The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

During lunch on Thursday, the subject of Kristen’s birthday party came up.

“How many people will be there?” Sherry asked.

“Well, from this school, there will be Patty and Toby, Camille, Wendy and Gerry, me, you, the rest of the cheerleaders and their boyfriends.”

“Jim’s family will be there,” Kristen said. “Patrice and Jack and what’s-her-name, his girlfriend.”

I nodded. “Doreen. Kristen’s family, too.”

“Not many people there,” Kristen said.

I smiled. Kristen’s brother was making a surprise visit, but Kristen didn’t know that.

“Sounds like a party,” Sherry said with a smile.

Patty seemed a bit quiet. Kristen picked up on that immediately. “Anything wrong, Patty?”

“No. I was just thinking about what I was going to wear.”

“I’ve got a lot of stuff,” Kristen said. “We’re about the same size. Would you like to borrow something?”

Patty shrugged.

“Come on, Patty,” Kristen insisted.

“When?”

“Friday... no... wait. Jim and I have a date. My last day at seventeen. How about tonight?”

“I have to be at Roman’s tonight,” Patty said, referring to the recent part-time job she got at a pizzeria.

“How about after school?” Kristen said. “Oh, wait... the rehearsal. I missed it last week...”

It suddenly hit me what Patty was doing.

“I think the band will survive another rehearsal without my muse,” I said.

Kristen looked at me suddenly, her eyes narrowing.

I think I might have agreed too easily.

Kristen said, “How about tomorrow after school, Patty?”

Patty forced a smile. “That sounds fine.”

The subject changed, but I noticed that Kristen continued to look at me suspiciously during the entire lunch period.

Kristen made damn sure she was at rehearsal. Mr. Proilet saw that and smiled. I asked Kristen if she wanted to do a solo on the electric piano.

My girlfriend was still suspicious that something was up, and so she just shrugged.

The music teacher was handing out arrangements of Gershwin’s ”Summertime,” which he suggested as an encore. As he handed it to Kristen, he apologized to the two women for the cold reading.

I was at the podium and counted down a slow tempo.

Kristen played the number flawlessly, albeit a bit stiffly. I stopped the number about halfway through.

“You’re doing great, Kris!” I said, smiling at her.

Kristen simply shrugged.

I turned to the chorus members, and asked “Who has the vocal range to sing this song?”

Stacey volunteered, and I decided to do it with a soloist.

I took the number again from the top, and this time, Kristen sounded much better. The song sounded better having a vocal part, and Mr. Proilet agreed.

We spent the rest of the session rehearsing ”Summertime“ and ”Anything Goes.”

After the rehearsal, Kristen came over to me. “I’m sorry, Jim.”

“Sorry for what?”

“I didn’t... I thought you didn’t want me at the rehearsal today.”

It was true, but having Kristen there didn’t seem to be a bad thing.

“I always do better when you’re around. Also, after watching you play ’Summertime,’ Amy hit the Cole Porter song with a vengeance!”

Kristen smiled. “Amy’s definitely better than when she started last year.”

Camille was coming out of the gym, as cheerleader practice just finished up. She saw Kristen and me and came over and said, “Hi!”

“Patty’s coming over to Kristen’s tomorrow to find an outfit for the party,” I said.

“Yeah,” Camille said. “She told me.”

“Kris and I have a date. Would you and Patty like to tag along to celebrate Kristen’s last day as a seventeen year old?”

“Like a bachelor party?” Camille asked.

“No. Just friends celebrating privately,” I said. “We were thinking of the Islander.”

“Chinese... yum!” Camille said.

Kristen said, “Think you guys can come?”

Camille looked at Kristen. “Are you sure that we wouldn’t be intruding?”

Kristen shook her head. “I wanted to do something like go out with friends, but didn’t know how Jim would feel. Since he brought it up, I must say that both of us would like that.”

“I’ll have to find out if Patty is working tomorrow night.”

“Hey, Cammy... if Patty can’t make it, then let’s bring the party to her.” I turned to Kristen. “How about Roman’s?”

“Do you think Patty will mind?” Kristen asked.

“Patty will love it,” Camille laughed. “She says the biggest problem with her job is that she doesn’t see her friends as often as she used to see them.”

“Great. Let us know tomorrow,” Kristen said.

We were now at Kristen’s Camaro. Camille waved good-bye as Kristen drove me home.

“Are our plans still on for after dinner, Jim?”

“Of course, Kristen,” I said. “I want to make love to you before midnight and after midnight. Your last as a minor and your first as an adult.”

“You don’t mind that I’ll be eighteen?” Kristen asked, gunning the engine.

“Who knows? I might find that I have a fondness for older women!”

Instead of laughing, Kristen sighed. “You’re spending too much time with Camille.”

On Friday, I located Sam and handed him a piano arrangement and asked if he’d be able to work out a bass line for it.

Sam glanced at the music I handed him and furrowed his brow. “I can’t place the tune.”

“It’s something I wrote.”

“Oh,” he said. “Shouldn’t be too difficult. Do you have a demo of the piece on keyboard?”

“Actually, yes,” I said. “Electric piano, actually. I was thinking acoustic would be better.”

Sam continued to study the music. “Electric is probably perfect for this one.”

“You think?” I asked. Sam had a great ear for music, and I valued his opinion highly.

“Ask your music teacher after class,” Sam suggested. “I’ll get the tape from you during seventh. If you see Amy before that, we have orchestra together and she can get it to me.”

“Thanks, friend!”

After music class, Mr. Proilet saw me hanging back. “What’s up, Jim?”

“Can you listen to this?” I asked, showing my teacher the cassette. Sam was still hanging around, interested in the teacher’s reaction to my song.

I watched Mr. Proilet look around for a cassette player and he finally found one. He took the tape and put it in.

The two of us listened to my rendition of a song that I’d had been working on for the past month. At the end of the song, Mr. Proilet said, “This is for Kristen?”

“Yes.”

“It needs a bass line, more than you do on the keyboard. The electric is perfect for the melody line.”

“I was thinking a bass and a drum.”

“Sam and Derek?” Mr. Proilet asked, looking at Sam hanging around.

“Yeah. They’re going to be at the party, and...”

“Do you have the bass part written?”

“I gave a copy of the score to Sam.”

My music teacher smiled. “That’s a good idea. Give him this cassette so he can get your meter as well.”

Sam laughed in response.

I nodded, seriously.

“Your song reminds me of Pachelbel’s Canon.”

“Whose cannon?”

“You’ve never heard that song in church?”

I shook my head. I wasn’t much of a church person.

My teacher walked to the piano and started playing what appeared to be arpeggios. The melody became familiar as he played it, except that there were many more motifs in the song my teacher played.

“I’ve heard that melody before,” I admitted. “It may be where I got the idea for the beginning.”

“Nothing wrong with inspiration, Jim.”

I shrugged. Now that I heard Canon, I saw the similarity.

My music teacher asked, “Do you have words to go with that song?”

“Unfortunately, only part of it. I am running out of time getting this done before Kristen’s birthday.”

“Pity. It sounds as if it would be a lovely song.”

“Maybe I’ll come up with some, but I’m not much of a poet.”

The three of us laughed at that.

Mr. Proilet left the room, and I spent about ten minutes explaining to Sam about some songs I wanted to do as sort of “improvisations” but to let people such as Toby, Sam, Derek, and the other to be ready for them.

That afternoon, Kristen drove me to her house, and reminded me that Patty and Camille were coming over. Kristen promised Patty that she could borrow some clothes for the party on Saturday.

“Oh great,” I said in mock indignation. “Another couple of hours wasted while girls try on dresses.”

Kristen looked at me and smiled when she saw that I was smirking. “Poor baby,” she said.

When we got to the apartment, I headed straight to the kitchen. I figured that dinner was a couple of hours off, and I was a bit hungry. Kristen discovered one of my weaknesses—making Jiffy Pop—and stocked about a dozen or more of them in the pantry.

I put the gas stove on a low flame, tore the cover off the top and started heating the snack.

Kristen called out to me to pour her a glass of the white wine we kept in the refrigerator. Since the kernels didn’t start to pop yet, I took the foil pan off the flame, poured a glass for the Goddess, then put the glass on the pass-through that led to the living room.

Once again, I started shaking the pan over the stove when the doorbell rang.

“Can you get that for me, Oogie?”

Of course, the kernels were starting to pop.

I once again put the pan on an unused burner and ran out to open the door. It was Patty and Camille. I welcomed them in, and ran back into the kitchen to try to resuscitate the popcorn.

“What are you doing in there?” asked Camille.

“Trying to make Jiffy Pop,” I said.

Camille saw the glass of wine on the pass-through. “Is that for Kristen?”

“The wine?” I asked. “Yeah.”

“You mind if I have some, too?”

“As long as you come in here and pour it. I don’t want these kernels to burn.”

Camille and Patty both came into the kitchen. Patty sniffed a bit and turned on the fan over the stove. “They’re burning, Jim.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Burning things seems to be my specialty.”

Camille poured two half-glasses of wine for Patty and herself.

The foil wasn’t even half inflated when the popping slowed down.

I shrugged, and put the pan into the sink (it was too hot to put into the garbage as it was), and went into the pantry and retrieved another Jiffy Pop.

“How many of those do you have, Oogie?” Patty asked.

“Twenty or thirty,” I said, grinning.

I started a new batch of popcorn.

Kristen called out, “Oogie, can you bring my glass of wine into the bedroom?”

I looked at the Jiffy Pop and the two girls laughed.

“I’ll take over the popcorn for you, Jim,” Camille offered.

“Thanks.”

I went into the bedroom, and found clothes all over the place. “What’s going on, Kris?”

“I’m not sure what outfit Patty will want,” Kristen said. She emptied almost her entire closet—and it was a large, walk-in closet, believe me—on her bed, on her dressers... everywhere.

“Patty and Camille are here, love,” I said, handing Kristen her wine.

“What burned?” Kristen asked, sniffing the air.

“My first batch of Jiffy Pop,” I said.

“You always set the heat on too high.”

It was more like I’m always interrupted when I make popcorn, but saying anything would make it sound like I was angry, and I wasn’t. Well, not really. “Yeah. Cammy took over while I fetched your wine.”

“You’re sweet,” Kristen said, sipping her wine. “Cammy won’t burn the popcorn. You always cook it too high.”

“Yeah. Guys like me need to learn how to cook. Maybe next year I’ll take a home economics class.”

Kristen heard the sarcasm in my voice, and dispelled any argument with a kiss that tasted of Chablis.

“Hmmm,” I said. “That wine is sweet. Or was that you?”

My Goddess ignored the compliment and picked up a smart outfit. “What do you think? Think the green matches Patty’s hair?”

“Patty’s hair is red, not green,” I pointed out.

Kristen rolled her eyes and sighed.

“I need to get back to the kitchen and collect the popcorn,” I said.

“Sure thing. You don’t mind Patty trying on outfits, do you?”

“No. I have Cammy to keep me company,” I said.

“Oh? Do you think I can trust you with Cammy?”

“I’ve been to Lake Shore Point with her already,” I said. “She kisses nice, but she’s not you.”

Kristen smiled at me. “You’re truly sweet. I promise we won’t take too long.”

“I trust you.”

“How about this... I give you permission to snuggle with Cammy. I promise to make it fun for you.”

Kristen was giving me permission to snuggle with Camille? “Um, that’s not necessary...”

“Of course it is,” Kristen said.

She bounded out of the room and I followed her.

Camille ripped open the top of the foil and took a handful of popcorn in her hand. So did Patty.

“Hey, Patty, Camille!” Kristen said happily. “Jim said you were here.”

“Hi, Kristen,” the two girls answered.

“You know how Jim here doesn’t like fashion shows,” Kristen said. “I suddenly got an idea to make it more interesting for him.”

“How?” asked Patty.

“First, Cammy... can you keep Jim comfortable in the living room?”

“Of course,” Camille said.

“I mean, really comfortable,” Kristen said, giving Camille a look. “Almost to be point of being... uncomfortable?”

Camille looked surprised at Kristen and then a big smile grew on her face. “Of course, Kristen.”

“Cool. Patty, I have some outfits in the bedroom. Come with me!”

I looked at Camille. I know that Kristen gave me permission to “snuggle” with Camille, and she just gave an even more open invitation to the blonde.

“Looks as if our job is to retire to the living room, Jim,” Camille said.

“Cammy, you don’t have to...”

“Oh, Jim, I’m not going to fuck you! I think Kristen just wants me to keep things interesting for you.”

“All right, but if Kristen starts to act funny...”

“I know,” Camille said. “I have no interest in losing her friendship, or yours.”

“All right.”

I have kissed Camille before, and I know that she is quite capable in the department. However, she seemed to have lowered her wattage in the living room. It was a romantic kiss, but I got much steamier kisses from her in the past, so I knew she wasn’t really trying.

Kristen and Patty came into the living room to model what they were wearing.

Actually, the expression should be rewritten. They were modeling what they weren’t wearing. Kristen wore a matching set of pink panties and a bra with embroidery hearts knit on it. Inside the hearts there was no material at all. Kristen’s nipples stuck out of a couple of intentionally placed hearts in the bra cups, and the holes in her panties left no confusion as to whether she was a natural blonde.

Patty, for her part, was wearing an emerald green lingerie set. The panties looked like bikini bottoms, and the top was a camisole that covered most of her top, but left her belly button exposed.

“Wow!” was my reaction to the two of them.

“Killer outfits!” Camille said appreciatively. “Patty... you look good enough to eat!”

Patty blushed at Camille’s compliment.

“I like those hearts on Kristen myself,” I said, not wanting Kristen to go unappreciated.

“You see?” Kristen told Patty. “I told you they would like these!”

“Oogie like!” I said, trying my best to force my voice into a low register like the Hulk cartoon.

Patty and Kristen laughed, and both of them came over to me and gave me hugs and kisses.

The girls went back to the bedroom and put on their outfits. For two girls going to a Chinese restaurant, they were a bit overdressed. Do you think I minded?

At the Islander, I found myself distracted, remembering the lingerie show that Patty and Kristen gave me. The last time I was at the Islander, I recalled, I was distracted as well.

It was obvious that my women troubles were only just beginning.

Kristen and I drove Patty and Camille to their homes and made sure we were back at the apartment before midnight. We wanted to do a “before” and “after” session about Kristen turning eighteen, and we did so.

Instead of sucking me when we got into bed at a quarter after eleven at night, Kristen insisted on fucking me. I mentioned that this wasn’t a big part of our nights together, mostly due to Kristen’s addiction to my sperm, but that was what Kristen wanted.

I remembered the argument Kristen and I had the previous autumn, and also remembered her original ultimatum: to fulfill her fantasy before her eighteenth birthday. I didn’t carry out her request, yet, and I felt a bit bad. I still couldn’t decide whether or not whether or not I would comply with her request, and her deadline was approaching.

After I shot off into Kristen’s womb, I immediately moved into a sixty-nine position and tried as much as I could to suck my own seed from Kristen. During the four and a half months we were dating, I had plenty of experience with having my own seed in my mouth, mostly from Kristen. I was going to do this for her. I looked at the alarm clock and noticed that it was five minutes until midnight. I moved back up to my darling and kissed her, giving her my seed, mixed with her own juices and my saliva.

It wasn’t exactly what she demanded, but I gave her what I could.

Kristen’s response was to pull my body so close to her that her breasts were flattened in between us. “Thank you, Jim!” Kristen breathed after a couple of minutes.

“Midnight, Goddess!” I said, noticing the time.

“I love you, Oogie!” Kristen cried.

The love of my life just cried and cried. Nothing I could do could stop her. I tried to ask her what was wrong, but she continued to cry.

Oh, fuck. I thought that this would have been a good compromise.

I simple held Kristen in my arms until she calmed down. “I’m sorry, Oogie.”

I figured it was time to respond, so I said, “I’m sorry, Kristen. I knew how important your request was, and I failed you.”

“Huh?” Kristen asked, confused.

“I knew what you wanted before your birthday. I couldn’t do it.”

“But you did!” Kristen shouted. “I didn’t get it from another girl, but I got it from you!”

“No...”

“Jim!” Kristen interrupted. “Don’t make this another story. You did the right thing.”

“Another story?” I asked, confused.

“Forget it,” Kristen said. “You don’t want to know.”

“Story?”

Kristen didn’t answer me. “I love you, Jim,” she said.

“I love you, Kris.”

The two of us noticed the time and very soon afterward, I made love with an adult over the age of eighteen.

Kristen was all excited about her party, which she knew would be at the American Legion hall.

That morning, Kristen and I ate breakfast with her parents.

“You look excited, Kris,” Kristen’s father told her.

“It’s my first birthday party with Jim,” Kristen enthused.

Kristen’s mother looked at her husband with warm eyes. “I remember my first birthday party with Daniel. I was a college student trying to earn some spending money, and I needed to work on my birthday. Daniel was at the club, and he spoke to me.”

Kristen’s parents just looked at one another at this point, silence pervading the room.

“Daniel told me that you were a musician in college,” I said to Kristen’s mother.

“Daniel?” Kristen asked.

Mr. Swift laughed. “I’ve asked Jim to call me that. He seems pretty mature, and you know I don’t like being called ‘Mr. Swift.’ That was my father’s name.”

I laughed quietly. I think Daniel felt the same way about fathers as I did.

“In that case, call me Charley,” Kristen’s mother said. “And yes, I played bass guitar and occasionally sang.”

“I’ve tried playing guitar,” I admitted. “I never got the fingering right.”

“Bass is much easier,” Kristen’s mom replied. “Our band was a novelty with girls doing all the instruments. We did a few clubs, but mostly weddings. It paid the bills.”

“I may have to play weddings myself if I’m going to be a musician. I guess it’s a way of paying your dues.”

Kristen looked alarmed. “Oh, Jim, you’re much too good for weddings!”

“What was your band’s name?” I asked, changing the subject.

“’Honey Drippers,’ named after Honey Carlisle, our lead singer.”

“Honey was a torch singer,” Daniel added. “Her voice sounded much the same as Peggy Lee’s.”

“That’s a cool name for a band,” I said. “Did you do any rock?”

“Heaven’s no!” Kristen’s mom replied. “This was the early 1950s. We did some swing, but mostly ballads. You know, Andrews Sisters type stuff. I sang harmony to Honey.”

“So, like, did Daniel talk to you after your set?” I asked, wanting to get the goods on Kristen’s parents.

Daniel laughed. “I was transfixed during the performance. Most every guy’s eyes were on Honey, but I saw Charley here and I knew my future was with her. When I saw her after her performance, she seemed to like me immediately, too.”

Suddenly, something registered in my mind and I got the germ of an idea.

“Can you excuse me, Kris?” I asked. “I just remembered something I forgot in the apartment.”

“A present for me?” Kristen asked, sweetly.

“Could be!” I smiled.

At the apartment, I called my music teacher’s home number.

“Hello,” Mr. Proilet said as he answered the phone.

“Mr. Proilet, do you still have access to the spring concert music from a couple of years back?”

“Jim! Glad to hear you... I think I have those. Which song?”

“The one you borrowed me from the junior high to do lead trumpet.”

“That one! Yeah. I’ve got it. I was thinking of maybe doing it again next year.”

“Think the birthday people can sight read it? I don’t remember it being that difficult.”

Mr. Proilet paused. “The folks you have in your group should do it justice, but there are no guitar parts.”

“Maybe I could have Gerry do the second solo.”

“You’d have to transpose it. I don’t think Gerry does sight transposition.”

Damn! I wished I thought of this earlier. “Gerry’s own band is going to do a set without the rest of the band, so he could sit out this one.”

“That would work.”

“Do you have the lyrics? I was thinking of having Stacy and Lynn do the vocals.”

“The vocals are for three parts,” Mr. Proilet pointed out.

“I have another girl in mind.”

“Kristen?”

I snickered. “Maybe. It will be a surprise.”

We said our good-byes, and I was very happy that I memorized that song. I think it was due to the fact that I used to be a lot more conceited. Being picked to do a featured solo in the high school band when you were in eighth grade could do that to a young man.

I came back to the main house and found Kristen and her parents in the living room. Kristen looked at me curiously, wondering what I picked up from the apartment, but she didn’t ask.

We ended up making chit-chat until lunch time, when Kristen’s parents said that they needed to set up for the party. They left the two of us alone and asked us to be at the party in an hour.

We spent most of that hour cuddling, and Kristen subtly gave my body a thorough search, looking for whatever it was that I might have gotten from the apartment.

When Kristen and I got into the American Legion hall, Kristen knew something was up. First of all, a lot of the members knew me by name and greeted me as “Oogie.” I met them the previous two weeks, and during our rehearsals, many of the members came upstairs to watch us perform.

“Oogie?” Kristen asked me, narrowing her eyes.

“They may have attended the Christmas concert,” I shrugged.

“I’ll bet,” Kristen said.

I led Kristen upstairs, and she gasped as she saw how the hall was decorated.

Patty, Wendy, Camille, Lynette, and a bunch of the cheerleaders went all out to turn the hall into a festive birthday celebration. There were balloons, ribbons, posters, and signs everywhere!

“SURPRISE!” Everybody yelled as Kristen entered the room.

“Wow!” Kristen said, and for the first time in my memory, my blonde Goddess was at a loss for words.

The entire jazz band was sitting patiently at their seats. Mr. Proilet was standing at the conductor’s podium, facing the room.

“You did this?” Kristen asked, finally finding the ability to speak.

“We all did this, Goddess!” I said, kissing Kristen on the cheek.

“The band?”

“We have a special set written just for this party, Kris.”

“Will you sit with me when they perform?”

I shook my head. “I have to conduct, Kris.”

“Oh,” Kristen said, a little disappointed, and then confused. “Why is Mr. Proilet here, then?”

“He helped the group rehearse when I was busy with you. He’s going to announce the band.”

My teacher signaled that it was time for me to come to the podium. I gave Kristen a kiss on the lips, and said, “Sit with your parents.”

Kristen found that her parents were sitting with mine and she squealed with joy when she saw her brother sitting with them. Kristen moved over to them and hugged her brother very tightly, and then introduced Merry and hugged her as well.

When I got to the podium, I saw that Toby brought me my trumpet. Mr. Proilet’s electric piano was set up. “What’s the electric for?” I asked him.

“It will sound better for Lollipops,” my teacher answered.

“OK,” I said. “Did you get the special music?”

“We managed to get a rehearsal in before Kristen’s parents arrived. I take it that song is a surprise for them?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I was thinking of putting that prior to Lollipops.”

Mr. Proilet nodded, and I sat with the trumpets. He tapped his stick on the podium to get the band’s attention, as well as those of the party guests.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention? I have the privilege to introduce to you, fresh from their successful engagement at the high school Christmas concert, Jim Crittenhouse and the one and only Oogie Woogie Impromptu Jazz Band!”

Many people laughed at the band’s name, but we got a smattering of applause as well.

I took over for Mr. Proilet and said, “Thank you, Mr. Proilet.” I turned to the audience and said, “We have an eclectic mix of tunes for you, from the likes of Henry Mancini to some other standards and even a rock number.”

I turned to the band and signaled the start of the Peter Gunn Theme.

Roy was at his best with ”Moon River“ and Stacy and Lynn handled ”Romeo and Juliet“ handily.

The band really cooked during ”Pink Panther“ and Mr. Proilet came over to the conductor’s podium.

I turned to the audience, and said, “For our next number, we have a surprise for everybody, especially one special lady.”

I saw Kristen smile at me, and I winked my eye at her.

“Our two female vocalists, Stacy and Lynn, will be accompanied by my special guest. She’s the former bassist and vocalist from a group called the Honey Drippers. Mrs. Charley Swift!”

Kristen’s mother gasped as she realized that she was being singled out in the crowd. Everybody looked at her in surprise as well.

“Please Mrs. Swift. I’m sure you’ll know this next number.”

Kristen’s mother was shaking her head.

“Everybody, could we have some applause to let our special guest know that we’d love her to come up here for her daughter’s birthday?”

Applause answered me, and Mrs. Swift, her face red, came to the podium. I directed her to where Stacy and Lynn were standing behind their microphone and told her to tell the girls which part she’d take.

Mrs. Swift’s eyes went wide as she saw the music and a smile replaced the look of fear on her face. She whispered something to the girls and pointed to something in the music. After a couple of short moments, the three women looked at me expectantly.

I handed the conductor’s stick to Mr. Proilet, and took my trumpet from the chair. Since the song started with a trumpet solo, I remained standing while Mr. Proilet gave me the beat.

I took a deep breath and started the solo. Looking at the audience, I saw looks of recognition from the young and old alike.

As soon as my solo ended, Stacy, Lynn, and Mrs. Swift started singing, their voices blending together as if they sung this song all their lives:

He was a famous trumpet man

From old Chicago way,

He had a boogie style that

No one else could play.

He was the top man at his craft,

But then his number came up

And he was gone with the draft.

He’s in the army now,

A-blowin’ reveille.

He’s the boogie-woogie bugle boy

Of Company B!

The band sounded terrific. A few of the seniors in the band played this in the spring concert a couple of years back and remembered it.

When we finished, the audience went wild. The applause sounded as if it would never stop.

I walked over to the three women, and made them take their bows.

“When did you cook this number up?” Mrs. Swift asked me.

“This morning, when you said you did Andrews Sisters numbers. I remembered that I did this song a couple of years ago and asked Mr. Proilet if he could get the score. I was hoping you’d be able to get the part the first time.”

“You never cease to amaze me, Jim. Or should I call you Oogie?”

I shrugged. “Whichever. Just don’t call me ‘son,’ yet. Daniel calls me that, and it gets me nervous.”

“He thinks of you as his son.”

Mr. Proilet was indicating to me that the next song was up. I thanked Mrs. Swift, and she kissed me on the cheek before she went back to where she was sitting before.

Mr. Proilet pointed to the mike where Roy was standing, and I went over to accompany him. The conductor’s baton went up and the introduction started.

The mikes were live, thank goodness, and Roy and I started to sing:

Tell her you care,

Each time you speak,

Make it her birthday

Each day of the week.

Bring her nice things,

Sugar-and-spice things,

Roses and lollipops and

Lollipops and roses.

I looked over to Kristen as I sang this, and she knew that I was singing right to her. There were tears in her eyes, and her emotions were contagious.

Luckily, we made it through the song.

We ended the set with ”Hooked on a Feeling.”

“That was wonderful,” Kristen said, wrapping her arms around my neck and ending it with one of her erection special kisses.

“Anything for you, Goddess,” I said when we finally broke the kiss.

Kristen’s father shook my hand, telling me “That was special, Jim. It brought back very special memories to both of us.”

I smiled at him. “This morning, when you were telling me how the two of you met, and mentioned that she sang Andrews Sisters songs, I called my teacher to get the music. I was honored to be able to solo for your wife, sir.”

“Sir?” Mr. Swift laughed, amused. “You are very polite.”

I nodded over to where my mother was. “You have her to thank for that. She taught me manners.”

My mother reddened at my statement, but she looked very proud of me.

I got a warm kiss from Kristen’s mother, and she thanked me again as well.

The birthday party went pretty nicely. Gerry’s band knew the standard numbers and people even danced a bit.

The younger crowd tended to separate from the older crowd, and Kristen and I moved between both crowds. Kristen and I chatted a lot with her brother, who was hanging out with the older crowd.

I noticed Will staring at the younger group, and after a few minutes, I noticed Camille staring over where we were. It was obvious that the two of them were staring at each other, oblivious to anything else going on. Patty noticed Camille’s distraction, and her eyes widened.

I interrupted Will’s reverie.

“I’m sorry, Jim,” Will said, still distracted.

“Let me introduce you to one of our friends,” I said, leading him toward Camille.

Kristen and I led Will to Camille and Patty. Kristen introduced her brother to our friends.

Camille and Will continued staring at each other.

We left the two of them alone.

Near the end of the party, Patty found me and asked to talk to me, privately. We walked over to where the sodas were kept in a bin of ice, and then found a place that was relatively quiet.

“What’s up, Patty.”

“Kristen’s brother is... I can’t put my finger on it,” Patty said.

“He seems taken by Camille.”

Patty nodded distractedly. I don’t think that was what was bothering her.

“What’s wrong, Patty?” I asked.

“He’s...” Patty paused. Words seemed to fail her.

“He seems a bit psychic,” I said, remembering my discussion with Will last Thanksgiving.

“Um, maybe that’s it.”

“You’re not jealous that he seems to be interested in Cammy, are you?”

Patty shook her head. “Cammy never had a real boyfriend before. I’m happy about that. It’s that he’s...”

Once again, words failed Patty.

“Will loves Kristen very much,” I said. “I think he’s a great fellow myself. Do you think he’s a bad person?”

“No!” Patty said. She shook her head, trying to get whatever it was in her mind out. “I mean, I’m happy for Cammy. Did you see the way they found each other across the entire room?”

I smiled. I started singing, “Some enchanted evening, you will meet a stranger...”

Patty laughed. “Maybe I’m not used to seeing Camille so happy like that... with a boy. I know she has a lover. She told me about... her lover... that day we took off from school.”

“Did Camille ever tell you what I told her right before that day?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Patty said. “I never realized it, either, until Camille told me about what you said. She said that you were the first person that she ever really trusted in years. You pointed it out to her, and said that I felt the same way. I didn’t even put that together, you know!”

I simply nodded.

“You didn’t give Camille a ticket, did you?” Patty asked, suddenly.

My mouth opened wide. I never expected Patty to suspect me of doing something like that! “Of course not!”

Patty looked into my eyes, and then cast her eyes down. “I’m sorry, Jim. I mean, it was wonderful when Cammy came back from the dead and became a real person again. She said that talking to you had convinced her. I’m sorry that I doubted your integrity.”

“Patty, I’ve done some bad things with my tickets. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything nice with them. I’ve sworn off using them.”

I didn’t tell Patty that I handed a ticket to Camille as a “test” to see if they really didn’t work on her. It was a minor fib, but Camille agreed to being part of that test.

Kristen came over to the two of us. “It looks like Will and Camille are an item.”

“Oh?” Kristen said, a bit surprised.

“We’ve never seen Cammy so infatuated before,” I said.

“Hmm,” Kristen said, looking over to where Will and Camille were standing together. They were together, just talking. “They both have it bad for each other.”

“It seems unusual,” Patty said.

“They’ve both been looking everywhere for love,” Kristen said, smiling. “It’s interesting that they found it at the same time.”

Patty looked at Kristen, and finally smiled. “You know, I think you’re right!”

I kissed Kristen. “Happy birthday, my fair Goddess!”

Kristen beamed at me. “I loved your surprise!”

I looked at Patty and then back at Kristen. “I am going to allow you to do something special tonight.”

“What’s that?”

“For the first time in your life, you’ll be able to commit statutory rape!”

Kristen and Patty giggled at that.

My mother got me alone at one point near the end of the party. She had something important to say to me.

“Kristen and I talked together earlier,” Mom said.

“Oh?” I said.

“She’s deeded the apartment to you as a birthday present.”

“She what?” I said, quite loudly, as I was completely amazed.

“It’s not finalized, and Kristen told me that I would have to sign with you to make it legal, but for all intents and purposes, the apartment on the Swift’s land is now yours.”

“The apartment is mine?” I was still confused.

“Kristen also asked if you could move in, more or less permanently. I told her that I’d think about it, and I have. I’m not going to be happy with you leaving the house...”

“You’re letting me move in?” I interrupted.

Mom nodded, a tear welling up in her eye. She dabbed at it with a tissue that I didn’t notice in her hand. “Yes, Jim. You’ve proven to me that you’re a lot more mature than your age would suggest. It’s obvious that Kristen is head over heels in love with you, as are her parents. Seeing the show you put on for her this afternoon made me proud, Jim!”

My mother hugged me tightly, and I saw Kristen approach the two of us. Mom saw this and moved away quickly.

“What did your mom say?” Kristen asked.

“She told me that I could move in with you.”

Kristen literally picked me up and hugged me. “That’s wonderful, Jim!”

I saw mom later talking with her husband. He didn’t seem too upset with what she was telling him, which surprised me.

It took almost a week to completely move my things into the apartment.