Class of '59 (American Journey Book 4) (28 page)

"Just look friendly," Mark said.

Mary Beth laughed.

"OK."

The two smiled and waved to some bikers and ignored the leering stares of others as they moved through the ranks and quickly proceeded to the other side. The passed without incident and resumed their journey down a darkening beach that was once again quiet and secluded.

"Does anyone know we came here tonight?" Mary Beth asked.

"Ben does," Mark said. "So does Dennis Green. I called him this morning and invited him and Margaret to join us for dinner and maybe a walk."

"What did he say?"

"He said, "Have fun!' They had other plans."

"It's just as well," Mary Beth said.

"Why do you say that?"

"I say it because I want you all to myself tonight."

Mark chuckled.

"That's a good reason."

Mary Beth smiled and then gazed at the soothing sight to her right. Hotels and homes, sitting atop a long, sheer bluff, lit up the east side of the beach like Christmas lights on the eaves of a roof. She took a mental snapshot and returned to her thoughtful companion.

"What are Ben and Piper doing tonight? Or should I ask?"

Mark smiled.

"You can ask. You just may not like the answer."

"What do you mean?" Mary Beth asked.

"They went for a drive," Mark said. "Ben told me he wanted to head up Mulholland Drive after taking Piper to dinner. Mulholland Drive is Make-Out Central."

Mary Beth raised a brow.

"So they plan to park in the dark?"

Mark laughed.

"That's the long and short of it."

Mary Beth smiled.

"I hope they have fun."

Mark cocked his head.

"Is this Piper's protective sister talking?"

Mary Beth looked at Mark thoughtfully.

"No. It's the one who wants her to enjoy her last night here."

Mark shook his head.

"You continue to amaze me."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Mary Beth said.

"You should."

Mary Beth slowed to a stop.

"Can we find a place to sit? My feet are getting tired."

Mark nodded.

"There are some benches on the walk."

"OK."

Mark turned toward the bluff and led Mary Beth to a paved path that ran parallel to the shoreline. They found a small backless bench a moment later, sat down, and directed their attention once again to the churning waves, the sparsely populated beach, and the setting sun.

"Is this better?" Mark asked.

"It's much better," Mary Beth said.

The two quickly settled into a comfort zone. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She burrowed into his side. For the next thirty minutes, they did nothing but watch the ocean, keep each other warm, and enjoy each other's company in splendid silence.

Mary Beth used the time to think about forty-two wonderful days. She thought about the trip to Las Vegas, the fraternity functions, and Oscar night in Ben's Thunderbird. She thought about the meaningful dinners at the Painted Lady, dancing to the jukebox, and even encountering Professor Geoffrey Bell's parents at a college lecture. She wallowed in pleasant memories.

Then Mary Beth thought about other things. She thought about time tunnels, men with guns, and pending departures. She thought about losing love for the second time in less than a year.

"You're kind of quiet," Mark said. "Are you all right?"

Mary Beth looked at him through watery eyes.

"I was. Now I'm not so sure."

Mark leaned forward and turned his head.

"What's the matter? Or, should I ask, what else is the matter?"

Mary Beth took a deep breath.

"I was just thinking about irony and bad luck."

"What do you mean?" Mark asked.

Mary Beth wiped away tears.

"I mean I've found what many women don't find in a lifetime. I've found love twice and lost it twice. How rotten is that?"

Mark pulled her close.

"You're where I was last night."

Mary Beth studied his face.

"Where are you now?"

Mark frowned.

"I'm in a place where men find love once, not twice, and spend the rest of their lives in misery when it slips through their fingers."

Mary Beth gently caressed his face.

"You'll find love again."

Mark shook his head.

"You don't know that.

"Oh, yes, I do," Mary Beth said. She laughed through tears. "You look like Warren Beatty."

Mark smiled sadly.

"That's what I'm going to miss most about you. You're an optimist. You find rays of sunshine in the darkest places. You see the best in people. You don't give up."

Mary Beth slipped out of Mark's embrace and turned to face him. She placed both hands on his face, leaned forward, and gave him a soft kiss.

"You're right. I don't give up – and I'm not ready to give up now."

"What does that mean?" Mark asked.

Mary Beth wiped away more tears.

"It means I have another day to think this through, Mark Ryan. I still have one more day to decide what's really important in life."

Mark gazed at her through glistening eyes.

"You can't be serious."

"I am."

"I love you, Mary Beth."

Mary Beth clasped his hands.

"I love you too."

"We should talk about this," Mark said.

"No. I don't want to talk about this any more tonight," Mary Beth said. She caressed his face and kissed him again. "All I want to do now is go back to our room. I want to go back to our room, forget the past, and dream of better things."

CHAPTER 46: PIPER

Hollywood, California

Sitting on the warm hood of a 1959 Ford Thunderbird, Piper McIntire nestled into Ben Ryan's side, directed her eyes forward, and gazed at a slice of heaven. From their venue, an overlook on Mulholland Drive, she could see the gleaming lights of Hollywood, the skyline of Los Angeles, and a million stars above. Southern California had never looked so good.

"This place is amazing," Piper said.

Ben pulled her close.

"I thought you would like it."

Piper smiled.

"It's private too. I
really
like that."

Ben laughed.

"That makes two of us."

Piper kissed Ben's cheek and lost herself in the moment. She smiled when Elvis Presley, singing "Love Me Tender," gave way to Buddy Holly and "Maybe Baby" on the radio. Along with the crickets of the Hollywood Hills, Holly's Crickets created a symphony that only lovers could love and time travelers could fully appreciate.

"Do you take dates here often?" Piper asked.

"No," Ben said. "I've been here only five times."

Piper gave him a sly grin.

"Did you bring Vicki?"

Ben blushed.

"Must you know everything?"

Piper giggled.

"Yes."

"OK. If you must know, I'll tell you," Ben said. "I brought Vicki here four times last year. Each time we did nothing more than listen to the radio."

Piper laughed.

"You're a liar."

Ben chuckled.

"Of course I am."

"I shouldn't hang out with a liar," Piper said. "He might tell me all sorts of lies to get all sorts of things."

"He might. He might if he wanted only one thing," Ben said. He took a breath. "If he wanted something else, he might tell you how much he loves you and wants you to stay."

Piper wilted as once again Ben said the right thing at the wrong time. She looked at him until she could look no more. She turned away to hide watery eyes.

"You said we wouldn't talk about that."

Ben pulled her closer and kissed her head.

"I'm a liar, remember?"

Piper laughed and wiped away a tear.

"I know. I've known that for weeks."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

"I mean you haven't dated 256 girls. You haven't dated more than twenty. You're not the Romeo you made yourself out to be when I first met you."

Ben laughed.

"Did you dig into my past?"

Piper nodded.

"I dug deep. In my first week of school, I asked more questions about you than questions about civics and literature and math. I talked to some of your dates. I talked to a lot of people."

"What did they say?" Ben asked.

"They told me you were a gentleman and a stand-up guy. One girl, Tammy Price, told me that you serenaded her when she refused to go out with you."

"She did?"

Piper nodded.

"She said you stood outside her window three straight nights and sang "That's Amore" until her father chased you away. I can't say I blame him. I've heard you sing to songs on the radio, Ben. Your voice would frighten Frankenstein."

"I was a desperate man back then," Ben said.

"You serenaded her last
year
."

"My memory is bad."

"I suspect it is when it comes to girls," Piper said. "Fortunately for the two of us, my ability to judge character is very good. I figured that any boy who would go to that length to impress a girl couldn't be all that bad. That's why I decided to go out with you."

Ben smiled and shook his head.

"I should have known you were up to something when you started talking to Sally. She said you asked a lot of questions about me the first day of school."

"I did," Piper said. "I considered her a reliable source."

Ben chuckled.

"What else did your 'investigation' of my past turn up?"

Piper brought a hand to her chin.

"Let me think. That
was
a month ago."

"There must be more," Ben said.

"Oh, there is. Most things are just escaping me now."

"Then let them escape. There is no need to round up the usual suspects on our last night together. I want at least part of my past to remain a mystery."

Piper laughed.

"I'm sure you do."

"I'm not kidding," Ben said. "I do."

Piper smiled.

"There
is
another thing. I didn't learn it until recently though."

"What's that?"

"I learned you have a heart."

"That sounds like something my mother would say," Ben said.

"It
was
something your mother said."

"OK. Spill it."

Piper grinned.

"Your mom told me that you once stood up Vicki to date an eighth-grader."

"This sounds bad," Ben said.

"I thought so, too, at first. Then your mom filled me in. She said you did a very nice thing last fall. She said you fulfilled a promise to a neighbor girl in South Pasadena – a
crippled
neighbor girl – by taking her out for ice cream on her fourteenth birthday."

"Don't believe her. Mothers lie all the time to make their children look good. That's how they raise liars like me. You shouldn't take her seriously."

"Your brother confirmed the story," Piper said. "Is he lying too?"

"Yes," Ben said. "My mom raised two liars."

Piper laughed.

"I believe that as much as I believe you picked our restaurant at random."

Ben tilted his head.

"I
did
."

"Is that why you asked Sally for advice on where to take me tonight? She told me about your little chat," Piper said. She kissed him again on the cheek. "I appreciate the effort though. Your choice showed imagination."

"So you enjoyed dinner tonight?" Ben asked.

"Do puppies pee on floors? Of course I enjoyed it."

Piper did too. She had enjoyed every moment at Luigi's Grill, a pricey Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills that regularly catered to millionaires, celebrities, and politicians. She had ordered a pasta dish she could not pronounce and goaded Ben into doing the same. By the time the waiter brought out the gelato at eight fifteen, she was ready to kiss every man in the building.

"That's good," Ben said. "I wanted you to enjoy it. That's why I asked Sally for suggestions. I knew she wouldn't steer me wrong. I didn't want to do anything wrong tonight."

"Do you think you've succeeded?" Piper asked.

Ben nodded.

"I think so."

"I do too."

"So what you're really saying is that I can do no wrong."

Piper smiled.

"Don't get carried away. I'm just saying you've had a good night."

Ben chuckled.

"I can't believe this. You just told me I was a gentleman and a stand-up guy, a person who serenades high school girls and takes crippled eighth-graders out for ice cream. Now you're saying I'm just a guy who's had a good night? I'm full of outrage."

Piper laughed.

"You're full of something."

"I mean it, Piper. What's not to like?"

"You mean besides an abject lack of humility?"

Ben nodded.

"Yes."

"All right," Piper said. She looked at the smart aleck. "If you insist on me spoiling a perfectly fine evening by listing your flaws, I'll do it."

Ben lifted his arm from Piper's shoulders, placed his hands behind his head, and reclined against the windshield. He grinned as he prepared to take his medicine.

"Let me have it," Ben said.

"Very well," Piper replied. She swiveled to face him. "First of all, Ben Ryan, you are the most conceited person I have ever met. Yes, you're gorgeous. Yes, you're smart. But that doesn't mean you should
tell
people that. Even Vicki told me she had her fill of you more than once."

"She's lying too. She lies as much as my brother."

"I doubt it."

Ben smiled.

"Is that all?"

"No," Piper said. "That's just the tip of the iceberg."

Ben gestured with his arm.

"Please continue."

"OK. I will," Piper said. She scolded him with a glance. "In addition to being insufferably conceited, you are obnoxious, slovenly, boorish, argumentative, materialistic, and dangerous. Don't think for a minute I've forgotten the night you almost killed me."

Ben frowned and took a breath. He sat up, brushed off his slacks, and slid forward on the hood until he was once again at Piper's side.

"I guess that means you don't like me."

"No, Ben. It means I think you have flaws."