Time Trials

by Lee, Terry

  TIME TRIALS

  By

  TERRY LEE

  Featherstone Creations

  Also by Terry Lee

  ***

  SAVING GRACIE

  PARTLY SUNNY

  Time Trials is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © Terry Lee 2015

  Licensing Notes

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.

  Cover: Christina Keats

  Editor: Maxine Bringenberg

  Publisher: Featherstone Creations

  Dedication

  for Dianne…

  Acknowledgements

  A special thanks and many hugs to Renie, once again, my beta-reader (Beta-Gram). Writing Time Trials required special attention to detail due to the three time periods involved. Renie has a great memory which came in helpful. As she’d read through, she would be able to catch things I missed. Comments like “uh…we wouldn’t have said that in 1972” were frequent. Thank goodness for her memory.

  Also, a huge thanks to Christina Keats, graphic designer, who worked tirelessly to make sure the cover design came out exactly right. And, of course, to Maxine Bringenberg, my loving editor, who steered me through the maze of not only proper grammar, but my mental block on the use of correct tenses…definitely not one of my strengths. And a big thanks to Chris Rosing for help with the formatting.

  Cast of Characters

  Janie

  -drama queen; event organizer, serious lover of

  Girl Scout cookies; Houston, TX

  Allison

  -level-headed, not easily intimidated; “mother”

  of the group; Corpus Christi, TX

  Frannie

  -the writer, sensitive, misunderstood by many;

  Houston, TX

  Regina

  -dysfunctional upbringing; celebrity in her own mind;

  self-centered; Tyler, TX

  Dena

  -independent; speaks her own mind;

  vocabulary enhancer; Houston, TX

  Suzanne

  -studious; quiet; “chicken-little” mentality,

  Clear Lake, TX

  Denise

  -also studious, dependable, coaxes Suzanne out of her

  shell; Clear Lake, TX

  Piper

  -strict upbringing; transforms into wild-child in college;

  Fort Worth, TX

  PART ONE

  THE WONDER YEARS

  Chapter 1

  A Loss

  A breeze washed over her as she reached the car. Although it was late summer in Houston, the slight wisp of air brought on a shiver. Allison respectfully waited until the family left the grave site. The cemetery backed up against I-45 South, and even the traffic noise seemed a distant voice to the serenity around her. Sliding her sunglasses into place, she tossed her purse across to the passenger side and had halfway slipped into the driver’s seat when something caught her eye. A woman stood rooted next to the casket, which was still suspended on the lowering device. Allison didn’t need the silhouette of the small frame to know who would be the last to leave.

  “Ah, geez.” Quietly closing the car door, she made her way back through the moss-laden oak trees to the myriad of white flowers draped over the casket. She dropped an arm around the shoulders of one of her oldest friends. She towered over the woman by a good siz inches.

  “Suzanne, you okay?”

  Without tearing her eyes from the flower covered casket, Suzanne clutched Allison’s hand. “She loved white flowers, you know.”

  Allison nodded and pulled the small frame in for a hug.

  “Nobody came.” Suzanne’s other hand held a faded Kodak snapshot and a lace-trimmed handkerchief. She dabbed at her eyes.

  “What do you mean? There were tons of people here.”

  “No!” She held up the photo. “This…this is what I mean.”

  Biting the inside of her lip, Allison once again sighed. “I know.”

  “We said we’d always be there for each other. And…and….” A sob escaped. “It’s just the two of us. They didn’t even show up for her funeral.”

  Allison’s eyes searched the afternoon sky for an answer, but only found a blue background with slow-passing cumulus clouds. A lazy breeze swayed the heavy moss dangling from some century old oak trees. Just another day for most, but not when standing beside the casket of a dear friend. “Let’s go someplace where we can sit and talk. I could use something to drink.”

  Suzanne pulled a compact from the clutch under her arm to check her face, and blotted the streaks with the lace handkerchief. “Well, there’s an IHOP not far from here.”

  Hooking arms, Allison led her friend away from the grave site. “Uh…no. Not IHOP. I’ve got a better idea. Follow me.”

  Ten minutes later, the women sat in a booth at Chili’s feasting on chips and salsa. Allison took the first swig of her Coors Light, while Suzanne blew on a cup of hot tea. Delighting in the coolness of the adult beverage sliding down her throat, Allison aimed her long neck at the benign pot of hot water next to the steaming cup. “You still drink that stuff?”

  “And you still drink that?” Half of Suzanne’s mouth curled, her eyes betraying a hint of mischief.

  “Ha! I knew you were in there somewhere. C’mon, let’s see a smile.”

  A release of air escaped through Suzanne’s lips, snatching back the slight moment of lightness. “Just doesn’t seem right.”

  Once again reminded of her friend’s fragility, Allison reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Hey, I know it’s sad she’s gone. But she wouldn’t want us sitting around being mopey. You know Denise, she was always pulling us out of whatever funk we were in.”

  “I feel so….” Suzanne sucked in her quivering lower lip. “We were best friends, we grew up together. I’ve known her all my life. Even in college, if she hadn’t been my roommate, I never would have made it. She was my touchstone. I know we were the wimps of the group, but if it hadn’t been for her, I probably wouldn’t have ever left the dorm except for class. She was all that to me and I couldn’t go see her toward the end. I’m such a coward. I just…couldn’t.” Tears reappeared, following the same streaked paths down her face. “Now I don’t know what I’m going to do without her.”

  “Honey, Denise knew how hard it was for you. Believe me, she understood. In fact, she was worried about you.”

  “I know you saw her right up to the end.” Suzanne blew into her handkerchief. “You were always so strong.”

  Taking another draw from her long neck, Allison signaled the waiter for another and mentally recalled her time with Denise. She’d spent many hours with her terminally ill friend. Just last week, which also turned out to be the last visit, she had been amazed, once again, how openly they could talk about death.

  ~~~

  “You know,” Denise said. “You’re the only one I can talk to about this. Nobody wants to hear about the d word.” She rearranged her delicate frame in the recliner she seemed to find more comfortable than her bed. “Why do you suppose that is?”

  “I don’t know. Scares people, I guess.” Allison substituted the wilted bouquet of white flowers for the fresh ones she’d brought that day. “Seems like we should though. None of us are getting out of here alive. You’ve just got a little more inside information than the rest of us.” She winked and offered a gentle smile.

  “David keeps telling me how much better I
look, which is such total bullshit.”

  Repositioning the flowers on the table next to the recliner, Allison noticed Denise touch the scarf wrapped around her head. She came to full alert, knowing the cancer which had originated in the lungs had now spread to her brain.

  “Are you in pain? Should I—?”

  “Just habit.” She smiled, the greenish-brown of her hazel eyes only accentuating the dark half-moons surrounding her lower eyelids. “I’m worried about him.” Denise stared down at her hands. “I guess he’s handling this the best way he can.”

  “Yeah, probably so. He can’t imagine you not being here.” She returned to her seat at the foot of Denise’s recliner. “I’m with him on that one.”

  “Will you look in on him once in a while?”

  Allison gently squeezed her friend’s skeleton-thin hand and smiled. “Sure.”

  “Thanks.” Denise fingered the wedding band she now wore on a chain around her neck. “I figure he’ll either be a total useless mess,” she paused and grinned, “or be married within the year.” She shook her head and scrunched up her nose. “Doesn’t do well being alone.” Her sense of humor was only one of her many admirable traits.

  “And the kids? How are they?”

  “Michael still likes to snuggle a lot. He’s twelve and at least will talk to me. Sometimes he has a lot of questions.” A shallow sigh escaped through her parched lips. “And other times he just wants to lie beside me.”

  “And Michelle?”

  “Well, she certainly isn’t in denial. She’s sixteen, angry as hell, and stays away as much as possible. Even when she’s home, she won’t talk much.”

  “That’s got to be hard.”

  “I’d say it’s killing me, but that’s a sick joke.” Denise leaned back against the recliner, as if the effort to support her head required too much strength. “She’s seeing a therapist, so maybe she’ll come around…hopefully while I’m still here. Otherwise, I’m gonna have to haunt her. That ought to get her attention.” She shrugged. “What can I say? She’s sixteen…not a fun age. I think she feels like I’m deserting her.” She paused. “Sixteen. Not much younger than when we all met.”

  Allison nodded. “That’s true. But somehow I thought we were so much older. Michelle still seems like a baby.”

  “Don’t you dare let her hear you say that. You’re still on her good side. I need you to stay there. One slip up and she’ll kick you to the curb.”

  “Ah, I’m not worried.” Allison patted her friend’s knee. “I’m still pretty good at arm-wrestling. I can keep her in line.”

  Denise covered Allison’s hand with hers. “I’m counting on it.”

  Silence filled the room. Unlike with most, the silence between the two wasn’t uncomfortable. On many occasions, back when Denise was a bit more mobile, the two of them would sit for long periods of time side by side on the couch, heads touching, either in silence or listening to the Tapestry album which had been Allison’s personal copy. The debate between Carole King’s version of “You’ve Got A Friend” vs James Taylor’s had been a battle between the group of friends for decades. Denise and Suzanne had been holdouts from their freshman year in college, which still kept the BAGs at a deadlock. Denise said she liked both versions, no one knew if Suzanne had ever heard either one. So, as usual, Suzanne followed Denise’s lead and took the fifth.

  Allison rubbed her finger across her tight lips and studied her friend. “So…what do you think it’s like…you know, after you die?”

  Denise put her hand to her mouth, stifling a weak laugh. “Do you realize how many people would have a shit-fit if they could hear us now?”

  Allison responded with a whatever shrug. “Who gives a rat’s ass? I don’t.”

  “Me either, and I’ve been thinking a lot about that…dying.” Denise shot Allison a mischievous grin. “I’ll have to let you know.”

  The two friends had shared several in-depth conversations about life after death, or life after life as Allison called it, before Denise finally made the transition to the other side. When she died, Denise appeared in Allison’s dream that night, waving goodbye.

  ~~~

  “What happened to us?” Suzanne’s words brought Allison’s mental road trip back to the table at Chili’s. “Do you ever hear from anyone?”

  Rubbing her chin, she shrugged. “Christmas, birthday cards…that’s about it.”

  “Do you think they even knew her cancer came back?”

  “Maybe some of them.” Allison finished off her second beer. “I’m sure they would have come if they had known she died. You know we did pretty good for the first ten years. Then, I guess…life just took us in different directions.”

  “Yeah….” Suzanne pushed the used tea bag around the small plate next to her cup. “We did have fun back then, didn’t we?” The half-smile reappeared.

  “That we did.” Allison waited a minute before she cocked her head to the side and eyed Suzanne with a goofy look. “Excuse me for asking, but when have you ever been to IHOP?”

  “I go.”

  “Like when?”

  “Uh…like when I go out by myself.” Suzanne shifted around as if her side of the booth had suddenly developed a huge lump.

  “And you go there by yourself because….”

  “Well, it’s just not the sort of place I’d usually go. Someone might….” Suzanne’s voice died off.

  Allison’s eyes widened. “But you think I look like an IHOP patron? You snob.”

  Suzanne pulled back and tried for a shot at righteous indignation. “I’m not a….” Her words evaporated like a little dialogue bubble that had popped above her head. “Yeah, I guess I am.” She pinched at a wisp of hair and tried to cover her face.

  “Too late, I’ve already contacted the Junior League.”

  Suzanne slumped forward, her jaw slackened.

  “Hey, lighten up.” Allison reached for one of the last chips of their second basket. “It was a joke. Remember those?”

  Pulling her shoulders back into proper position, Suzanne narrowed her eyes and squinted. “I almost fell for that. You and that sense of humor.”

  “So, you’re a closet IHOPer.” Allison’s initial intent was to give her delicate old friend a boost of lightening the load, but she was getting a kick out of this herself.

  Leaning across the table, Suzanne made direct eye contact with Allison and held up three fingers. “Three words. Double. Blueberry. Pancakes.”

  ~~~

  There were eight of them. Eight girls right out of high school, on their own for the first time in their lives, and for the most part, outrageously diverse in personalities. They tagged their group the “Bad-Ass-Girls” or BAGs for short, and quickly formed a bond for life; or at least that’s what they had said…twenty years ago.

  Chapter 2

  1972

  Time Warner launched HBO and Atari kicked off the first generation of video games with the release of PONG. The Godfather won picture of the year, while John Lennon, Rod Stewart, and The Eagles rode the top of the music charts.

  Agents of the White House and the Nixon reelection campaign were arrested while breaking into the office of the Democratic National Committee, which at the time was located in Washington, D.C.’s Watergate Complex. The Equal Rights Amendment, passed by the U.S. Senate on March 22, provided legal equality of the sexes, and although draft numbers were still being issued, Vietnam, the most unpopular war in recorded history, was winding down.

  The Dallas Cowboys had won the Super Bowl, and the Oakland A’s and Cincinnati Reds would make their way to the World Series. Mark Spitz won a record seven gold medals for swimming in the Summer Olympics in Munich. Jack Nicklaus was at the top of his golf game, and the LA Lakers won the NBA Championship. Billie Jean King was a year away from settling the “Battle of the Sexes” by beating Bobby Riggs in three straight sets in a tennis match at the Astrodome in Houston.

  Several television shows making their debut that year were The Waltons, Sanf
ord and Son, ABC Afternoon Special, M*A*S*H, The Price is Right, The Bob Newhart Show, Maude, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, and WCW-World Championship Wrestling. Meanwhile, Bewitched, My Three Sons, The Deputy Dawg Show, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, Mr. Wizard, and The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour said their farewell. Already established favorites were All in the Family, Hawaii Five-O, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Major networks hosted the national news at 6 and 10 Central Standard Time in Houston, which in 1972 entailed simply reporting the facts and not part of the Nielsen ratings. John Chancellor anchored the national nightly NBC News, with Howard K. Smith and Harry Reasoner on ABC, and Walter Cronkite on CBS. (Note: all television was viewed with the assistance of an antenna either mounted directly on the TV or the roof of your house).

  Raquel Welch held the title of “sex icon” and the quotes, “Nothing runs like a Deere,” “He likes it! Hey Mikey!” and “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee” were born, as were Cameron Diaz, Sofia Vergara, Jennifer Garner, Jenny McCarthy, Jude Law, Ben Affleck, Wil Wheaton, Scott Foley, Josh Duhamel, Alyssa Milano, and Gwyneth Paltrow, to name a few.

  Michael and Jennifer hit the top favorite baby names that year. Popular cars were Pontiac’s GTO and LeMans, Oldsmobile’s Cutlass Supreme, Plymouth’s Barracuda, Ford’s Mustang, AMC’s Gremlin and Javelin, Buick’s La Sabre, Dodge’s Dart Sport, and, of course, Chevrolet’s Corvette, Camaro, and El Camino. Honda came out with their first generation Civic, and on February 17, 1972, the Volkswagen Beetle became the best-selling car of all time, surpassing Ford’s Model T built in December, 1915.

  Digital watches were introduced, and clothes had a lot less static cling thanks to the introduction of Bounce dryer sheets. A first class postage stamp weighed in at eight cents, a gallon of gas cost fifty-five cents, and the average dollar amount for a new house was $27,550, with the average income per year at $11,800. Music was enjoyed on a radio or record player. There were no ATM’s, debit cards, cell phones, or personal computers, which meant no Internet, social media, or texting. There were also no pagers or answering machines. If you weren’t home when the phone rang, you missed the call.