Juvenile Crimes - Chapter 39
Not Always the Good Guy, Not Always the Bad Guy
On the Road to Bend, Oregon, August 1995 continued…
I had said my real “goodbye” to my father over our conversation the night before I left him for the last time. The following morning, I said my goodbyes to everyone else. My aunt Jane was having a weird pain in her elbow that morning that took a little attention away from my dad’s plight and kept us all from getting overly emotional. As all of us but my father would later find out, she had an as yet undiagnosed terminal disease that would be even more physically devastating and debilitating than my father’s death disease. I didn’t know it then, but that was the last time I would ever see Jane relatively healthy and on her feet (that story is a major part of my next novel).
After prying loose from everyone and hugging my dad for a long time, I hit the road for Bend, Oregon, for my next job interview with a local criminal defense firm there. I was on the road by 8 AM for what was a slow-people drive of 6 ½ hours that I intended to make in 5. And I would have, except along the way, I saw the exit for Crater Lake National Park, about a three-hour detour altogether. It was a fantastic hot, cloudless early August afternoon, so why not? I had never been there before – it is a very remote place that you have to intend to go to. Now, I did.
Crater Lake is truly one of the top natural Wonders of the World. I soon learned that it’s real name is Mount Mazama, once standing well over 12,000 feet, maybe higher. That’s bigger than Mount Hood and rivaling Mount Rainier’s size. About 7,700 years ago, it blew up in a volcanic eruption that dwarfs the Mount Saint Helens eruption by orders of magnitude. The result was a collapsed crater with a rim peak over a mile lower than the original summit in which Crater Lake was formed. The Lake itself is the purest clear blue water anywhere on Earth in the deepest lake in the United States at almost 2,000 feet at maximum depth. The beauty is absolutely awe-inspiring and a must-do on any bucket list…
So, I found myself leaning against a rock soaking in Nature’s blessings when I got struck with a hard case of nostalgia, and loss. It was perfectly natural given my father’s condition and my very fresh last visit. I just couldn’t help myself even though I knew – or believed – that it was a total waste of time and effort. I pulled out a legal pad and pen and then proceeded to do the dumbest thing I could think of (in retrospect) – I wrote Tami a long sappy letter.
I first dived into the confusing mess around my law school graduation, specifically her abruptly kicking me out of her house while we were getting intimate. That followed the intense pounding on the door, followed by pounding on the bedroom wall from outside the house. (See Chapter 19). I came at the letter from a place of loss, confusion, and regret that she didn’t come with me to Oregon – the sappy works all the way. Then I waxed poetic about Mt. Mazama and how such a volatile geology built up to an enormous, massive explosion that left behind one of Nature’s finest creations of beauty. Of course, I analogized it to our relationship if she would only let it become. I let her know the door was still open if she wanted to walk through it and back to me.
(I guess it had an impact since the crazy bitch hunted me down about six weeks later and then moved to “be with me” less than two months after that.)
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Coos Bay, Oregon, early December 1996 continued…
My quest to learn about opening my own law practice came to a close with the last attorney in town who I wanted to spend time with. She was also the first attorney I met here, the one who helped prep me for the job interview (see Chap. 2) – my amazingly beautiful, smart and witty older alum from high school. Jennifer.
When I called to invite her out for a drink, she was eager. Jennifer already heard about my impending departure from The Coo (as we called it) – again, the Courthouse talks. She was eager to see me, catch up with each other, and offer me any advice she could. We agreed to meet at Coney Island Station, of course. Where else? It was the “cool” place in Coos Bay back then.
We met at 7:00 PM sharp, meeting each other in the parking lot on the way inside. We were like old friends even though we hadn’t spent that much time together. We sat at a table away from the bar to minimize the noise as we talked. Jennifer was as charming as ever. Over our first drink, she asked me how my resignation went over, how I was getting along with Blanchett on the way out, and about my underlings, Chloe and Gwen. The rub with Gwen went both ways – Jennifer wasn’t a fan, making it a mutual dislike. We joked and laughed about how it all played out and would play out, at least how I wanted it to play out.
On our second drink, Jennifer told me that she was sorry to see me leave since I had just started getting a reputation in the lawyer community. But she was personally sorry, too. Jennifer got a little bold and asked me about my girlfriend, also a topic of courthouse talk, I guess. Among other things, King Henry had taken a noticeable interest in her, too, but not in a lecherous sort of way…I hope. After getting medical confirmation about Selena’s ongoing lie to me, I was honest.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know that it’s going anywhere,” I explained. “We’ve got some issues, and my moving will probably be the end of it.”
“I hope so, for you,” Jennifer said. “You’re a very handsome man. I think you could do better.” She said it with a sparkle in her eyes. “I was attracted to you the first time we met.”
I didn’t expect that, but she had my full attention – I was getting aroused, fast.
“I thought you were the hottest 40-year-old I’ve ever seen when we first met,” I said honestly, with obvious open intent. “And I still do.”
“I wanted to take you to bed right away,” Jennifer said seductively. “And I still do.”
I wasted not a second before turning to the nearest waitress and yelling, “Check please!”
“Can we go to your place?” she asked.
It made me nervous because of the off chance that Selena popped by, even more so because I was cheating on her, but my lust for Jennifer overcame any doubts.
“Follow me.”
So she did.