Chapter 94

Thursday, July 26

The big thing going on today, as far as I was concerned, was the local NFL team would hold its first workout at training camp. Which was a good thing because the baseball team entered the day at 19 games under .500, having lost 15 of the last 19. The bastards hadn’t won consecutive games since ending June by winning three in a row.

By comparison, my life was nothing to complain about.

The kitchen was its usual state of madness as four people tried to rush through on the way to starting the day. Kacie seemed to be wound just a little bit tighter as the big day drew nearer. Mom seemed to be holding up well under the strain. Dad, not so much. His little girl was gearing up to take her driving test and there wasn’t much he could do about it.

I did my best to avoid the drama, getting my pineapple juice and hoofing it to the driving range. About half the crew was already there when I arrived and we went through our routine quickly enough that I could shower, dress and grab a breakfast burrito before starting work.

Chuck, David and Lloyd sorted the delivery while I made the rounds collecting requests. Once again, there were more requests in feminine handwriting for condoms. It looked like someone was going to have a busy weekend.

Chuck again did the honors in making the run to the drug store. I wish I could tag along just once to see what the reaction was when he made such purchases. Based on how many boxes he’d bought in the last two months, you’d think he was going two or three times every night.

The morning started rather slow, but business picked up as the lunch crowd showed up. Things just continued to build from there and I was more than ready to hand things off when the afternoon crew came on at 2 p.m.

Our morning foursome again got our lifting in immediately after clocking out. I went home and showered there, dressing in Bermuda shorts, a polo and deck shoes before heading back to the mall and to complete my shopping for Kacie’s birthday present. I grabbed a golf cap with the Prairie Star CC logo just in case I needed some kind of disguise at Victoria’s Secret.

It again took me a few attempts to work up the courage to enter the store, but I went straight to the checkout counter and waited for Cassie to finish with the lady she was serving. I received only a mildly curious look from the customer as she departed. Cassie recognized me — from my Tuesday visit, not from the placard — as I stepped up to the counter.

“So, you made it back,” she said. “Did you make a decision?”

“I think $200 will be enough,” I said. “That should let her get more than one item.”

Cassie accepted my card and prepared to ring me up.

“Now, what was the occasion?” she asked. “Birthday? Anniversary?”

“Her Sweet 16,” I said. “This will be given in private where her parents can’t see.”

“Might I suggest you put it in a little card holder or coin purse?” she said, proving she was a saleswoman to the end. “We’ve got a pretty wide range with several selections under $30.”

I let her show me a few, trying hard not to stare at her cleavage as she bent to open a display case. I settled on what was called a touch-up pouch for $20. It would be perfect for carrying the atomizer and a few other items and could double as a coin purse.

Cassie hit it with the scan gun, slipped the giftcard inside and finished processing the transaction. She handed me my card and receipt, then put the items in a little bag that would be acceptable to use as a gift bag as one of her associates walked up to the register.

I thanked her and put my shades on as I collected everything. I’d taken just a couple of steps toward the door when I heard Cassie’s coworker try to whisper and not quite succeed.

“I’m tellin’ ya, that’s him!”

I resisted the urge to run for it, maintaining as calm a pace as I could as I walked out the store while they argued if I was or wasn’t. I still felt like a perv walking through the mall with a pink Victoria’s Secret bag in my hand.

After swinging by the apartment to stash it with Kacie’s other gift, it was past 4:30 when I got home. I got another load of laundry started and began preparing things for dinner. By which I mean I got some burgers out for the George Foreman grill. A man’s gotta know his limitations.

I checked the laundry, moving the load to the dryer before anyone else got home. Things worked out perfectly as Mom and Kacie came in just a few minutes before the dryer buzzed. My sister folded my clothes, securing my promise of another driving lesson, while Mom got all the fixings ready for the burgers.

Kacie pretty much inhaled her dinner and badgered me until I was ready to go. I made sure she had her learner’s permit with her and we again went to the industrial park, where Kacie showed she was getting the hang of shifting gears. She worked the clutch much more smoothly as she circled around the truck parking area, so I let her pull out onto the long road that ran down one side of the complex.

Since we still had more than an hour of daylight, I let her take the surface roads until we were far enough out that there wasn’t much traffic on the highway. She waited until there was a big opening — whatever traffic was coming this direction must have been caught at the last stoplight on the edge of town — and slowly pulled out onto the four-lane. In no time at all, she worked her way through the gears and got up to 60 mph.

After a couple of miles, I had her pull off to the side and do it again once traffic cleared. We repeated the process several times until I had her turn around and head back.

It was starting to get dark just as we were entering a built-up area, so I had her pull into some business’ parking lot and swapped places for the ride home.

“You’re right,” she said as we readjusted seats and mirrors. “This is fun to drive. Once I got coordinated with the clutch and the gear shift, it got a lot easier.”

I made sure we were all buckled in, waited for the traffic to ease up and pulled back onto the highway. I was just shifting into fourth gear, doing maybe 35 mph, when the world turned all red and blue.

“Shit,” I said as I pulled over to the shoulder, “where’d he come from?”

I killed the engine, set the parking brake and put my hands back on the steering wheel as the state trooper took his time getting up to my door.

“Good evening, sir,” he said, shining his flashlight on me. “May I see your license and proof of insurance, please?”

I pulled out my wallet and extracted the license, then unfastened the seatbelt so I could reach across to the glovebox to get the insurance card. The trooper followed my actions with his flashlight, shining it right on the box of condoms when I opened the glovebox.

“Do the young lady’s parents know she’s out with you?” he asked, keeping the beam square on the box.

“Yes, sir,” I replied. “I was teaching her how to drive a standard. She’s testing for her license next week. This was the first time I let her get out on the highway.”

This prompted the trooper to ask Kacie if she had any identification and she produced her learner’s permit. I was curious why his flashlight beam stayed on her chest as she pulled the document out of her pocket.

“Mr. Robinson, I pulled you over for an excessive display of acceleration,” the trooper said. “You came out of that parking lot pretty hot.”

That was total bullshit, of course. I bit my tongue to keep from saying something stupid. Then I remembered Dad’s run-in with the law two months ago and recalled today’s date — July 26. Somebody needed to fill their quota.

The trooper returned to his patrol car and radioed in in the pertinent information. The response came back in just a few minutes. I think they crank the volume on their speakers in these instances just so the drivers can hear their personal details being broadcast to the world.

I heard Garrett Douglas Robinson, white male, followed by my date of birth, hair and eye color and a few other tidbits. It ended with the phrase that I knew it would.

“No 29s.”

Then the process repeated with Kacie’s info.

The trooper returned our documentation, flashing his light from my sister’s chest to the box of condoms. I quickly returned the insurance card to its place and closed the lid. There wasn’t much I could do to hide Kacie’s tits.