Teddy
When I heard the sounds coming from CJ and Wendy’s bedroom, and I knew CJ wasn’t home, I didn’t know what to do. I quickly went back to the kitchen and took another drink of my beer. I considered leaving to go for a drive, coming back when the strange car was gone. This really wasn’t any of my business, but CJ was my best friend. I had to tell him. Before I could decide what to do, CJ walked in. He was trying to figure out what was going on and headed straight for the bedroom. I stayed in the kitchen and heard the yelling. I followed CJ out the door when he came back to the kitchen, clearly pissed. He told me we were going for a beer.
As we drank our beers, I tried to comfort CJ just as he had done for me after Dom and Brian. I told him about the advice grandpa and dad had given me. CJ was worried because Wendy was the only one he had ever dated. I also was a bit surprised when he showed me the ring he had bought her. I assumed that it would come sometime soon, but the timing could not have been worse. We were both relieved when the two cars were gone when we got back to the house. After another beer at home, we both went to bed. The next morning, I noticed that CJ slept on the couch. I guess I understood that it might be hard to sleep in the bed you just found your girlfriend in with another guy.
We left for our Thanksgiving weekend with our families, maybe a few days away would do CJ some good. I was still trying to help CJ work through his feelings on the drive home, he was in a slightly better mood by the time we pulled into town.
I asked, “Do you mind stopping at grandma and grandpa’s house, mom told me they need help getting their Christmas decorations out of the attic.”
CJ smiled, “Sure, no problem. I love talking to your grandparents, I haven’t seen them since we graduated high school.”
Grandma always had to have her Christmas decorations out the day after Thanksgiving. It was too hard for grandpa to carry them down anymore, so I or Jeff have been helping them for the last few years. If I helped them today, I wouldn’t have to get up early on Friday. Grandma would always start decorating by 6 am.
I gave grandma a hug as I walked in, then gave one to grandpa, CJ did the same.
Grandpa said, “It’s so good to see you CJ, it’s been a long time.”
CJ smiled, “It’s good to see you too…grandpa. I’m sorry I don’t think I ever knew your name.”
Grandpa laughed our famous family laugh and said, “I don’t mind you calling me grandpa at all, but it’s Lloyd.”
Grandma said, “You’ve always been like a grandson to us CJ. Is Wendy with you?”
CJ sighed, “No, Wendy and I are no longer seeing each other.”
Grandpa said, “That’s too bad CJ, that just means she wasn’t the one.”
CJ and I exchanged smiles, at least grandpa’s advice was consistent. CJ and I went up to the attic and hauled down at least 20 boxes. Grandma always went all out with her decorating. Once we had the boxes stacked in the living room, grandpa got us a beer.
Grandma said, “Lloyd, don’t start drinking yet, we still have to go get the tree.”
Grandpa sighed, “Gladys, we can get the damn tree on Friday.”
She shook her head, “No, for the last ten years, I have always been the first person to buy a tree at the Highland Street lot.”
Grandpa took a drink of his beer and sighed, “You always take forever to pick out your tree. Just go pick one out and have them hold it. I’ll go get on Friday.”
I chuckled, “I’ll take you grandma, give me the keys to your truck, grandpa.”
Grandpa grinned, “You always were my favorite Teddy.”
Grandma smiled, “Come on Theodore, the lot has already been open for two hours.”
I looked at CJ, he laughed, “Go ahead, I’ll stay and have another beer with grandpa.”
I helped grandma into the truck, and we spent the next hour and a half looking at every tree on the lot. Me and the salesman sighed when she had the pile whittled down to ten, then to five and finally had just the right tree. Now I knew why grandpa didn’t want to come along. He was grinning when grandma, and I walked back into the house.
I chuckled as I said, “Come on CJ, help me carry in the world’s most perfect Christmas tree.”
CJ seemed like he was in an even better mood as we set the tree up in front of grandma’s picture window.
We left as grandpa was telling grandma she had to wait for the branches to settle before she started decorating. I’m not sure why grandpa was even trying, he had not won this argument in over 50 years.
I laughed as I said, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
CJ and I were still laughing as we got in my car. I dropped him off at his parent’s house and wished him good luck.
I was greeted with a hug from mom as I walked in the house. I told her all about my first semester teaching school and about CJ and Wendy.
She said, “Oh my, that must have been awful for CJ, how is he doing?”
I shrugged, “Ok, I guess, it’s going to take a while for him to get over it, but I think he’ll be fine.”
Dad got home from work, and we had the same conversation, and I told him that I helped grandma get her decorations down and that we went and got her tree.
He laughed, “Every year of my life I saw that tree go up on Thanksgiving and it didn’t come down until New Year’s Day. I swear she never throws a decoration away and adds new ones every year.”
Mom said, “She just likes the holiday season, I’m just glad I don’t have to set all of that stuff up and take it down every year.”
I didn’t tell mom and dad about CJ buying the ring, I figured if he wanted to tell them, he would. Besides I’m sure CJ’s mom would tell mom the next time they talked.
Dad and I helped mom set up the tables and chairs the next morning as the rest of the family started to arrive. My nieces and nephews were all growing like weeds. Christmas was going to be fun this year; I was already planning on all the toys I was going to get them. We had a very nice Thanksgiving; I felt the love as I spent the day with my family. I hope CJ was having a good day too.
Jeff said, “Hey grandma, Teddy, Mike and I will be over tomorrow to hang your lights up on the outside of the house.”
She smiled, “Oh good Jeffery, I’ll have breakfast ready at 6.”
I laughed, “Grandma, don’t bother. We won’t be there until about 10. A cup of coffee will be fine after we finish.”
Mike said, “Yeah, I’ll have to help Becky get the kids up in the morning.”
Grandpa said, “Yes Gladys, the boys don’t want to get up that early on their day off. You can make them lunch.”
Mom said, “We have plenty of turkey left over, I’ll send enough home with you to make them sandwiches.”
Jeff chuckle, “Yeah, that will be fine, grandma.”
After we convinced grandma to adjust her schedule, everyone left for the day. Dad and I helped mom clean up and went to the living room and had a beer.
He asked, “So, you are liking your job?”
I nodded, “Yeah dad, I love it. The kids are great, and I think I am going a good job teaching them.”
He smiled as he took a drink of his beer, “I’m happy for you Teddy.”
I looked at him for a minute and asked, “Are you disappointed that I didn’t come back to work with you and Jeff in the store?”
He paused a moment, “Teddy, you would have never been happy at the store. I admit, I would have been so proud to have Jeff running one store, you in the other and me in the last one. But your heart would never have been in it. I see the way your face lights up when you talk about your students, you’re where you belong.”
I smiled, “Thanks dad, I am happy.”
He said, “Besides, we have a good guy running the third store. Jeff is doing a great job with his store and is training a young kid we just hired to take over in a few years. Jeff wants to move back to town before the kids start school. I’m going to work Jeff into running the whole operation, so I can start to take a little time off. Your mom wants to do a little traveling, and when I am ready to retire, Jeff will be ready to take over.”
I said, “That sounds like a good plan, I’m glad you guys have it all worked out.”
Dad raised an eyebrow and said, “Of course, if you get tired of teaching and want to come back, we can adjust our plan.”
I chuckled, “Thanks dad, I’ll keep that in mind and let you know.”
On Friday, we got the lights hung at grandma’s house and had lunch with her and grandpa. I went down to the store that afternoon to spend a little time with dad. On Saturday night CJ and I went to the bar and met up with a few of our high school buddies. They were surprised to hear about him and Wendy breaking up, but we had a good time.
I picked up CJ the next day to head back to our house. He told me that he had a nice talk with grandpa, and it helped him a lot.
I asked, “So did you call Gary’s wife and tell her about him and Wendy?”
He laughed, “Oh yeah.”
I chuckled, “And?”
CJ grinned as he said, “I called the wife of one of the other couples that we went out with, she said that everyone in the office knew what was going on for about a month. She said she was sorry about not telling me sooner. She was glad to give me Gary’s wife’s phone number. When I called his wife, she said that she wasn’t too surprised and that this wasn’t the first time. After a few choice words, I think Gary found his clothes on the front lawn when he got home.”
CJ said his family was supportive when he told them the news and said that he was feeling much better. The weekend away was just what he needed. We pulled into the driveway and noticed Wendy’s car was gone.
CJ said, “Oh shit, you don’t think she trashed the house, do you?”
I said, “I don’t know, I never thought about that.”
We slowly opened the front door and walked in, relieved the living room was intact. The TV was CJs as was one of the chairs. The old ratty couch and other chair were mine. They were old pieces that CJ and I picked up at a secondhand store when we first moved in the house. The kitchen table was Meg’s, but she didn’t want to take it when she moved out, so she gave it to us. CJ took a deep breath as he walked into his bedroom. His clothes were on the floor and were the only things in the room.
He shrugged as he looked at me, “The bedroom set was hers.”
I chuckled, “Sorry bud, but you can get a new bed.”
He nodded, “Yeah, I’m not sure if I could have slept in that one anyway.”
We ate some of the leftovers that our moms sent home with us and had a beer. I got off the couch and said I was going to bed.
CJ yawned, “Yeah, I guess I will too.” He then burst out laughing. “I forgot, I don’t have a bed, I guess it’s another night on this lumpy old couch.”
I knew the couch was not comfortable and that CJ didn’t get much sleep that night when he kicked Wendy out.
I said, “I have a queen size bed, you are welcome to share it with me.”
CJ
I was hoping the weekend back home would help me forget about Wendy, Teddy was doing his best to cheer me up on the drive home. When he asked if it was ok to stop at his grandparents’ house first, I smiled. I always liked them, and they always treated me as one of their own grandkids. After we carried down his grandma’s decorations, I laughed as they argued about getting their tree. Teddy offered to take her, and I was happy to stay and have a beer with his grandpa.
After I mentioned that Wendy and I broke up, Llyod (I think this was the first time I heard his name, he had always been grandpa to me) said, “Well CJ, just like I told Teddy, it must not have been meant to be.”
I chuckled, “Yeah, he told me about your talk with him.”
He said, “I was lucky, I found my match on the first try, it rarely works out that way now a days.”
I nodded, “Yeah, I guess it would have been too easy for that to happen. I’m going to have to learn how to date all over again.”
Llyod though a moment and said, “You’ll know when you meet the right one, like I told Teddy, you may have already met them.”
I asked, “What do you mean?”
He said, “Gladys’s family lived next door to my family our entire lives. When we were kids, we played together with all the other kids in the neighborhood, we were good friends. As we got to be teenagers, we were still friends, we never even considered dating each other. About a year before I joined the army, I started looking at her a little differently. I finally took a chance and asked her to a dance down at the VFW Hall, I guess she saw me a little differently too. By the time I left for France, we both knew we were meant to be together. Fortunately, I came back from France, mostly intact, (he held up his missing hand for effect) and she was waiting for me. The rest, as they say, is history.”
I smiled, “I’ll have to pay a little more attention to the people around me, maybe I already know my soul mate.”
He handed me another beer and grinned, “Maybe you do.”
Teddy and grandma came back into the house, Teddy looked exasperated. I helped him carry in and set up the tree. We were laughing at grandma and grandpa as they bickered about when to decorate the tree. If I had to guess, they have had this argument before, it was actually kind of cute.
We were still laughing as Teddy dropped me off at my parents’ house. I walked in and was greeted with a hug from my mom.
She asked, “Did you drop Wendy off at her house already?"
I took a deep breath and decided to rip the band aid off in one motion. I told her and dad everything that happened with Wendy. They were supportive as were my sisters. The rest of the weekend was a little better. I thought a lot about what Lloyd and I talked about, he made a lot of sense. There was another first-year teacher at my school. Sherry Anderson was the new English teacher, and I thought she was very attractive. We both had our free period at the same time, so we were in the teacher’s lounge at the same time and were friendly toward each other. From our talks, I knew she was single, she and her college boyfriend broke up when they graduated. He got a job out of state, and she wanted to stay here, just like Teddy and Brian. Maybe I will talk to her a little more and ask her out when we get back to school.
By the time Teddy picked me up on Sunday, I was ready to move on. When we got home, I was suddenly worried that Wendy might have trashed the house. Thankfully she didn’t. Of course, she took all of her furniture, which included her bed and dresser. I guess it was only right, they did belong to her.
I said, “I’ll go to Target to get an air mattress tomorrow after work. I can go buy a bed next weekend.”
We both burst out laughing when we opened the cupboards and found only a couple of coffee mugs, some glasses and some Tupperware that our moms had sent leftovers home in. Again, to be fair, Wendy had brought all the dishes when we moved in. Meg had also brought some dishes and had taken them when she moved out, she also took her bed, so her room was now empty.
Teddy laughed, “Maybe Cheryl will give us our old employee discount so we can get dishes and pans.”
We ate some leftovers and had a beer and Teddy stood to go to bed. I wasn’t looking forward to a night on the couch, that old thing was lumpy and uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure what to say when Teddy offered to let me sleep with him.
I shrugged, “Well, it would be better than that old couch.”
He said, “It’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before.”
I chuckled, “Yeah, when we were 13.”
He sighed, “You know me well enough to know that I am only offering as a friend.”
I smiled, “Yeah, I know. Thank you.”
I followed Teddy to his room, and we stripped to our underwear. As soon as we were in bed, Teddy turned out the light and said, “Good night.”
We turned away from each other and I soon heard the sound of steady breathing coming from Teddy. I finally drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, I woke up before the alarm went off. I panicked when I realized I had my head laying against Teddy’s shoulder and my arm was across his chest. I’m sure my face was red as I quickly jumped up. Teddy looked at me, not sure what to say.
I stammered, “I’m sorry, I guess I’m used to sleeping with Wendy.”
He smiled, “It’s no big deal, I understand. I woke up hugging my pillow for two weeks after Brian left. I know it didn’t mean anything.”
We got ready for school in an awkward silence. I guess we might have to talk more about this after we get home tonight. We had made plans to meet at Target after school and pulled in at the same time. Neither of us mentioned how we woke up this morning, we walked in, each grabbing a cart.
I said, “I’ll go get my air mattress and meet you in housewares.”
Teddy smiled, “Sounds good.”
I found a mattress and decided I also needed sheets, a blanket and some pillows. I filled my cart and went to find Teddy. I turned the corner to see Teddy talking to Cheryl, she was our manager when we worked here. We got along well with her, she was a good manager, and we became friends. She saw me walk toward them and she gave me a hug.
She said, “I’m so sorry, sweetie. When you guys get all the things you need, find me and I will swipe my card, so you get your discount.”
I smiled, “Thanks Cheryl, we really appreciate it.”
She gave us both another hug and said, “I’ll be in the seasonal area, come get me when you’re ready to check out.”
Teddy and I picked out a set of dishes, silverware, pans and cooking utensils. We were trying to think of anything else we needed, and our cart was soon full. We decided we would probably need a few other things but could pick them up as we needed them. We found Cheryl and were soon loading our cars with our purchases. We got home and again, neither of us talked about how we woke up this morning. I set up my air mattress, it wasn’t great, but it was better than the couch and more comfortable than risking cuddling with Teddy again.
On Saturday, Teddy went with me to go bed shopping. We found a furniture store and I went to the bed section. Teddy walked around to look at the other furniture. I found a bedroom set with a dresser and a nightstand that was affordable, and the salesman asked if I needed anything else. I told him my friend was here too, and we went to find Teddy. I saw Teddy sitting in a chair in a living room display that the store had set up.
The salesman said, “We have your friend all fixed with a bedroom set, can we fix you up with a living room set?”
Teddy let out one of his laughs and said, “I was just looking, thanks.”
The salesman said, “Well, this set is on clearance right now, you aren’t going to find it any cheaper.”
Teddy smirked, “How much for the whole set?”
The salesman decided he had a live one and quickly recited the price for each piece, a couch, two chairs, two end tables and a coffee table.
Teddy grinned, “No, you don’t understand, I asked how much for the whole set, as it sits in this display.”
He said, “I gave you the prices.”
I was about to see a master negotiator go to work.
Teddy stood up and said, “Ok, my friend here just bought a bedroom set from you. I am interested in this living room set. I will give you the clearance price for the couch and two chairs, and you will throw in the end and coffee tables. That’s going to be the biggest sale you get all day.”
I grinned as I watched them go back and forth for the next half hour. We were soon walking out of the store, Teddy not only got his deal on the living room set, but the salesman also threw in the lamps that were displayed on the end tables, and I got an extra 10% off the price of my bed. It was all going to be delivered on Monday.
We got our new living room furniture all arranged and sold our old stuff sold to some college students by the end of the week. We moved the air mattress into Meg’s old room; in case we had any guests spend the night and Teddy helped me set up my bed. It was going to be great to sleep in a real bed again.
We still had not talked about what happened the night we shared his bed, I guess we had both moved on. We were soon headed home for Christmas and were flipping the calendar to 1990. School was back in session and a couple of months later, I was busy with the new baseball season. A month before the school year ended, I came home, and Teddy handed me some mail.
I gave him a cautious look and opened the letter, he smiled and said, “I got one too.”
It was an invitation to our five-year high school reunion.
He asked, “Do you want to go?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know, do you?”
He nodded, “Kind of. I haven’t seen some of our friends since graduation.”
I sighed, “What if Wendy is there?”
He nodded, “Yeah, I thought about that too. But if she is, you don’t have to talk to her.”
I thought for a moment and said, “Yeah, I guess it would be nice to see some of our buddies.”
The second weekend of July we headed home, Teddy had finally worn me down. The plan was to meet in the park at 3pm for a social hour and then move to the old high school gym for a catered meal at 6pm. I was glad the social hour was for three hours, I was certainly going to need a few beers if I was going to have to see Wendy. I was still hoping she wouldn’t show up.
Teddy and I arrived a little after three and quickly found our friends. Wendy was nowhere in sight, so far so good. Things changed at 4:30 when I saw her and Gary get out of their car. I took a deep breath as Teddy asked me if I was alright.
I shrugged, “I’ll be fine.”
The next hour was pure hell; I was getting more pissed as time went by. Wendy was hanging all over Gary and being all fake around her friends. Teddy could tell that I was no longer having a good time, as everyone started to leave to go to the school to eat.
He asked, “Do you want to skip the meal?”
I nodded, “Yeah, it might be a good idea. Do you mind?”
He smiled, “Not at all, I’ve seen all the people I want to.”
We said goodbye to all our friends and decided to get some beer and go out to Wilson’s Pond. We pulled up to the pond and nothing had changed in the last five years. Teddy grabbed a blanket out of his trunk, and we spread it out to sit next to the water to drink our beer. The July sun was still hot, so we had pulled off our shirts.
I said, “I hope I didn’t ruin your day.”
He smiled, “No, like I said, I talked to everyone that I wanted to.”
I sighed, “I can’t believe she brought him with her.”
He nodded, “Yeah, I thought she might show up alone, I wasn’t expecting that either.”
I rolled my eyes, “And when she gave me that smug look and grabbed his arm, I’m sure she was just rubbing it in that I was there without a date.”
Teddy agreed and then thankfully changed the subject. We drank a few more beers and lay back on the blanket as the sun started to set. We both must have dozed off. I woke up a while later, in the same position as we were the last time we shared a bed. This time I didn’t pull away, I slowly looked up at Teddy. I could see him looking at me in the moonlight, I wasn’t sure what to say. We stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like forever.
I’m not sure why, but I moved my face closer to Teddy’s. I pulled him to me and our lips met. I rolled on top of him, and he wrapped his arms around me, our tongues now in each other’s mouth.
To be Continued…
