Then another plane crashed into the Pentagon while another went down in the fields in Pennsylvania.
Jerrick walked around the campus in deep thought.
Attack impacted the whole campus. Women walked around with tears in their eyes while the men were in a state of shock. Occasionally, an angry fist shot up in the air as the men vented their rage.
Jerrick noticed the price at the gas stations, had jumped to $5.75 per gallon. Terrorist didn’t attack the refineries were, but the gas-station owners profited from a country’s misfortune.
Several months after the terrorists had attacked America, President Bush sent troops to Afghanistan as the U.S. military chased the terrorists, and President Bush passed the Patriot Act, expanding the surveillance powers of the federal government, limiting our civil rights.
Although President Bush carried himself brilliantly with Afghanistan, Jerrick thought the President faced a special occasion. A dictator utilized an unfortunate event to seize the moment and grab all the reins of power. Dictators have used less traumatic events to seize power, imposing their will on the people.
President Bush never grabbed the reins of power. Instead, he tarnished his reputation from opening another front in Iraq. The President threw soldiers and resources at the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with little afterthought. Then the 2008 Financial Crisis struck the U.S. economy hard, marking the official beginning of America’s Second Great Depression.
***
After a long, lonely Christmas of reading books, Jerrick’s last semester of college had arrived.
Jerrick entered a small classroom and sat at the front of a long, large table in the center of the room. Lengthy table followed the walls, and students had about two feet of clearance to squeeze in and sit in their chairs. Classroom had no windows, appearing as a storage closet converted into a classroom.
Class was History of Economic Thought.
Then she sat on the other side of the table in the front too. Her name was Lidya.
Lidya had long, wavy blonde hair, a thin face with kind blue eyes. She didn’t wear any makeup. Her beauty was 100% natural. At least, she wouldn’t give any men any rude surprises in the morning, like a guy bedded down with a gorgeous woman at night, and awakened to a nasty, sea hag in the morning as her makeup smeared over her face and pillow.
Lidya was not drop-dead gorgeous, but on a scale from one to 10, she was a strong eight. She was smart too and dated intelligent men. Women valued intelligence more than brawn and rugged good looks in Russia.
Lidya started the conversation. She asked with a slight Russian accent, “Is this History of Economic Thought,”
“Yes, and it’ll be a small class.”
Jerrick looked around at the empty chairs and continued, “No more than 10 students will attend this class.”
Jerrick looked at Lidya, being friendly, normal. He hid his desire to rip her clothes off and make love to her on that table. He played it cool and blurted, “Where are you from? Well, I mean, I can hear a slight accent. So, I know you are not from around these parts.”
Jerrick felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead while his armpits become damp. He tried not to sound desperate.
Women possess a sixth sense, smelling desperation in a guy’s sweat like cologne and avoiding him like the plague.
“I’m from Moscow, Russia.”
“Russia! You’re a long way from home. What brings you here?”
“I wanted to study in America.”
“Wow, what brings you up here, to the back woods of Michigan?”
“When I was a little girl, I saw pictures of Michigan with its beautiful lakes and forests. I also saw a picture of Lake Superior; the water was so blue and clean looking.”
“You’re right, Lake Superior is one of the cleanest and bluest lakes I have ever seen, but you cannot swim in it. It’s way too cold, even on the hottest summer day.”
“I know. I already tried. I made it to my knees, and then I quickly ran out, shivering.”
“Why did you take this class?”
“I thought this class would be an easy A. I grew up under the Soviet Union, and this class spends about five weeks on communism.”
“Ahh; I see.”
“How do you like Upper Michigan?”
Lidya frowned a little and added politely, “Let’s say; it’s been interesting.”
Jerrick detected her dislike for Upper Michigan, an outcast just like him.
Jerrick rubbed his sweaty right hand on his jeans, mopping up the extra moisture. Then he extended his hand across the table for a handshake.
Lidya grabbed his hand lightly, shaking it.
“My name is Jerrick, Jerrick Ray Davis.”
“My name is Lidya Karokina.”
Jerrick withdrew his hand and scanned the room. He noticed five more students sat down while he talked to Lidya. He saw one male student giving him a sly smile.
That smile said it all. You’re the man! Congrats!
Then the professor walked in.
Jerrick glanced at Lidya and saw Lidya smiling at him.
Then Jerrick smiled. With both hands under the table, he used his right hand to pinch himself on his right leg, ensuring he was not daydreaming again. Sometimes his daydreams were intense, but he had never dreamt up a completely imaginary woman before or at least with her clothes on.
Jerrick began arriving early to his class, the History of Economic Thought, and like clockwork, Lidya always sat there.
This became Jerrick’s favorite class because Lidya and he always shared a pleasant conversation.
After three weeks, Jerrick broke the ice, playing it cool and asked, “Lidya, we have a quiz for the next lecture. Are you ready for it?”
“I studied a little for it. How about you?”
“I don’t think it’ll be too difficult. Perhaps we should study together. We could meet at the library?”
“I think that’s a good idea, but I don’t like the library. I listen to classical music when I study. Why don’t you stop by my dorm room?”
“Okay; that sounds great.”
Jerrick glanced across at Lidya and saw she dabbed a little makeup, more than usual. Her blonde hair was long and straight. A few strands of hair found their way to the front, but most of her hair draped along her back, looking quite delectable.
Thank god, a large table separated them because Jerrick felt a warm sensation in his crotch area as his little monster was awakening.
Playing it cool, Jerrick asked, “Which dorm do you stay in?”
Lidya tore a blank page from the back of her notebook, writing both her phone and dorm room numbers. Then she folded the paper and pushed it across the table to Jerrick.
Jerrick slid the paper towards him, opening it a little, peeking inside. Then he folded the paper and shoved it into his front jeans pocket.
“Cool, I’ll be in touch,” Jerrick said nonchalantly, like an expert player as if he had received hundreds of phone numbers from women.
Then the professor walked in, standing in front of the class. He pulled out his lecture notes and started writing on the blackboard.
Jerrick glanced across the table at Lidya.
Both Lidya and Jerrick exchanged beaming smiles.
Thank god, the table’s surface hid his crotch area. Little monster became so large; it wanted to rip a hole through his jeans.
That night, Jerrick sat in his dorm room, holding the paper with Lidya’s phone number and address in front of him. He studied it like a treasure map.
Jerrick wanted to pick up the phone and call her but knew that was not proper etiquette.
Larry always said you wait two or three days to call after getting a girl’s phone number. If you call her within a day, then she may think you’re desperate. Larry said the secret was to make a woman want you and not vice versa. It was difficult to do, but if you accomplished that, then you can wrap her around your little pinky like a love slave.
Then Jerrick grabbed his notebook and textbook and headed to Lidya’s dorm room.
He arrived at her door within several minutes.
Jerrick’s heart began racing while he broke out in a cold sweat as perspiration cooled his skin.
Jerrick reached out to knock on the door but hesitated. Then he withdrew his hand and almost turned to walk away.
“Oh Jerrick, you came to study,” Lidya said as she walked out of the women’s bathroom, seeing him at her door.
“Oh yeah; I thought we could study together. Quiz is tomorrow.”
“Great,” Lidya said, and she walked to her room door and opened it.
Lidya gestured for Jerrick to enter.
Jerrick noticed Lidya wore a long, yellow t-shirt, and short, skimpy pink shorts, granting a nice view of her slender, light creamy legs. She pulled her hair into a ponytail.
Jerrick positioned his notebook and textbook over his crotch area. He didn’t want Lidya to see any unexpected bulges.
Jerrick walked into her dorm room and noticed Lidya had few possessions. He saw books, makeup, and a small radio on her desk, a bed, and clothes hanging in the closet.
Jerrick noticed a bare bed and asked, “Lidya; do you have a roommate?”
“Yes, I have the room to myself. I grew tired of messy roommates and their problems. I pay extra for a single room.”
Walking in, Jerrick noticed a picture on the desk. He picked up the picture and saw a dark, middle-age man standing with a blonde woman. Middle-aged, blonde woman was still attractive.
Lidya closed the door and noticed Jerrick holding the picture, “They’re my parents.”
“Your dad is dark. He looks middle eastern.”
“No, my dad is Georgian, and my mother is Russian.”
“Really; that’s interesting. You definitely take after your mother. You’re beautiful like her.”
Lidya’s face reddened, blushing a little.
Jerrick realized he broke Larry’s Rule Number 2. Under no circumstances do you ever compliment a woman, ever! Jerrick thought to hell with Larry because he’s not here right now.
Jerrick sat at the desk while Lidya sat on the edge of the bed.
“Do you know how they met?” Lidya inquired mysteriously.
“Okay, I’m game. How did they meet?”
“My mom worked as a school teacher in Georgia, in the Caucasus mountains. The Soviet Union required teachers to start their careers in rural villages to fulfill the needs and duties of the state. My father worked as a manager in that district’s provincial government. My dad fell in love with her on first sight.”
“Then they dated, fell in love, and got married.”
“Not quite. In Georgia and Central Asia, men must pay a dowry to the wife’s parents.”
“A dowry? What’s that?”
“Families want sons to carry on the family name. Daughters do not. Daughters move away and start new families, so parents want to be compensated for raising someone else’s wife.”
“Interesting, so your dad paid a dowry?”
“No! It’s a long tradition to kidnap a girl to avoid paying a dowry.”
“Your dad kidnapped your mother? Wow! Couldn’t she run away and go to the police?”
“No, she lived in rural Georgia, and my dad joined the communist party. My mother could do nothing, except marry him.”
“That’s interesting. I don’t know what to say. I have never heard of that tradition, especially in this century.”
Jerrick opened his textbook, placing it on her desk. Then he turned to Lidya and asked, “Okay, are you ready to study for tomorrow’s quiz, or do you have more interesting stories?”
Jerrick thought, good thing we don’t have that tradition of kidnapping wives. No way in hell, Lidya would leave Michigan single.
Lidya reached over and turned on the radio as Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture filled the room.
Jerrick looked at Lidya, and she crossed her legs. He glanced down at her legs, looking so soft, silky, inviting. He scooted the chair closer to her.
“Are you ready to study?”
She looked at him with strange, dreamy eyes.
Jerrick recollected something Larry said a long time ago. Once a month, women go into heat. At that point, they want sex. Larry stated the window of opportunity is small, but if you face it, go ahead. That opportunity may never surface again.
Jerrick took a risk as he reached out to her. He caressed her ear and neck with his right hand. She felt so smooth.
Lidya closed her eyes.
Then Jerrick scooted closer. He used his right hand to turn her face gently in his direction, moving in for the kiss.
She kissed him.
After several minutes of kissing, Jerrick reached into her t-shirt. His hand became a fighter pilot flying into enemy territory, anticipating the shoot down, but it never came.
Jerrick felt her breasts while her nipples stiffened. Then he reached down into her honey pot.
Lidya uncrossed her legs and lay back on the bed.
Jerrick gently slid her shorts and panties off. Then he turned off the light, undressing himself.
Jerrick mounted her and made hot passionate love to her as Tchaikovsky played silently in the background, rising to a crescendo of victory.
Jerrick wished Larry and Tommy could see this. They would be proud of him. His first lover was a high-quality specimen. Not those hood rats they always picked up at the pool hall.
Jerrick made love to Lidya several times.
Then Jerrick fell asleep with Lidya in his arms.
In the morning, after they had awakened, he studied Lidya.
Damn, she still looked good, even with her hair being disheveled from the sleep.
Jerrick mounted her again and made love to her.
Then he lay back, feeling his little monster itch. Little monster was happy, eating a high-quality steak dinner.
Lidya kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, “Sludky.”
Jerrick asked jokingly, “Excuse me? You’re not insinuating anything, are you?”
Lidya giggled then stated, “No, sludky means ‘sweet’ in Russian.”
“Oh!” Jerrick said. He would adjust to ‘sludky.' Of course, he could get used to the word 'slut,' since it sounded so similar.
Lidya became Jerrick’s first girlfriend.
Jerrick studied hard in the library until the clock struck eight. Then he would meet Lidya at his or her dorm room.
They were rabbits, making love three times a day, twice at night and once in the morning.
Larry said the window of opportunity was narrow for a woman in heat, but Lidya’s window became stuck open. Jerrick was very happy. He would chase Lidya half way around the world if he had to.
One night, finishing making love to Lidya, Jerrick began probing, “Lidya, why did you fall for me? I mean you are pretty cute. You can have any guy on this campus. Why did you choose me?”
Lidya giggled, relaxing her head on her fluffy pillow, staring at Jerrick. Then she blurted, “You’re different than the other guys. In Russia, women love men who have potential. Men who plan to accomplish something in life.”
A smile crept across Jerrick’s face because he loved beautiful women complimenting him.
“Ah, I see. Looks are not important, but brains and potential are.”
“Looks also count,” Lidya said, rolling over, wrapping herself around Jerrick. Then she tucked her head between his arm and chest.
“I really don’t like people with that stupid Yupper accent. They say AYE at the end of every sentence. It sounds so unintelligent.”
“I agree with you because I don’t like it either. They are saying the punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. Sun is shining-period. How are you doing, question-mark.”
/> Lidya whispered, “Jerrick, I must return to Russia at the end of May.”
“May, why?”
“I will graduate, and my visa expires.”
Jerrick glanced over at Lidya, feeling a small ping in his heart. May would be a bad month, indeed, when she had left while he remained stranded in Upper Michigan.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Not really. I miss my parents, and I miss Moscow. I have lived here for four, a very long four years.”
After several minutes of silence, Lidya whispered, “You can come with me if you like.”
That statement bitch slapped him across the face. How can I leave Michigan, leave the United States? Focusing on Lidya’s slim figure, Jerrick thought it was a good idea.
After several minutes in thought, Jerrick retorted, “Okay.”
Then Jerrick fell asleep with Lidya in his arms. He would travel to Moscow, Russia, leaving Michigan behind.
Next day, Jerrick called his mom from his dorm room.
Jerrick and Lidya sat on the bed. Lidya wanted to be with him when he dropped the bombshell of Russia.
After several rings, his mom answered with a tired voice, “Hello.”
“Hello, mom.”
“Jerrick, how are you? Are you okay?”
“Yes mom. Everything is fine. I met a girl, and her name is Lidya.”
“That’s great son. She has an unusual name. Which part of Michigan is she from?”
“Mom, she’s not from Michigan. She’s from Russia.”
“Russia? Another country? Why can’t you meet a nice Michigan girl?”
“Mom, stop it. Michigan women aren’t interested in me. I called because Lidya must return home and she wants me to go with her.”
“You mean over there?”
“Yes mom.”
A long pause accentuated the static on the phone.
Then Jerrick said, “Mom. Mom, are you still there?”
“Yes, but it’s so far away from home.”
Jerrick heard the tension in her voice as a foreign woman was abducting her son.
“I know mom, but I want to go with her.”
“Do you love her?”
“I think so? I wanted to ask because I must get a passport and a plane ticket. It will cost about a $1,000.”
“Jerrick, I must speak with your dad. Will you graduate?”
“Yes, mom, graduation is on Saturday, May 18.”
“Bye mom.”
The Second American Revolution - The Building of an Empire Page 6
