Tommy rushed home after work so he could show his truck to everyone. Regina seemed as excited by the vehicle as he was.
"This is far out Tommy, if Melody can come over later, will you take us for a ride?"
Tommy instantly agreed.
"Sure Reggie, meanwhile, I'll take Bucky and Rex for a spin."
It was a toss-up as to who was happier, as the three amigos motored sedately through Brantley. Bucky and Rex both ended up riding shotgun as Rex sat in Bucky's lap with his head out the window. Tommy honked and returned the waves of everyone he passed. When Tommy drove back into the driveway, Betty Lou was home from work. Tommy ran into the house and practically dragged her out to see his pickup. Betty Lou oh'd and ah'd appropriately, as Tommy beamed in delight. Betty Lou climbed in the passenger seat and put on a fake pout.
"When do I get my ride Tommy? I can't go now because I have supper to finish, and Regina said you were taking her and Melody out after we eat."
Tommy figured she was probably kidding, but her question did give him an idea.
"I guess your first ride will be when I take you to the movies Friday night," Tommy replied.
Betty Lou was startled by his suggestion and unnerved by her lack of objection to it. Bucky and Regina would be at their paternal grandparents from Thursday to Sunday, so she would be at loose ends anyway. Betty Lou reasoned there was no harm in them seeing a movie together.
"I think that's a wonderful idea," she replied.
It was seven-thirty by the time Tommy had the supper dishes washed and put away. Regina and Melody had even helped him with the kitchen so they could leave sooner. When they hopped into the truck, Melody slid across the seat to sit in the middle. Regina had not snared the prized cowgirl seat because she had to stop by the edge of the house and grab the blanket she'd secreted there earlier. Even though Regina gave her plenty of space, Melody stayed pressed up against Tommy's side. Melody's machinations were not lost on her best friend.
"I get the middle on the ride home," Regina huffed.
Regina and Melody both were amazed that their over protective parents let them out of the house with a man this late on a school night. If the male had been anyone other than Tommy, it never would have happened. Tommy won over Melody's father Charles, when the man pulled him aside at the feed store one day and point-blank asked what Tommy's intentions were.
"Melody's my friend, Mister Graham, just like Regina, and I like her a lot. She makes me laugh and she helps me figure things out that I don't understand. I don't think it would be a good idea for us to date, because my body is lots older than hers and my brain is a lot smaller. Maybe when my brains come back and she's out of school, we could date ... only, gosh, she is so pretty, she'll probably have a million boyfriends by then," Tommy said earnestly.
Charles was so flummoxed by Tommy's speech that he just nodded and walked away. When he relayed the conversation to his wife Claudia, she told him that she trusted Tommy much more than she did their daughter.
"I'd rather see her with Tommy any day, than with some of those so-called nice boys with a future," she said.
So now Melody had more freedom than ever, but only when Tommy was involved. That was just fine with Melody, so she stopped being such a witch to her parents. Melody was a very smart young woman, she knew that in less than a year she'd be at least half a state away at college, and she could do whatever and whoever she wanted. In the meantime, she had two safe playmates in Tommy and Regina, who were helping her decide what that 'whatever and whoever' was.
Tommy pulled out onto Spring Street and headed toward the town center. He did not have a destination in mind, but figured the girls would at least want to cruise Dairy Queen.
"Where to ladies?" he asked.
"Cherry Hill," they squealed in unison.
Cherry Hill was the name the local teens called their make out spot. Brantley teens had been going there for generations. Some wag once observed that probably half the women in Brantley lost their virginity up there, and half the children born were conceived there too. Oddly enough, it was the first trip to the spot for any of them. For all her talk, Regina had avoided the place like the plague. Melody would have been there already except her father had promised every boy she dated a thrashing if the guy even drove by the place.
Tommy pulled up under a cottonwood tree with a nice view of Lake Brantley and killed the truck's engine. It was a school night, so the three had the place to themselves. Regina hopped out of the truck and spread the blanket on a patch of grass in front of the truck. As soon as the girls were seated on the blanket, Tommy turned on his dome light, reached into his glove compartment, and brought out the neatly wrapped presents he'd picked for them at the PX.
The girls excitedly ripped open the packages and started a new round of squealing when they flipped open the velveteen boxes. Tommy had put some interesting charms on each bracelet, but the only ones he pointed out to them were the T-M-R initials. That touch earned him some smoldering kisses. And smoldering kisses led to some serious mutual groping. The high point of the evening was when Tommy showed Melody and Regina the pleasures of oral sex, both giving and receiving. The girls were tentative and shy the first time they tried it on each other, but they forgot all about that when it started feeling good.
They played around for a long half hour, then straightened out their clothes and sat there chatting. Melody and Regina were full of questions concerning from whom he'd learned that trick, and had he learned anything else he could teach them. Tommy replied that the who wasn't important, but yes, he had a few more tricks up his sleeve. Melody whooped "Goody," but Regina floored him with her next comment.
"You should use that trick on Betty-Lou. She's been the grieving widow long enough and she needs a man. Besides, I'll bet you ten dollars no one has ever done that to her."
Tommy sputtered trying to formulate a reply, but Regina laughed and slugged him on the arm.
"Don't even try to act as if that idea had never crossed your mind, Tommy Bledsoe. I am not blind, you know."
Tommy had the girls home a few minutes before their nine o'clock curfew, and retreated to his basement room. He was tired enough that his left leg was dragging slightly. The occasional limp was one more lingering after effect of his head injury. Tommy stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed, thinking about Regina and what she'd said about Betty Lou. Tommy loved Betty Lou. Next to Mama Rita, she was the nicest, sweetest woman alive. He loved Regina too, but the puppy love he had for her when he first arrived had turned to loving her like a sister. He was glad he and Regina were friends now. Tommy did not have romantic feelings for either Regina or Melody.
At noon on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Tommy was sitting in his truck, munching on a ham and cheese sandwich Betty Lou made for him. Betty Lou packed a lunch for Tommy nearly every day. Tommy had the little note pad he always carried flipped open, and he was studying a column of numbers he'd jotted down. The numbers were the balances of his three bank accounts. The first number was the amount he had in his checking account. That was the account where he deposited his check from the feed store. It wasn't a large account, but even considering his truck payment and the insurance for it, he would still be making more than he spent.
The second number was the balance of his savings account at the Fort Sam Houston Credit Union. All of his accumulated military pay and allowances from when he was a patient at Brooke, plus his retirement checks since then, resided there. After buying everyone gifts, he still had over twenty thousand dollars in the account.
The third number was what his sister Beth claimed his balance was in his bank account where she lived. The number she gave him was an unbelievable one hundred-ten thousand dollars. Beth said that the money was his savings, plus his share of his parents' estate and insurance. Beth gave Tommy a portion of her share of the insurance money to buy out his half of the family home. Tommy felt strange about that big pile of money, because the only memory he had of that account was depositing money he made from mowing lawns in it. Back then, he had been proud when he passed two hundred dollars.
Tommy was not doing all that figuring just to count his money. Nope, he had an idea for it. His idea was actually the result of a conversation he overheard between Rita and Harold Fricke. In the conversation, Harold was lamenting being turned down for a small business loan to expand the feed store into a complete farm equipment and supply center. Harold had discussed the idea with Tommy on a couple of occasions, and Tommy thought it was a swell idea. To Tommy, the solution was simplicity itself: the Frickes needed money and he had plenty of it. His only problem was figuring out how to get his money from Florida.
Tommy had just decided to let the good folks down at Brantley Savings and Loan figure it out, when a Chevy El Camino honked and pulled up next to where he sat. Tommy smiled and waved when he recognized his new friend Conchita as the driver. Tommy hopped out of his truck and walked over to her driver's side door. She rolled down her window as he approached her truck.
"Hi Connie, what brings you to town?" Tommy asked.
Conchita's eyebrows twitched at the name he called her.
"Who is Connie?" she asked in return.
Tommy grinned and leaned down to kiss her cheek. He liked the way she looked today with her hair in a long pony tail and her face freshly scrubbed.
"You are. I give most everyone a nickname and Connie seemed just right for you."
"Okay," she laughed. "Connie it is, now hop in and I'll take you for that milkshake."
Tommy looked at his watch and nodded.
"Sure, but first I have to tell the Frickes I'm leaving. Come on in and say hello, or you'll hurt Mama's feelings."
Rita was not surprised in the least to see Conchita Delgado walk through the door. She had even made a bet with Harold about it. Rita smiled at how wholesome Conchita looked. The hair and minimal make up went well with the dark brown corduroy knee-length skirt and bulky pink sweater she wore.
"Nice to see you again so soon," Rita said with a smile.
Conchita knew Rita was referring to her prediction that Conchita would be looking for excuses to spend time with Tommy. She actually blushed before she answered.
"I pick up mail from my post office box twice a week. Since I was in town already, I decided to buy Tommy his milkshake for helping me with my cat," Conchita hurried to explain.
Rita winked at Conchita and said, "Whatever the reason, we are all glad you did. Now you two get out of here so us old folks can eat in peace. When you come back, drop by and let's have a little chat, just you and me, okay?"
Tommy loaded Conchita into the passenger seat of his new pickup and zipped over to the Dairy Queen.
The DQ was near Ben Crawford's filling station, right on the corner of Main Street and the State Road 931 bypass. Texas 931 ran through the far western edge of town and was the main highway up to Brownwood.
Tommy lived almost in the exact center of town, as Spring Street was only two blocks south of Main Street, and Betty Lou's house was one block east of Brantley Avenue. Brantley and Austin Avenues bracketed the court house and the city's memorial park. Both the Piggly-Wiggly and the library were on Austin Avenue, between Spring Street and Main Street. Conchita and the Frickes lived east of town, off of Route 836. State Road 836 passed through town, east to west, as McCulloch Street, and was one block south of Main Street.
The Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe (ATSF) Railroad ran through the northern side of town. Brantley Feed and Seed was a block off the train tracks and a block from the big stockyard. Hundreds of head of cattle moved through Brantley each week on their way to meat packers in the upper Midwest.
Conchita had a wonderful time at the Dairy Queen with Tommy. It was the chilliest day of the year so far, so they ate their ice cream treats in the truck and yakked up a storm. Tommy made her laugh more than any man she'd ever met. He had a wicked sense of humor and an uncanny gift for mimicry that kept her in stitches. When Tommy looked at his watch and said it was time to go, Conchita was shocked that forty-five minutes had gone by so quickly.
Back at the feed store, Tommy gave Conchita another brotherly kiss on the cheek and a big hug.
"I hope I see you again soon, Connie. I like you a lot," he said.
Conchita hugged him back, reveling in the feel of his strong arms around her.
"Me too, Tommy. I have to come to town at least twice a week, maybe next time we can go to lunch at the Bluebonnet," she replied.
"Cool," Tommy said.
Tommy slipped into the side door of the warehouse and Conchita walked through the front entrance to see what Rita wanted to talk to her about. Conchita could not keep from smiling as she waved to Harold, who was standing at the cash register, as she strolled back to the office. Her smile was genuine and not the Hollywood actress model she usually sported.
Rita greeted Conchita warmly again and pulled them both a Dr. Pepper from the machine in the hall. Rita sat them on the comfortable couch that was against one wall of the office and clinked her bottle against the neck of Conchita's.
"Here's to a long and pleasant friendship," Rita said.
When Conchita gave a tentative and slightly confused nod acknowledging the toast, Rita smiled and explained herself.
"You are in Tommy's life now, so we are going to be seeing a lot of each other. Tommy has a bunch of other friends that you'll be meeting also. We have a club of sorts that looks out for Tommy and is helping along his redevelopment," Rita continued.
Conchita's knitted eyebrows let Rita know the younger woman was still confused, so she took a sip of her Dr. Pepper, leaned back on the couch and filled Conchita in on Tommy's history. The story struck Conchita as being abjectly sad, yet powerfully uplifting.
"That is an incredible story," Conchita said when Rita stopped talking.
Rita nodded and patted Conchita's hand.
"You see now why we are all so protective of him. Who knows what his real potential is? As I was saying earlier, a few women for whom Tommy cares greatly are helping him realize whatever that potential is. Like it or not, unless you can just walk away from him, I think you just became one of us," Rita finished.
Conchita walked out of the feed store wondering what in the hell she had just signed up for. She had unhesitatingly agreed to do her part in Tommy's socialization, although to her, he didn't seem to need all that much help. She let out a bark of laughter as she was opening the door of her El Camino. She had to wonder what Rita would say if she knew that the trip to the Dairy Queen was the closest Conchita Delgado had ever been to a real date. Over the years, Conchita had a few affairs and since Beau's death, any number of one night stands, but until Tommy Bledsoe came along, she'd never been on an official date.
In nineteen-fifty-five, fifteen-year-old Florence Pataki married Beau Baumgartner. Florence's mother happily signed the parental consent paper work so her daughter could marry the debonair older man. Florence marrying was a huge weight off Magda Pataki's mind, because Flo had been physically mature and sexually active since she turned twelve. At the age of fourteen, Florence spent sixty days in a reform school for wayward girls for soliciting for the purposes of prostitution. She had been schooled at home, because she was unwelcome at the local junior high.
Beau Baumgartner took her away from all that, as three days after they met, they were married. As soon as she said, "I do," her new husband whisked her off to Hollywood. The first thing Beau did when they arrived in Hollywood was to get her a Screen Actors' Guild card. The second was to legally change her name from the pedestrian Florence Pataki to the exotic Conchita Delgado. Although her official studio bio claimed she was Castilian Spanish, her stage name came about simply because she had black hair and brown eyes. Conchita was actually Hungarian.
Conchita and Beau weren't Ozzie and Harriet, but they had an amazingly stable and long lasting marriage by Hollywood standards. Despite her lack of formal education, Conchita was a big help in running Beau's studio, and was listed in most of their movies' credits not only as the female lead, but also as one of the executive producers. The couple never became all that rich, but the residuals from late night television showings of their movies still brought Conchita a nice income.
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was a hectic day for everyone involved in the big dinner planned for the VFW Hall. For the first time ever, Tommy was left in charge of the feed store for most of the day.
Conchita, pressed into service by Rita, met the other women in Tommy's life that day. She couldn't remember ever being with a more diverse group than Margie Wilcox, the tall, voluptuous nurse, Ruth Silverman, the petite city girl and Betty Lou, the painfully shy and overly modest country girl. Conchita smiled to herself when she realized she made a damn good fourth because she was the loose woman with a past.
At one in the afternoon, Rita swung by the feed store to give Tommy a lunch break. Tommy used the time to visit Otto Mills, the vice president of the savings and loan. Mills knew the procedure for transferring Tommy's money from Florida. He told Tommy to return on Friday to sign a few documents, and that it should take six days to affect the transfer via first class registered airmail. Mister Mills said that Monday, the eighth of December, looked like the most likely date.
While Tommy was at the bank, Harold Fricke was sitting at the bar of the VFW talking to Horace Jenkins, the Post Adjutant. Harold had an open manila folder in front of him. Jenkins was sitting to his right, flipping through the papers in the file. Ben Crawford was kibitzing over Harold's left shoulder, and Ramon Salazar was peeking over his right. The paperwork in the folder was a copy of First Lieutenant Thomas Bledsoe's 201 file, his Official Military Personnel Folder. The Adjutant had requested a copy of the folder from the Department of the Army, because Tommy did not have a copy of his records for himself. Jenkins stopped flipping pages and tapped his thick, stubby index finger at the page he'd stopped at.
"Your boy was a hell of a soldier Harold; he has a Silver Star, Bronze Star with 'V' Device (Valor) and One Oak Leaf cluster, and an ARCOM (Army Commendation Medal) with a V and two Clusters. Hell, he even has a Soldier's Medal (a military award for bravery that was not the result of combat); I've never met anyone with one of them. Citation says he pulled a couple of guys out of a burning chopper. The Soldier's Medal is worth an extra ten percent on his retirement."
The four men studied Tommy's file for a few more minutes. They were just as impressed with his ASVAB (Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery) test scores. Tommy was an extremely intelligent young man. Harold finally closed the folder and leaned back on his barstool. Harold had spoken to Tommy about sending for his files, because Tommy had to sign a release.
"It is a crying shame Tommy Boy doesn't remember even a minute of his service, because he has much to be proud of. Instead, he isn't the slightest interested in anything having to do with his time in the Army. Horace, can you check to see if Tommy is drawing the extra ten percent for the Soldier's Medal, and fix it if he isn't?"
Horace Jenkins nodded his head.
"No sweat Harold, I'll call one of the National Service Officers in Indianapolis. He'll run over to Fort Ben (Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, home of the Army Finance and Accounting Branch) and take care of it."
Thanksgiving Day was a fantastic day for Tommy. He worked on the serving line from the first person until everyone was fed but him. The idea of giving something back to the very people who had made him so at home in Brantley struck Tommy as being perfect. Of course, having the people he loved working around him or passing by in the chow line made it even better. Tommy's enthusiasm was infectious, and soon everyone on both sides of the serving line were joking and chatting. Tommy clearly saw no difference between the county's elite and the drifters from the hobo jungle over by the railroad tracks. Tommy wasn't just talking the talk as far as everyone being equal in the eyes of God, he was walking the walk.
Tommy also stayed after the meal and helped the members clean up the hall and set it up for Friday Night Bingo. Bingo was the biggest money making activity the post conducted. Money from the little old ladies on Friday night, allowed Post 9802 to fund events like the Thanksgiving open house and the annual Children's Christmas Party.
Friday was just another work day for everyone. For most, it was a let down after the holiday, but for Tommy, it was another chance to prove his worth as a person.
Tommy dashed over to the bank at noon to sign some papers for Mister Mills, then he went to lunch with Rita and Harold at the Bluebonnet. The Friday lunch meal had become a family tradition for the three of them. Rita was thrilled that Tommy was taking Betty Lou to the movies that night. She smiled in delight when Tommy told her he had picked out a show with Regina's help. Rita admonished him to treat Betty Lou as special as he treated Margie and Ruth.
"Just because you live in the same house with her and see her every day doesn't mean you should take her for granted," Rita said.
Tommy rushed home from work, took a shower and changed into a nice pair of jeans, a white shirt and his new black boots. He left Betty Lou a note telling her he'd pick her up at seven, then zoomed over to the Frickes' house.
Rita met him at the door and showed him into the house. Harold was down at the VFW hall calling bingo. The trip to the Frickes' was Rita's idea. She said that Tommy not being in the house would make it easier for Betty Lou to get ready. Tommy sat at the kitchen table with Rita and the two talked about Tommy going home to visit his sister and her family. Rita said the Christmas holidays were a good time to go. Tommy allowed that a visit was due, but it would not be over Christmas.
"I'm spending Christmas with the family that adopted me here in Brantley. You all, the Grimes's, Margie, Ruth and Connie are my family just as much as Beth is. Plus, I promised Harold I'd be one of Santa's helpers at the Children's Christmas Party."
Rita didn't try to argue him out of his decision, because she agreed with him one hundred percent. At six-forty-five, Rita handed Tommy a small bouquet of flowers she'd purchased for him at the Piggy Wiggly, and sent him out the door.
Betty Lou giggled as she headed for the door when Tommy knocked. Tommy was a sweetheart for trying so hard to make her feel as if it were a real date. Betty Lou checked herself in the hall mirror and smiled at her reflection. The outfit Regina loaned her did flatter her figure and was completely different from what Tommy usually saw her in. Because Regina was slightly smaller than Betty Lou, the green plaid skirt just barely covered her knees and the dark green sweater was tight across the bust. With the skirt outfit, she was wearing her favorite penny loafers. The ensemble was a little risqué, without being trashy.
Tommy presented her the flowers, told her how beautiful she looked and walked her to his truck. He drove across town to highway 931, then turned north towards Brownwood. Betty Lou and Tommy were chatting up a storm, so she didn't notice Tommy turn a mile before they reached the mall Cineplex. The first inkling she had that the evening might be different than she imagined, was when Tommy pulled into the entrance of the Starlight Drive-In Theater. She looked at Tommy in alarm.
"We can't go here, Tommy, it wouldn't be proper," she sputtered.
"Sure we can, I hear this is a very nice place and the popcorn is great. Besides, it's the only movie showing Cactus Flower, and Regina said you really wanted to see it."
Before Betty Lou could formulate a reply to that, Tommy paid the man in the ticket booth three dollars and pulled into the lot.