Walking Backwards - Episode 4
Drew takes VP Words on the road, meets Ann on her own turf, catches Rick up on things and has a surprise visit from Jack Blessing.
Welcome to the fourth episode of Walking Backwards, the third collection of not quite true tales of Texas. Previous collections are:
The Cold Days of Summer - If you are new to these tales and the type who likes to know how things started I would recommend starting here.
The Hollow Men - the second collection of not quite true tales of Texas.
New episodes are posted every Sunday. You can move easily between episodes via links to the previous and next episode.
If you are new to these not quite true tales of Texas but are the type who likes to dive right in I suggest you look at the prologue to Walking Backwards. The prologue provides a summary of the first two collections and descriptions of the major characters you will be reading about in Walking backwards.
Last week in Episode 3 of Walking Backwards a friend from the past invites Drew to Houston where Drew meets someone new.
On the road
The week after my trip to Houston I called on potential clients as I didn't have any real work lined up until the week of February 16th. The calls were a good use of my time because by Friday I had lined up enough work to keep me decently busy through March.
Throughout February I talked to Ann at least once a week. She kept the calls short because she was worried about my long distance bill but I did succeed in lining up a date the next time I was in Houston, which according to my other calls to the land of the 713 area code was going to be the last weekend of March. Jason had more night clubs and golf courses for us to visit. Once I knew Jason's plans I set things up with Ann. We decided we would spend a few hours at her apartment the night of Thursday, March 26th. After that I would spend the night at a hotel and meet up with Jason Friday afternoon at his apartment.
I arrived on time at Ann's apartment and knocked on her door. I heard a bark from inside and Ann opened the door, but she looked different, a lot different.
“Ann?”
She looked at me, then back inside at someone or something.
“You're Drew?”
“Yes, but you're not Ann.”
“No, I'm not. I'm her cousin Becky. Come on in.”
I did and I now saw what Becky was looking at, it was Ann.
“Hello, Ann. Was this a test? To see if I knew what you looked like?”
“Yes, it was. You passed. This is my cousin Becky, she came into town this afternoon and is spending the night. Take a seat. Can I get you something to drink? I've got some Coors.”
I sat in a rocking chair and said “Yeah, a Coors would be fine.”
A gray hair terrier with a well trimmed beard ran out of the bedroom, across the living room and into my lap.
“Buster! Get down from there.”
Buster had no intention of getting down.
“That's all right. I like dogs. In fact, I like dogs better than most people.”
“How about me?” questioned Ann.
“Don't know yet. Depends a lot on Buster.”
I don't know if Becky the chaperone was planned or not, but there it was. The three of us talked for a few hours about work, music and interestingly enough, literature. Becky was an avid reader of English literature and Ann was checking out from the Katy High School library the books she was supposed to have read when she was in high school. When Becky learned I had a graduate degree in literature the conversation got a little deep. She was surprised that someone who drank five beers could talk in depth about the symbolism and meaning of Dickens and Fitzgerald. What won Becky over was when I told her that my favorite Fitzgerald books were The Crack-up followed by The Beautiful and Damned. I think that won me a few points in Ann's favor.
Around 10:00 we called it a night. Ann and Buster walked me out to my truck.
This was the first time Ann had seen my truck. “Where did you get this? My father had a truck like this when I was in high school.”
“It was my Dad's and it became mine when I got my driver's license. It's a good truck, runs well, not that hard to maintain. Haven't had a reason to get anything else.”
“I like it.”
“How about me?”
“Maybe. Depends on Buster.”
I kneeled down to Buster.
“So what do you say, little man, do I pass your test?” I scratched him between his shoulder blades as his tail swished happily.
Ann spoke for Buster and perhaps for herself when she said “I think you passed.”
That was good enough for me.
I stayed more in control that weekend. Jason and I went to several night clubs and we played golf Saturday at Hermann Park and Sunday at what was the old Houston Country Club, now the Gus Wortham municipal course. That was three nice, playable, well designed public golf courses. They were all a little worn, but you could see the heart of the original designs.
While we played Jason asked about Ann and I told him what I knew and felt.
“Sounds like you will be spending more time in the Houston area.”
“Yeah, I hope so. Next time I may try to get some meetings set up and line up some work down here. Give me an excuse other than seeing Ann or you to come to Houston.”
Jason smiled and said “I'll see what I can dig up at EPRco.” That was the short hand name by Exxon’rs for Exxon Production Research Company and is where Jason worked since graduating from the University of Texas. “With as much training we put together for the rest of Exxon I bet we could use someone with a good editing eye on the materials, particularly someone with experience in the oil industry.”
That sounded good to me. The next week I had three days of paid work lined up. The rest of my work time I researched writing and editing opportunities in the Houston area. While there wasn't much work for full time technical writers and editors, the oil bust had cooled the economy down, there did look to be a good amount of short term work to be had.
In April the education department at Exxon Production Research Company called me and wanted to talk about what kind of work I could do for them. I suggested I come down for a couple of days to meet with them and look over their materials. They were hesitant until I told them that my expenses would be on me, that no matter what happened, if I did business with them or not, the trip would be a business expense I could write off against my revenues. Since it was a no risk deal for them, they agreed to my visiting them the last week of April for two days.
I called Jason and told him of my upcoming trip. He insisted I stay with him while I was there. He also said he would let some other folks at Exxon Production Research Company know I would be in town, just to see if I could get more work lined up. I also called Ann, told her I would be in town for a few days and asked if we could meet for dinner either Friday or Saturday night. She suggested we get together for lunch on Saturday and if Jason was available she would make sure Mandy was there as well. Not exactly what I had hoped for, but I wanted to see Ann.
I was in plenty of meetings for the two days I was there. Thursday we began at 7:30 in the morning and ended at 4:15 pm with lunch being just another business meeting. Friday was a little easier paced as Jason and I had lunch in the EPRco (sheesh, I was picking up the local Exxon lingo) cafeteria. Friday afternoon was focused on contract and intellectual property details. As the last meeting ended, this one was with the law group, it looked very promising, promising enough that I was told there was a very good chance they would have contracts ready for my review the next week.
Saturday Jason and I drove separately to lunch as my plan was to drive back to Austin immediately after lunch. The four of us met at the Mason Jar off of I-10. I hadn't seen Mandy since that night at Desperados and I did see why Jason was interested in her. She was very cute, but I knew I was the lucky one when Ann and Mandy walked in. We all had a good time and made plans to get together again the next time I was in town.
The drive back to Austin was uneventful. Monday I was working from home completing a first draft of software manuals for the start up firm I had worked for earlier in the year. Around 10:00 that morning I was in my office, deep into writing, when Sam woke from her nap, lifted her head, stood up and walked to the front door. Just then the door bell rang. I saved my files, walked to the door, looked out the front room window and saw Jack Blessing standing on the porch.
I opened the door and let him in.
“Jack, good to see you. What's up? Not working today?” As soon as I said that I remembered that Jack had most Monday's off as he worked every Sunday as an assistant manager at one of the larger HEB grocery stores in town.
“Nah, got the day off. How are you doing?”
“Good, good. Just got back from Houston, visiting Jason and hopefully lining up some writing work there.”
“Looks like you're no longer one of the unemployed.”
“Yeah, Rick convinced me to try contract writing, sort of like being a hot shot driver, but instead of short haul deliveries, I short haul write and edit. There's not much work for full time writers, but there is plenty of work for someone who's willing to take short term contracts. Right now I can work 3-5 days a week and should be able to keep that up with the work I'm lining up in Austin and Houston. I'm not going to get rich, but I'm covering my expenses.”
Jack nodded, seemed to be mulling something over, but wasn't ready to talk about it so he directed the conversation back to me.
“Why are you looking for work in Houston?”
“Well, there is work there and I don't want to place all of my bets on Austin. Also, there's someone I met there that I wouldn't mind getting to know better.”
“Spill it.” Jack was a man of few words and used just enough words to get his point across.
I did spill it. I told him about Ann.
“Hmm, sounds serious... for you.”
Then the conversation paused. I broke the ice.
“Jack, what's up? You're not the type to just drop by, you never have. You've got something going on. What is it?”
Jack, when he got around to it, rarely wasted time. The problem was that sometimes it took him awhile to get around to it. Witness our conversation so far this morning. But Jack had gotten around to it and wasn't wasting any more time.
“I proposed to Shannon Saturday. She accepted. We're getting married, probably in December.”
“Damn, damn. I did not see that coming. Damn, that deserves a drink, no, hell, a lot of drinks. I've got plenty of Coors in the refrigerator, we can start right now.”
“Shit, Drew, it's ten in the morning. That's a little early, don't you think? Anyway, aren't you working?”
“No, I don't think it is too early, not for this kind of event. Jack Blessing is engaged! And no, I'm not working any more today. My files are saved and I am officially done for the day.”
I hopped off the couch and walked into the kitchen. In less than a minute I was back with two cold Coors and a flip chip for Sam. Sam happily accepted the flip chip, Jack hesitantly accepted the beer.
“Come on, Jack, you came over to my house to tell me you are engaged. You knew drinking would come as a result, you can't deny that.”
“Yeah, you're right. Shannon asked me this morning what I was going to do. I told her I was going to see you. She still hasn't figured you out. When she first met you, you were on your abstinence kick, but she had heard all of the stories, then you come back from the reunion and you're drinking again.”
“That's how I like it, always like to keep people guessing.”
“You've got her guessing. On one hand, she liked that you would be one of the first to hear about this. On the other hand she did ask how much I planned to drink today.”
“You know my theory. It isn't the amount you drink that hurts you, it is how fast you drink it. We'll start early and pace ourselves.”
We paced ourselves, Jack at a slower pace than me. I got all of the details from Jack I could. We met Shannon for lunch. I was on my best behavior. After lunch Jack and I drank some more. It was a good day.
It wasn't the next week I heard from Exxon Production Research Company, it was the week after. Four different departments had work for me starting in June. Once I read through all of the contract paperwork I saw I would be spending at least week a month in Houston for the next several months.
The second week of May, Ann called to ask if I had plans for Memorial weekend. I didn't, but even if I did I would have told her I didn't. Several of her friends were renting a beach house in Surfside for the weekend and she invited me and Sam to join them. I said yes, probably a little too eagerly, but I didn't care. The beach, Memorial weekend, Ann, Buster, Sam and me. It sounded great.
The Thursday afternoon before the Memorial weekend, Sam and I packed for our trip to the beach. Ann's and my plan was that I would drive to Freeport Friday afternoon and meet at her mother's house and from there the four of us (Ann, Buster, Sam and me) would drive to Surfside in my truck. Sam and I looked over the map Thursday evening and we decided to take the back roads all the way to Freeport, through Columbus, Eagle Lake to West Columbia and finally to Freeport.
The drive to Freeport was good. Sam and I arrived a little before 5:00 pm at our destination. Buster was the first to greet us, barking at us through the screen door. Sam and he had not yet met and you never know how dogs take to meeting other dogs on their own territory. I assumed Buster thought that Ann's mother's house was his territory. I walked Sam to the gate and with her went into the backyard. Ann opened up the back door and Buster charged out. Ann was close behind.
Sam was a couple of heads taller than Buster and probably weighed twice as much. Sam weighed a little over 30 pounds and I guessed that Buster came in at 15-20 pounds. The two of them sniffed each other, Buster growled, Sam's hair on her back rose and I stepped in between the two of them. Then Sam made a decision and laid down on the grass. Now she was eye to eye to Buster. They stared at each other, waiting for the other to break contact when Sam licked Buster on the noise. He jumped back, shook his head and walked up to her. Sam licked Buster again. He didn't jump back this time but dropped down into the international play poise, head down, rear up. Sam barked, Buster barked and they started chasing and playing with each other around the yard. They went at it for a full 15 minutes before they both lay on the ground panting. Introductions were over, each accepted the other and Buster invited Sam into the house. Ann invited me into the house.
I met Mrs. Torrance, Ann's mother, a nice woman. We had polite small talk while Ann finished her packing. Sam walked over to Mrs. Torrance and smiled and that sealed the deal. Sam was accepted, and since I was with Sam, I was accepted.
A few minutes later Ann and Buster were ready to leave, each with a bag of things to take to the beach. Mrs. Torrance had prepared a lasagna casserole and stuffed bell peppers. They both smelled delicious and I told Mrs. Torrance so. That was worth another point or two for me.
I had brought two large coolers with me. We put the lasagna and stuffed bell peppers in one along with crackers, chips, cheeses, bread, two dozen eggs and bacon. We used the other cooler to hold the dog's supplies. Our bags and the coolers were tied down in the truck bed and the four us climbed into the cab of my pickup. Sam sat next to me, Buster sat next to Sam and Ann sat next to him.
It was a short drive to the beach house and several of Ann's friends were already there. We unloaded the truck and I rode with Larry, who was married to Ann's best friend Stephanie, to a nearby liquor store. We loaded up on beer, wine, some spirits and a lot of ice.
It was a long, good weekend. I learned that Freeport people enjoyed their drink. I also learned that for some reason the sun at the beach is far more harsh than the sun in West Texas as I was badly burned by the end of the weekend. Sam and Buster had as much fun as anyone on the beach. Sam still loved to bark at the incoming waves. Sunday over 50 people showed up for a long day of barbecuing and drinking. Monday afternoon I drove the four of us back to Ann's mother's house in Freeport where Sam and I took our leave and left for Austin with the promise that Ann and Buster would come visit Sam and I in Austin in late June, after school was out for the summer and during one of the weeks when work was slow enough to mostly ignore.
It was a great way to start the summer.
I saw Ann at least twice a month that summer. Definitely every time I was in Houston working for Exxon Production Research Company. Twice more Sam and I came down to Freeport to visit her and her mom. Twice Ann and Buster visited Sam and I in Austin.
I asked Ann if she wanted to come to Odessa with me at the end of July. It had been awhile since I had been back and it was looking like this would be the last time for the next couple of months I would be able to break away for a few days. Ann showed no interest in Odessa, particularly after I told her about the sandhills. “A beach with no water doesn't sound like much fun.” She was right, a beach with water was a lot more fun.
I checked in on both Rick and Mark while I was in Odessa. Rick was doing fine and while Mark was working in Midland he also seemed to be rather liquid. He acted as if he didn't miss Austin. I couldn't tell if he did or didn't, but he honestly didn't seem to be all that happy in Odessa.
J.T. and Sue were now the proud and happy parents of little James Madison Billings. I visited with them a couple of hours while I was in town. James looked to be a handful, crawling and curious about anything and everything, but I had never seen three happier people.
Mom, Elizabeth, Bud and the twins were doing well and so was Brutus. Sam came to town with me and made sure Brutus was staying in line.
The summer of '87 was a good summer. It had been a good year for me, Sam, VP Words and now that Ann was in my life I was looking forward to the future. My only concern was to not lose track of what was really important and I knew I had a difficult, life changing decision on the horizon.
Next week in episode 5 of Walking Backwards Drew questions everything he knows, is surprised by Ann, Jack Blessing gets married, and Drew quits watching life from the sidelines.