Being Jim ch10: Birthday Surprise

All characters in this story were of age of consent or older at the time the story takes place.

It’s the late ‘80s, the internet was still in its infancy, cell phones were but a concept. A simpler time for many things, at least looking back it seems that way most of the time.

Surprise Birthday Party

As I stuck my key in the lock to open my door, I could hear the phone ringing. “What the hell?” I asked myself out loud as I pushed the door open and removed my key before shutting it behind me. I dropped my lunch bag on the dining table as I rushed past into my little kitchen to grab the phone off the hook.

“Hello?” I answered, still wondering who would be calling me this early in the morning.

I’d just got home from working all night at the plant. I was tired, grumpy and only thinking about a quick shower and then a bite to eat before I laid down to sleep the morning away. It was barely seven thirty in the morning. Hopefully it wasn’t work calling with some problem or another.

“Jim! Good! I caught you before you went to bed.” I heard a giggling voice on the other end of the phone respond after I had answered.

“Yeah… What…” I began to ask but was cut off by more giggles and an all too cheery voice, a familiar voice.

“Susan? Shouldn’t you be in bed sleeping too?” I asked with a wry grin as I relaxed a bit, turning to lean back against the kitchen counter.

“Well… I guess, but I need to eat too. I know you just got off, and since I caught you this early, you’ve not eaten yet either.”

“Right…” I admitted, a little suspicious that Susan was going to ask for… a booty call… It was not unheard of for her and I to fool around some mornings after we both got off shift from working nights.

“I was talking with a couple of folks on Night Friends before I left work. They were up late and we all thought it’d be great to get together for breakfast. You up for it?” Susan asked a little more calmly.

Ordinarily I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. We shared a lot of friends online at Night Friends so any get together was usually fun. However, I’d been getting an odd vibe from Susan and a few others the last few times I’d been online at Night Friends myself. I had to wonder what was going on. That age old truth that keeps coming back to me time and time again… women talk, kept nagging at the back of my mind. I wonder what they have been talking about? And was this impromptu invitation really… impromptu, or part of a plan?

Those thoughts, and wondering who else was going to be there, flashed through my mind in the blink of an eye, and didn’t pause the conversation one bit. My stomach growling, however, did sway me towards joining Susan and whoever else was going to join us for breakfast.

“Sure, why not? I don’t smell too bad, I think. Where are we meeting? And, who, are we meeting?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Where, would be Frisch’s… Who… well, you’ll just have to wait and see… besides me, that is. You want to see me, don’t you?” Susan informed me and then teased with that little pout in her voice that made me want to growl.

“You know I’m always happy to see you… tease. Okay, one more question, when?” I asked with a grin on my face.

“Right now. If you leave right now, you’ll likely get there the same time I do.” Susan told me, again with a giggle, yeah… something was up.

“Okay. See you in a few minutes.” I told her and heard her hang up on her end before I stood up and reached over to hang my phone back on the cradle.

I stood up straight and stretched my arms toward the ceiling hearing my arms and my back pop and crack. I ran my fingers through my hair and rubbed my face, feeling the beginnings of a five-o’clock shadow. Looking at the clock on my microwave on the counter I realized that I didn’t have time to shave, but I could at least wash my face and brush my teeth before I left my apartment.

Five minutes later I was going back through my door, locking it behind me before going down the steps to the building entrance and out that door. The skies were a little cloudy but it only made the hot air feel that much more humid. It was August, and even at eight o’clock in the morning the air was muggy already.

Pulling my Ford Escort into the parking lot at Frisch’s, I did see Susan pulling into a parking space as well. I did almost beat her to the restaurant, even after taking time to wash my face and brush my teeth. I parked next to her and got out. I was greeted by her cherubic smiling face and a mischievous look in her eyes. Oh, and a hug. A nice big ol’ squishy “titty hug”. I so very much love those!

After I set Susan back down on her feet, after the hug, we both went inside. Susan asked the hostess for a large table for six. Hearing the number, I turned to look at Susan questioningly but she just grinned at me and shrugged.

“I’m not sure if everyone is going to show up or not, but if they do, we’ll have room.” Susan explained as we both followed the hostess to the table.

It was one of the tables they make by pushing two regular tables together, chairs got shuffled around. Soon, we were sitting and placing orders for something to drink before we ordered our food. I ordered a glass of orange juice, a glass of milk, and a glass of water. Working in the plant in the summer time, if I didn’t drink plenty of water I would easily dehydrate. Heat cramps are not pleasant. Susan ordered juice and coffee.

The waitress had just brought our drinks when the first of the mystery friends showed up. Sarah! I hadn’t even seen her come in or approach the table. The first I knew of her being there was the quick flash of recognition on Susan’s face across the table from me… and mischievous smile… then soft arms encircling my shoulders and neck from behind and warm soft lips kissing my neck.

Oh, God! What a way to be greeted… especially by someone very near and dear to my heart. Sarah and I shared a little history. A complicated history, short lived but it burned hotter than some relationships ever achieve. I wasn’t sure how much of that Susan was aware of, and I wasn’t one to kiss and tell to begin with so I minded my manners and played it cool.

That’s not to say I didn’t welcome Sarah to join us for breakfast, it really was a treat to see her, anytime. I stood and turned to give her a proper hug, though I didn’t pick her up like I had Susan a little earlier. Sarah smiled, knowingly, secretly, but she too minded her manners and kept it “friendly” after the hug. She had a seat to my left and joined us at looking at the menu, and talking.

I kept getting those oh so subtle questioning looks from Susan. Looks that turned to smirks, just shy of irritation because I wasn’t being forthcoming with anything regarding Sarah and myself. For all Susan knew, we were just friends on Night Friends and not much else. I’d just as soon keep it that way too. Not that I was ashamed to be around Sarah, hardly! But Sarah was married, and happily… now, and I would not rock that boat. We’d already been down that path and I still had guilt issues over our… fling.

Sarah and Susan were chatting about something that another user on Night Friends had said online earlier, last night, I corrected myself. Yeah… girls talk. I excused myself to run to the restroom for a moment, both sets of eyes turned to me and both ladies smiled and told me to hurry back. There it was again… that feeling that something was up. I bit my tongue and headed off to do my business. My bladder was screaming… too much water I suspect.

When I returned to the table, I noticed we had been joined by two other people. I knew one of them by sight, having met her in person at a couple of other Night Friends get togethers, Lauren. The other girl I hadn’t met before. After I sat back down, introductions were made. The other girl turned out to be Lauren’s younger sister Eve.

“Hi Eve.” I said in way of greeting, with a friendly smile.

“Hi Jim, or should I say, Frodov?” Eve responded with a wink, that made me give her a puzzled expression.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” Eve asked with a wry grin. “We’ve talked on Night Watcher before, at least in the trivia room anyway.” She elaborated a little further, still leaving me to draw a blank.

Susan and Lauren both laughed at my puzzlement. Lauren, who had seated herself to my right, placed her left hand on my thigh under the table and gave it a light squeeze. I didn’t exactly jump at the unexpected contact but I was still a little surprised. Surprised enough to turn and give her a look. To the others it might have been seen as me looking at Lauren for further explanation.

“Eve is ‘Winny’ on Night Friends…” Lauren explained and gave me a surreptitious wink.

“Ah… okay. Now I know who you are.” I said, smiling at Eve, who grinned even bigger than she had been already.

Eve was Lauren’s younger sister. While Lauren was in her late forties, Eve was in her mid-twenties and just coming out of a bad relationship. Something that I had picked up through conversation chatting on Night Friends. I really hadn’t talked in depth with her, but not because I was unwilling, but rather because we seemed to be on different schedules coming and going online. Lauren, on the other hand… well… we had talked in depth about many things, mostly her adventures with other users on Night Friends.

Lauren was a teacher, currently teaching at college level in mathematics. She was very intelligent, but at the same time, very… well…uncertain. Uncertain about relationships. Lauren couldn’t get into the whole bar scene and dating within her field of work was pretty much a bust. However, like so many others, myself included, Night Friends had opened up a whole new world for her.

Meeting new friends and exploring possibilities was exciting. Not that it didn’t come with its own pitfalls and drawbacks, nothing is ever perfect. Lauren, like most women and girls online was pursued by quite a few guys when she signed onto Night Friends. She was flirted with, yes, by me too, and hit on by several guys who were regulars there. Only thing is, she didn’t know their stories so she had to learn the hard way.

Not everyone online was single. In fact, more than half the guys on Night Friends were married or in a relationship. That didn’t stop them from perving though. They would pursue any female who got on the site. At first, Lauren ate it up, like a someone starving and then being offered an endless buffet. She chatted and got nasty with several guys. But when she found out about the ones who were seeing other women in exclusive, supposedly, relationships, she dropped them. There was one guy, however, that was married and somehow convinced Lauren that his was an open marriage, and he was free to play with others.

This was new to Lauren and it intrigued her. I lost count of how many times I had spoken with her in private chat about the subject. Yes, I knew the guy and his wife. Not to be too blunt, but I thought Lauren could do much better. There’s a world of difference between being open and being sexually indiscriminate. They got around, a LOT. Honestly, I was afraid that if Lauren ‘played’ with him much she was liable to contract something nasty.

I told her ultimately the choice was hers, but I did advise her to be safe when she fooled around. I think that one of the reasons she liked talking to me was that I didn’t judge her, and I certainly didn’t tell her business to anyone else. There are some things she told me about her rendezvous with this man that I really wished I hadn’t been told. But it is what it is.

Lauren was not some spinster, far from it. She had been married for many years and had an adult son who often crashed at her house because of a multitude of reasons. Partying too much, drinking too much, being broke, or pissing off his girlfriend or roommates etc. etc. I met him several times. To me he seemed to be like most any other 20 something year-old part-time college student. He was smart, as well as smart-assed, but he really did love his mamma and I knew for a fact that she loved him.

Yes, Lauren often talked to me about her son too. Trying to understand him and how he thought, she would ask me to help her understand. I did what I could, but I told her only he knew what he was really thinking or feeling. Lauren would also talk about her younger sister Eve, from time to time. She expressed how jealous she was of her younger sister and the ease that she had finding guys. Meeting Eve in person, now, I understood better just how that might be a reality.

Eve was a younger version of Lauren, to a degree. They both had the same color hair, dirty blonde. They both had similar or at least familial facial features. They shared a similar laugh whenever they were amused. Another thing they shared was that look in their eyes… they were on the prowl, hunting, checking out all the guys, including me.

My history of flirting with both of them online at Night Friends could have been my undoing. They like the other girls here this morning knew however that I was not serious, much, when flirting. It was all in fun and I never was rude or offensive… so they always welcomed more from me.

Our waitress stopped by the table again and asked if we were all ready to order yet. Susan was about to say that we’d wait a bit more but then smiled and waved across the dining room to someone coming in the doors. I turned to look and had to smile as well. It was another of my closer friends on Night Friends where she went by the name Velma. The thick glasses and short red hair gave her a distinctive Velma look from the Scooby Doo animation. The slightly oversized sweater and knee length plaid skirt certainly didn’t detract from that idea either.

Cass walked briskly over to our table to join us. She greeted everyone with a smile or rather a smirk, and an apology for running a little late. Cass looked at me sitting between Lauren and Sarah and tilted her head down slightly to look over the tops of her thick glasses and her dark red eyebrows rose questioningly even as she gave me her signature smirk then a wink. Okay… now I was certain that something was afoot with these women.

The fact that I had been to bed with all of them except for Lauren and her sister Eve was not mentioned, aloud anyway, but it was obviously common knowledge amongst the females at this gathering. I know it was not by my telling though. I didn’t kiss and tell, and they all knew it… and as far as I understood, respected me for that. But there it was again… women talk.

“You off today, Cass?” I asked as she sat down at the end of the table to my right with Susan to her right and Sarah to her left.

“Well, I wasn’t supposed to be, but thanks to the broken sprinkler head in the archive’s basement yesterday, they told us to stay home till they can get all the water cleaned up. It’s going to take weeks if not months to dry everything out, especially down in the dungeons.” Cass lamented in her typical cynical voice.

Anyone who didn’t know Cass, would think that she’s a bitter woman. And they would be right to a certain degree. She had not had the best of luck in life either, divorced for a few years at this time, not a pretty divorce either. She also had an adult son to contend with, even though he lived with his father and his new wife. Cass also was hounded online by the horn dogs, just like the rest of the gals at the table this morning. Most of the same guys actually, including the one that Lauren was still fooling around with.

As far as I could tell, there was no animosity between Lauren and Cass. Quite the opposite, actually. It’s almost like they were sorority sisters in a way, trading notes and such. Probably some things I shouldn’t have been privy to, to be honest. Yeah, too much information really.

We all ordered our food and then just enjoyed everyone’s company. It was a gossip fest, for sure. I was a little overwhelmed most of the time, but I went along with the banter and conversations. It wasn’t long before I started to get the feeling that… well… the girls were feeling me out, seeking some information perhaps.

It was not a secret that my birthday was just around the corner. I’ve never been one to really celebrate much, I mean it’s just another day on the calendar, right? But I forgot who I was having breakfast with.

“So, Jim? What’s Barb up to next week? You have plans for your birthday?” Susan asked, I looked up from my food and cocked my head a little questioningly while I chewed the bite in my mouth and swallowed. Every other eye at the table was on me, I could feel them. They were listening.

“No plans. In fact, Barb has to go to Louisville that weekend to her niece’s recital or something. She’s a concert pianist, or learning to be one anyway. Barb said she and I might be able to get together sometime the week following.” I said nonchalantly, playing down any disappointment I might have had or felt. Barb and I really were just very, very close friends… with benefits.

“Well, that sucks.” Susan declared with a smirk, but her eyes were alight.

“Yeah, that sucks. You should come over and have dinner with Dave and I. I could make whatever you want for dinner.” Sarah said with a warm smile but then gave a slight jump. I swear, I think someone kicked her under the table.

“Thanks, but I’ll take a rain check, Sarah.” I said and leaned over to give her a peck on her cheek that made her blush and look around the table like a startled deer.

“YOU? You’re passing up a free home cooked meal?” Cass asked from the end of the table sounding like she was in total disbelief. She should know better, as well as all but Lauren and Eve, that I am a very good cook. I’ve cooked for all but the sisters at one time or another.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do for my birthday, yet. Might not do anything, really. I’ll go see my folks, of course. I couldn’t get out of that even if I were dead.” I said with a laugh, earning me warm smiles from all but Eve who really didn’t know what to make of it.

“No celebration at all?” Lauren asked, still a little disbelieving, her hand again on my thigh under the table out of sight from the others. At least I didn’t jump.

Cass and Lauren started talking about a guy online who was also in a small local band. They wanted to go see this band perform, he had invited both of them… individually. They decided that they would go hear the band play, but they were going to go together. Someone was in for an awkward evening. Awkward if he left the stage and tried to talk to the two of them anyway.

Could be fun to watch I thought to myself with a grin. Funny how the show was the night of my birthday. Were they thinking about bringing me along for some sort of insurance or back up maybe? And what about Eve? Were these women trying to fix me up with Eve? I looked at Sarah in silent questioning and she rolled her eyes at me and shook her head in the negative.

Sarah had on several occasions tried to fix me up with women that she knew that she thought would be good for me. That was… well… before she and I had something between just the two of us. That’s in the past now though.

“Eve? Would you like to come see the band play too?” Cass asked from her end of the table.

“I don’t think so. I’ve actually got a date that night. I hope I’m going to be busy doing… something else.” Even replied cryptically with a sly grin. I heard Lauren harrumph quietly beside me but didn’t say anything.

Susan would be working, that much I already knew. Though, she did hint at maybe breakfast either the day of my birthday, if I was still in town, or the day after, when she got off work. When she looked across the table at me with that feral look in her eyes and her biting her bottom lip and waggling her eyebrows at me, I knew that she was open to playing at some point as well. Good to know. It made part of my male anatomy jump a little and feel just a little bit fuller than a few moments ago.

The conversation moved on, away from my upcoming birthday. I suspected that whoever was up to whatever they were planning had got the information they needed. But what was it? I guessed I’d find out in good time, just not today.

Breakfast wound down as everyone finished eating and finished or at least had enough coffee. I know I was winding down, and fast. Working all night in the plant, sweating and dealing with the heat. Then staying up later than usual with this bunch of women had me exhausted. I caught Susan yawning too though, so I know she was also tired and ready to go to bed, to sleep.



The rest of the girls took pity on Susan and I and we were all soon heading to the cash register to pay for our meals and head off our separate ways. Hugs all around, even a hug from Eve. She said that she didn’t want to feel left out. I laughed and gave her a lift and twirl hug like I had Susan earlier that morning. The other girls laughed.

As we were going out the doors to the parking lot, Lauren tugged at my arm to slow me down a moment.

“I know you’re going home to go to bed, but could you call me later when you get up?” She asked quietly, a serious look on her face let me know that this wasn’t about flirting.

“Sure. It’ll be later in the afternoon, maybe after three or so. Is that okay?” I asked in return.

“That’s fine. I’m off tonight and tomorrow, so I’ll be up late online probably.” Lauren told me, avoiding eye contact. Uh oh… trouble in paradise I thought.

Everyone waved and said their goodbyes as they climbed into their cars. I was soon pulling into a parking space in front of my building and then climbing the steps to my apartment. I think I locked the door behind me as I made my way to my bedroom, shedding clothing as I walked. Pushing through the blackout curtains over my doorway to the bedroom, I think I simply collapsed onto my bed. I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

Don’t you just hate that annoying sound, whatever it is, that wakes you up from a sound sleep? I managed to pry one eyelid open and look beyond my pillow. I blinked a couple of times before I realized that I couldn’t see anything because it was still dark in my bedroom thanks to my blackout curtains. But what was it that woke me up? Maybe someone slamming a door somewhere else in the building? Then I heard it again. The phone was ringing.

With a groan, I threw back the covers and rolled out of bed to stand and go through the blackout curtain over my door and across the hall to the kitchen to grab the phone off the cradle.

“Hello?” I answered. All I heard was a dial tone. Whoever had tried to call had given up and hung up before I could answer. Great! I scrubbed one hand over my bleary eyes and face, feeling the stubble of my five o’clock shadow. I stepped to the left and opened the fridge door to have a look. I grabbed the tea pitcher and then reached for a clean glass on my dish drainer atop the counter beside the sink. I poured the glass about three quarters full and then drank it all down in one go. I was dehydrated.

I poured another half glass and put the pitcher back in the fridge before opening the freezer and pulling out a handful of ice cubes to put in the glass of tea. That done, I looked at the clock on my microwave to see what time it was. The repeated flashing of twelve o’clock puzzled me for a moment, I was still half asleep after all. Then I realized that the power must have gone out at some time while I was asleep and then came back on. Wonderful!

Living in an apartment complex, one learns not to rely too heavily on electric clocks to keep up with the time, especially to wake you up to go to work or whatever. I have an old-fashioned wind-up alarm clock that keeps time perfectly well whether the electricity is on or not. It just keeps tick tock’ing right along.

I carried my glass of tea back across the hallway and through my blackout curtain into my bedroom. I walked over to my desk and flipped on the lamp then glanced over at my bookcase headboard to see the time on my alarm clock. It was just two forty-five, but was that AM or PM? I plopped down in my desk chair and spun around to turn on my computer and fire up the modem.

When my computer came on, I saw the time was indeed PM so it was still earlier than when I usually get up to go to get ready to go to work. I would have slept a little later today as I was off this evening, as well as the next two nights. I wouldn’t return to work until Monday evening, work three nights and then be off the next three Thursday, Friday… my birthday… and Saturday. As I thought of that, I again wondered what was going on with the ladies I had breakfast with this morning. I had a sardonic smile on my face as I keyed the dial up sequence to connect my modem to Night Friends.

User:

The prompt on my screen blinked, patiently waiting for me to type in my user name.

Frodov

Password:

Again, the blinking prompt… I shook my head to clear my thoughts and took a drink of iced tea while I pondered for a moment. Did I change my password recently? Hesitantly I keyed in my last password and hit enter. For a moment, nothing happened, then the screen scrolled down, filling with email and message notices for the bulletin board. I guess I hadn’t changed my password after all.

I was just starting to go through my email when I got a private message prompt from Teach… Lauren. I clicked accept and entered into private chat.

Teach: “Hey you! Good morning!” Lauren sent.

Frodov: “Hey… Did you just try to call me a few minutes ago?” I responded with a question.

Teach: “Umm… I might have…” She responded cryptically.

Teach: “Did I wake you up?” Lauren sent with a pout.

Frodov: “No. You didn’t wake me… but the phone ringing did, I think.”

Teach: “I’m sorry. I couldn’t remember if you had to work tonight or not, and I really needed to talk to you before you left for work if you did… work tonight.” Lauren explained, showing an anxiousness that I was familiar with, for her anyway.

Frodov: “If there is something you need to talk about, I can log off and you can call me on the phone.” I sent to Lauren.

Teach: “No, no, no, it’s okay, really. I mean, yeah, I’d like to talk about some stuff, but…” She sent but paused before continuing.

Teach: “My son is here today. He and his roommates didn’t pay their electric bill so it got cut off, they have no air conditioning until it gets turned back on. If I were talking on the phone, he could hear me. Typing here on Night Friends, he won’t overhear anything, this is better, for now anyway.

Frodov: “Okay, good point. You have my attention. What did you want to talk about?” I sent then sat back in my office chair and brought my hands to scrub my face roughly, still trying to wake up completely. I felt my scruffy beard that needed to be shaved, a reminder that I also needed to take a shower as well. When I looked again, Lauren had sent another text.

Teach: “Well… you know about…* him * … right? He’s asked to come with me when I go on vacation next month. He says that his wife is okay with it, of course, but I still don’t know.” Lauren opened the conversation that followed, basically asking me what she should do.

Frodov: “I can’t tell you what you should do, that’s totally up to you. I can ask you how you feel about it though. Is he sharing the costs with you or even offering to help pay for anything?” I sent even though I suspected the answer was no. I’ve heard of this guy through at least two other women on Night Friends, he was a moocher. A freeloader, on top of being a pussy hound. Of course, he could turn on the charm and tell the ladies most everything they wanted to hear, but never actually followed through on any of it. Yeah, I wanted to say those things, but I knew it wasn’t my place to say them. What I could do was suggest they, like Lauren, should ask questions… lots of questions. That and use protection if they deigned to have any relations with this guy.

Teach: “No… he’s not offering to pay for anything. He doesn’t have any money right now, he’s not working.” Lauren sent to me with a . That told me that she knew he was just using her… or trying to… but then, so was she. She was using him, in her way. Being single and not exactly free to mingle and date much because of her job, I knew she longed for more. That she would stoop so low as to let this guy into her bed though, was she really that desperate?

Frodov: “Well, if you do take him with you, just be… careful.” I sent with a smile.

Teach: “I’m always careful.” Lauren responded with a wink.

Frodov: “So you’ve told me, several times over. Do you always use condoms?” I asked blatantly, knowing that sometimes that question could be a conversation killer.

Teach: “Actually… no. But I always use some kind of contraceptive.” Lauren confessed.

Frodov: “Pregnancy is preventable in many ways, but some of them won’t protect you from diseases.” I reminded her straight up.

Teach: “UGH! I’m not some teenager, I’ve been around a while you know.” Lauren sent back with exasperation in between the lines of the text, I had to laugh a little. You see, Lauren was about ten years older than I was. I thought it ironic and even a little humorous that I should be sounding more like an adult giving advice in this instance than she was.

Frodov: “I’m well aware of that, girl, I’m just doing my part to prevent headaches, if not heartaches.” I sent with a blush.

Teach: “Yeah, everyone says that you tend to be the voice of reason so to speak…” Lauren sent then fell silent for a bit. I wondered if she felt like she had let something slip that I was not to have heard or been told, or if she felt like she spoke out of turn perhaps. Of course, it all came back to the core concept that… women talk. I shouldn’t be surprised that I might be the subject of that talk from time to time simply because they might know me.

Frodov: “The voice of reason? I kind of like that. I might not agree with it, but I like it.” I sent back with a big smile.

Teach: “So, you don’t think you’re reasonable… or that people say that?” Lauren asked with a grin.

Frodov: “I’m only human, and a man at that… I’m as fallible as any other guy, I guess. I might try to think a little before I say or do something questionable a little more often than some, but I’m no saint.” I depreciated while actually blushing for real as I typed the message.