Chapter 63

At the staff meeting on Wednesday the announcement was made that Colleen was having her sixtieth birthday and she had decided to celebrate all month. Mr. Walters, the manager, asked her to stand and tell us her plans for celebrating.

Colleen stood up. She was wearing a beige sweater and dark tan slacks. She stood about five foot seven and was a bit on the thin side. A first glance said, 'not much body', but I could tell she was more than what showed. Her face and hair were conservative and not too great looking, until she smiled. Then the light inside lit her up. I had been watching her for months and with interest but I figured she wouldn't be interested in me. I'm the guy who rides a Harley to work wearing a black leather jacket and wearing a shirt and tie underneath.

"I want to spend more time with friends this month. Go out to dinner, go to a play, take a weekend trip, have lunch at the beach. I also want to do something I've never done before."

"What?" The boss asked.

"I don't know. If anyone has an idea of something they think I haven't done that would be exciting, thrilling or great fun let me know. If you do something that is exciting and fun, invite me. I just might do it!"

The gears in my head started turning. By the end of the meeting I had a plan. I was willing to bet that no one else would propose anything as exciting and fun as what I would offer. As the company "bad boy" I knew I needed to give it a shot.

Back in my office I wrote her a note, emailed it to her and went back to work. My mail is set up so that whenever a message comes in and I'm using my computer a soft bell rings. Half an hour after I sent the note to Colleen, the bell rang.

"I want to hear your proposal for my exciting adventure. I hope it has something to do with your motorcycle! Can we meet after work today and talk about it?"

I responded with a place to meet and she responded 5:30. We were set. At 5:30 I was setting in a booth in the quiet place I sometimes had lunch in on weekends; an Irish Pub called McGinties. Colleen came in and found me. We ordered a Hart for both of us and a good dinner, to share. When the waitress left with our order Colleen said, "OK, I want to hear what you have in mind."

"First, I need to know how big an adventure do you want this to be?"

"I don't know. I want it to be something I've never done before."

"Have you ever ridden on the back of a bike?"

"You mean a motorcycle like yours?"

"On any motorcycle?"

"No."

"So a ride for a mile would be an adventure?"

"Yes." She squirmed a little at the thought of riding behind me on the bike.

"How about a ride up the coast to Big Sur, a night in a nice B&B and a ride back home?"

She shifted posture in the booth. This had her attention.

"I see what you mean. That IS a bigger adventure." She paused and I waited. "When you say a night in a nice B&B, you mean together don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"We've never even kissed or been on a date."

"That means in that one weekend we will both have some firsts. I like you, have ever since I joined the firm and met you. I may have been mistaken but you have always seemed a bit intimidated by me. You seem mostly conservative and I admit I'm a little wild sometimes. Since you want to let your wild child loose for an adventure, I want the pleasure of assisting you discover how much fun that can be."

"I admit, you are right, I have been intrigued and a bit frightened by you. You show up at work in a black leather jacket and a tie. Your motorcycle is loud and shiny. I have no idea what you do outside work." She paused again. "I want a little time to think about your offer. Is that OK?"

"Sure. Take your time. However, I'd like to talk with you about the trip I have in mind, so you have some real ideas about what I propose. Would that be OK?"

If she said yes to the planning, I believed she would go.

"OK. What do you have in mind?"

From my briefcase I pulled out some pictures and a map. The pictures were from a trip I had taken last spring to Big Sur. They showed my bike parked on various overlooks along the coastline of California. One or two had me by the bike. One showed my favorite B&B. The map was a print from mapquest of the route we would take. She looked at the map and the pictures as I talked. When I was pretty well done she changed the subject, just a little.

"I love what you have shown me. I want to do it." She held the picture of the B&B in her hand. "I want to be blunt and I want your promise you'll never tell anyone what I'm going to tell you."

"Alright, I promise."

"I haven't been in bed with anyone in nine years. No one has seen this old body except my doctor and my cat. I don't know if I will be worth the trip for either of us."

"Thank you for telling me. Now, here's what I think, if you will trust me and do what I tell you I will let you decide when we stay somewhere if we have sex together. Sex or no sex, I'd like to give you this trip for your birthday."

"I accept, with one stipulation. I would like to spend one night with you before the trip. Then my anxieties will be dealt with."

I started folding the map and stacking the pictures.

"What?"

"The trip is supposed to be an adventure. You want to take some of the adventure out of the adventure. I love the word adventure. It is the two words ad and venture. If you are having an adventure you get the picture, the ad, and you venture into new places. If you want the ad, you want a picture of you sitting on my parked motorcycle instead of a real venture into uncharted places."

It was silent at our table. I ate my part of our dinner and finished my Harp. She sat very still. If we were in a cartoon smoke would be coming from her ears while she thought about what I said.

"Damn you! You're right. I was thinking about trading a real adventure for the kiddy version. No, I'm in for the full ride!"

I smiled and pulled out my calendar. "When?"

She got her blackberry out and we compared schedules. Suddenly she said, "Can you take a Friday or a Monday off and make this a three-day-weekend trip?"

"Sure. I have plenty of days saved up."

We picked a weekend and decided she would ask for the time the next day and I would wait until Friday to ask. No sense alerting the rumor mongers too soon.

"Do I need to buy anything for the trip?" Colleen asked.

"Yes. I have a helmet that we can test for fit. Do you have a couple pairs of worn jeans?"