Courting Mrs. McCarthy

by Ian Thomas Malone

  Mrs. Buchanan looked frustrated. “Then what’s the problem? Do her friends hate you or something? What are these grave issues that suddenly plague a young man such as yourself?”

  He didn’t know how to answer immediately. He wanted to explain everything, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He supposed this might be part of the bigger problem.

  “Something will come up, eventually.” He continued to tell truths without getting into any specifics that might actually help him.

  Mrs. Buchanan started to see there was some sort of logic to this line of thinking. “What, like religious problems? Do people still care about that in New York?”

  Nathan was feeling a bit better despite the lack of clarity that was his own doing. “Something like that.” He once again had avoided lying to her.

  “All right, now we’re getting somewhere. There’s always going to be someone looking to get in the way of happy people. That isn’t just reserved to dating either, believe me. As soon as you’ve got something good going for you, there will be someone who’s all pissed off and wants to take it away. It’s your job to stop them.”

  Nathan liked where this was going. He wanted to go back to Griffin and tell him he was wrong. He wasn’t one hundred percent confident just yet. “How will I know when to?” he asked.

  Mrs. Buchanan shook her head. “Yeah, like there’s really an answer for that one. You’ll know, and if you don’t, then it probably wasn’t meant to be. This girl must be pretty special for you to ask all these questions after barely knowing her. I hope you get what you’re looking for.”

  This point had been a recurring theme throughout his time with Jackie. Nathan was so afraid of the ways that it might not work out, that he lost sight of the fact that there was a good chance it wouldn’t work anyway. Enjoying the moment was paramount. There were dozens of reason why that might be the case that didn’t involve interference from the outside world.

  Nathan felt a little bit more relaxed about his situation. The tendency to overanalyze what was happening was addicting, but he needed to remember that time was the only thing that would tell him anything concrete. He sat with Mrs. Buchanan on the bench for a while, discussing matters of little importance to anyone other than an old Scottish expatriate and a confused teenager.

  Chapter 18

  He spent most of his Saturday trying to think of dates he and Jackie could go on. He needed to find something in the city, which was far enough away that they could enjoy each other’s company without thinking of the risks. He and Griffin were hanging out that night. He felt an obligation to get date planning out the way so that it didn’t distract his time with his friend. He felt good that he was maintaining his other social relationships since what he had with Jackie was far from full-time.

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art was a prime date choice for him. Nathan had been there before with Griffin, who came along because his cousin James had gone on an acid trip to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and said it changed his life. The Met had not changed either of their lives, but he had enjoyed himself immensely.

  He decided against a museum because there were too many variables. What is Jackie didn’t like art? What if she knew more about it than he did? What if he sounded pretentious? What if he talked too much? He had returned to overanalyzing, but in this case it served to protect him from making a potentially poor decision.

  Live entertainment felt like a good idea. Music or theater took much of the pressure off Nathan to provide Jackie with nonstop entertainment. Comedy was too risky as he knew little about her sense of humor. He wasn’t sure she even had one. They had not watched much of This is Spinal Tap.

  Budget wasn’t overly important, though going over the top was a bad idea. He could stomach a couple nice seats to a Broadway show, but would be setting the standards fairly high on himself for the future. He also didn’t think this was something Jackie necessarily wanted in him. She was impressed with his maturity, but spoiling her didn’t make much sense. If being spoiled was all she wanted, she’d stay with Steve.

  There were plenty of smaller scale productions all around New York City. Nathan just needed to do some basic online research to figure something out, though he knew little about Jackie’s actual interests. He’d be taking a gamble on pretty much anything, but his risks had paid off so far.

  That was when he considered a far more viable option. Shakespeare in the Park was a noted mainstay in New York City and was free to the public, though this came at the cost of waiting in line for the tickets. The line could, and often did, take all day. Fortunately, his father had been a benefactor for years and his friend Benjamin Robinson was on their board of directors. Nathan felt great as he saw his plan coming together.

  Shakespeare in the Park was the epitome of a classy date and the perfect date idea for a teenager working with a limited budget. That year’s productions were As You Like It and Coriolanus. He figured As You Like It would be the best bet, as it was a lighthearted comedy. He checked the schedule; it would be performed that Tuesday night.

  Nathan drove to his father’s house to retrieve Mr. Robinson’s phone number from his father’s Rolodex. He hadn’t seen him in over a year, but he remembered he’d treated him well during a time when most people just felt sorry for him. He’d actually had a conversation with his father’s friend.

  People often assumed Nathan lay awake at night thinking of how much better life would be if his mother were still alive. The truth was, he rarely thought of her. The only time she really entered his mind was when he was forced to think of her when people asked him questions about her. He didn’t know the answers to most of them.

  Jerome had cut off Hilary’s family from their lives shortly after she abandoned them. Hilary’s parents had paid for a lawyer to engage him in a custody battle, which had been uglier than anyone would have liked. Nathan was too young to remember most of this, but Jerome had informed him that his mother’s side of the family were bad people and he had no way of proving his father wrong. After all, he hadn’t received any Christmas or birthday cards from them his whole life. He often grew bothered with his Aunt Cassidy, but she at least cared about him.

  Jerome’s Rolodex was not hard for Nathan to find. He kept it in the top drawer of his office, which was spotless. His father was old-fashioned and his possession of a written Rolodex was indicative of his feelings on technology and class.

  Nathan dialed Mr. Robinson’s cell phone number. He would have preferred not to call him on a Saturday, but he was worried he wouldn’t get tickets on short notice. Having to wait in the line would put a serious cramp on the date. He took the risk that Benjamin wouldn’t mind.

  “Hello, this is Ben Robinson. Who am I speaking to?” said a voice on the other end of the line.

  Nathan paused, thinking about how to introduce himself. “Hi, this is Nathan, Jerome’s son. You probably don’t remember me. We haven’t spoken in a while.”

  “Oh, of course. How are you, Nathan? Everything okay? How’s your father?” He sounded happy to hear from him.

  Nathan felt awkward by the bombardment of questions often asked by people who didn’t really know how to talk to him. Seeing as he needed something from Mr. Robinson, he said, “I’m good, thanks. Everything is fine and my father is doing well, last time I heard. I called to ask you for a favor.”

  He felt a little foolish being so forward with a man he hardly knew, but Mr. Robinson didn’t seem to mind. “Sure. How can I help?”

  “Are you still on the board for Shakespeare on the Park?” He tried to remember where he had procured that bit of information but the specifics were lost on him. Probably at a dinner party.

  Mr. Robinson was just the kind of help he was looking for. “Yes, I am. Fourth year now. Why, do you need some tickets?”

  Nathan was glad he didn’t need to ask him outright. He wondered what Jerome would think of him asking his buddies for favors, and preferred to leave that scenario up to his imagination. “That would be awesome. Yo
u see, I’ve really wanted to see As You Like It, but dealing with the line is really hard if you don’t live in the city and I haven’t been able to commit a whole day to it.”

  This was a theoretical lie as he hadn’t tried. It would be quite complicated as he’d run the risk of promising her something he might not be able to deliver.

  “Not to worry. They don’t make it easy for people living in the suburbs, that’s for sure,” Mr. Robinson said. “What day would you like to see it?”

  Nathan struggled to process his luck. “Tuesday would be great, if that’s okay.” He could do it another day, but he was desperate for more alone time with Jackie. He didn’t want to put himself through a longer waiting period if it wasn’t necessary.

  “Tuesday it is. I’ll leave two tickets in your name at roll call. Enjoy the show.”

  Nathan let out a relieved laugh of excitement. “Oh, thank you so much, sir. I really appreciate it.”

  Mr. Robinson told him not to worry, and wished him a good day. Nathan expected to exchange some pleasantries, but it was the weekend, after all.

  Nathan had the tickets, but he didn’t have Jackie just yet. While he was still in the privacy of his father’s home, he dialed her cell phone number to see if she would accompany him to the play. If she said no, he was going to have to take Mrs. Buchanan. Griffin was not a connoisseur of fine outdoor Shakespearean performances.

  “Hi, Nathan,” Jackie said. He was shocked to hear his name spoken on the other end of the line, but the concept of caller ID was long dated in the age of cell phones. There was no reason to think she wouldn’t know who he was.

  Getting over his initial strange feelings, Nathan said, “Hey, Jackie, how are things?” He hadn’t mastered the art of small talk, even with people his own age.

  “Good, thanks. How are you?” If she was confused as to why he was calling, she didn’t let it show.

  Nathan paused for a minute to think of what to say next. He wanted to find an adequate middle ground between confidence and the unnecessary need to plan every word. “I am great. I called to ask if you’ve got any plans for Tuesday night. I just got tickets to Shakespeare in the Park, and I would love for you to join me.”

  He liked these small spurts of forwardness that he mustered up the courage to put forth when he spoke to Jackie. He put a lot of effort into his every word, but he had the most success when he allowed his inhibitions to take over. She must have liked him partially because he was vastly different from her soon to be ex-husband, but he still needed to act like a man. He didn’t need steroids, but he needed confidence.

  “Oh, that sounds like so much fun,” she said. “I’d love to go. Let me see if Zhanna can babysit. I’ll call you back in a few hours.”

  The date wasn’t certain just yet, but he wasn’t worried that Jackie wouldn’t be able to go out of lack of interest. He hung up the phone with the assurance that he was doing everything right on his end. Little things like babysitters were the cost of dating an older woman with three kids. He needed to remind himself of this when he found himself having feelings of doubt for what he could’ve done otherwise. If Zhanna was unavailable, he could try to get Griffin to babysit, though it wasn’t ideal.

  That night, he went over to Griffin’s house to have dinner and hang out. With all his time dedicated to the pursuit of Jackie, he’d forgotten how nice it was having relatively little concern for the world around him.

  The Rousseaus had ordered pizza from an organic place that specialized in fresh ingredients and minimal grease. Griffin was the only one of the four of them who wasn’t crazy about it. Nathan had put pizza on his ever-growing list of things to learn how to cook.

  The dinner table was quieter than usual. Griffin kept smiling at him, which made Nathan uncomfortable. Finally, Victoria struck up some conversation.

  “Nathan, I hear you’ve been doing some babysitting for the McCarthy family,” she said.

  He glared at Griffin, afraid he’d told his parents about his affair without thinking about how preposterous that idea was. Griffin’s facial expression shifted from a smile to shock as if he was surprised by this revelation.

  “I didn’t say anything,” Griffin affirmed, and Nathan was inclined to believe him. His friend wasn’t a great liar.

  Megan appeared confused by her son’s defensiveness. “Relax, Griffin, that loudmouth Corrine Kalford was blabbing at the club. There’s no hot gossip this time of the year.”

  Nathan was bothered by Mrs. Kalford’s gossiping. He didn’t like to be the center of attention, especially when it was being forced by a woman he didn’t know or like. He shook his head and let out a small grunt to express his annoyance.

  “God, that woman is irritating,” he said. “The McCarthy children are fine. Plus, I don’t have a job so it’s a great situation.” Part of him wanted to tell them about what he’d done with Jackie just to see their reactions, but he was also quite relieved that Griffin had not told them.

  When dinner was over, the two boys went down to the basement to watch a movie. Griffin had picked the last one, but Nathan had not thought to bring anything over. He wanted to bring the version of As You Like It directed by Kenneth Branagh, to prepare for Tuesday, but he knew Griffin would only complain the whole time.

  Griffin was back to smiling. He was definitely up to something. “I’ve selected some movie choices that might be of interest. I picked last movie night, so I’ll let you decide.”

  Nathan knew he was up to something, but decided to indulge rather than instigate. “Okay, what are my options?”

  The smile on Griffin’s face widened as he prepared to reveal what he’d planned. “Oh, I’ve picked out a few real gems. Maybe we should have a marathon.” Before Nathan could object, Griffin continued, “I’ve got Harold and Maude, The Graduate, Rushmore, Manhattan, The Good Girl, Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita, and one that looks a hell of a lot like your situation except for the ending. It’s called In the Bedroom. I also bought the first season of Cougar Town but it stops being about cougars after a few episodes so I wouldn’t pick that one if I were you.”

  Nathan shook his head. “How much time and money did you waste on this stupidity?” Confusion had been replaced by disbelief at his friend’s elaborate prank. “You are a complete idiot.”

  It looked like Griffin had been waiting for this question so he could reveal scheme. “Eh, it wasn’t that complicated, my friend. My parents had Harold and Maude already, and I got a few at Best Buy and the rest off Amazon. Their shipping sure was fast or else I would have held off until next week. DVDs aren’t as expensive as they used to be, and it was well worth the look on your face.”

  Nathan laughed. He couldn’t be mad at an over-the-top joke. While he could be mad that adults that he didn’t know like Mrs. Kalford were talking about him, his best friend was another story. Plus, if he was going to try to continue what he had with Jackie, he knew he needed to learn to deflect things like this.

  Seeing that the joke was over, Griffin added, “Or we could go for a walk, smoke a joint, and watch some nature documentaries.”

  That seemed like a much better idea.

  Chapter 19

  Tuesday rolled around rather quickly. Nathan had tried not to think too much about Jackie in the days that passed, but this little thing he had with her was new territory with no real comparisons. Reasons that led him to overanalyze more than he would have liked.

  When Nathan dated Sarah, she would text him nonstop. Jackie grew up in a time before cell phones and did not share the addiction. This newfound distance that existed between the two was refreshing, but it left Nathan in a state of constant uncertainty about how she was feeling at whatever point in time he was thinking about her.

  He often thought about texting her, but he exercised restraint. This gesture could potentially remind her of the way that constant communication was perceived differently. It was also unlikely that the two could actually have a conversation via text unless it was late at night. Otherwise, her chi
ldren would likely feel suspicious.

  He did get a text from her the day before saying she was all set with the babysitter and that she was looking forward to the evening. This had created a rather unpleasant Sunday; Nathan constantly checked to see if Jackie had tried to reach out to him. He even ditched a library visit so he could go to the club, hoping to run into her.

  This distance did have its perks. Nathan could go about his business without needing to involve Jackie in every waking moment of his life from a remote location as Sarah often demanded. This would serve beneficial to him if things took a turn for the worse, though he worried it could also prevent him from getting to know her better. He disliked the fact that they really couldn’t just meet for a cup of coffee within the confines of the Roxburgh borders.

  Nathan wore a jacket with no tie to meet Jackie at the train station. His father always stressed the importance of dressing nicely when you went to the theater, but this was outdoors and he didn’t want to roast in the June heat. He wore just a little cologne from a bottle he’d stolen from his father’s house.

  He told his aunt that he was going out to dinner with the Rousseaus and that he might be spending the night there. This gave him the option to take Jackie back to his father’s house if that was where the night was headed, but it didn’t require him to stay. He had not enjoyed his night alone there.

  Jackie arrived at the train station a little after Nathan. She wore a pink skirt with a blue blouse, which made her look a bit like cotton candy but Nathan thought it was cute. She wore low heels that looked comfortable enough to go trudging around outside in. She appeared younger than she had before.

  She waved from a distance with a glowing smile as she walked up to him. The little things like this were what made Nathan so crazy about spending time with her. Jackie was a free spirit.

  She was not, however, very punctual. The train was arriving just as she got to the platform, which made their greeting quite brief. Nathan could barely muster a simple “hey” before it was time to board the train.