The break between summer sessions afforded us the opportunity to bask in the sun at the country club and at one of the girl's homes by their swimming pools. I was still wrapped up and couldn't move my left arm but enjoyed getting some sun on as much of my body as I could. One of the days we went by to sun ourselves at Delta's pool, we surprised Cecile and Carol sunbathing nude. When we walked out of the back door to see the two ladies spread out, Trish immediately tried to cover my eyes and push me back into the house. I gave out the loudest wolf whistle I could. The two mom's were screaming while I was being pushed back into the house. Later I commented on the great view I had for those few short seconds. Each time it was brought up the moms would blush beet red.
George had me interview with the company he worked for. They had a research and development department working on various products that related to the building industry. The development of non-lead based paints was creating a demand for both interior and exterior paints. Somehow I didn't see myself getting excited about working on a new color latex paint. Besides I would only be a gofer as all their chemical engineers had Phd's. This just confirmed what I knew. I needed to remain in school.
Just before the fall semester my dad called. He told me that they had received my draft notice. I had forgotten to re-apply for my student deferment. There should not be too much of a problem as I was still wrapped up and would probably be this way through October. Dad gave me the telephone number for down there so I could call to get examined where I was. It was nice to talk to Dad, he said he was busy with a new development up near Winter Haven where I had told him that someone should build a resort there or at least develop a neighborhood for retirees.
The draft board lady was not happy to hear that I was out of state and that I was injured. I asked her to make an appointment for me at the local induction center so I could be examined.
Trish took off the day I had to report. I arrived at the induction center with a bunch of guys that had small sports bags or suitcases with them, I knew I was not going to be welcome. I stood in line for an hour waiting to be examined. The other guys in line were all talking bullshit about what they would do in the army. When I walked into the examination room, one of the nurses from the hospital that I had been at was working.
"Aren't you the guy that got shot in that bank robbery?" She asked.
"That's me. Did you join the army since I saw you last?" I asked a question in return.
"I'm in the reserves and this is one of my weeks of summer camp," she answered then continued. "They use me here at the induction center as they always need help. Let's get all your information down then I'll help you with your discussion with the doctor. He's going to want to remove your bandages and look at your shoulder. I'll help him and advise him that you are not supposed to move your arm or shoulder."
"What's your name?" I asked.
She pointed to her name badge on her nurse's uniform. It said, "Lt. Cindy Shaw."
"Do I salute you Cindy?" I asked smiling.
"That's Lt. Shaw to you, you almost a soldier," she grinned.
She asked questions, I answered and she wrote down the information. She made a big deal about the injury but we finally agreed that she should just write down that I was injured while stopping a bank robbery.
The doc came in and read the note. He looked at me long and hard. "I know you. I've seen you at the country club. Aren't you the guy that was going to the Open? How did you do?"
"I won at the sectionals but was hurt before the open. I don't think golf is in my near future any longer," I said pointing at my shoulder.
"I read about the bank robbery where a guy got shot while wrestling with the robber. That must have been you," he said. "Cindy says she nursed you while you were in the hospital." He turned to Lt. Shaw; "Cindy is his shoulder bad enough that he won't be able to perform duty for a while?"
"He may not be able to use his left arm at all doctor. They had to put his rotator cuff back together like a puzzle then they glued it all together and strapped him up so it could grow back together," Cindy said.
"This is what I'm going to do. I'm writing you up as a temporary four "F." I'll put you down as eligible to be examined in one year. Let's see how you're doing next year this time. I heard Dan and George talking that you may be looking at entering medical school. Is that right?" The doctor asked.
"Since this happened," I answered. "I may apply or I may just work on a research degree in chemistry. I'm really having a hard time deciding what to do."
The doc asked, "what would make you happiest?"
"That's the problem," I answered shaking my head. "Any of it would make me very happy. I like school so it wouldn't make any difference to me what field I was in. I only know that I would enjoy research and I enjoy chemistry and wish to contribute in some way using that ability."
"Go for medical school. You can help a lot of people as a doctor in a variety of fields. As a doctor, you are involved in research daily. Every patient is a research paper in the flesh," he said this while Cindy was buttoning my shirt for me.
The doctor fumbled around in his pockets then came out with a card. As he handed it to me, "here take this and come to see me at my clinic. Come during the day because evenings there can be so busy. I'll let you watch to see if you like the way I contribute. You can watch me do my research."
Cindy or is that Lt. Shaw took me out to a guy in uniform with the worksheet and the doctor's recommendation form. Fifteen minutes later I rescued Trish from all of the smiling inductees who were trying to make time with her before their examination.
I told Trish I was a non-soldier for at least another year at this point. She seemed happy about it. We stopped at an A&W Root Beer drive-in on the way home to have a couple of their nasty chilidogs and a frosty mug of root beer.
Trish and I had a surprise when we got home. We had a letter from our bank. In the letter was cashier's check for five thousand dollars. The letter said the enclosed cashier's check reflected the published advertised reward for the direct prevention of a bank robbery or the successful capture of a robber at their bank.
Trish and I just sat and stared at the check. When Delta walked in the door, she thought something had gone bad at the induction center. Trish held up the check and the letter for her to read.
"Holy smokes!" Delta exclaimed. "With this money we can just about pay off the house. Or we can use to it to put Chuck through school. Wow! This is fantastic."
The girls had to call and tell their folks right away about our windfall but then in the end, we three agreed, the money should go into the bank for our future needs whatever they might be.
At school the next day, I went to see the dean of chemistry to talk to him about what options I had. He became interested then we walked over to the doctor who was like the dean of the pre-med group. I had my transcripts with me and he was excited to have me want his opinion as he remembered me with Sandy at graduation. I was honest with him saying that I couldn't afford to send myself through medical school. I told him that I thought the only way I could go was to get a scholarship like Sandy did. He said he understood then used his phone to call some guy at St. Louis University Medical Center. The chemistry dean and I walked outside his office to give him some privacy and to discuss what I was thinking some more.
"Come on back in here," the pre-med guy hollered.
As we went through the door, he said, "you have an appointment with the medical school at St. Louis University. It's only about a two to three-hour drive from here so you won't have to stay over night. Take your transcript with you and before you go, get some letters of recommendation from your various Profs that you have had the last couple of years. They will probably schedule you for a physiological interview to be tested, but that would be good for you to know whether medicine should be in your future."
He handed me a piece of paper with a name, address, and phone number with a time on it. "Let me know how the interview went when you get back."
This was a Monday and the interview was Thursday. I went to four different departments to beg a letter of recommendation from them. Those along with the chemistry dean's letter should be enough. At home, I fixed super one handed and had spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread ready complete with a salad and wine. I told the girls what I had been up to and that I would need to borrow a car Thursday to make the trip.
"We'll drive you," Delta said excitedly. "We're both off Thursday and Friday so let's make a weekend of it in St. Louis. That should be fun. We can go to one of the big movie theaters up there and we'll look to see if we can see a Cardinal baseball game."
Trish added, "I'll call Dad and find out what hotel we should stay at while we are up there. He'll know as he has to stay over often."
It was set. We would all go to St. Louis for this mystery interview. It was decided that instead of leaving here at five in the morning, we would go up Wednesday evening and stay at the hotel that way I could go to my appointment at nine rested and fresh.
Thursday morning the girls helped me struggle into a dress shirt, tie and suit coat. At eight forty-five an aging secretary ushered me into a conference room. The lady brought in a stack of printed forms and questionnaires. Some looked like the questions we had generated in my last psychology class. It took three hours to complete all of the forms and the personality and vocational tests. The secretary told me where I could get lunch then said for me to be back by one-thirty.
Trish and Delta were waiting patiently for me when I walked out. I told them about all the forms and the psychological tests while we had lunch. I told them that I could get a taxi back to hotel or even walk but they insisted on waiting for me.
At one-thirty I was back in the conference with four men in white coats. They were all more interested in my shoulder than whatever it was that I was there for.
The gentleman sitting at the head of the table spoke first. "Mr. Johnson, we were asked by a friend of ours to consider you for entrance to our medical school. In addition, we understand you need financial assistance in order to attend. Your grades and class standing at the university are definitely worthy of consideration for entrance as well as a scholarship or fellowship opportunity."
The next guy shuffled a bunch of papers that appeared to be the tests that I had taken earlier then looked up at me over the top of some half glasses perched on the end of his nose. "Your personality appears to be ideal for a person about to commit to several years of difficult study. One of the items I noted was your intense curiosity that would be constant with folks within our research group. Have you given any thought to becoming a physician involved in extensive patient research?"
"Sir, that is what I'm having trouble deciding. I want to become involved in research but have had a difficult time deciding whether the field should be medicine or chemistry," I said trying to make myself clear.
"I see. That would answer several questions within your personality profile," the man said. "With that knowledge I would enjoy having you as a student at our school. We do extensive research in several areas of medicine. You would enjoy being involved with the groups working on some of our projects."
A third man asked, "are you married? Are you in a committed relationship?"
"I'm not married yet but I am engaged to be married in a few weeks," I answered.
"What will your intended do while you are very busy in school." He asked.
I answered in the singular so there wouldn't be any questions about having two ladies. "She will probably be teaching or will enroll in your university to complete her doctorate, then teach."
The last guy asked, "considering that you would be too busy to work an outside job, how would you live?"
"At this time, we have some savings that we would use toward our expenses plus her parents have offered to assist us during her education." I answered.
The first man asked another question, "I see here that you are from Florida. Why didn't you apply to the University of Florida for your undergraduate school."
I smiled, as they obviously had not received a true transcript from my school. "My best scholarship opportunity did not come from Florida. Since I needed assistance to go to school, the university I attended was my best choice. It has turned out to have been a very good decision."
"So you were on a scholastic scholarship then?" He asked.
"No sir, I was on an athletic scholarship. My primary sport was basketball," I said trying to keep it low key.
"Primary sport? Did you play other sports?"
"Yes sir, I played football three seasons, baseball one season and golf two seasons," I answered hoping they wouldn't be put off by a jock.
"You did all of that and graduated in three years second in your class?"
"Yes sir," I said feeling my face flush.
"Mr. Johnson, we would like you to come back tomorrow morning if you can. The staff needs to meet and discuss how you and our school can get together. Can you come tomorrow about the same time?"
Now I was glad we were going to make a weekend of being in St. Louis.
"Yes sir, I can be here at nine again." I said wondering what tomorrow would bring.
This meeting only took thirty minutes. The girls had not even settled down yet and were happy to see me come out. We went back to the hotel so I could change out of the suit so it would still look nice for the Friday meeting.
From the hotel, we walked all over the campus then wondered into Barnes hospital. Barnes was a huge imposing group of connected buildings that seemed to be endless. We looked through the lobby and walked through the administration hallway arriving in the emergency room area. There must have been over two hundred people sitting in the waiting room. They were really busy. We three were a little overwhelmed at the quantity of people and retraced our steps to get out of the hospital.
Delta said that we should find out what time the baseball game began and make our way to the ballpark early. We could eat at the park or nearby if we find out they don't have a restaurant at the park. We walked back to the hotel and asked the front desk about the ball park schedule. We found out that there were several restaurants surrounding the park plus a nice one inside. He did say that the restaurant inside was a little pricey.
A nice looking gentlemen in a suit with a name tag was standing beside the desk, "excuse me for intruding but perhaps the hotel could assist you this evening."
"We are sort of babes in the woods sir," I said offering him my good right hand and reading his nametag. "Ah Mr. Barker."
He shook my hand then reached into his pocket. "The names Bradley or Brad please." He patted his nametag then continued. "The hotel has both third base line box seats as well as cabana level for special guests such as yourselves." He said this holding up some tickets. "Which would you prefer." "We would probably prefer to buy the ones on the third base line sir." I said. "Not buy tickets Mr. Johnson, you will be our guest at the game. How about joining my wife and daughter for dinner before the game then we can all go to the game together?" He smiled. The girls and I looked at each other then grinned. "We would be delighted to have dinner with you." I hesitated a second then asked, "how did you know my name?" With a pleasant smile he replied, "Mr. Hawthorne asked that I look out for the three of you while you are in town. This was my first opportunity to meet you. Which of you ladies is Delta and which is Trish McPherson."
The girls introduced themselves then Mr. Barker commented, "both of your father's and sometimes your mother's stay here often throughout the year while on business in St. Louis. It is a pleasure to now have their daughters stay here as well. Since it is such a lovely day out, how about joining me on the patio for a cocktail?"
We went to a patio area that had a Tiki type bar set up with several tables just outside of splashing distance from the pool. Mr. Barker led us to a table already occupied by nice looking lady in her forties and a young lady in her late teens or early twenties.
Mr. Barker introduced us, "Betty meet Delta Hawthorne, Trish McPherson and Charles or ah Chuck Johnson. This is my wife Betty and my daughter Barbara. Chuck is here to interview with the St. Louis University medical school. The three of them have agreed to be out guests for dinner downtown and they are going to the ballgame with us."
We sat and had a nice chat. Mr. Barker excused himself so he could go dress in some more casual clothes for the evening. The girls and Barbara hit it off right away talking about school and what their plans were. Barbara was in her junior year at St. Louis University with plans to possibly continue for her masters in business administration. She planned to go into the hospitality industry and wanted to become a major hotel or resort manager. Mrs. Barker said that Barbara has always lived in large hotels and really didn't know any other life.
Betty asked if the girls needed to freshen up before we left and if so, suggested they go to the room now and we could all leave together soon. We went up to our room to wash our faces. We didn't change clothes as we felt we were probably dressed correctly for going to a ball game. The girls were in short summer skirts and open armed blouses and I was in slacks and a short sleeve shirt.
We got back to the table just as Brad was coming out of the hotel. He was dressed as I was in a pair of chinos and a short sleeved sport shirt. We walked through the lobby then out front of the hotel. Brad motioned us toward a sleek dark gray limousine with the hotel name scrolled on the side. A chauffeur was holding the door open for us. Brad said, "There are perks for managing a hotel such as this."
We were dropped off across from Busch Stadium in front of a place called simply, "Pork Steaks." Inside the barbecue smell made your mouth water. As soon as we sat down, we were severed big frosty mugs of beer with a basket of rolls and a big basket of fried union rings. The choices were limited; ribs, pulled pork, pork chops, or the house specialty, pork steaks. The girls and I had pork steaks while the Barkers all ordered ribs. While we were drinking our beer the waitress came to the table and tied huge bibs onto the Barkers. Brad said that since eating ribs was messy, bibs were necessary.
Three waitresses brought the food. They brought a huge tray of ribs piled a foot high, another huge tray of pork steaks and a tray of dishes of coleslaw, potato salad and baked beans to go with the meal. It didn't look like we could eat all the food they brought. With the help of a few more mugs of beer, we ate almost all the food that had been brought. I don't know how but the Barkers polished off every one of the stack of ribs. This was some good eating.
We were really full but walking across the street to stadium helped us all settle our stomachs. It was exciting to go into a major league stadium. This was what baseball was all about. All of us had to visit the rest rooms to unload some of the beer before we went to our seats.
The players were finishing up with batting practice. I tried to identify the players I knew of such as Stan Musial and Lou Brock. Beer vendors were everywhere along with guys selling hotdogs, popcorn and peanuts. Brad got us all a beer just in time for us to stand for the National Anthem.
The game was great. Best of all, the Cards beat the Braves. Watching the big leaguers made me think that I could have possibly been doing this. Then I looked at the girls I was sitting with and was happy where I was.
We drank way too much Budweiser for three people who didn't drink that much. When we were asked if we wanted a night cap, we all groaned and begged off saying I had an nine o'clock appointment at the university.
In the room we all felt sweaty from being in the hot humid night air so we showered together which led to some fun groping and massaging till we ended up in bed with me demonstrating my beer induced endurance.
The next morning we were surprisingly alert and ready for the day. We ate breakfast then went to the school for a final interview.
At eight-fifty the secretary showed me into the same conference room and brought me a glass of water. A couple of minutes later the original gentleman showed up with three more men I had not seen before. After introductions, one of the men spoke, "Mr. Johnson, St. Louis University wishes to offer you a opportunity to enter our school. This will be a special opportunity with some strings in order to assist you with financing your education."
The next man spoke, "We can offer your complete tuition with a stipend for supplies and equipment. The tuition and stipend would apply through your graduation and we would assist with additional funds during your internship and residency. In addition, we understand you will need married student housing. We will provide a student apartment as you need it throughout the time you will be here."
The third man, who was a geeky looking guy with a white coat smiled at me and said, "now the strings Mr. Johnson. You will of course be required to maintain a grade point over 3.0 throughout the time you are here. During your lab work, part of your internship and your residency, you will work with our research group. At the completion of your successful taking of the state board exam, you will be required to work with our research group for two additional years at a pay equal to all physicians working in that capacity."
The original guy spoke again. "Mr. Johnson, we would be pleased for you to study with us and to join our research group. What do think of the offer?"
"I'm overwhelmed. You are offering a great opportunity. I'm not even sure of what form of medicine I would want to practice later." I said looking glazed at the doctors in front of me.
"That is not unusual. Most students do not select a specialty till their residency. Even then they sometimes change their minds a few times. You could possibly become a research pharmacology chemist, looking for another "Saulk" vaccine.
"Do I need to give you my decision this minute? Or can I have a couple of days to discuss and consider it," I asked hoping I could have some time.
"We will need your decision by a week from this coming Monday. It will take a little time to transfer all your records and to set up your admission plus set up funding for your tuition and your living quarters." The original guy had a stack of papers that he slid into a file folder. Handing it to me he added, "my telephone number is on the first page. Please call me if you have any questions or need to further amplify any of the conditions. It is a pleasure to invite you to study with us."
I thanked all of them and shook their hands. The geeky looking guy said he was looking forward to having me in his classes and department.
The girls and I went back to the hotel to stash the file folder then were off to the Zoo and Forest Park. We planned on staying for a musical, "Oklahoma" that was at the municipal opera. Mr. Barker had invited us to join his family and him for the show.
The Zoo was fun and we enjoyed going to the amusement park to ride the roller coaster there. I think the most fun was the merry-go-round. The old carousel had some classic carved horses and even some hard to reach rings that if you could snag one you could keep on riding. I couldn't hold on and reach for the ring at the same time, as I had to let my long arms keep my balance.
We ate sandwiches at a small grille outside the park then went to the outdoor theater to wait for the Barkers. As soon as they arrived, Brad got us all a beer saying that it was a St. Louis tradition to drink lots of Budweiser. The show was great then we went back to the hotel to enjoy a nightcap this time. The Barkers all wanted to know about my interview. They couldn't believe that I had to take some time to think about it.
The girls and I were restless Saturday morning and decided to check out early and head home. We discussed the pros and cons of moving to St. Louis, of me being in medical school there, and the long-term commitment we would be making. Eight years was a long time.
We got back home before noon and decided to hunt up the girls' folks and do some discussing. I also felt like I needed to talk to my folks too. The dads were just getting back from playing golf and the women had been at the pool sunning themselves. They had decided to come home and use their own pools for some water fun and a barbecue.
We talked non-stop till my head was spinning with all the anticipated work it would be to go to medical school. The one item that arose was getting the girls into graduate school there so they could finish their masters and start work on their phd's or begin teaching. The girls and I needed to do something about whether we were going to get married or not.
I called home and talked to my mom a few minutes then to my dad for over an hour. He was all for me taking the opportunity to go to such a renowned medical school. I still couldn't get over not being able to play sports and to go from being a professional golfer to a medical school student in a blink of an eye.
Sunday morning the girls and I were playing. Playing at making love, playing at sex, just plain playing. Delta whispered something to Trish and they got out of bed then came back and sat cross-legged in front of me.
Delta held up a silver dollar and said, "we're going to flip to see who has to marry you."
"Has to marry me?" I asked.
"Yeah, one of us is going to have to marry you to keep you honest," Trish said. "Since we are both changing our names to Johnson, it won't make a difference in our names but will be something that we can legally put down on documents. Now comes the kink, whoever doesn't marry you is going to be adopted by us so that we are legally and officially a family."
"Can we do that?" I wondered.
The two of them looked at me as if to say, "dummy."
"Okay, so you're going to flip for it?" I asked.
Delta handed me the silver dollar and said, "nope, you're going to flip for it. Trish is heads and I'm tails. Toss it up in the air and let's see who's who."
I looked at each them a second, then gave each of them a kiss. My eyes were watering because of how emotional I felt. I tossed the coin into the air high enough that it almost hit the ceiling. It tumbled end over end till it landed on the bed.
"Heads," the two excitedly said at the same time. Delta then started directing us, "Monday, you and Trish have to go to the court house and get a marriage license. Before you go, we need to go by the courthouse to pick up the forms Judge Masters said he would have for us confirming our name change. We'll go to Las Vegas this weekend and you two will get married there along with a ceremony for Chuck and I too."
Trish then said, "next week, we'll have Judge Master start on the paperwork to adopt Delta. We should have this all done before fall semester starts."
I had to ask, "What does your Mom and Dads think about this, the adoption thing. They have to give up their parental rights, right?"
Delta answered this one, "We already talked to them about everything and they know what we are going to do. Everything should work out even though you will be fooling around with your adopted daughter." Delta smiled as she reached over and tugged at my over used appendage.
"Okay, let's get some exact times and dates going so we have a schedule. We should make a list of everything we need to do and a suspense date for when each item should be done." I said.
Delta jumped on me and pushed me to my back, "Oh no you don't. First things first. I get some more loving first, then Trish gets some proposal loving, then we get ready and go to church to pray that this all works."
We loved each other then went to church. I had a few three by five cards and made continuous notes on them. We told the parents what the final plans were at the country club brunch. I was curious if they would go to Vegas with us. They assured me they were and they also assured me my folks would come. They said that later, they would have a celebration at the country club instead of getting married again in a church.