Wednesday afternoon, Susan knocked on the door of Alison's house. Alison had invited her over to use the pool and she had accepted the offer. Unable to decide which swimsuit to bring, she had brought the bikini and the one piece. She couldn't believe that Alison's parents would actually let their daughter wear that daring little string.
Alison answered the door wearing a robe. Seeing Susan, she smiled and said, "You're just in time. We were getting ready to go out by the pool."
Susan said, "I need to put on my bathing suit."
"No problem, you can change in my bedroom," Alison answered.
"I brought my one piece and the bikini. I didn't know which one to wear," Susan said.
Puzzled, Alison looked at Susan and asked, "Why wouldn't you wear the bikini that you wore to the lake?"
"Your parents might not approve," Susan answered. Her mother didn't approve of her bikini and her father didn't even know about it. Her father would go ballistic if he knew that she was wearing a bathing suit that didn't cover as much as her bra and panties.
Laughing at the idea that her parents wouldn't approve, Alison said, "Don't worry about that. The only reason any of us will wear a bathing suit today is because we have company."
Rather stunned by that announcement, Susan replied, "Oh."
Taking Susan by the hand, Alison led her to her bedroom where she could change into her swimsuit. Without considering that Susan might want a little privacy while changing into her swimsuit, Alison sat down on her bed and asked, "So how is dating Tom going?"
"He's real nice," Susan answered feeling a little embarrassed about changing clothes in front of Alison. She turned her back to Alison when she removed her shirt.
"They are both nice guys. Dan is really taking his time with me. Most guys would have tried to get me in bed by now," Alison said. She really hated having to wrestle with guys on dates and enjoyed the respectful treatment that Dan was giving her. She loved the honest attention he gave her when they talked.
"Uh," Susan said putting on her bikini top. She didn't know what to make of the discussion. It was really weird talking about dating and sex when she was half naked. She was already uncomfortable with the feelings that Tom generated within her when they were on a date. She didn't need to be reminded of that while half naked in a room with a woman.
"That's what I like about him. Did you know that he actually talks to me? He doesn't talk to my breasts. He doesn't try to jam his tongue down my throat when we kiss," Alison said watching Susan hesitate while changing clothes. Susan was trying to figure out how to remove her shorts without showing everything to Alison. It confused Alison a little since she didn't understand being that inhibited. She said, "I figure Tom is a gentleman too."
"He is," Susan answered. She turned so that her side was facing Alison and dropped her shorts.
"So have you done it with him yet?" Alison asked. She wondered how Tom had reacted when he had encountered Susan's old fashioned panties.
"No," Susan answered turning bright red.
"Why not?"
Feeling hot as if she had a fever, Susan answered, "We've only been dating for a month and a half."
Alison laughed at waiting that long. She said, "You should know by now if you want to sleep with him. If you do, why haven't you? If you don't, why are you leading him on?"
"Huh?" Susan asked pulling up her bikini bottom.
"I know I want to sleep with Dan. We're going to do it on our next date or the one after that. I can hardly wait," Alison said.
"Shouldn't you wait a little longer than that?" Susan asked with a frown.
Alison shook her head and asked, "Why wait?"
"Women aren't supposed to be interested in having sex," Susan answered.
"That's garbage. I've never understood women who pretend like they aren't interested in sex. They know they want to sleep with the guy, but they don't. Why? Oh, they think they shouldn't be interested in sex. The fact is that they want it. They're hypocrites," Alison said. She looked over at Susan and said, "You want to know what's really awful?"
"What?"
Alison answered, "They give off all the signals that they want to sleep with the guy, but they don't. The guy ends up walking around frustrated as hell with her and it destroys the relationship. It is stupid. Why act like a prick tease?"
"Maybe they don't want to get pregnant," Susan said defensively. She didn't like the idea of being called a prick tease.
"That's what birth control is for," Alison replied as if stating the obvious.
"Maybe they aren't ready for such a big step," Susan said biting her lower lip.
Alison was about to make a trite comeback about oral sex being a smaller step, but a glance at Susan convinced her not to say it. The young woman looked like she was on the verge of tears. Putting a hand on Susan's arm, Alison asked, "Are you a virgin?"
"Yes," Susan answered looking down at the floor. Her face was bright red.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so glib. I had just assumed," Alison said looking away feeling bad that she had unknowingly trampled all over the other girl's feelings. She said, "I didn't mean anything by it."
"I want to," Susan said admitting her desire aloud for the first time in her life.
While Alison and Susan were having their little heart to heart, Dan was busy at work. He had the fun job of carrying roofing shingles from where they had been stacked on delivery up to the roof where the roofers were hard at work. He was barely keeping up with the roofers. When he dropped off one of the loads, one of the roofers called him over. Pointing to the shingles, he said, "Let me tell you a little about laying shingles. We're professionals and do this all day long. As a result, we take a few short cuts. If you've been watching us work, you'll probably get it wrong if you try it on your own."
"What kinds of shortcuts?" Dan asked turning his full attention to the roofer. He had no intention of being a roofer. Although he wasn't exactly afraid of heights, he didn't enjoy being up on the roof like that. The chance to learn something new overcame his discomfort.
"Normally after you lay each course of shingles, you should take a chalk line and mark out a straight line across the roof so that the shingles are put down straight. Nothing looks worse than a house with the shingles laid out in a haphazard fashion."
"I bet," Dan said thinking that a roof was something most people wouldn't notice until it was done incorrectly.
"After you've done this for a while, you can actually eye it. I still insist that the guys mark out the first course. It is better to be safe than sorry, particularly when you have a guy or two who are new on the crew."
He could see where if someone were to do it everyday that they'd learn little tricks to make the job easier. Dan said, "That makes sense to me."
"Do you see how we're laying them down?"
"Yes," Dan said looking over at the complex pattern of shingles on the roof.
"What we are doing is called racking. It keeps you from having to walk back and forth across the roof, but it is a little more complicated. If you ever put down your own roof, you will want to lay out the shingles one row at a time."
"You're probably right," Dan answered. He looked at the arrangement of shingles knowing that he'd never remember how to do that.
The roofer smiled and asked, "Why don't you lay a couple of shingles?"
Following instructions, Dan went through an entire bundle of shingles. The nail driver made the work fairly easy. As he worked, the roofer pointed out little hints that would make the job easier. When he finished, the roofer sent him off to get some more bundles of shingles. Dan thanked him for the lesson.
After he had delivered the last bundle of shingles, he climbed down to the ground and went over to the water cooler. The boss insisted that they take a break every thirty minutes to drink a full cup of water. The temperature was in the high nineties that day and the roof felt even hotter.
Dan was filling his cup when Mr. Foreman came over to the cooler. Pausing to watch Dan, he said, "Keep drinking that water. I'd hate to have you pass out from the heat. There's nothing worse than heat stroke except having heat stroke on top of a roof and falling off."
"Yes, sir," Dan said.
Mr. Foreman had been pleased that after working for more than a month and a half that Dan was still hustling. He asked, "Have you given any thought to making construction a career?"
"I've given it a lot of thought," Dan answered. He looked over Mr. Foreman and said, "I've enjoyed the job, but I don't think it is the career for me. I think I want something that is year round employment."
"I understand," Mr. Foreman said. He asked, "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. I might have to travel around see what kind of jobs there are for someone like me," Dan answered.
"Are you going to college?" Mr. Foreman asked. A lot of kids who worked construction for the first summer out of high school realized that college was a very good option.
"I'm not really cut out for college," Dan answered with a shrug of his shoulders. He knew that he was going to hear questions about college for the rest of his life.
Mr. Foreman shook his head and said, "I really suggest that you look into it."
"I have Dyslexia. I can read, but not very quickly," Dan said.
"Oh, I guess that would make college problematic. Of course, you don't have to get a degree. I'm pretty sure that you can audit a course at the community college. You won't have to take the tests. You won't get credit for it, but at least you'll be exposed to the material. That's the important part. I haven't gotten a degree or anything, but I've taken some business courses over there. The accounting course that I took really helped me when I was starting my business," Mr. Foreman said.
Dan considered the advice while finishing his cup of water. As much as he had hated school, he could see that there would be advantages to just auditing a course. He could keep quiet and learn without looking too stupid. He said, "Thanks. I never thought of doing that. I'll keep it in mind."
Pointing to the wrappers that had been around the shingles, Mr. Foreman said, "Pick up that trash and throw it in the dumpster."
"Yes, sir," Dan said going over to where the roofers had dumped the wrappers over the side of the roof.
Mr. Foreman watched Dan return to work. No matter how ugly the job was, Dan always said, 'Yes, sir, ' and went to work with a smile. He decided that he'd move him over to the other site to work with the dry wall crew. They could use an extra hand for a day or two. He'd ask them to show him a little of the job. It wouldn't be enough to do the job professionally, but Dan would appreciate the lesson sometime in the future.
Dan swung by the video store on his way home from work. Walking in, he spotted Tom shelving some of the videos that had been returned. There was no one else in the store and Tom hadn't spotted him. Walking over to Tom, he disguised his voice and asked, "Where's the porno?"
Tom was asked that question at least once a week. Expecting to have to explain that this was a family video store, Tom turned to look at the person who had asked the question. He saw Dan and laughed. He said, "You know where the porno section is located."
Pointing to his head, Dan said, "It is right here between my ears."
"That's right," Tom said.
"Catch," Dan said as he tossed a root beer over to Tom.
Tom caught the can and smiled at the gesture. The store carried soft drinks, but not root beer. He asked, "What are you doing here besides delivering the only beverage that's worth drinking?"
"I thought I'd stop by on my way home from work and talk with you. We haven't had a chance to talk since the double date," Dan said. He knew that this was usually a pretty quiet time at the video store.
"That was some afternoon. Did you see the swim suit that Susan was wearing? Wow," Tom said. He opened the can of root beer and took a sip.
Dan nodded his head and asked, "What about the swim suit that Alison wore?"
"I'm not sure that qualified as a swim suit," Tom said shaking his head as he recalled the little patches of cloth that Alison had worn. Susan was a lot more conservative than Alison. He wondered if Dan was going to be able to keep up with Alison.
Dan looked around the store and then said, "We're going out again Friday and I don't want to take her to a movie. Have you got any idea where I can take her?"
"Sorry guy, I'm at a loss myself. We've done the movie thing a bunch of times, the dinner out thing even more times, and the lake almost every weekend. We can't go dancing because the clubs with bands serve alcohol and we're not allowed into them since we're underage. There aren't any plays or concerts coming up," Tom said. He took another sip of the root beer and then set the can down.
"I know. This really sucks. I never knew that dating was so tough," Dan said. It wasn't the date that was so tough, but planning for the date.
While putting another video back on the shelf, Tom asked, "Did she give you any hints about what she wanted to do?"
"She said she wanted us to be alone. I guess she didn't like double dating," Dan answered although she had seemed to enjoy herself with Susan and Tom.
"If you were talking about day time, I'd suggest the lake," Tom said. He put three of the same videos in the space for them.
"That's an interesting idea. How about a late night picnic by the lake? I could make a fire out there in one of the fire pits and we could roast marshmallows," Dan said.
Tom looked over at Dan impressed with the idea. He said, "That's not a bad idea. I might borrow it Saturday night."
"You've got to work Friday?" Dan asked.
"Yes. All of those folks without dates queue up to rent videos," Tom said. He grabbed his root beer and took another sip. He sighed and said, "That's good root beer."
"I'm glad you liked it," Dan said. He was pleased to have found a solution to his date problem.
Tom asked, "So have you finished reading the Pursuit of Happiness article?"
"Yes. I even wrote up what kind of life I think would make me happy," Dan answered. He had reread his write up a couple of times. He had changed a little of it each time. The changes were minor, but it helped to clarify his thoughts on the matter. For example, he had decided that he wanted a lot of informal friends while keeping just a handful of intimate friends.
"I bet the environments were a lot like your life now," Tom said.
Nodding his head, Dan said, "For the most part. There were some differences, though. I don't know enough to cover the sexual aspects of the biological environment."
"I had the same problem with the sex stuff. I finally wrote that I wanted lots of sex in it," Tom said with a grin.
Dan said, "I had a lot of problems with the section on life's work. I really don't know what I want to do with my life."
"That's not a problem. I know what you should do," Tom said with a smile.
Looking over at Tom, Dan asked, "What?"
Tom picked up his can of root beer and took a long sip from it. He knew that what he was about to say was going to blow Dan's mind. He answered, "You're going to open a Pizza place."
"What?" Dan asked shocked by the suggestion.
"You're going to open a pizza place," Tom repeated.
"That's crazy," Dan said.
Tom shook his head and said, "It is perfect for you."
"I couldn't do that," Dan said staring at Tom. He didn't know the first thing about running a restaurant.
"Yes you can," Tom said. He was about to explain, but someone came in the video store. Irritated at the interruption, he said, "Let me take care of them and we'll talk some more."
Dan picked up the videos that Tom had set down. He shelved them while thinking about Tom's suggestion. The idea that he would start a business of his own was crazy. The only thing that wasn't crazy about it was for it to be a pizzeria. While shelving a movie, he said, "I do make the best pizza in town."
A few minutes later, Tom returned and said, "Parker's Perfect Pizza. That's what you should call it."
"It has a catchy ring to it," Dan said, "but I don't know anything about running a business."
Tom smiled over at Dan and said, "Wait until you finish reading Take Control of Your Life."
Dan looked over at Tom thinking over the idea of opening a pizzeria. He tried mapping out what he thought the work would be like against the environments that he had described in his essay. It wasn't a bad idea; he just didn't know how to pursue it.
Diana went into Dan's bedroom and sat down at his desk. She knew that Dan didn't care if she rummaged through it and, in fact, expected her to do it. There were times when he left little notes for her to find. Sometimes the notes were really funny, but usually they were serious. Smiling to herself, she said, "It is as neat as always. I wonder what he left for me to find."
She rummaged through his papers and found one a paper that was addressed to her. The spelling was just as bad as always. She read it aloud, "Diana, if you're looking for something about Alison forget it."
She laughed and added an answer that if she wanted to know about Alison that she would ask her directly. She added a postscript  I need her telephone number. She put the paper back in the stack knowing that he would find her response.
In a different stack of papers, she came across an article with a little sticky note on it that said she might be interested in reading it. She picked it up and read the title. As was her habit, she talked to herself as she snooped, "The Pursuit of Happiness."
She noticed that the article was by the same guy who had written the facts of life article that she had read earlier. She decided that she would go back to that website and download the article. Thinking about the previous article, she wondered what had happened with the printout that she had made of the facts of life. It wasn't on his desk and she didn't think he had thrown it away.
Putting the papers back in a neat stack, she looked down at the drawer that he didn't want her to open. It was tempting, but that one little drawer was off limits and she knew it. She reached for it, but stopped herself. She said, "One of these days I'm going to see what's in there."
She was about to leave when she noticed a pad of paper with his writing on it. She picked it up and started to read. The title across the top of the paper was 'A Personal Definition of Happiness.' After reading one paragraph, she put it down as she said, "This is too personal."
The one paragraph that she had read had sparked her curiosity about the paper and she left the room to download the article. On coming out of the room she ran into her mother carrying a load of towels to the linen closet. She said, "Hi mom."
Her mother asked, "Snooping again?"
"Yes," Diana answered with a smile.
Her mother shook her head and said, "I don't know why he puts up with it."
"He loves me," Diana answered.
"Why do you do it?"
Surprised that her mother needed to ask, Diana answered, "Because I love him and worry about him."
"You worry about him and snoop through his desk?" her mother asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You remember how Dan was before he met Tom. He used to sit at that desk and cry. He was so unhappy. I was terrified that he was thinking about killing himself. I used to check for a suicide note every day," Diana answered. She had watched him struggle through his school work feeling alone and unloved.
Her mother was silent for a minute and nodded her head. She remembered those days. She remembered spending hours trying to cheer him up, but the problems at school had been overwhelming. She didn't know how many days he came home crying because kids had been calling him stupid. There were mornings when it was a fight to get him out of bed and to school. She said, "I remember."
"I'm afraid of what is going to happen at the end of summer," Diana said.
"I know. I've worried about Tom leaving for college, too."
Diana sighed and said, "Tom leaving is bad enough, but Alison is going off to college, too. Dan is going to be all alone again."
Her mother smiled. She had a feeling that Alison was with Dan to have a little fun over the summer and was going to make sure that Dan understood that before things developed too far. She said, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about Alison. She's a remarkable young woman. I'm pretty sure that she'll make sure that Dan isn't too upset."
"I don't want Dan hurt," Diana said.
The three articles mentioned in this story don't exist.