Taking the Town

by Ford Murphy

  “What makes you ask that?” Finn replied with a smile.

  “Just a wild guess that’s all.”

  “Well, don’t tell anyone but it is my first time.”

  The other player laughed. “Oh hell, boy. I don’t need to tell anyone. After your masterful play, there’s no one at this game, including my seven-year-old daughter, who doesn’t know that.”

  To no one’s surprise, they lost spectacularly.

  Later that night in the bar, Finn’s team mates took turns at trying to mimic his epic slide. Time and again they asked him to repeat it but he told them honestly since he didn’t know how he did it the first time, there was no way he could do it again.

  Despite losing, the team declared the game a tremendous success and decided that Finn should play with them for the rest of the season. He politely declined this generous offer.

  Later, as he feared, a very drunk Whitney made a serious effort to get him to sleep with her.

  “It’s not going to happen, Whitney,” he told her as she attempted to drape herself all over him.

  “Why not?” She pouted. “Aren’t I good enough for you? Or is there some nice Irish lassie waiting at home for you?”

  “No, it’s not that. It’s because there’s a nice American lad who you’ve promised to marry.”

  “Soooooo, if there was no nice American lad, would you?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but at least it would be a different conversation.”

  “Well I guess that puts the ball squarely in my court.” She swung a make believe tennis racquet. “Swish. Forty love to Miss Campbell. Game, set and match point.” She swung again. “Ace. That’s it. That’s the game for Miss Campbell.” She looked at Finn and winked before saying, “Your loss. See you tomorrow, sucker.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Tuesday, July 15, 1986

  Week Four: Day Two

  It was three-thirty in the morning when Finn knocked at Julia’s front door. They had a six o’clock flight from Dublin to Zurich where they would catch a connection to Lugano. The plan was to check into the hotel, grab a quick shower and be at the conference by noon. It was going to make for a very long day but neither of them had felt like dealing with the awkwardness of going to Dublin the night before and staying in a hotel. There was enough of that to come and it just seemed so much easier to face it in Switzerland than here at home.

  Julia opened the door, yawning and looking adorably sleepy. Finn smiled at her. “Hey.”

  “How can you be so goddam cheerful in the middle of the night?” She pointed to two large bags standing in the hallway. “Can you give me a hand getting these into your car, please? They’re a bit heavy.”

  “Sure. I’ve got it.” Finn retorted reached for them. “Jesus Christ almighty. What the hell have you got in these? We’re only going for five days.”

  “Never you mind. I’m a girl, OK? A girl needs stuff. I wasn’t sure what type of shoes I’d need so I brought a few pairs. Are you going to put them in the car or not?”

  “How many is a few pairs?”

  Julia mumbled something under her breath.

  Surely she hadn’t said what he thought she did. “How many?”

  “Seven.”

  This time he had no trouble hearing her and he was dumbfounded. “You packed more pairs of shoes than the number of days you’re going to be away? Seriously?”

  Julia shrugged. “Clearly the importance of having the right shoes is lost on you. But don’t let it worry you, you’ll learn.” He loved the light teasing tone of her voice. “Come on, let’s go. We don’t want to be late now do we?”

  “No, madam, we don’t. Your carriage awaits.”

  He helped her into the car, loaded her suitcases into the boot and they were off. She was asleep within ten minutes. Finn kept the radio off as he sped through a series of still asleep towns. Traffic was virtually non-existent at that hour of the morning so he was able to make good time. He glanced over at her as she slept. Even at that hour and with no makeup, she was stunningly beautiful. He sincerely hoped this trip would work out. It could make us or break us.

  When they reached the airport, Finn tapped her shoulder gently. “Wake up. We’re here.”

  Julia sat up quickly. “Huh, we’re here? I must have just dozed off. Sorry.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, you just dozed off as we pulled away from your house. You slept the whole way, dear. So much for keeping the driver company.” At the look of concern on her face he added, “I’m just teasing. I’m glad you were able to rest. Let’s get checked in and grab a bite to eat.”

  The first flight was uneventful and they both dozed through it but the second one, in a little propeller plane, was a completely different story. The flight path took them over the Alps and it seemed to Finn that the plane was skimming along the top of the peaks just a few yards above the highest points. There was a lot of turbulence and the little plane lurched violently for most of the journey. No one could have slept on the flight.

  Julia was terrified and dug her nails into his arm with each and every bump. Finn tried to reassure her but he wasn’t exactly convinced that it was no big deal and that they were perfectly safe. After a harrowing approach and an extremely bumpy landing, the plane gradually came to a halt.

  Julia looked green. “I think I’m going to be sick. We’re taking the train back on Sunday. Okay?”

  Finn nodded. “Anything you want.” He was not unhappy with that plan at all.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Thursday, July 17, 1986

  Week Four: Day Four

  They were both very busy for the first two days and they didn’t see a whole lot of each other except at mealtimes. The grand finale for the conference was a dinner for all attendees in the ballroom. Finn had been looking forward to it for two reasons. First, he knew it would be fun and second, more importantly, it would mean that the conference was over and he would have Julia to himself for the whole weekend.

  Now he waited by the elevator on the ground floor. It was almost half past seven and the dinner was about to start. Julia was supposed to have met him here fifteen minutes earlier so they could grab seats together at a table with some friends. He had taken the precaution of asking them to hold a couple of places for them, but these guys had been drinking for the past few hours and there were no guarantees they would even remember. “Come on Julia,” he muttered. “What are you doing?”

  The hotel lobby was crowded with people milling around. He turned to scan the crowd in case he had somehow missed her. He looked back just as the elevator door opened and had to practically gasp for air.

  Julia smiled as she walked towards him. She was wearing a fitted black dress that stopped just above her knees and showed off her figure in the most stunning way possible. She had put her hair up and her only jewelry was a simple gold necklace. He had never seen anything so amazing in all his life.

  “Sorry.” She smiled at him. “I couldn’t decide which shoes to wear.” She actually winked.

  He glanced briefly at her feet. She wore a pair of black pumps with heels high enough to accentuate the length and shapeliness of her legs.

  “Do I look okay?” She seemed to be enjoying the fact that he was lost for words. She leaned in and whispered, “Close your mouth.”

  Finn finally managed to collect his thoughts and form words. “You look absolutely fabulous. Beautiful, in fact.”

  “Thank you, kind sir. Now, can I link your arm as I’m not sure I’ve quite mastered the art of walking in four inch heels.”

  She took him by the arm and they walked towards the ballroom. Finn was conscious of the swell of her breast against his arm and the soft, citrusy smell that seemed to come from her hair. He felt all eyes on them as they entered the ballroom. With most people already seated, they were making, in effect, a grand entrance. He suspected most of the men in the room were extremely jealous of him right then. They reached the table, sat down and soon were engaged in lively conversation with the
other guests.

  Dinner at their table turned out to be quite a raucous affair. Their friends continued to drink at pace and, by the time the speeches came around, had become very vocal, inciting a couple of verbal warnings to pipe down. Finally, the speeches reached a merciful conclusion, after which the guests at the table busied themselves with the task of getting absolutely hammered.

  It was clear that theirs was the fun table and people started to drift over, bringing their own chairs to join in. One guy plopped his chair down next to Julia and almost immediately began hitting on her. Finn, who had moved to the opposite end of the table to speak with someone earlier, when the drinking picked up, looked across at her with some concern.

  First he thought she was uncomfortable but he could see her relaxing and laughing at whatever her pursuer was saying to her.

  “I shouldn’t worry about it,” a voice behind him said. “It’s not like she’s going to dump you for him.”

  Finn turned around and saw an attractive blonde with gentle eyes and a kind smile sitting there. “You never know.”

  “Oh, I can tell you it will only happen in his dreams. Besides, you’re far better looking than him. So don’t worry.”

  “Thank you. That obvious, huh?”

  “Just a little, but it’s nice to see.”

  Finn looked back over at Julia, who seemed to be really enjoying herself now. “How can you be so sure?” By the way, I’m Finn. Apologies for the lack of manners.”

  “I’m Claire. Pleased to meet you, Finn. I know, because there’s no way she’s going to go anywhere with him tonight.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “Because I’m his fiancée. We’re getting married in two weeks.”

  Finn just stared at her in amazement, not sure what to say.

  Claire beat him to it. “Right now, you don’t know whether to congratulate me or offer your commiserations. We don’t really have control over who we fall in love with so I got that.” She pointed towards her fiancé, who was piling on the charm with all his might.

  “Well then, a little of both, I guess.”

  “Oh look.” Claire laughed. “The poor bugger struck out. I guess he’ll just have to make do with me so tonight. Well it was very nice talking to you, Finn. Look after that gorgeous woman of yours.” She got up and walked after the very disappointed fiancé.

  Julia caught his eye and mouthed, “Are you done?”

  Finn nodded. They both stood up, said their goodbyes and left. Julia held onto him again for balance.

  “He was such a creep. At first, I thought it was just a bit of harmless flirting but then he became very explicit so it was time for him to go.”

  “Want me to sort him out?” Finn said in mock menace.

  Julia looked at him in horror but then punched his arm when she saw he was joking. “Asshole.” Then her eyes twinkled and she added, “But thanks for the offer.”

  When they reached the lobby she looked up at him. “Right. I’m off to bed. Busy day tomorrow. Are you still up for the drive around the lake to Chamonix?”

  “I am. Are you still up for giving skiing a try?”

  “I still think it’s a little nutters since neither of us have ever done it, but yes, I’m up for it.”

  “Excellent. When do you want to leave?”

  “I’ll meet you here for breakfast at nine and we can leave after that.”

  Finn nodded and then unexpectedly, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the mouth. She stepped back and smiled. “I’ve wanted to do that all day. Now off with you.” But she was the one who turned to leave.

  He watched her walk away, still feeling the sensation of her lips on his. He headed to the bar. After that, he needed a nightcap.

  Chapter Twenty

  Friday, July 18, 1986

  Week Four: Day Five

  Finn and Julia set out in the rental car immediately after breakfast. It was a bright, cloudless day and the air was warm and dry. They planned to drive around the circumference of the lake, then head up into the Alps. Finn drove carefully, trying to get used to doing so on the other side of the road while changing gears with his right hand instead of his left. Roundabouts were the biggest challenge as his natural tendency was to turn left instead of right once he reached the ramp.

  Julia sat back, opened the window and took in the stunning scenery. “It sure is pretty. Hard to beat some of these views.”

  “Would you like some music to add to the experience? I brought along a couple of my favorite tapes.”

  “Wow,” said Julia in mock surprise, “I’m really impressed. A man who actually thinks ahead. What have you got?”

  “Only my top two albums of all time. Leonard Cohen’s Greatest Hits and Dire Straits’ Making Movies.”

  Julia groaned. “Those are the choices? I retract my earlier comments. I’m not so impressed after all.”

  “Don’t be like that. Give it a try. You’ll love it. Trust me. Which one do you want first? Note, I said ‘first’ because you’re getting both of them.”

  “Such a tough decision.” Julia rolled her eyes. “I can be bored to tears or bored to tears. You pick. It’s your music, after all.”

  “As you wish, my dear.” Finn inserted the Leonard Cohen tape into the deck. “Prepare to be amazed.”

  After her initial reaction to the starkness of the music and the tonality of Leonard’s voice, to her great surprise, Julia admitted to really enjoying the album.

  “The lyrics are…well, I can relate.”

  That didn’t surprise Finn. It was hard not to feel the deep emotions in Leonard’s mournful lyrics of lost loves, lost lives and the awful pain that living sometimes brings.

  “Play that verse again,” she asked. “I want to hear those lines once more.”

  Finn rewound the tape a little and Leonard Cohen’s words filled the car. He was singing Suzanne.

  “This was the very first Leonard Cohen song I ever heard and I was instantly smitten.”

  “I can see why.”

  “I read that he was tricked into signing away the rights to this song. He said, probably tongue in cheek, that, ‘It would be wrong to write this song and get rich from it too.’”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No. The article said one of the greatest indignities he ever suffered was when he was on a boat in Greece and Judy’s rendition of the song was played on the radio much to the delight of the other passengers.”

  “That’s so sad, to think that you could so easily lose something so beautiful and so precious.”

  Finn looked over at her. Her eyes had teared up a little.

  She turned to look at him. “Jesus, that could have been written about us. It’s eerie. I take my comment back yet again. You really do plan ahead, don’t you?”

  Finn just smiled to himself and said nothing.

  They stopped for lunch at a little restaurant at the far end of the lake. The view was absolutely breathtaking and though it had turned a little chilly, they sat outside. Julia drank two glasses of wine while Finn had to content himself with soda.

  “I should feel guilty, I know,” she said, “but to be perfectly honest, I don’t.”

  “Oh well, at least you’re honest. I feel so much better now.”

  After lunch, they drove for another couple of hours up into the Alps. It was much colder now and the air was thinner. They came across a little ski resort and decided to try it out for a laugh.

  During the summer months, the resort stayed open by using a mixture of natural and artificial snow. Experienced skiers generally stayed away but it was perfect for novices such as Finn and Julia. Twenty minutes later, they were all decked out in proper ski gear and trying to understand what the instructor was saying to them.

  “This should be interesting,” Finn muttered. “Let’s hope there are no broken bones afterwards.”

  The instructor led them out to the beginner slope and told them not to ski anywhere else other than in this area.

&nbs
p; “No worries about that, mate. This is adventurous enough for me.”

  Slowly and gingerly they inched their way forward, following the instructor’s words as best they could. It was hard going but Finn could see that Julia was enjoying herself.

  “Come on slow poke,” she yelled back at him, “there are four year olds out here moving faster than you.”

  “I wasn’t aware it was a race.”

  She laughed. “It’s not, but the idea is to keep moving, not stand still.” She turned and headed back towards him, showing off her mastery of the poles. When she was within three feet of him, she lost her balance and ploughed directly into Finn, knocking him flat and landing right on top of him.

  Finn laughed out loud. “That’s what you get for showing off.” He then became aware of the fact that she was lying on top of him and looking directly into his eyes. They held each other’s gaze for what seemed like ages before kissing. This time, the kiss was deeper and more passionate than last night’s.

  “I could get used to this,” Finn whispered when she finally broke the kiss.

  “Me too, and that’s what scares me.” She got off him and picked up her ski poles. “What do you think? Enough of the piste for today?”

  “Absolutely. My thighs are killing me.”

  They headed back to the hotel listening to Dire Straits once and Leonard Cohen twice more. Julia was by now a committed fan and Finn promised to lend her more of his albums. It was late by the time they reached the hotel. Neither of them was hungry and they decided to call it a night. Tomorrow they were going to check out of the hotel early, then drive into Italy and see how far they got before stopping for the night.

  Julia hugged him quickly. “Thanks for a lovely day. Good night.”

  “Thank you too. See you in the morning.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  December, 1983

  Edgarville, Kentucky

  After the night of the softball game, Whitney stopped propositioning Finn. She was still as friendly as ever towards him and he began to relax more in her company. Perhaps this is why he began to notice odd changes in her. On several occasions she appeared to grimace in pain when she lifted something or when she stretched.