mcgrew's Journal: Jealousy

I'm in love with the girl
I'm talking about
I'm in love with the girl I can't live without
I'm in love
But I sure picked a bad time to be in love

-Grand Funk Railroad

"I think that guy's hitting on you!" Tami said to me.

"I think he is, too."

She laughed. "I didn't expect you to notice it, but I did." Then the guy bought me a drink! I refused, politely but emphatically. He said "well, give it to someone else, then," and left. Tami laughed her head off. "He wanted to buy you a shot! God, I was right! That's so funny! I think I just got out of my bad mood."

I slid the shot over to her, and she laughed again. "Probably dropped a date rape drug in it!" she said. "I hope so," I answered, and she laughed again. Her mood wasn't to last, however, as my phone rang -- it was my daughter Patty. "I'm coming home for two days. I told Paul Mom was sick, and she is, but I'm just homesick."

I called Alan and asked if Tami could crash there for a couple of days.

Amy had dropped by earlier, wanting a place to stay as she'd broken up with Connor again. I told her sorry, but I already had someone there. She headed to Alan's. Charlie, too, needed a place to stay, having not paid John and Jennifer any rent in two months despite the fact that she's had a steady job for quite some time now. "You're in love with Tami, aren't you?" she'd demanded, and I admitted that yes, I was.

I've noticed that the most attractive accessory a man can wear to attract women is a woman. It appears that I was right.

A new study provides evidence for what many have long suspected: that single women are much keener on pursuing a man who's already taken than a singleton.

Patty called around ten. "I'm in town, I think I'll just go to Chrissey's". Charlie left and I went to bed.

The next morning I got up and made coffee, and was watching a couple of History Channel shows about astrophysics when a knock came at the door. It was Tami, and she was in tears. "Come in," I said. "No," she replied. "She's here."

"Huh? Who's here?"

"Your daughter."

"No, she stayed with her friend Chrissey last night."

"That's her car!" And it was; the Ohio plates were a giveaway. I went and looked in her room, and she was indeed there sleeping. I went back out on the porch to talk to the distraught Tami. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Those two ruined everything for me. They called all my friends and told vicious lies, and now I don't have anywhere to go."

"Look, we'll go to Felber's," I said, despite the fact that it was only ten thirty in the morning. I could drink coffee there, and Tami obviously could use a strong drink.

"Why would they do that? I've been good to them. Why?"

"They're jealous," I said. "You have what they want." Indeed, when Amy had come by we had been on the porch swing, and she'd scooted close and put her head on my shoulder, and I told her about Tami and our new relationship. Amy and I had hit it off immediately when I'd first met her, but it hadn't lasted. We made better friends than lovers. And Charlie had accusingly asked if I was in love, and I remembered one morning back when Ralph was dying that she'd planted a big kiss right on my lips.

We stopped at the fire station on the way to the bar so Tami could get a soda - there's a coke machine outside with twelve ounce cans for fifty cents.

When we reached Felber's Kathy was tending bar, and started to get a beer mug out. "No," I said, "Not ready for beer yet. Got any coffee?"

"There's some cold. We ran out." I ordered a bloody mary for Tami and went home to get my thermos. I woke Patty up and told her to call me when she woke up, that I'd be at Felber's drinking coffee.

"We can't have this", I told Tami when I got back. She'd been walking all night, with nowhere to stay. "I'm going to tell Patty about us and she'll just have to deal with it." Tami was horrified; Patty hates her enough anyway, and nobody wants to see their parents with anyone but each other. I can remember how I'd felt when my mother remarried. I'd not been much older than Patty at the time.

A young fellow with waist length hair sat down on the other side of Tami's stool and proceeded to try and pick her up. What is it with people? That just lacks any semblance of couth whatever. The only thing worse than a guy who hits on a woman who's obviously with her boyfriend is a guy hitting on the boyfriend. "I think that guy's trying to hit on you," I said.

"I think he is, too. It's funny but not as funny as when you got hit on last night!" She was amused; I wasn't. When I got back from the restroom a while later Tami said "Yep, hes definitely trying to hit on me." I looked over, and he was putting his hand on her shoulder."

I snapped. "Get your hands off my girlfrind!" I demanded. He apologized and moved to the other and of the bar, next to a stout fellow with a crewcut who had derided him as "hippie" when he'd first come in. The "hippie" was not having a good day of it.

My phone rang. "I'm up", Patty said.

"I need to tell you something, Patty. I've got a girlfriend and you're not going to be happy with who she is."

"Who is she?!"

"Tami."

"WHAT? Dad, how COULD you!" and hung up on me.

Five minutes later she stormed into the bar, grabbed Tami in a headlock and started pummelling. Kathy ordered her out. Patty called my phone and demanded that I come outside.

I've never seen anyone as angry. She was shaking like a leaf, her eyes darting back and forth, pupils like tiny pinholes. She cursed me out and said she never wanted to see me again, got in her car and drove off.

Life

[dragonsomnolent]

Mcgrew, you either have the most screwed up life of anyone I've ever known, or are the best fiction writer ever. Seriously though, why does your daughter have such a problem with you being involved with anyone? As a fellow father, I do not know how I would react in that situation (daughter pummeling girlfriend), but I hope it all works out for you.

Re:

[mcgrew]

Thanks, man. The problem is, my ex-wife's and my wedding rings were stolen, and Patty thinks Tami stole them. At one time I did, too, but when I went through Linda's things after she died, I was convinced that she was the culprit.