he didn't want
to be naked out in the open, inhibitions cause strange reactions.
He
dumped her on the sand, pulled her rubber boots off, grabbed her
lapels and ripped them open. Her coveralls were old and the metal
buttons came out of their holes with a rrrrip. He jerked her arms
from the sleeves and yanked the coveralls from her legs. He tied her
arms down to her sides with the legs of the coveralls and tied the
arms to a small tree.
He ripped his shirt from his body, pulled
down his shorts and jock strap, and removed his shoes and socks in
what seem to her to be one motion. He made no attempt to conceal
himself. He dove into the water and scrubbed himself with sand from
the bottom. When the burning sensation stopped he stopped scrubbing
and came out of the water.
While he was scrubbing, Jill tried to
free herself, but he had tied the legs so tight around her waist she
couldn't move her arms and when she tried, it was almost impossible
to breath so she quit. She forced herself to breath slowly to prevent
hyperventilation. "Dumb little fat one, you did it this time."
She stopped repeating to herself when she saw leaches on his
body.
For an instant she felt sorry for him, but that turned to
admiration as he deftly removed the leaches by rubbing them with sand
so he could get a grip on them and rolled them between his fingers
until they let loose. Her fear of what he would do to her vanished as
her original fascination returned. She enjoyed the ripple of his
muscles and the grace with which he moved. Her fear returned quickly
when he moved towards her. She would have sworn the water turn to
steam from his blood red mad body. She didn't blame him for being
mad, she felt she deserved what ever he did, how could she have been
so stupid.
"I going to beat the tar out of you," as he
untied her and stood back. She remained quiet, regaining her breath
and then removed the protective head gear she was still wearing, hat,
goggles, and mist mask. When her hair fell down around her shoulders,
Jack's enraged brain paid attention to the messages sent to it from
his eyes. He saw the small waist and the hip waist ratio when he
removed the coveralls, but it didn't register.
He fell to his
knees near her and slammed his fist into the ground with such force
the sand moved beneath her. Since he was twelve, his father told him
almost every day, "You can't touch the girls, you can't hit,
slap, or pinch them. You don't know your own strength. You could
injure them so quickly you would not have time to recover and you
will regret it the rest of you life."
He could not violate
this dictum and he vented his frustration by beating the sand
repeatedly. She felt compassion for his frustration, but fear
returned quickly as his enraged brain thought of the only way he
could punish her. He pushed her down, unfastened her shorts, put one
arm under her legs, lift her hips off the ground, and with the other
arm crossing under, he grabbed her shorts and underwear at the waist
and yanked them off.
"NO, NO, STOP, STOP, this is not the way
it's supposed to happen."
She beat him and squeezed her legs
together, but it was useless. Her blows bounced from him like drum
sticks from a drum, he didn't hear a word she said. He grabbed a
thigh in each hand, his thumbs and fingers digging into her flesh
with such force all resistance left her, she went limp. He spread her
legs and threw her body around so one leg was on each side of his
knees.
He paused, wrestling with his thoughts, his parents did not
teach him about sex, he learned in school, but they did give him
advice when they knew he knew. Both told him to stay away from girls.
More than half of their family and friends 'had to get married' and
more than half of the women were pregnant the first time.
His dad
said, "Women make odd sounds when they have sex, so don't think
you are hurting them, they will tell you to stop if you are."
His mother told him to go slow and to wait for her to adjust and
above all to be gentle.
"How could he be gentle if he wanted
to punish her?"
Jill was thinking, "Well, dumb little
fat one you wanted him, now you're going to get him, ready or
not?"
She was ready, she was ready the first time she saw him
and her fear had not diminished it. She didn't cringe, flinch, cry,
or scream, she never thought he would kill her, it was a fear of the
unknown, of not knowing what he would do.
Now, she was
apprehensive, she had never seen an adult male aroused before and he
was larger than she anticipated. She wondered which would be true,
the old horror stories or the true romance. She was disappointed
afterwards, neither.
He made up his mind and moved over her. "Well
dumb little fat one you wanted to wrap your legs around him, now's
your chance." She did and as he entered, she let out an
involuntary gasp. He kept his weight on his elbows and knees. He was
still for a while and then moved violently. He slammed against her
with such force her body slid on the sand. He came quickly and his
anger left his body with his fluid. By the time he came again he was
not angry. He withdrew and sat beside her.
Jill knew he was again
wrestling with his thoughts and wondered what they were, but decided
not to ask. She watched him with pleasure as he again moved with
grace and power, the violence was gone, his skin tone returned to a
beautiful golden brown.
He pulled her socks off and carefully
raised her upper body and removed her T-shirt and bra. He picked her
up and carried her to the water and rinsed the sand from her body. He
stood her on the sand, took her shirt, shook the sand out, and used
it to fan her dry. He placed her coveralls on the sand front side
down, the arms extend above and pushed the metal buttons into the
sand so as to make a smooth ground cloth. He picked her up and put
her on the coveralls and sat beside her.
The switch in his
attitude was not lost on her subconscious, all remaining fear and
doubt evaporated. He looked at her, he started at her toes and slowly
went the full length of her body. She shivered as he did so. He
placed his hands on her feet and slid them gently up the outside of
her legs until he made contact with her hands and followed the
outside of her arms ending at her hair which he gently brushed back
from her face. He slid his hands back down her arms. Again he looked
at her from toe to head.
"Please don't look at me that way,
it gives me goose bumps."
"I can't help it. I want you
again, God, do I want you."
She couldn't look this time, but
she knew he was aroused.
"May I."
She spread her
legs. She enjoyed watching him move, the tone of his voice, the
controlled movement of his body, and his gentleness. She also
realized what her earlier feeling meant, her body was telling her it
wanted to be pregnant, it didn't care about circumstances or morals
or anything else, it wanted to accomplish its mission in life and she
gave in to it. After the third time he withdrew and again sat beside
her, but this time he caressed her and kissed her hands, feet, and
waist.
"I know as sure as I'm here, you'll be pregnant,"
and even he could not believe what he said next because he had never
thought about a wife and family, not even once. "I want the
child, I want our baby." Again he scanned her from toe to head.
"You are beautiful."
"No, I'm not, I'm fat."
He felt her tummy, under her arms, and her 'love handles'. "NO,
you're not fat. You're my little dumpling."
"What?"
He
turned and beat the sand with his fists. When his burst of anger
subsided he placed his head on her waist facing her head. "Can
you ever forgive me." And then almost a scream. "I raped my
wife."
A moment passed before she could speak, "What did
you say?"
He responded very calmly, "I said, can you
forgive me, I raped my wife. Will you marry me?"
She couldn't
believe her ears, it was beyond her wildest romantic fantasy and
asked him to say it again and he did and added, "I know I will
be a good husband and father. I will listen to you and I will never
use force to get my own way."
She didn't know what to
say.
"Could I use friendly persuasion, though?"
She
couldn't help herself, she laughed, "Yes."
He stood,
bent down, picked her up, and kissed her long and passionately and
she responded. She could feel his arousal and wiggled from his arms
and led him back to the coveralls. She wanted him. This time all the
pent-up passion of both virgins was unleashed. She wrapped her legs
and arms around him and dug her heels into his back and with all her
might she pulled her body as close to him as possible. A while later
he rolled off panting for breath and she fanned her body trying to
cool off. "Phew. I can't remember being this hot." She
reach orgasm several times and now knew what it meant to be hot and
bothered.
After resting for a while, both were apologizing for
what had happened and saying, "Let's get married as soon as
possible."
"What am I saying, I'm supposed to leave for
football practice tomorrow."
The following discussion
revealed they were going to the same school. They agreed to do as
they had planned and make changes as necessary. She dressed and he
tied her coveralls around his lower body. They picked up the rest of
their things and walked back to her truck. He sat in the truck while
she finished her work. Both talked a mile a minute and at the same
time while she drove to his cabin and then to the county park after a
change of clothes. They parted with a quick kiss after she told him
she would return with sandwiches at her next break.
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L07Y02 Jack fell down
Jack was an hour and half late
reporting to the life guard station, a porch built over the entryway
to the changing rooms and the concession stand between the parking
lot and the beach. His partner, Pat, a beautiful junior coed, was
worried because Jack had never been late or missed a day of
work.
"What happened?"
"I was with my wife,"
he sat next to her on a four person bench.
"Your wife! I've
never seen you with a girl and you never told me about a woman."
"We
had our first date this morning," and that is how each of them
described it, it was their first date.
"Wow, fill me in. How
did it happen?"
"I met Jill when I was running and we
got to talking and forgot the time," and that is all they ever
told anyone.
"Boy, I can't wait to meet her."
"She'll
be here soon with some sandwiches, I hope it will be soon, I'm
starving."
Pat kept asking questions even though she knew he
would not answer. Jack was an easy going, quiet person. Many days he
contributed maybe ten words to their conversation in ten hours, she
did all the talking.
Their daily routine involved watching the
swimmers, of course, teaching swimming once a day, checking a same
sex changing room every fifteen minutes, and 'patrolling' the
perimeter of the swimming area every half hour to remove any unsafe
items and trash and to insure the public that they were present. One
remained at the station while the other patrolled or checked a
changing room. At first the patrol was a boring task, but after
sitting most of every day, it felt good to take a walk, so neither
shunned this task.
The county park was a popular place because
Bass lake lived up to its name, it was a good fishing lake, very few
sandy beaches. Most cottages and homes had long docks, able to extent
out into the open water away from the vegetation.
By the end of
the second week together, Pat was very mad at Jack. She knew he
watched every move she made. She made physical contact with him at
every opportunity, she even slid a breast up and down his arm. He
never made a pass at her, never asked her for a date, no response at
all.
At the beginning of the fourth week, the wind was raw and she
forgot her windbreaker. Jack suggested she stay down in the
concession stand, but she refused. After she returned from patrol,
Jack unzipped his jacket and raised his arm so she could slide under
the jacket and his arm to keep warm, he draped his beach towel over
their legs. Boy, did she snuggle up to him.
He finally responded
and not the way she wanted. Without any emphasis on his words, "You
are a beautiful woman. You are poetry in motion. When you move, your
curves are something else, I can't keep my eyes off you. You are a
delight to watch, but you are not my woman and never will be."
She
didn't move, she felt comfortable and safe next to him and she never
told Jack how she felt about him. She was able to accept his response
and they developed a very strong brother sister relationship. So when
Jack told her about his 'wife', she really couldn't wait to meet her.
The more she thought about it the more excited she became.
At her
first opportunity Jill went to the family cabin, made six sandwiches,
changed her clothes, and put additional clothing in an athletic bag.
Her mother returned from shopping as Jill was leaving, the guys were
still fishing.
"Where are you going?"
"I have a
date, mom, a real date."
"Oh, honey I'm so glad for
you." They embraced. "But remember don't come home
pregnant."
She laughed and Jill grinned.
Pat was on patrol
when Jill drove into a packed parking lot. Pat saw her as she rounded
the corner of the building, carrying a small picnic basket. She went
to her and embraced her, "Hello, Jill.
Congratulations.
I'm
so happy for you.
He's up those stairs."
"You must be
Pat, but how did you recognize me, was it because I was the only
person carrying a basket to the beach instead of the picnic
area?"
"No, honey, I would have recognized you in crowd,
you're glowing like a full moon."
Jill was about to speak,
but Pat pointed up the stairs. Jill went up and Pat sat on bench
below and listened. Jack and Jill took turns eating and talking. Jill
left after one sandwich, Jack ate four and left one for a snack.
Pat
returned to the station, "You said more in that short time than
all summer to me." He nodded his head. "You chose a good
woman."
"How can you tell?"
"Intuition,
Jack, intuition."
Both scanned the beach and the water. "You
are her man. No doubt about it."
The rest of the afternoon
was usual. Jill returned a little after five with more sandwiches
from the deli. Pat returned to the lower bench when she came up the
stairs. Pat went to the station when it was Jack's turn to check a
changing room or go on patrol. During those brief moments with Jill,
the two women became life long friends. After sunset they would not
meet again until Pat graduated. Before they left the beach, Pat gave
Jack a great big kiss and a very warm hug. "Good Luck you big
hunk and all the happiness in the world to you, young
lady."
"Thanks."
They embraced for a long while
and all departed teary eyed. They had not made plans for the evening,
so Jack had no idea what Jill had in mind until he saw her take an
athletic bag out of her car. He opened the door and turned on the
light. She quickly scanned his three room cabin, walked quickly to
his bed, put her bag under it, pulled the covers down, went to the
door, and turned off the light. Jack had not moved. She removed her
clothes and put them on a chair. Jack did likewise. Then she turned
to him, "You sat next to that beauty queen all summer and you
choose me! Do you realize what that does for my ego, you big
wonderful hunk."
She jumped up, threw her arms around his
neck, wrapped her legs around his waist, and kissed him passionately.
He slid his hands around and under her hips. With his help she slowly
lowered her body over him.
"Wow, woman."
He walked
carefully to his bed and just as carefully lowered both of them on to
it. She growled like a cat when she reached orgasm and before the
last of the twilight left the room, she surprised him. She pushed him
onto the floor, got up, and walked quickly around the room, "Sorry
about that, but I had to cool off. I was approaching heat
stroke."
Jack couldn't believe it. He sprung from the floor
and touched her as she walked by. She stopped and let him feel her
body. Every where he touched, she was very warm. He fanned her with
his hands until she kissed him and the cycle repeated the rest of the
night with a little sleep in between.
The next morning they
showered, dressed, ate breakfast, cleaned the cabin, packed his
things, returned the key, and left for the bus stop. Neither was
tired and they laughed and joked most of the time. "After your
bus leaves, I can't wait to tell my mother, it's pay back time,"
and they burst out laughing.
Both were amazed how much they had
learned about each other in such a short time. Both knew they had
much to do, but both had a 'can do' attitude, and they told one
another they could do it because they would work at it. When his bus
left they were both walking on clouds.
Many thoughts passed
through Jack's mind as he looked out the window. One new thought,
"Me, a family man," he still couldn't believe it. Until
yesterday he never thought about it now he was conscious of it. He
mulled it over for several minutes, then he turned to what he had to
do and formulated a plan.
A new feeling grew in intensity, one he
would not understand completely until years after graduation. A part
of him was missing. When his understanding was complete he realized
that he and Jill were a unit, not two individuals. He was the captain
of the unit by default because women defer to men. It was not a gift,
a privilege, or something he earned, it was a responsibility. He,
with her help, was responsible for keeping the unit together and
functioning. To have his own way, pleasure, wealth, or anything else
meant nothing if he failed his responsibility. When she wasn't with
him the unit was not complete and he didn't feel complete.
When
they were together he felt whole, time stood still, there was no
beginning, no end, no past, no future, only now. It seem like they
had been together forever. Jill concurred. The feeling occurred most
strongly during sex. It felt so natural, so comfortable, so
satisfying. He didn't want to go anywhere, do anything, he just
wanted to hold her, to keep the unit together. He didn't like it when
his body told him to do otherwise because at that moment he knew he
was not in control. A trap men fall into more easily than women. Men
think they are in control and think they are supposed to be in
control. The loss of control was one feeling that made him mad during
the first years of their marriage.
Many times after sex he would
be sullen or angry. He knew Jill was baffled because men seemed to
enjoy sex so much more than women, why would he be sullen or
angry.
He couldn't determine the cause of his sullenness or anger
so how could she. He thought it was because he had given up his
independence, he couldn't have his own way. Until he met Jill, he
basically did what he wanted, when he wanted.
During sex his
subconscious knew his body was in control not him and his ego didn't
like it hence his sullenness or anger. When he realized his loss of
control was the source of his frustration his sullenness and anger
left and never returned. He did what had to be done, he let his body
do what it had to do, but he still didn't understand his own
feelings.
Women don't want to give up control either, but during
their child bearing years they are reminded each month that they are
not in control so they don't fall in to the trap as easily as men.
Most woman learn not to fight their biology, to go with the flow,
follow their feelings, and use their brains not to fight their
feelings, but to keep their feelings tempered.
On arrival, Jack
settled into a room in a dorm opened early for the football team,
called his parents, Jill, and went to sleep. Jill met him at his
first break the next day. They applied for a marriage license and
married housing, they didn't expect any to be available, but they
wanted their name to be in the cue. Next, they went to the college
chapel, were surprised to learn they could be married on any Saturday
until the second week in October. They returned in time for his next
practice session. They were married the first Saturday following the
end of the waiting period.
The following day after blocking
practice two guys were yelling at each other. One didn't like how the
other blocked him during practice and Jack intercept the first punch
and forced him to sit on the bench, "We're here to play as a
team, not to fight," ending it before it started. No one saw the
freshman football coach duck out of sight from the end of the locker
row.
At the end of morning practice the middle of the next week,
Jack told his coach he was turning in his equipment, "Come to my
office before you leave." A short while later, Jack knocked on
his door.
"Come in." Jack closed the door and took a
seat. "Why are you quitting?"
"You don't need me,
you have three freshmen better than me and I can't see wasting our
time."
"Good observation.
Thank you, you made my job
a little easier, I hate to cut men from my roster." Jack didn't
understand the full meaning of his comment. "Are you going to
try out for any other sport?"
"My wife wants me to try
to out for the cheer leading squad, but there are so many entrants, I
don't want to bother."
"I think you should. Thanks
Jack."
Before Jack reached the door, "By the way, keep
your locker, you are welcome to work out with the team or in the gym
any time you like."
Jack didn't see him reach for the phone
as he closed the door. "If a young man named Jack wants to try
out for your squad, let him."
"My squad is full and I've
closed application."
"Do it anyway, if you don't you'll
be missing something."
"OK."
Again, Jack didn't
understand when he asked to try out for the squad at Jill's
insistence, "I've been expecting you, start this afternoon."
By
Saturday, Jack was up to speed and doing things he had never done
before, he didn't know he had a natural ability to balance his wife
on overhead lifts. He learned the tumbling exercises the coach wanted
as fast as he was shown. He became the anchor for mounts and lifts.
He did everything asked and more.
Tears of pride ran down Jill's
cheeks when she had the chance to watch him, usually she was in front
of him. She had asked the coach for that arrangement and the coach
quickly agreed after Jack removed his shirt on a hot afternoon. The
girls who could see him went into a swoon and didn't regain their
rhythm for a half hour. He did the cheers like a dancer, with
precision and grace. The coach called him to her office and made it
perfectly clear, he was never to remove his shirt and that he and
Jill were to always be on one end or the other. The cheer leading
squad had an extra pair when football season opened and with full
scholarships.
After their team scored a touchdown it was tradition
for the male cheer leaders to do pushups. Without thinking Jack went
to the goal post and did one handed vertical pushups with his toes
straddling the post and they weren't wimpy pushups, he touched his
nose to his hand and then extended fully. The students went wild and
clapped in unison with each push.
Many times when the game was
going badly and the team was dejected, Jack would do a solo impromptu
cheer, the students would rise in unison, and the noise would be
deafening.
After a heart breaking last minute season ending loss,
Jack led a cheer that said in effect to the team, you may have lost
by the score, but you didn't lose the game. No one left the stands as
the football team carried Jack around the stadium while the band
played the alma mater following the traditional hand shakes.
Even
the opposing team and their fans stood and applauded. No one wanted
to leave, the band had to play three more times before people began
to leave. It was a game for the memory books for those who were
present, they forgot other games, but not 'that' game. Many felt an
esprit de corps they would never feel again.
Alum giving jumped
ten per cent. Who on campus didn't know about Jack? Jack enjoyed
being in the lime light, but he never succumbed to its ego inflating
effects, Jack remained Jack.
When the cheer leading coach
presented her awards at the fall awards banquet, she turned to the
freshmen football coach, "You were right, I, we all would have
missed something." A public announcement of a private
understanding. He nodded thank you.
Another event, earlier in the
football season also added to Jack's reputation. During an away game
a fight broke out a short distance to Jack's right, out of the
visiting team's fan area. Jack vaulted the brick wall as the other
fans were departing. He went above the two combatants and interceded.
He caught first one blow in mid air and then another, pushed both
combatants forcing them to trip over a bench. Before they could
recover he pinned both to the cement with no injury to either and
held them until the campus police arrived. He returned to the squad
and continue the cheer as if he had never missed a beat.
After the
game, Jack ducked the reporters, went quickly to the locker room, and
asked the coach not to identify him. The TV cameras caught the entire
episode and fortunately, from Jack's point of view, his face was
blocked from view or his back was to the cameras. Later, when he had
the details, the TV announcer called him the 'gentle giant', a name
people used when he was not present.
Jill caught up with a bunch
of coeds walking between classes because the ones in front kept
turning around to talk with the ones behind, slowing their progress.
As the distance between them shortened, she could tell from their
words and tone of voice, they were idolizing someone. When she nearly
joined them, she heard 'gentle giant,' they were talking about her
hunk. Again, tears of pride ran down her cheeks.
When a more
observant coed turned to talk to those behind her, she noticed Jill,
"Why you must be the little dumpling!" They crowd around
her telling her how lucky she was, how much they enjoyed watching her
and the 'gentle giant', and many other kind remarks. A thrill that
would not be matched until much later in her life.
Jack ran with
the cross country team, sparred with the boxing team, and worked out
in the gym. Several coaches invited him to try out for their teams,
"Sorry coach, I've decided to major in chem engineering and I
have more than I can handle."
The locker room discussions
almost always ended on sex. The most common complaint even by the
married men was they didn't get enough.
"What about you,
Jack, you never say anything."
"He probably has to beat
them off with a club."
"Yeah, the one between his
legs."
He shook his head and said to himself, "Some
times I wished I had both problems, but that thought goes away very
quickly because I immediately think about my little dumpling."
Three married men invited him to join their wife swapping group, "Our
wives would sure like a piece of you." Again he shook his head
and to himself, "I can't handle what I have, why would I want
more." More than once, during those locker room discussions Jack
wanted to stand on the bench and shout, "You guys don't know
what you are talking about," but he never did.
After
graduation, the economy was in recession and after a day of four
interviews and no offers, Jack still had time to present his views at
a nuclear power plant public hearing. Jack was a man of few words,
but when he did speak people listened, he was concise and tactful.
One of his interviewers attended rather than watch TV in his motel
room. He cornered Jack after the hearing and asked, "Have you
ever consider public relations?"
"No, and I haven't had
any classes on the subject."
"We'll pay for your
education, that's not a problem. Why don't you come to our home
office and talk with our staff about it."
Jack had more
interviews the following week but no offers. Jack felt he didn't have
a choice and called and made an appointment. Again Jack could not
believe the speed with which the events happened. In less than a
month, he and Jill were living in a fashionable suburb in a four
bedroom home with two cars, and a large salary.
Life was very kind
to Jack and Jill and both gave thanks in their own way. Those who
knew them felt they deserve everything they received and helped
them receive more.
Life did deal Jack two severe blows, but he
never felt the second one. Tom had played with toy soldiers from the
time he could crawl. His desire to be a green beret was no surprise
to them. He graduated from college and enlisted. Two years later he
was a special adviser in Vietnam.
Like Jack, he wrote very few
letters, but after two months in Nam he wrote once a month. Then
every other week, then once a week, then twice a week. The tone of
his letters changed with the increase in frequency. At first, his
letters were descriptive, the country side, the people, the war. Then
fear, fatigue, wounds, dying, and death. His mental health was
deteriorating. He survived minor wounds, land mines, booby traps,
ambushes, gun fire, and artillery.
In his last letter the tone
change to hope, his tour of duty would be over in two weeks and his
unit was being moved to a rear area. The military communiqué
stated the helicopter transporting his unit suffered a rotor
mechanical failure within sight of the air field. It crashed killing
all on board.
Mary and the two grand children were the only thing
that kept them going. Jack recovered a year later as much as he
would, but Jill could not heal. She was functional, but she was
scarred to the end.
The second blow came at age forty eight, Jack
began to loose weight, no pain, no symptoms, and all tests were
negative. The weight loss continued. In desperation his doctors
opened him up. He died on the table, full of soft tissue cancer. It
had metastasized to every organ in his body.
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L07Y03 And Jill came
tumbling after
Jill drove from the bus station to the
family cabin a little faster than normal, walked into the living room
and yelled, "Mom I'm home." She waited for the expected
reply. It came as she came from the kitchen.
"Where have you
been?"
"And I'm pregnant."
"You can't
possibly know yet, it's to soon."
"Like the mares on the
farm, mom, I know I'm settled."
Her mother sank into chair,
Jill took her bag to her room and returned. "You've got to be
kidding," but when she looked into Jill's face she knew it was
true. She went to her daughter, embraced her and cried.
"Don't
cry, mom. I have a hunk, a real hunk."
"How long have
you known him"
"One day."
"ONE DAY!"
Then she filled her in on all the plans they made in one day.
"This
is unbelievable, it's to much for me. Go for a walk or do something,
let me recover. Then we'll talk.
Jill went to her room and packed
little used items, she would leave for school in a week. When she
returned to her mother, her room was in order and except for laundry
she could be ready to leave in less than an hour.
"Tell me
this is a joke."
"No, mom this is for real. We don't
want to change our prior plans unless we have to. I know it's not the
way you would like. It's not the way I would like. Everything that
has happened in this one day is different than I ever dreamed."
"Talk
about a whirl wind romance, this one takes the cake." She looked
very carefully at her daughter's face, went to her, "I believe
you, honey, this is for real."
They embraced again and cried.
Then, they got down to business. They soon reached a point where they
had to wait for Jack to call and answer some questions and give them
his parents phone number, he didn't give it to Jill on purpose, he
wanted to be sure he told them first.
When the guys returned from
fishing, Jill ran to meet them and tell them. Her brothers teased
her, "Gosh, Jill we thought the only thing you could catch was a
cold."
She slapped at them, missing of course, they ducked
away as soon as they spoke. "I didn't catch him, he came after
me." They both hugged her. It took her father awhile to digest
the full impact of what she said, his little girl was getting
married. "You know I wish you the best, sweet heart."
"I
know daddy."
She helped them unload the boat and carry gear
to the cabin. At dinner she told them as much as she could remember
and was willing to tell. Jack called as they cleared the table. When
she learned he would have a four hour break the next day, she decided
to meet him. Jack called that night to suggest a motel where the
families could meet the night before the wedding. Jill called his
mother immediately. Between the two mothers and Jill they agreed to
keep each other informed and to share ideas. Jill had planned to
commute to school and if she made the cheer leading squad her second
year she would move on campus. Now that plan was discarded. She and
her mother returned home and read all the real-estate adds, called
several brokers, and called friends and relatives they though might
know of a place to live. They looked at so many apartments and homes
that by Thursday night both were exhausted.
A friend of a friend
of a friend called between calls to the lake and his parents, and a
call from Jack, they had inherited their parents home and were
preparing to auction it and its contents and Jill could look at it
before they signed any agreement. They would be glad to show the
house the next morning at nine. Jill called the cabin and told her
father.
It was an old single story two bedroom house, not what
Jill wanted, but it had two huge advantages, it was closer to school
and it was furnished. Jill called her dad and gave him the details.
"Ask them if they will accept a deposit and I'll talk to them on
Monday." They did. Jill was in seventh heaven, everything was
going so smoothly.
When her dad learned that his dad was a farm
boy and a fisherman, he suggested the men meet at the cabin and the
women meet at their home for the weekend. The two families not only
became in-laws, they became good friends. They had many similarities,
neither were members of a church, although they did attend once in
while and they agreed on politics, sports, food, and
entertainment.
After dinner on Sunday, Jack and Jill said their
good byes and drove to school. The other girls hooted and hollered
when Jack gave her a passionate kiss at the cheerleaders dorm. Jill
called home Monday night and her dad told her she could pick up the
keys to the house anytime, everything was taken care of.
Neither
Jack nor Jill understood what 'taken care of' meant, her parents had
bought the house and paid all the house expenses when they receive
their scholarships. She drove home her first break the next day. Both
had lied and marked married on their forms, so they ate their meals
in their dorms, but left after their last meeting to sleep a little
at their new home. They it called their prehoneymoon. Neither parents
liked the idea of their children living together before marriage but
both wives asked their husbands not to interfere.
During his first
two weeks with Jill he learned several things not to do unless he was
prepared to finish what he started. If he caressed a breast or her
labia, the lower half of her body would be nude before he took his
next breath. If he kissed her more than once, stroked her forearm,
pat her butt, kissed her passionately, or did his exercises in her
presence with his shirt off, she would lead him to their bedroom and
if someone was present, "Excuse us please, Jack has something he
has to do."
The first time it happened Jack was baffled and
embarrassed. Her mother arranged a lunch visit on a Sunday following
a home game. She told Jill she would arrive an hour before and leave
an hour after lunch so they could do their home work. For Jack it was
the usual first visit by a mother in-law. After lunch Jill cleared
the table and did the dishes to allow Jack to talk with her mother in
the living room. When she rejoined them she sat next to Jack and held
his hand. Absent mindedly, he stroked her forearm with his other
hand. Jill stood, pulled on Jack's hand indicating she wanted him to
stand, and interrupted her mother, "Excuse us mom, Jack has
something he has to do."
She walked backwards to their
bedroom, pulling on his arm, and giggling because of the funny look
on his face. Her mother's suspicions were soon confirmed by the
rhythmical creak of the old bed. She wrote a note to her daughter and
left. She gave her daughter a lecture the next time they met, "But,
mothh err." I have told you before that you have to postpone
your urges to a more appropriate time.
After that, Jack wouldn't
even look at the house to buy if it didn't have a sound proof master
bedroom. Once aroused she wanted him, she wanted him NOW, and she
didn't want to quit. She told him more than once, "As far as sex
is concerned I can take it or leave it, but do I EVER respond to it,
wow," and because of her response, sex with her was something
else so Jack found it very difficult to refuse and only quit when he
was empty or no feeling was left.
Jack and Jill had similar
interests, but they were not similar, they were not opposite, they
were complimentary. When one had strong feelings about something the
other didn't care so for the most part each had their own way. The
same was true for household chores, which were done quickly and on
time so there was very little nagging. Most of their disagreements
were caused by miscommunication which were settled quickly. The only
source of complaint was Jack's lack of sleep, it didn't seem to
effect Jill.
Along with his public relations activities, he was
also a member of the acquisition and interview teams. He didn't like
being away from home, but at least he could sleep. On one acquisition
inspection trip, Jack returned home exhausted. The chemical plant was
in the middle of nowhere and the local accommodations were poor, he
didn't get one good nights sleep. Her mother came to help Jill with
the children and after Jack greeted each, he went to bed.
"Mom
would you watch the kids for a while?"
"NO. Leave him a
lone, the only time you let him sleep is when you are taking care of
the children."
"But mothh errr."
"I know
honey, but you don't want your hunk to be sick do you."
"No."
"Well
then don't over do it." Jill sulked the rest of her visit.
Jill
was tired, an unusual occurrence, and Jack decided he would give Mary
her bath. He didn't have any problem with the large parts of her body
and both dad and daughter were enjoying the bath. But when he tried
to wash her eyes even the tip of his pinkie cover all of it, he
couldn't clean the corners next to her nose. He tried to wash behind
her ears and he couldn't. He tried to clean her navel and he
couldn't. He did succeed by using a q-tip. He finished, put Mary in
her crib, went into the living room, and sat. After a few minutes of
reflection he burst out laughing. Now he understood the difference
between men and women besides the obvious. He roared, "And do I
enjoy the difference." This time he disturbed Jill.
After the
fall semester, Jill dropped out of school. Mary was born in late
February and Tom two years later. Jill nursed both as long as she
could. The only time they received a bottle was when they were hungry
before she returned home. Jill developed a mother's ear two weeks
after Mary was born. She could hear the slightest peep no matter what
she was doing and would go and check. She was a very concerned and
caring mother.
Jill was not planning on returning to school, but
her parents convinced her to return. Her father said, "A woman's
education is never wasted if she has children," and her mother
wanted to take care of the children, she wouldn't hear of a baby
sitter. Her mother came before Jill left and left after she returned
from her last class. Jill and her mother became even closer.
This
arrangement allowed Jack to work four hours a day, an ego boost, he
was bring home some bacon. Jill went to summer school and Jack worked
and even with their busy schedules, both were in the top ten per cent
of their class. Obviously they had very little social life. Pat
joined the university staff as housing director, so their social life
involved visits by their families and Pat. Even so, Jill was very
satisfied with life.
Life dealt her a series of severe blows. The
first blow was when she miscarried a year and a half after Tom was
born. She battled with depression for three months. The second came
when her mother died suddenly, about two years later. Jill had to
have medication to recover. Caring for the children kept her going.
The third was the death of Tom, a blow from which she never
completely recovered, but it put her on a new career path, she
entered politics. Jack's death was the fourth, and her own death,
after a long illness, was the last.
Jill was vehemently opposed to
the Vietnam war and easily won a house of representative seat, she
went on to be senator. Jack was her campaign manager and her chief of
staff. Jack wowed the voters and he introduced her to the voters as
his little dumpling. Jack quit his job and devoted full time to her
political life. In his spare time he did charity work, housing for
the homeless, soup kitchens, etc.
Jill championed women and
children's health issues and did work outside the political arena.
Jack and Jill were an effective team all the way to the end. The work
they started kept her functioning after Jack's death. For more than a
year she worked like a zombie, it was the only thing that kept her
going. That and the support she received from all the people who knew
and loved the gentle giant and the little dumpling.
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