Chapter 6

The Detective: Rocky Romance

Spud and Julie’s date didn’t go quite as planned. Julie picked him up in front of the dorm at 6 and headed out of town. She told him she knew a nice pizzeria in a nearby community. She didn’t mention that the community was thirty miles away. Julie was avoiding any reports of her dating getting back to her dad. 

Julie had been away from home attending university and completed three years of her four year program and was home for the summer when disaster befell her. She contracted a case of viral pneumonia early in the summer. Julie kept thinking it was just a cold and put off going to see a doctor even when she was still coughing after three weeks. Her parents were away for a month long vacation and when they returned, they found her coughing up blood and near collapse. They rushed her to the hospital and she spent several weeks in ICU while the doctors tried to get the virus under control.

Upon release from the hospital, she felt exhausted even after doing nothing all day. Her parents implored her not to return to school and her father confirmed with her university that she could take a year off and return with no repercussions. After a week of resting all day and still being eager to go to bed at night, she recognized that she needed to take her health seriously. As she slowly improved he arranged for her to work as his secretary starting off with just an hour a day to increase as she was able. His regular secretary was off on extended maternity leave and would not be back until the following year.

After a couple of months, she was able to work five days a week and eight hour days but was still ready to go home after work and rest until bedtime. When Spud walked into her dad’s office she was smitten and went home to sit up for the evening talking with her parents about everything except Spud. Her role at home had changed from a young adult home for the summer to an ill child needing her parents to help, and they were having trouble with letting her go again. So she was taking Spud out of town and it was the first time she had been out after dinner. She lied and said she was going for pizza with a friend from school. Not an actual lie but designed to mislead.

She parked in a dark lot at the pizzeria and when they got out of the car a guy with a gun drew attention to his desire to have their cash. Spud carefully took out his wallet and reached out to hand it to the crook. He appeared to drop it and as the bad dude instinctively looked down Spud nailed him with a fist and then took him down with a wrestling hold. Spud calmly said to Julie, “I think you had better go into the pizzeria and call the cops while I hold him.”

The police arrived and took the crook into custody. Spud’s clothes were wet from laying on the snowy parking lot holding the crook and Julie had gotten chilled standing guard worried that the robber might get free. They had to answer a lot of questions and then go to the police station and fill out statements. By the time it was over, Julie knew she needed to be getting home before her parents became worried or worse gave her the big quiz when she came in late. No supper, cold, and exhausted she told Spud she needed to get home and asked him to drive back to his dorm. He offered to take her right home, but she didn’t want to have to explain Spud to her parents yet. Julie rode with her seat tipped back and the heat on full. She slept until Spud pulled up to his dorm. She said she had a wonderful evening and hoped that he enjoyed it. They both had a big laugh at this point. Spud said that he was worried about her, but she said the rest had helped, and she didn’t have far to go home.

“Spud, if we are ever robbed again, please just give them the money.”

She gave him a hug and asked if he would be interested in trying something tamer on their next date. His heart did back loops, and he said he was agreeable.

As she was sitting in the car ready to drive away, with Spud standing by her window she said,

“This will be a great story to tell our grandchildren. Good night Spud,” and she was gone. 

Spud’s brain instantly turned to romantic mush.

He didn’t see her the next day and was broken-hearted but the following day she was outside his dorm when he came down. She explained that she had been home the day before recovering from their adventure. She then explained her whole health dilemma over the summer and that Spud would have to be patient with her since she was still recovering. Julie mentioned her job was part-time/full-time as a maternity replacement and that she was a student going into her last year after taking this year off. She didn’t mention that her employer was her dad.

They agreed to meet for lunch and it was far more successful than the pizza date. She had packed a lunch, and they found a quiet spot in the school’s giant arboretum and got down to the business of knowing each other better. Spud wanted desperately to touch her, but he was afraid she would break.

Over the next month, they often met for lunch. Spud suggested they go out on another evening date, but she said she needed to rest, but she would let him know when she felt strong enough for a day’s work and an evening out. It happened sooner than she expected when her parents went away for the weekend unexpectedly. She came to his dorm Saturday morning but couldn’t find him. He was in the library studying. So she sat down in the lobby on the blanket she had brought with a picnic lunch and waited. Near noon Spud appeared and was delighted to find her. She said she was free for the day if he could afford the time away from his studies. They had lunch and then went for a walk. Spud asked where her car was, and she explained that it was actually her dad’s car. Spud was concerned about her becoming tired, but she appeared to be fine. She told him there was a concert nearby in the evening and asked if he would like to go. He agreed, and she explained that she would go home now to rest, and meet him at his dorm later. 

“Before I go there is something I want to do.” 

She put her arms around him and gave him his first serious kiss. Then she turned with a smile on her face and said,

“See you later.”

Spud didn’t move until she was out of sight.

*****