Excerpt: If Wishes Were Horses

Chapter 16
Grosse Pointe

“Wake up, Patty. Wake up.” Patty tried to swat the annoying thing away from her shoulder. It was shaking her and it wouldn’t stop.
“Casey? What the hell are you doing?” Patty grabbed her alarm clock and saw that it was four thirty. She was suddenly wide awake and she snapped on her light. “You did it! You are smiling like the cat that swallowed the canary!”
“It didn’t look like a canary.” Kathy giggled.
“Why, you’re not even blushing! Let me get out of this bed. We can go in the kitchen and talk. We sure don’t want to wake up Patricia.”
“Too late.” Said a sleepy voice from the hallway as Patricia closed the bathroom door behind her.
“We might as well make some hot chocolate. I don’t mind if she’s up. I want everyone to know.” Kathy stamped her foot wice on the floor. “Mrs. Ford, Mrs Ford, I’m in love, and I did IT!” She really didn’t yell, but Patty was worried about the two foot stomps.
“You are an idiot, Casey. She’s porbably at our door right now.”

But Mrs Ford was not at the door and Patricia was standing at the foot of Patty’s bed. Patty scooched over for Kathleen to sit next to her and Patricia folded her legs to sit Indian style at the foot of the bed. And Kathleen began her story. She mentioned how they had both spoke at once to suggest a drink after work. Then how the drinks and the food at the Library had been perfect. How she had suggested the banquette instead of a table and how he had finally touched and rubbed her thigh.

She described his fabulous apartment and the view of downtown Detroit. She related the sweetness of the ginger ale in crystal champagne glasses and the exquisite kissing. She even mangaed to tell about taking off their clothes. But she stopped after that because she really didn’t have words for all the things that Steve had done to her. All the sensations and desires he had evoked. Her face was in a kind of rapture as the girls waited for more.
“So how was the sex?” Patricia was blunt and to the point.
“The love making was more than I ever dreamed about. I can’t tell you about it because it belongs to us and I really don’t want to share it. But there is something else.” And she squealed like a little girl who just found a talking Betsy Wetsy doll under the tree.
“He asked me to marry him!!!!!”
“No!” this from Patty
“No shit!” from Patricia. “you must have been hell of a good piece of a”
“Stop it! He loves me and he wants to marry me. It really had nothing to do with the sex. If anything, I’m more honored that he asked me after we had sex. If he didn’t love me, all he had to do was take me home and drop me off.” Kathleen began to cry.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Patty asked.
“I’m just so happy. But who will walk me down the aisle? I miss my dad!” and she began to sob in earnest. Both girls were hugging Kathleen when they heard a knocking.
“Mrs Ford!!” and they ran to the front door together.
“Is everything ok? Miss Kathy, you’ve been crying. Did someone break your heart? Come here darling” and she was in the room and hugging Kathleen before anyone could react. Patricia closed the door behind her and said, “I’ll make coffee.”
“Tea for me” said Mrs Ford as she looked up from Kathy’s shoulder. Kathleen broke the embrace and took Mrs. Ford’s arm. The three women worked their way into the breakfast nook where Patricia had laid out four mugs . The percolator was plugged in and the kettle was on the burner. It was fortunate that they had tea bags from the time Patty had been sick with the flu. It had been Mrs Ford who brought them up to her.

When the beveridges had been poured, Kathleen began a condensed narrative of the Steve saga. She started with the first time she had seen him at Hudsons right up to the proposal. She glossed over the sex parts with a reference to a passionate kiss and embrace. She was getting pretty good at this. Not once had she felt her face flush with embarrasment. Her arm pits felt dry as well. Maybe all it took was losing her virginity to quell that annoying problem. She vowed to throw away her dress shields as soon as possible.

“I don’t know about you guys, But I’m calling in sick today” said Patty. It was now eight thirty am and they had just finished their second pot of coffee and Mrs Ford had gone downstairs and come back with an apple strudel that she had baked herself. They had all told stories about the men in their lives.

Even Mrs. Ford related how she had met Mr. Ford after the war in Germany. She cried as she showed us the number tatooed on her forearm. She had been in Auschwitz and was the only member of her family to survive. Mr Ford had been a desk clerk in the agency set up by the allies to help survivors search for family members. She grinned sheepishly as she described how she had kept coming back to the agency even after she had found a cousin alive in Brehmin. Finally the young soldier behind the desk had asked her to get a cup of coffee at the canteen. We loved each other, but it wasn’t easy. His superiors made it difficult to marry and especially difficult for me to come to the United States. I never did go see my cousin in Brehmin. I had never liked her anyway! And her she cackled.

“I think you have the right idea” said Patricia. They can certainly live without me for one day. Gotta let them miss me so they appreciate me more.” she laughed as she reached for the phone.
“No one is in my office till nine” said Patty.
“We have this new thing that answers the phone with a recording and it let’s people leave messages.. Mine will be the first message, I bet. No one has left a message yet this week. Oh, wait” she said as she hung up the phone. “No one knows how to get the messages but me!” and she laughed at her own efficiency.

“Well I’m off today. So I’m going to bed. Don’t call me unless Steve calls or is at the door!” Kathleen kissed the cheeks of her girlfriends and even Mrs Ford who had to get up out of the booth to let Kathleen out.
I say Kathy has the right idea. I’m going back to bed as soon as I call work at nine o’clock. You look sleepy too, Mrs Ford.” For once Mrs. Ford took the hint and yawned and said, “Yah. I’m going back to bed. Thank you for sharing this with me. You know, we didn’t have any children, Mr Ford and I. It was something from the camps. But I love you girls like my own. Of all the young women who have lived in this house, I love you three the best.” A tear escaped from her eye and lazily skimmed her cheek before dropping to the surface of the polished table that she was lening over to kiss Patty and Patricia on the cheeks. “I’ll let myself out. Just put the chain on before you go back to sleep.” And with that Mrs Ford was gone.