I Love Corey, Chapter ten

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ernie Allbritton for his editing of this story. I am certain his work will enable you, the reader, to enjoy this story more. I am deeply indebted to him for his assistance.

Chapter Ten

Without Corey beside me I had had a hard time getting to sleep. I had lain there and thought about what I ought to do. Giving him up was out of the question so I worked on other things. I finally fell asleep. It was even worse that he didn’t come over for breakfast this morning. Finally I just gathered up my stuff and headed off to work.

There wasn’t much at the meeting so we finished early and I had a bunch of time before my first class. That seemed like as good a time as any to start what I had decided last night. I called the tow operator I had called for her car and when he answered I asked about her car. He informed me that it would cost way more then it was worth to fix it. In his opinion it was truly dead. I’ve had a couple of his kids in classes and have gotten to know him pretty well and we are friends. I knew he was always fixing up cars and selling them so I asked him what he had available. He told me and described them. One sounded promising so I asked more about it. When he finished I figured it was about as good as anything else. I asked him what he wanted for it. Twenty-five hundred dollars was his reply. Hmmm. How to work this. I asked what he would give for her car. He thought for a bit and said he could probably get three hundred dollars for the parts off of it. That left more then I figured she had or could afford. I finally told him to offer it to her for a thousand dollars difference and offer terms and I would pay if she took it. He sounded surprised but agreed and I asked him not to say anything about this and I would explain the first time I got a chance. I figured she had to have a car of some kind and maybe if it was a fair one she would go someplace and leave Corey with me for a day or two. At least I hoped so. 

Classes got underway and I spotted Corey in the hall so knew he was all right. That improved my outlook. God, I was worrying like an old hen with a bunch of chicks. He wasn’t even my chick. He was more than that to me.

At lunch Julia and I finally finished the brochure and turned it in to Jerry for his approval. I didn’t think there would be any problems with it but Jerry likes to be kept informed and his suggestions are most generally very helpful.

Just before classes ended I got a call from Dr. Benz’s office. There had been a cancellation and they wondered if Corey would be available for surgery on Friday. I asked them if I could let them know first thing in the morning and they said that would be fine. Now I had all kinds of problems. I had to get in touch with Mrs. Babcock and get her okay and there was tutoring tonight and I could see the whole evening was getting away from me. Even with a quick dinner there wouldn’t be much time. Oh well, we’d just have to do the best we could.

Football practice continued to go well. After our last game the team finally believed in themselves. They now knew they could play well and were eager to do so again. They practiced hard and seemed to enjoy it.

When practice was over we got out of there as fast as we could. When we got to Corey’s home, his mother had already left for work. Off we went to the Blue Schooner. I had never been inside so wasn’t sure what to expect. In fact titty bars were something I wasn’t into nor had I ever been. I’ve only been in one other and that was when I was in college. It was a dive. Not only that, they didn’t keep it very clean. The manager got Corey’s mother for me and I told her about the phone call. She agreed to allow the operation. Then she beat around the bush for a while and finally I figured out she wanted to borrow some money. I asked her what she needed it for and she told me she had found a car but needed a little more money than she had to make the deal. When she told me about the car I knew it was the one I had picked for her and gave her a check for five hundred dollars. 

Now I had another task to take care of. I quickly drove over to Jim’s Auto to pay him and explain. I left Corey in the pickup and went toJim’s home which was on the property. I explained why I was doing this and paid him. I didn’t give the real reason of course, but the story I deemed appropriate. It sounded good to me and I hoped not to fishy to him. By the time I was done doing that, I was so far behind schedule that I could see dinner was out of the question. We stopped at a Burger King and then hurried home. I left him and went to tutor a boy in my most advanced class. He had been in an accident and missed ten days of school and I needed to catch him up. If I couldn’t he would have problems the rest of the year. Math is like that. You can’t miss any of the steps or you won’t understand the next one. It took longer than I expected and by the time I got home Corey was yawning and we didn’t even have time for a quickie. I just kissed him and sent him home.

When I went to bed it hit me. He was going to have an operation. Dr. Benz had said he would probably be in the hospital for a couple of days and on crutches for several weeks. That meant that there would be a break in our relationship. For how long I didn’t know. I couldn’t get to sleep. I worried. What if he didn’t make it? I had reassured him but I had no one to reassure me. Logically I knew the chances of anything bad happening were remote. That didn’t help. My mind wouldn’t let me relax and sleep. I tried everything I could think of. I finally dozed off and got a couple of hours sleep.

When he showed up for breakfast I felt a lot better. While I don’t wake up quickly and am rather quiet, I enjoy having him with me. Just the fact that he was there made me happy. He didn’t have to do or say anything. His presence was enough. When I left for school he was checking Ebay.
The day was about normal. Nothing important happened and when we left that evening I had calmed down and quit worrying. As we headed to the market to pick up groceries, I was eagerly anticipating the evening. We wound up visiting with Mrs. Downie for a while. When she told Corey he was looked nice he smiled and thanked her. He did look better with a nice haircut and better clothes. We got home and he headed for the computer while I put the groceries away and started dinner. I had no more than turned the stove on when Mrs. Babcock showed up.

She just had to show off her car. I turned the stove off and we went to Jim’s to pick up the minivan. I had been forced to tell Corey what was going on as he had been with me when I paid for it. He acted like it was a complete surprise. The act would have fooled me if I hadn’t known better. She was happy and Corey was thrilled that she was. He’d look at me and grin when her attention was elsewhere. When we got back to my house I started dinner again and she didn’t seem in any hurry to leave. I wound up inviting her to dinner and she stayed afterward until she took Corey home. I could have cheerfully wrung her neck. I wanted him so badly I could taste it.

Wednesday was scout meeting night. Corey’s mother had said he could join so he was going to be initiated. I fixed dinner and by the time we had eaten, it was time to head to the V.F.W. hall for the meeting. They sponsor the troop and let them use their building to meet in. Of course it ran long as they all had to tell him all the fun he’d have with them. When the meeting was finally over, Vern talked my leg off. I finally told him I had to get Corey home and when he looked at his watch said he hadn’t realized it was so late. I took Corey home. I was frustrated. I wound up masturbating twice before I could get to sleep.

On Thursday, things fell apart. Mrs. Babcock showed up at school and informed Jerry she just couldn’t take Corey to San Francisco for his operation. He called me out of class and she repeated it to me. I was flabbergasted. As the operation was scheduled for eight thirty in the morning I didn’t know what to do. She left Jerry and me standing there with our mouths open. She had made it clear that she didn’t object to the operation but would not take him there herself.

I asked Jerry if he knew anyone that I could ask to help. He just shook his head. I’m afraid I didn’t do very well in class the rest of the morning. I saw some of the kids giving me puzzled looks. I was racking my brains trying to come up with someone I could ask to take him. At noon, I went and told Jerry if he didn’t have any ideas, I was going to have to call and cancel the operation. He said he had called a couple of the substitute teachers hoping to find one free who could help but none of them wanted to. However if I wanted to take him, they would be willing to fill in my classes. I hadn’t thought of that so asked him his opinion and he said it was the best we could do. I thought about it as the game was this evening and they wanted him there four hours early. It was an away game. I told Jerry I guessed he had better let the substitute know as I would do it. I told Jerry we would leave directly from the game.

As soon as the team got on the bus Corey and I rushed home. We grabbed some clothes and personal stuff and headed off to catch the bus. We caught it just as it was pulling into our opponent’s town. We dressed and the game got underway at five-thirty. The scouting reports and the video one of our boosters had shot showed that we were facing a very good team. In the first half they managed to prove it. We led thirteen to twelve at half time. In the second half we finally got it going. They had tried a new wrinkle on defense and after a couple of changes at the half we started to move the ball. Our defense stiffened and the second half was ours. The final score, thirty nine to twelve.

We showered and went to dinner at the restaurant chosen by the school. The kids were happy and laughing. I was thrilled as I thought this was the toughest team we would face this year. They had won our league three out of the last five years. This was the first time we had beaten them in eleven years.

As Corey and I were leaving, most of the team wished him good luck with his upcoming operation. Brad Conner showed him his scar and told him it would be a piece of cake. He had had knee surgery last year. As I remembered it, he didn’t think that way at the time. 

Why they wanted him there early, I have no idea. After we checked in, they did nothing, I repeat, nothing for the next hour and a half. We just sat there. Finally, things started to progress. Neither of us had gotten enough sleep and since he could not eat or drink anything, I didn’t feel I should either. I desperately needed my coffee. When they started getting him ready, I went over to one of those machines and put my money in to get a cup. Ghastly stuff. I managed to choke it down and got another cup. I had just finished it when they told me he was now in the waiting area and I could see him if I wished. 

When I walked in he looked nervous and scared. I tried to calm him and he finally seemed to relax. About then Dr. Benz came in and checked him over and told him they would be taking him to the operating room in about twenty minutes. When they wheeled him off, I went back to the waiting room. 

I must not have looked very good as the nice nurse suggested I would feel better if I had something to eat and assured me that everything would be okay. I decided she was right and went to the cafeteria. I had not been impressed with the coffee from the vending machine and breakfast was worse. I choked down about half of it and gave up and went back to the waiting room. It was obvious to me that the food served here would barely sustain life. 

Time seemed to stretch forever. I tried to read and every time I looked at my watch only a few minutes had passed. I couldn’t concentrate on my book and time just kept slowly going by, one tick at a time. Dr. Benz had said it would take about an hour and a half to two hours. By the time it was eleven I was beside myself. At eleven-twenty he came in with a big smile on his face. He told me that there was a little more damage then he had thought but that the operation was a success. He assured me that Corey should make a complete recovery. He suggested I eat lunch as Corey would not be awake for a while. When I shuddered and declined he smiled and told me there was a restaurant on another floor that served better food than the cafeteria. So I went and had lunch. The coffee wasn’t bad and the food was decent so when I got back I felt better. I called Jerry and reported the operation was a success and he said he would get word to Mrs. Babcock.

Corey spent most of the rest of the day sleeping. As the surgery had not been arthroscopic his knee hurt worse and they kept him doped up with a lot of pain medication. When he dropped off to sleep after dinner I gave up and left for the night.

I felt good when I woke up. After an excellent breakfast of sourdough hotcakes I went to the hospital and checked on Corey. He looked a lot better and was alert. His knee bothered him. When he complained about the food, I grinned and told him about my breakfast. He accused me of being mean and I just grinned some more.