Johnny Pulaski Chapter 4

Posted: February 20, 2006 - 12:29:57 am

Just like that, no how are you, no how was Christmas, just, "Johnny I

don't think we should see each other any more."

I disagreed with that completely and told her so.

"We were getting too serious Johnny, and you are too young,. This is the

way it has to be."

"What do you call what you are doing now if it's not ruining my life?" I

argued.

She was crying now and I was too.

"I'm sorry Johnny, I really am."

Then she hung up.

Happy New Year Johnny Pulaski!

I think people have always thought I was mature for my age because I

didn't talk much. I never talked much because, like my father, I was a

basically a shy person. When I hit puberty I thought I could change that

and it would help me with women. Well, those days were over. I withdrew

into my room and spent the rest of the holidays seeing how miserable I

could be. My folks tried to talk to me but my dad was helpless in his

own shyness and my mom was ill equipped to deal with a heartbroken

teenage boy. She was a relentlessly pragmatic problem solver, but the

problems she excelled at didn't involve relationships. Even the Moose

took a stab at it. But Katrina had thought all along that this is where

my relationship with Rachael would end.

I was morosely studying calculus on the Wednesday after school restarted

when my grandfather came into my bedroom.

"Come with me, Johnny."

"I have to study Papa," I protested.

He tossed me my jacket. "That wasn't a request, ' he said.

We went out and got in his truck and he drove us out to a state park

about ten miles from the house. Once at the park he let Jethro out of

the truck and put down the tailgate. He sat down and patted the metal. I

sullenly flopped down beside him. For a minute all we did was watch

Jethro tear around the park, running full bore in great looping circles.

Jethro ran with joyful abandon, his huge ears streaming out behind him,

his oversized tongue lolling out of his mouth. My grandfather fired up

his pipe and started talking.

"I've lost a lot of people in my lifetime, Johnny, my parents, my

brother, my sister and scores of brothers in arms. I think about them a

lot. I mourned their passing then got on with my life. It was never easy

but I cinched up my rucksack and moved out.

"It's time for you to do the same thing. Time to end your little pity

party and rejoin the living. You are a Pulaski and that's what we do.

Now talk to me."

So I told my grandfather the whole story, my voice breaking on occasion

as I relived my hurt. He didn't say anything other than an occasional

"go on" to keep me talking. When I finished my story he knocked his pipe

out on the heel of his hand and repacked it with tobacco.

"I know that this is probably not what you want to hear, son, but that

girl did a lot for you. And she did it when she was fragile and

vulnerable. Don't judge her too harshly, she's carrying a bigger load

than you can imagine."

I took my grandfather's words to heart and tried to get on with my life.

I started working out again with Stan and Richie, although now that

Richie had a license he was a frequent no-show. I talked to Michelle

once in a while but I really had to force myself to do it. I was

reverting to my old tongue tied self and couldn't seem to stop the skid.

School was just a way to fill my days as I went mechanically through the

motions of socializing and learning. Then things took a radical change

in early February.

The cause of the change was a girl in my biology class. Her name was

Caroline Hernandez. Caroline was smart and pretty and painfully shy. She

was the oldest of seven children and her being in high school was an

iffy proposition because her family was strapped financially. Caroline

was already baby-sitting as many as five nights a week to help out her

family. Caroline and I weren't friends but we were nodding acquaintances

because we also had the same homeroom and study hall.

I was on my way to Social Studies when I remembered that I had left my

book in my locker. I resigned myself to being late and veered down the

corridor to pick up my book just as the bell rang. I turned the corner

and almost ran into a very frightened Caroline trying to pull her arm

out of the grasp of an older looking Latino guy. He was saying something

to her in Spanish and she was violently shaking her head. I pulled up short.

"This guy bothering you Caroline?"

The guy spoke before she could. "Get lost Dude, this ain't none of your

business," he said.

I looked the guy over; he was about my size and wore the typical

gangster uniform. He had a cruelly handsome face with medium length

thick black hair. His fists were clenched; L-O-V-E was tattooed on the

knuckles of one hand, H-A-T-E on the other.

"Then let her go so it can keep being none of my business," I said.

"If I let her go it's gonna be so I can kick your ass," he snarled.

I hadn't been in a fight since a playground dust up in the sixth grade.

My father and grandfather taught me how to defend myself; fights just

didn't seem to happen to me.

"You don't want to throw down here in the hall or we'll both get

suspended. You let her go and you can explain it to me in the park

behind the church after school," I said.

He shoved Caroline away from him and barked something at her in Spanish.

She scampered away in fright as he turned back to me.

"I'll be there," he said. "I'm gonna enjoy fucking up your pretty white

boy face."

The confrontation happened between fourth and fifth periods so I only

had two hours before I was out the front doors and walking toward the

park. Caroline was waiting on the sidewalk for me, her eyes brimming

with tears.

"Don't go over there Johnny," she pleaded, "Arturo is mean and he will

hurt you."

I shrugged, "If I don't go he'll just find me somewhere else. Might as

well get it over with now. You go on home and tell your folks about him."

She started to say something then spun around and left instead.

As I walked the two blocks to the park I thought about why I didn't do

more to defuse the situation with Mr. Arturo. I could have I was sure.

But I think the truth was that all the anger I felt at Rachael jilting

me made me unconsciously spoiling for a fight.

When I got to the park there were at least fifty kids there with more

arriving by the minute. Word of a fight spread like chicken pox. Arturo

was standing with a couple of guys who could have been his clones when I

walked up. I dropped my book bag and stood waiting for him. Arturo

ambled over and took a boxers stance in front of me.

Arturo didn't waste any time as he flicked a jab at me and began

circling to my left. It didn't take me long to figure out that I was way

over my head as he snapped off a lightning fast two punch combo that

rocked me on my heels. Then he threw a flurry that left me sitting on my

ass with a bloody nose.

Here's where what Nana Nadia calls the Pulaski curse showed itself. I

knew I didn't have a chance against this guy and he had already

extracted his revenge. If I had stayed down no one would much blame me.

Instead, I shook loose a few cobwebs, wiped my nose on my sleeve and

jumped up. Arturo grinned evilly and started circling me again. On the

next exchange I at least slipped in a solid left counter punch before he

knocked me down again. When I got back on my feet Arturo had a small

knot below and to the side of his right eye.

I stayed on my feet longer the third time as I anticipated Arturo's

rhythm and blocked most of his punches and landed a couple of jabs

myself. My success was short lived however as he switched tactics and

hooked a hard right under my ribcage on my left side. My breath whooshed

out of me and when I dropped my guard he plastered me in the nose again.

I knew my nose was broken as I hit the ground. Jeez, it hurt like hell.

It took me longer to get up this time. I vaguely heard a few people

telling me to stay down. One of Arturo's hommies whispered something to

him but Arturo pushed him away.

I was pretty damn tired of getting hit so as soon as I was on my feet I

launched myself at Arturo and managed to hit him a couple of good licks

before he leveled me again. I was on my hands and knees trying to get up

when I heard my sister's voice.

"Stay down Johnny," she said sharply.

I looked up at her through the one eye I could still see out of. I had

never seen her look as murderous as she did just then. She spun and

faced Arturo.

"It's over, you won. Touch him again and I'll make a woman out of you in

front of all your friends."

Arturo opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. Every

person in the park knew Katrina could do exactly what she threatened.

When Arturo turned around and strutted off, Katrina put my book bag

under my head and pulled my feet in until my knees were up in the air.

The position she put me in made it easier to breath. The last thing I

remember was her flipping open her cell phone.

I woke up to the acrid smell of ammonia. I tried to turn my head away

from the vile smell but it followed me. I tried to open my eyes and

managed to squint enough to see my grandfather kneeling beside me. It

took about five minutes for Papa J, Katrina and Caroline to get me into

Papa's truck. My grandfather drove me to the emergency room; Katrina and

Caroline followed him in Katrina's three-year-old Toyota Camry. I was

treated right away at the E.R. because I looked pretty bad I guess.

Somehow I had bled a lot both from my nose and from a cut over my eye.

The E.R. doctor called down a facial reconstructive surgeon who was

making rounds on the surgical ward. The surgeon checked out my nose then

while nonchalantly talking to me, twisted it twice and put it back in

place. It hurt worse fixing it than it did getting it broken.

Nana Nadia steamed into the Emergency Room while I was getting two

cracked ribs taped. My father was right behind her. I didn't feel much

like talking so Katrina filled them in on the afternoon's festivities.

While she was talking I learned that Caroline went and found Katrina

instead of going home. That's how Katrina ended up in the park. Katrina

had seen most of the fight and never interfered until I looked too beat

to continue. When Katrina finished, my grandmother was ashen. She

crossed herself and took my hand.

"I hoped it wouldn't happen to you too, Johnny. But here you are;

stubborn, proud, and stupid, just like those two," she said jerking her

head towards my father and his father.

The objects of her displeasure did not look at all as if what she said

bothered them that much. The doctor ordered me to stay home from school

for the rest of the week and gave me a stack of prescriptions and

appointment slips. Katrina drove Caroline home and my dad took me to our

house.

My mother was in Houston so Nana came over the next day to take care of

me. Nana was thrilled for the opportunity. She hovered over me and if I

asked for anything she was off like a shot to get it. There was not a

place on my body that didn't hurt so I was pretty much confined to the

bed. About three-thirty that afternoon I was surprised when Caroline

knocked gently on my open door.

"I went around and saw all your teachers, Johnny. They gave me your

assignments for the rest of the week."

"I appreciate that, Caroline. Come in and sit down."

Caroline was a very pretty girl as I said before, she was about five-six

and slender. Her breasts were medium small and her hips slim but well

defined. She had amazing long black hair that hung down to the small of

her back in a single thick braid. Her brown eyes were large and

expressive, her nose small and upturned, and her complexion dusky and

smooth.

She slipped into the room and perched on the edge of my desk chair that

Nana had moved beside the bed. She could not stop staring at my face as

a big tear suddenly rolled down her cheek.

"I am so sorry that I caused you to get hurt so bad, Johnny," she sobbed.

I reached over and took her hand.

"It wasn't your fault, Sweetie, it was between me and Arturo. Now, how

are you? Did you tell your parents that Arturo was bothering you? And by

the way, why is Arturo bothering you?"

"I'm sixteen now and can date, Arturo wants me to be his girlfriend. He

is a bad person Johnny, and I don't want anything to do with him. Yes, I

told my parents. But they are scared to go to the police. We are having

problems with the immigration people and my parents fear we will be sent

back to Mexico if we cause trouble."

I glanced up when I saw movement in my doorway. Katrina was standing

there leaning against the jamb a scowl on her face. Noise on the stairs

caused Katrina to turn her head then her eyes widened.

"Hi Mom," she said.

My mom greeted her then hurried into my room. It was my turn to register

surprise when I saw Mom was dressed in one of those sky blue NASA flight

suits. Wow, I thought, she looks damn good in that thing. Mom took one

look at me and her face crumbled.

"Johnny," she gasped as she rushed over to the bed and laid her hand

gently on my head. "Oh, my poor baby."

Yeah, kinda chokes me up too, when I think back on it. My mom, who had

such difficulty dealing with the emotional part of being a mother, was

suddenly June Cleaver.

For the first time I noticed the man who followed my mom into my room.

My eyes almost bugged out of my head when I saw who it was. I was a

teenage boy and as such it was incumbent on me to be blasé about

everything. But holy shit, it was freaking Buck Gomez the astronaut!

Lieutenant-Colonel Buck Gomez was as close to a non-sports hero as

America had. Gomez was NASA's chief shuttle pilot, and the handsome face

of the space program. The media called the telegenic Gomez 'Captain

America'.

"Colonel Gomez volunteered to fly me here in a NASA T-38 when I couldn't

get a flight out," Mom said.

"Actually your mom flew, I just stole us a plane. Boy I'd hate to see

the other guy," Gomez said.

My mom could fly a jet? Where was I when all this stuff was happening?

"His hands are a mess," I said, "from where I beat them with my face."

Gomez laughed, and stuck out his hand.

"Call me Buck. That was a good thing you did, Johnny."

I mumbled something self-effacing as Buck turned to the wide-eyed Caroline.

"Is this the young lady? If it is I see why you did what you did; she is

beautiful."

Buck then engaged Caroline in a rapid-fire conversation in Spanish. I

decided on the spot that I was switching from Latin to Spanish as my

foreign language next year. Buck asked Caroline a few questions;

Caroline answered hesitantly. Then Buck turned to face my mother.

"Boss, do you mind if I borrow your car and take Caroline home? I want

to speak with her father for a minute."

Another revelation, my mom was Captain America's boss! It was as if my

mother had some secret life that was just coming to light. Mom trotted

off to get the keys to her Prius and Katrina reappeared in the doorway.

Buck introduced himself and made small talk with us while we waited for

Mom to return. It was almost comical watching Buck and the Moose size

each other up. The mutual interest between them was palpable. Mom

returned with her keys and Buck escorted Caroline out.

"Mom, Caroline's family is having some sort of problem with the INS. I

called Josh Turner and he agreed to talk to his uncle to see what could

be done," Katrina said.

"Based on what Colonel Gomez was saying to Caroline, I think he is going

to get involved also," Mom replied.

Jeez, Mom spoke Spanish too. I was definitely going to have to ask my

dad some serious questions about this woman.

Mom was fussing with my pillow when Nana came in and said two policemen

were downstairs and wanted to talk to me. Mom looked at me and I just

shrugged, I didn't have a clue. The policemen turned out to be Deputy

Sheriffs on the gang suppression squad. In a nutshell they wanted me to

press assault charges on Arturo.

"He didn't assault me, it was a fair fight," I told them.

The deputies gave me a litany of things Arturo Mendoza was involved in.

He was an up and coming leader in the Latin Kings street gang. Mendoza

was a particularly vexing hoodlum because he was highly intelligent. He

had incorporated his chapter of the Latin Kings as a not for profit

community service club. The Kings outwardly were involved in community

outreach for the Hispanic residents of the east central county. He was

also a serious school student who planned on going to college. Mendoza

wanted to be able to manage the drug money his gang accumulated. Mendoza

was a student of Che Guevara and had organized his gang into cells of

four to six individuals for the conducting of their criminal activity.

If a cell was arrested they couldn't compromise the gang at large. Damn,

the guy was bad news. Still, as far as he and I were concerned, it was

exactly as it appeared and I couldn't help them. I did tell them about

Arturo's interest in Caroline Hernandez though, and why Mr. Hernandez

was scared to ask for their help.

Three days later, on Friday, I was out of the house for the first time

since the fight. I had an appointment with the plastic surgeon and a

dental exam scheduled. Arturo was a skilled enough fighter that he

avoided hitting me in the mouth and injuring his hands but some of the

wallops I took to the jaw seemed to have loosened a few teeth. The

plastic surgeon was going to fix my ear that was slightly pulled away at

my earlobe and check my nose. He also wanted to make sure my eye socket

wasn't damaged. I felt a lot better but I still pretty much looked like

shit. I was a member of the raccoon club with vivid bruises around both

eyes and a stiff plastic splint like contraption covered my nose. Part

of my left eyebrow was shaved off and a trail of fine stitches

caterpillared across my brow.

The doc checked me over and took some more x-rays. He pinned my ear back

with a couple of stitches and said I wouldn't need any other surgery. My

nose was going to have a small bump at the bridge and I'd have a scar on

my forehead but other than that, no permanent damage. The dentist was

likewise positive, no dead teeth, no chips or missing fillings. The

doctor also said I could take a shower, something I sorely missed all week.

So by six that evening I was freshly showered and feeling almost human.

I was propped up on my bed reading */Lost Horizons/* when the doorbell

bonged downstairs. A few seconds later my mom called me down. When I

made it to the bottom of the stairs, Caroline and her folks were there.

Caroline was dressed in a nice skirt and blouse, her thick hair loose

and pulled back by mother of pearl combs. The girl had a lot of hair.

She introduced her parents as Mom ushered everyone into the family room.

When we were all seated Caroline's father began thanking us, first me

for coming to Caroline's rescue then Mom and Katrina for helping with

the INS.

The resolution to the immigration problem had been ridiculously simple.

The obstacle to converting work visas into green cards was mainly the

lawyer that Mr. Hernandez had hired. The shyster's greed and

incompetence led him to string the Hernandezs' along, making them think

that the situation was much worse than it was. When the Hernandez

problem was fixed so were those of seven other families who had been

paying the lawyer fifty dollars a week.

Dad asked Mr. Hernandez what he did for a living. Hernandez said that

currently he was working for a landscape company but that he was a

factory trained Ford repair technician. Dad's eyes lit up at that news

and he and Mr. Hernandez started talking cars. By the end of the evening

Dad offered him a job, provided that Hernandez enroll in an English as a

second language course. Dad thought it was a good deal for him because

he didn't have a Spanish-speaking mechanic at his shop but did have an

increasing number of Hispanic customers.

While the adults were talking, I asked Caroline if she wanted to go for

a walk. She asked her dad and at his nod of consent we took off. As we

turned onto the sidewalk I took her hand in mine. She looked up at me in

surprise, her large expressive eyes widening. I just smiled, squeezed

her hand and kept walking. While we strolled I asked about Arturo

Mendoza. She told me that he was keeping his distance from her. She

thought he was laying low because of all the attention her family was

receiving. I was dragging ass by the time we walked around the block

because it was still difficult to breath with my cracked ribs. On the

porch Caroline surprised me by kissing me quickly on the lips before we

went inside.

I went back to school on Monday. I was a minor celebrity, the geek who

fought the scary Arturo Mendoza. The guys thought I was crazy, but the

girls thought I was Sir Lancelot. Oh man, it was almost worth the ass

whipping just to bask in the adulation of girls who formerly wouldn't

give me the time of day. I was eating this shit up; take that, Rachael

Scofield, and fuck you very much!

Listen, I'd like to say I took the high road here and that I pooh-poohed

off the praise with self-deprecating modesty, ala Buck Gomez. But the

truth of the matter was that my ego, thanks to Rachael, was as battered

as my mug. When Marcie Winters, the cheerleader on whom I had a major

crush as a freshman, asked me to the Sadie Hawkins dance I quickly accepted.

Sadie Hawkins Day was an annual school event sponsored by the

cheerleaders as a fundraiser. Sadie Hawkins day was based on an old

newspaper comic strip named Lil Abner. Lil Abner lived in this town

called Dog Patch, some place in the Ozarks. In the comic strip, Sadie

Hawkins was this ugly chick who could never get a man. On Sadie Hawkins

Day the girls reversed roles with the guys. They carried boy's books,

opened doors for them and stuff like that, for the dance girls asked out

the guys. For weeks before the dance the cheerleaders sold tickets off

these big rolls like at the carnival. Everything at the dance, including

admission, was paid for with tickets. Oh yeah, one more thing: you had

to dress up like a hillbilly for the dance.

Like it was when I took out Rachael for the first time, my fame was

fleeting. By Wednesday everyone had mostly moved on to the next topic

that grabbed their attention. I was back to being just one of

proletariat. One of the positive things that happened around then was

that I reconnected with Michelle Hoffman. I don't mean that we fooled

around again or anything, we just started talking at school and started

having lunch together. It was nice being with Shelly; she was bright and

had a wicked sense of humor. I also spent a fair amount of time with

Caroline Hernandez. We sat together in the library for study hall and I

wrangled it so she was my lab partner in biology.

So all of a sudden it's the first Friday in March, Sadie Hawkins Day at

Palmdale Senior High. You should have seen Caroline's face when I handed

her my books after homeroom. The pink on her cheeks looked fabulous over

her tawny golden complexion. I played it to the hilt and Caroline was a

good sport about it, even pulling out my chair for me at study hall.

When she went into the stacks for a reference book I followed her and

kissed her. She shocked the hell out of me by kissing me back hard. When

I let her go the color was back in her cheeks but it was a flush, not a

blush, and her eyes were a smoldering challenge. Hmmm, I thought about

that kiss for the rest of the class. As Caroline lugged my books toward

my locker I asked her to go to the movies with me the next evening.

"I'd like that Johnny," she said, "but you have to ask my father for

permission before I can go.'

Wow, pretty old world, huh?

The Sadie Hawkins dance was fun. Marcie even picked me up in her car in

keeping with the concept. I was wearing a pair of jeans at least four

inches too short for me, and a red and white checked shirt. I had on a

pair of old work boots of my grandfather's with a piece of rope for a

belt. I had a straw hat that was Papa's also and had blacked out one of

my front teeth with a Sharpie marker. Marcie looked pretty damned cute

in bib overalls. She had her fine blond hair in pigtails and had drawn

big freckles on her cheeks. She loved the missing tooth look so we

blacked out one of hers as well.

Like I said, the dance was fun but being with Marcie wasn't. Marcie was

as insubstantial as helium and the only subject she could expound on for

any length was Marcie. I hung in there though, dancing and hanging with

her and her vapid friends. One thing that helped make my evening better

was the kiss for a ticket thing where a girl gives a guy a ticket and he

kisses her. At the end of the evening the guy with the most tickets is

crowned Mr. Dog Patch. I was amazed at the number of kisses I dispensed.

I was also amazed at the boldness of some of them. For instance, Jenny

Caldwell came up while her date was in the bathroom. She handed me a

ticket then proceeded to perform a tonsillectomy on me using her tongue

as a scalpel. Josh Turner was crowned Mr. Dog Patch but I was a

respectable second.

When the dance broke up at eleven Marcie drove out to the shell pit, a

notorious make out spot, and parked. We swapped a little slobber and she

put my hand on her breast.

"No touching under the clothes," she said.

With Marcie, even making out was choreographed. After exactly fifteen

minutes she broke our clench, started her car, and drove off. She took

us to the Steak and Shake where she proceeded to ignore me and chatter

with her friends. Marcie did add to my knowledge of women that night

though. With Marcie I learned that I didn't pick up vibes from all

girls. Marcie didn't radiate that something that told me what to do

next. When I thought about it later I realized that I also felt nothing

from Jenny Caldwell. By contrast, when I kissed Caroline I could feel an

aura around her that resonated to my touch. Weird shit, huh?

The next morning I called Caroline and checked if her father was home.

She said he was outside working on a neighbor's pickup truck. So I

climbed on the old mountain bike and rode the three miles to her house.

Caroline lived in an older section of Palmdale about three blocks off

the inland waterway. The part of town she lived in was an eclectic blend

of houses built in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. The house they lived in was

a four-bedroom, wood-frame, two-story built in the fifties. The house

was freshly painted and the yard was very well kept up.

I saw Mr. Hernandez standing with another man, their heads stuck under

the hood of an ancient Chevy pickup. He was holding a timing light and

gassing the engine. I stood by the truck waiting until he had the engine

purring. When he looked up and noticed me, he smiled, wiped his hand on

his jeans and stuck it out for me to shake.

'Hello Yonnie", he said.

I shook his hand and returned his greeting.

"Carolina is in the house doing laundry," he said.

"Uh, actually I came to see you, Mr. Hernandez," I said in a rush, "I'd

like your permission to take Caroline to the movies tonight."

Mr. Hernandez turned to the other man who said something in Spanish. Mr.

Hernandez's eyebrows went up and he looked at me.

"This is my friend Eduardo, he has better English."

Eduardo shook my hand then reached into a cooler and pulled out a couple

of cans of Bud Light. He offered me one and I shook my head no. He

shrugged and gave the can to Mr. Hernandez. Then the two men had a

lengthy conversation, as I stood there uncomprehendingly. Finally they

turned back to me. Mr. Hernandez casually took a big folding Buck Knife

out of a sheath on his belt, snapped it open one handed and started

cleaning his fingernails.

"Mr. Hernandez will allow you to date his daughter Caroline," Eduardo

said formally. "But he desires you to know that he will cut off your

cajones if you hurt her."

I blanched as I looked at the wicked looking knife; cajones was one of

the few Spanish words I knew. Mr. Hernandez and his friend were looking

at me as if they are deciding whether it would be safer to castrate me

first.

I tried to say something reassuring but it's as if the shiny stainless

steel blade of the knife hypnotized me. Then Hernandez and Old Eddie

start laughing manically and Mr. Hernandez slaps me on the back.

"You are very funny, Yonnie," he said.

Mr. Hernandez led me up and into the house and called for Caroline. When

she arrived he headed for the kitchen where his wife was standing at the

sink. No doubt to regale her with his big joke.

Caroline took my hand and we walked back out to the porch.

"Did you ask?"

I nodded.

"What did he say?"

"He said okay and then threatened to cut off my you-know-whats."

Caroline covered her mouth to stifle her giggling.

"He says that to all the boys. He thinks he is a comedian."

"All the boys?" I asked.

"Yes, I have been dating since I was fourteen but usually the dates are

with boys from church. You are the first Anglo I've dated."

How about that, shy little Caroline has been dating for two years already.

The Moose drove me over to pick up Caroline at half past six that

evening. I knocked on the door and Mrs. Hernandez let me in. Mrs.

Hernandez spoke better English than her husband. I sat in the living

room chatting while Caroline finished getting ready. The furniture was

not new but the house was clean as a whistle. Mr. Hernandez and I shook

hands again. He was sitting in a recliner watching Boxeo on Univision.

He said something to Mrs. Hernandez and she swatted him on the arm.

'My husband says you should maybe watch this station so you'll do better

next time."

I looked over at him and he put up his fists and waved them around. Yep,

Juan Hernandez was the next George Lopez all right; just ask him.

I met some of Caroline's siblings while I was waiting. She had a

brother, Juan Junior, who was eighteen months years younger than her.

Caroline had told me all about him during study hall. He was a bright

and personable young man and the pride and joy of the family. Caroline

said it was normal in her culture for the family's hopes to be pinned on

the first-born son. I also met her thirteen-year-old sister Carla. Carla

was bright-eyed and precociously on the cusp of becoming another Latin

heartbreaker. I met two others, also, a set of nine-year-old twins, boy

and girl. The two youngest, a four-year-old brother and a two-year-old

sister were in the bathtub.

When Caroline flowed down the steps she made the wait insignificant. She

was beautiful and I told her so as her parents beamed. She kissed both

her parents and out the door we went. Katrina was reading as she waited

for us, she turned off the dome light, fired up her Toyota and off to

the mall we sailed. Katrina dropped us off at the entrance to the

multiplex. We settled on a romantic comedy with J Lo in it and I bought

us tickets.

I couldn't take my eyes off Caroline. She was wearing low-rider jeans

and a tight t-shirt with a scooped neck. Her bra pushed her breasts

deliciously upward. Her jeans were tight and molded to her perfect

little ass. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but Latin girls wear jeans

better than any one else. I think it has to do with attitude. I mean

Brittany Spears looks good in jeans and all, but Shakira looks

spectacular. And Caroline wore hers with panache. Caroline also had her

thick hair unfettered and loose. It moved with her head as if it were a

diamond studded black cloud. My fingers ached just to grab a big handful

of it.

I told her again how beautiful she was while we watched the previews

roll. She turned in her seat and kissed me.

"I wanted to look sexy for you Johnny so you'd forget about those two

blondes that buzz around you like bees."

I kissed her back. "Mission accomplished," I said.

We watched the movie in companionable silence. My arm was around her;

her head was on my shoulder. We kissed every time the actors did. Ours

were so much better. After the movie I called my grandfather from my

cell phone. He picked us up fifteen minutes later then drove us to his

house for dessert. As soon as we walked into my grandparents' house,

Jethro bounded over to us and stuck his nose in Caroline's crotch. I had

forgotten to warn her about Jethro's unique way of saying hello. My

grandfather grabbed Jethro by his collar and pulled him away as my

grandmother muttered an apology. Jethro yawned, and ambled into the

family room and plopped down, his work for the evening done.

We sat at the kitchen table and Nana served us freshly baked cherry pie

with ice cream. We talked for about fifteen minutes then Papa asked

Caroline when she had to be home. She said in about an hour.

"Good," said my grandfather, "would you two mind if me and Nadia take

Jethro for a walk?"

Before I could say anything Caroline piped up.

"No, Mr. Pulaski, we wouldn't mind at all," she said sweetly.

Nana shooed us into the family room as she put away the dishes and pie.

Then she and Papa grabbed their sweaters and Jethro and slipped out the

door. Jethro was ecstatic over his unexpected good fortune; he

practically dragged Papa out the door.

"See you in about thirty minutes," Papa called helpfully.

When the door closed I turned to Caroline.

"I swear I didn't put him up to that!"

She giggled, "Shut up and kiss me, we only have half an hour."

This side of Caroline flabbergasted me. In public she was so shy and

sweet but alone with me she was something altogether different. Well,

whatever, I tabled that line of thought as she gave me a smokin' kiss

that had Kong harder than Superman's kneecap in five seconds flat. I

could feel her desire like a physical presence in the room. It was

stronger even than Michelle Hoffman's. I reflected it back to her as we

kissed. When she pulled away from me her eyes were smoldering pools of

passion.

"I will take you for my lover," she stated, matter of factly.

Oh Sweet Jesus, her accent was so cute. Actually, unless she was excited

her English was nearly flawless, especially since she had only been in

the United States five years. Having to learn English was why she was a

year older than me, yet in the same grade.

"I accept," I said laughing.

She grabbed my face and forced me to look her in the eyes.

"I'm not joking, my Johnny. I am going to go to college and become a

nurse, so I don't want or need a boyfriend. Yet, I am very sexual and

you make me burn inside. And I trust you Johnny, I know you will keep me

safe and not talk about me."

Shit! She was serious!

"Once again, I accept," I said, solemnly this time.

She smiled then, showing her small white teeth. Then she quickly swung

herself astraddle my lap, one of her knees on each side of my hips. Once

firmly seated, she reached down cross handed and whipped her t-shirt

over her head. She shook her head sending her hair flying all over. She

used her hands to brush her hair back over her shoulders the reached

behind her and unfastened her lacy baby blue bra. She shrugged off the

bra and tossed it next to her shirt. Finally, Caroline pulled her

shoulders back making her apple-sized breasts thrust forward.

Wow, she had a terrific body! She didn't appear to have an ounce of fat

on her. Her stomach was flat and slightly rippled with muscles. She had

a small gold hoop in her belly button. Her smallish breasts fit her

frame perfectly and were capped by brown, puffy, Hershey Kiss nipples. I

leaned forward and slurped one of her puffies into my mouth. She hissed,

pushed her chest towards me and ground her hard little ass on the Mighty

Kong.

Caroline scooted her hips forward until I could feel the tented fly of

my jeans pressing against her mons. She rode me like that for a couple

of minutes making little back and forth slides. I had the handful of

hair I craved all evening, both hands buried in sweet smelling ebony as

I nibbled along her jaw. Caroline suddenly ground down on me hard then

her whole body seemed to quiver. She let out a loud squeal then leaned

forward and bit my neck as she shuddered and moaned.

I held her as she regained her breath, her little body quivering every

so often. Finally she leaned back and smiled at me.

"I wish I could take off my jeans Johnny but they are so tight I'd never

get them back on before your grandparents returned. But from now on I'll

wear a dress or skirt for you."

"It's fine Caroline, we'll have other chances."

She nodded. "Yes," she said, "but in the meantime I'm not letting my

lover go home suffering."

As she was saying that she was gracefully sliding off me. She knelt on

the floor and pushed my legs apart. When she started fumbling with my

zipper I rushed to help her. Soon enough, my pants were around my ankles

and my dick was in her mouth. She laved my shaft with her saliva then

wrapped her hand around my shaft. Keeping suction on the crown of my

dick she started stroking me up and down. It only took her a couple of

minutes to Hoover a prodigious load out of me. She gulped me down, not

losing a drop. I was limp on the couch, a boneless blob, when she kissed

Kong sweetly and tucked him in for the night.

We pulled our clothes back on and cuddled on the couch. I could smell us

thick and pungent in the room. I was hoping that the Sharper Image

ionizer thing my Nana swears by was silently whisking the smell of our

little tete a tete out of the air. Caroline told me how our relationship

as lovers was going to work.

"Find us a place and get some protection, Johnny, at least two kinds

until I can go to Planned Parenthood and get on the pill. Next time you

take me out, plan on making love to me for hours."

Damn, she's a take-charge woman! I nodded and told her how good she made

me feel.

"You are not my first Johnny, I told you I'm highly sexed. But no one

has ever made me feel as good as you do even when we are just kissing. I

can't wait to have you in me making me scream."

To this day I am still in awe of Caroline's unabashed enthusiasm

regarding sex and her ability to compartmentalize her feelings. At

school you'd swear she was preparing for the convent but when we were

alone she was pure unadulterated sexiness.

My grandparents drove us to drop of Caroline at eleven-twenty. I walked

her to the door and got a chaste kiss on the lips. Before she went

inside she whispered that her thong was so wet it wouldn't dry out for a

week.

Back at school the following week it was business as usual. This time of

year is always a slog for me, the long period between President's Day

and spring break a relentless grind of study. One thing that did break

the routine happened during lunch the Tuesday after my first date with

Caroline.

I was walking to my usual table when Arturo Mendoza motioned me to join

him at his table. I shrugged and veered over to where he sat with a

couple of his homeboys. Mendoza made a gesture and we were suddenly

sitting at the table alone.

"You healed up good, White Boy," he said.

"I'm Polish, I have a hard head and my name's Johnny not White Boy." I

responded.

He gave me a shrewd look.

"You still ain't scared of me even after the beating I gave you."

I shrugged. "I have a healthy respect for your right hook, but, no, you

don't scare me."

"It's good you mentioned respect, that's what I want to talk about. I

hear the police visited you."

I nodded, "They wanted me to press assault charges against you. I told

them it was a fair fight, not an assault."

"That's what I heard. I also heard about what your family did for the

Hernandez. Both were good things. Then I heard you took out Caroline,

which was not so good. I could consider that an insult."

I chose my words carefully. "Caroline doesn't have time for either one

of us, Arturo. She has plans that don't include a boyfriend. She and I

are just friends. Neither one of us need to make her life any harder

than it already is. I know you are concerned about people in your

community getting ahead. Why not give Caroline her chance?"

He seemed to think about what I said for a few seconds as he eyed me

appraisingly. I returned his stare unblinkingly.

"You are a good dude, too bad you are not Latino, I could use you."

I laughed at that. "You mean you don't accept Poles in the Kings? That's

rank discrimination."

"Yeah, so sue me," he laughed.

I stuck out my hand and he shook it

Caroline asked about my conversation with Arturo when we were in study

hall. I gave her the */Readers Digest/* version of our chat. When I

finished her eyes were luminous. She looked around quickly then kissed

me when the coast was clear.

"You are /so/ going to get lucky for that," she said huskily.

That evening I asked Katrina about what constituted two forms of birth

control. She was in her room studying. I couldn't help staring at her

while she gave me the information I needed. She had on silky boxer

shorts and a cropped top that barely covered her small breasts. Her

nipples were clearly visible poking against the stretchy knit top. Her

legs were toned, silky smooth and a mile long.

Katrina was a fount of information; I went back to my room, shopping

list in hand. The next day after school I went to Walgreen's to stock

up. I bought latex condoms and three kinds of spermicides: tablets, a

foam spray and a sponge. Caroline was counting on me to take care of

birth control until she was safely on the pill. I was not going to let

her down. I also had a place for us to go because I still had a key to

Rachael's house. Rachael never took back her offer of its use any time I

wanted.

I told Caroline I was all set Thursday during biology. She said she was

baby-sitting Friday and Saturday nights but was free Saturday during the

day. We made a date for ten in the morning; she said she'd pick me up at

my house.

Saturday morning she arrived a few minutes before ten. She was very

excited and dragged Katrina and me outside. She was so excited because

her father had bought her a car. It was an early nineties Geo Metro,

dark red and very clean. The car was tiny and had a three cylinder

engine that got about a million miles to the gallon. I opened her door

for her, threw my backpack onto the back seat and jumped in. She cranked

the miniscule engine to life and we puttered the two blocks to Rachael's

place. True to her promise at my grandparents', she was wearing a

miniskirt. I loved looking at her slim thighs as she studiously shifted

gears.

I unlocked the door and checked the humidistat as I did every week.

Everything was fine and the automatic thermostat had the temp at a comfy

70 degrees. I showed Caroline around the house, stopping at the kitchen

and deposited the four Diet Cokes I brought in the fridge. I led

Caroline down the hallway toward the master bedroom. I know, I know,

it's petty for me to get revenge on Rachael this way but hey, it was my

heart she ripped out, not yours.

Inside the bedroom Caroline made me forget all about Rachael as she

stripped in front of me. Her body was slim all right, with just enough

meat in the right places to let you know she was all woman. She looked

up to make sure she had my undivided attention as she lowered the tiny

red thong she wore. I sucked in my breath as the front panel of the

thong cleared her vulva. Caroline was completely hairless below her

eyebrows. Her poochy little pussy was a beautiful brownish pink color.

Caroline looked at me coyly and gracefully fell back on the bed.

"Now you," she ordered.

I ripped my clothes off in record time and walk to the bed, Kong leading

the way.

"Protection," she said sitting up.

I reached down, grabbed my backpack, and upended it on the bed.

She clapped her hands in delight as a rainbow assortment of condoms and

spermicides tumbled onto the eiderdown duvet.

"My lover the Boy Scout," she giggled.

I blushed and shrugged. "You told me I was responsible for protecting

you so I covered all the bases."

"You did good, Johnny. Now get up here and start using this stuff."

So I did. Caroline Hernandez was the most athletic and adventurous woman

I've ever made love to. She was way more experienced than the other two

women I'd been with, and way more agile. By two that afternoon I was

exhausted and so were four of the dozen rubbers I'd bought. Caroline

taught me a lot that day, starting when she put her legs over my

shoulders during our first tryst. Caroline was snug but not super tight

so we fit together nicely. I came in her the first time far quicker than

I wanted so I pulled out and went down on her. She loved it and screamed

her ass off when she came. Then she took me in her talented mouth and

had me ready in record time. She flipped over onto her hands and knees

and I had my first doggie style. I lasted longer this time and Caroline

came with me, fingering her clit to help herself along.

And so it went. Caroline reveled in funky fun. She wasn't grossed out

that we were sweaty, stinky and sticky. We hopped in the shower at two

and washed each other, being careful not to get her hair too wet. Then

we cleaned up the bedroom and removed the evidence. When she dropped me

at home I could barely walk and she was chipper and fresh as a daisy.

The next day at mass she looked positively angelic in a yellow print

knee length dress. I grew erect when she passed the row where I was

sitting on her way to take communion. I know I'm going to burn in hell

for what I was thinking as her saucy little ass swished by.
Joe J
Chapter 5