The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

After Kristen and I finished in the shower, I went upstairs to get dressed. When I came back downstairs, I heard music playing in the billiard room. I went to that room and saw Kristen was sitting on one of the chairs, strumming quietly along to Going to California on the album Led Zeppelin IV.

“I like side one better,” I commented, smiling at Kristen.

“Everybody likes Stairway,” Kristen said, nodding. “I just didn’t feel like strumming my acoustic guitar to Black Dog.”

I figured that Black Dog with an acoustic accompaniment would be something weird and smiled in response.

Since we were waiting for the cheerleaders to return, I parked myself at Kristen’s feet with my eyes half closed, letting the music flow gently through my head. I was thinking about what Kristen told me a little over a half hour earlier. Somehow, despite the fact that Kristen admitted she once wanted to kill me, I felt much closer to her than before.

I decided that I would need to have a long talk with Patty to completely understand things.

The sound of the outside door opening broke me out of my reverie, and Lynette arrived in the billiard room with June, Sherry, and my sister in tow.

I was about to greet the girls when Lynette said, “What are you guys doing lounging around? Why don’t you guys come outside and get some fresh air?”

I blinked at Lynette. Unlike her demeanor when she was cheerleader captain, Lynette hardly ever suggested any activity around the apartment, but here she was doing just that.

“Outside?” I asked, confused.

Sherry joined Lynette. “It’s a wonderful day, Jim!”

Merry added, “You didn’t even say ‘Hi!’ to me!”

“Hi, Shortcake!” I said, automatically, a bit apologetically.

“Come on, you two,” Lynette said, pulling me up by my arm. “Get outside!”

After pulling me up, Lynette surprised me by taking Kristen by the arm, delaying only slightly while Kristen put her guitar against the wall. My Goddess was pulled up by Lynette.

I shrugged at Kristen, not knowing what got into Lynette. Did the two girls have a fight before? I thought they were all lovey-dovey in the shower this morning...

June asked, “Were the two of you in here all the time we were gone?”

My response was a shrug. “Here, the studio...”

“The shower,” Kristen added with a smirk.

June shook her head. “You need to get outside more.”

Before I knew it, Merry and June had me by the arms and led me down the hall toward the door that led outside.

“What’s going on?” I asked, completely perplexed.

None of the girls answered me. I could now tell that Kristen seemed to know what was going on, which made me a bit more curious.

When I got to the door...

“SURPRISE!”

There were people everywhere! Cheerleaders—some still in their outfits—and members of the band from school. Mr. Proilet and a couple of other teachers were there as well. I turned to look at Kristen, who simply kissed me.

“That’s for the surprise party you threw me for my eighteenth birthday!” Kristen said, smiling. “Daddy and Mommy set this up for us.”

I tried to pick out Kristen’s parents in the crowd and saw them sitting on some chairs with my step-father and mother. I went to go over to them to thank them, but people kept interrupting me to wish me a happy birthday.

When I got to the place where our parents were, I was further surprised to see Will and Camille were there as well.

“Cammy!” I said, reaching out to give her a big hug.

“Will told me that he’d spank me if I didn’t show up for this soireé that Kristen planned!”

I gave Camille a big kiss on the cheek and then shook Will’s hand.

Daniel Swift got up from his chair and shook my hand next. “Happy birthday, son!”

“Thanks, Mr. Swift!”

I received a kiss from Charlie Swift as well as my mother, and I got a firm handshake from my step-father.

I turned around to look at everybody who was at the party. I couldn’t believe so many people were there... it had to be even more than the number of people who had been to Kristen’s birthday party earlier that year.

I saw Roy Fennel, who was chatting with Sherry and Merry, and not only was most of my jazz band around, but so was most of the concert band as well. I saw a stage was set up but had large sheets around it. It was obvious that Kristen had planned some entertainment as well. I wondered how many of the jazz band would be performing today.

Kristen came over with two cans of soda and handed me one. “I envy you. My birthday is in January, and it’s too cold then for an outdoor birthday. You get to have wonderful weather for your birthday! Were you surprised?”

“You bet!” I said, still in awe at all the people who were over at the house.

“Mom and Dad suspended house rules and opened the porch to the outside so people can have easy access to the pool. People were told to bring their bathing suits if they want to swim. We have burgers and hot dogs for the afternoon, and the caterer will bring us some barbecued chicken and ribs later tonight.”

“When did you plan this?” I asked, stunned by the turnout.

“I planned it in January, but didn’t tell anybody about it until a couple of months ago. Everybody promised to help me keep it a secret from you.”

“I love you, Goddess!”

“Oh, Jim!”

The two of us kissed for a long time.

There was a tent set up with picnic tables underneath, and there were people I didn’t know—the caterers—serving food to all takers.

I kept looking at the stage, which was still shrouded in white sheets. Kristen managed to get my curiosity piqued over that. Who was going to perform? Did she make any arrangements with Mr. Proilet to get the Jazz Band to perform? If so, when did they have time to rehearse?

I was startled when I heard a deep voice boom out. “Hey, Oogie!” This was accompanied by a large hand on my right shoulder.

“Archy?” I asked, recognizing the voice. I turned around and saw Archy and June were there. “You’re here from college!”

“Do you think I’d miss out on your birthday?” Archy laughed as we shook hands. “Besides, Kristen arranged for a Piper Cub to pick me up in Indiana. I’ll be going back later tomorrow. Thank goodness we don’t have classes yet.”

“Don’t you have a game this week?”

“We have a bye this week. June told Kristen and next thing I know, she calls me and tells me to get my black butt over here for your party!”

June smiled, and I could see that she was happy to see her big old Teddy Bear with her, even for just a while.

I nodded toward the stage. “Do you have any idea what Kristen has planned over there?”

Archy laughed a deep booming laugh. “Oogie, my friend. That little lady of yours next to you would rip my heart out along with some other organs if I were to spoil her surprise.”

I turned to where Archy indicated, and saw Kristen had come back to be with me. I smiled sheepishly.

“You have Archy trained very well, June,” Kristen said, smiling at the couple.

“I have no complaints,” June said.

As I left, I saw Archy and June start a warm kiss together. I was happy that June and Archy were able to get together again. As much as June and I loved one another, it was nothing compared to the deep bond shared between the linebacker and the cheerleader.

As Kristen led me toward the picnic tent, Mr. Proilet stopped us and shook my hand. “Happy Birthday, Jim!”

“Thanks!” I said, looking back as Kristen continued to drag me away. I wasn’t able to ask my teacher if the band was going to be performing.

I looked in the direction that Kristen was dragging me, and saw Kristen’s brother Will and Camille at a picnic table eating lunch.

“Hey, guys!” Kristen said. “I’m glad you were able to make it, Will!”

“There would have been hell to pay if I didn’t make it,” Will said, laughing. “Mom and Dad were very insistent.”

“When does school start?” I asked.

“In a couple of weeks...” Will started.

“Two weeks,” Camille said.

The two started laughing together, and Kristen and I joined them.

“How long are you in town?” I asked.

The two looked at each other. “We have tickets to go back to New England on Wednesday. We arrive in Boston for a final weekend before I have to show up at the dorm at Brown.”

My favorite red head came over to the table where we were sitting with a plate containing mostly potato salad and macaroni salad.

“Hey, Patty!”

Patty smiled at me and gave a big hug to Camille and Will.

“How long are you guys in Illinois?” Patty asked.

“Our flight leaves Wednesday night,” Camille answered.

I hadn’t noticed that Kristen left me alone until I saw her come back with a couple of paper plates full of food. She handed one to me which had a hamburger and some cole slaw.

“Yum!” I said, attacking the hamburger.

As I was eating, Patty leaned close to me and whispered, “I can see that we will need to talk later.”

I made small talk with Camille, Will, and Patty. I wanted to talk with each one, albeit privately, but the party wasn’t the opportune time for that.

“Where are you guys staying?”

Will answered. “My old room. Mom and Dad said that Cammy can stay in Kristen’s old room if she wants.”

I nodded and finished my hamburger.

I watched people interact around me.

Mr. Proilet was talking animatedly to my parents, and both Daniel and Charlie Swift seemed to have a few comments to make as well. I figured that whatever they were talking about involved me. From the expressions of everybody involved, however, there wasn’t very much disagreement among the five of them.

I turned to tell Kristen about what I had seen, but found that my Goddess had disappeared again. A quick scan of the party didn’t reveal her location.

“Mind if I excuse myself?” I asked my companions.

There didn’t seem to be any objections, although Camille brushed my arm and said, very softly, “I’d like to talk with you later on.” It was the second time a friend told me that.

I nodded at Camille and got up from the table, putting my now empty plate into one of the trash bins that were strategically located all over the yard.

I saw Archy and June standing by Sherry and Lynette, and I moved over to where they were.

“Hey, Oogie! Great party!” Sherry said, giggling.

I smiled at Sherry and asked how everybody was doing.

“Everybody seems great!”

I looked around and saw Roy chatting with Stacy, a member of the chorus, and my sister.

“Hmm, Roy and Stacy. They’d make an interesting couple.”

“Are you kidding?” Sherry asked.

“Huh?” Was there some problem between Roy and Stacy that I didn’t know? I thought that Roy and Stacy got along very well—they both had wonderful singing voices and they were both in the chorus.

Sherry seemed surprised. “You mean you don’t know?”

I gave Sherry an exasperated look. “Nobody tells me anything around here. What’s wrong between Roy and Stacy?”

“Nothing!” Sherry said, still looking surprised that I was missing something.

I thought back to the conversation I had with Roy the other day and suddenly remembered the subject. “Roy and my sister?”

“It’s not that serious,” Sherry said, trying to assure me.

I didn’t know how to take this information. I mean, I had no hold over my sister. I didn’t even live with her anymore. However, I did know that Roy had a relationship with a cheerleader a few months back, even though she already graduated. They were both at the villa during the senior weekend, and it was obvious that their relationship wasn’t entirely platonic...

“Really, Jim,” Sherry said, patting my arm, “it’s not serious. Merry seems amused that Roy seems interested. I think she still thinks of Roy as your best friend. Of course she’s going to be curious. That’s it.”

“If you say so.”

Roy was my friend... probably the closest male friend that I had. Why was I getting these strange feelings?

“Wow!” Sherry breathed, diverting my attention.

I turned to see what Sherry was looking at, and saw Kristen and Lynette emerge from my apartment wearing the skimpiest bikinis I’ve ever seen. The cuts of their suits as well as the material were identical; only the color was different between them. The one Kristen was wearing was black, and Lynette’s was white.

Kristen saw me looking at her and she smiled, and ran over to me, leaving Lynette behind. “Like my suit?”

“Love it, Goddess!”

“Wait until you see Lynette’s after she hits the water!”

Sherry gasped. “That material will become nearly transparent if it gets wet!”

“That’s the idea, Sherry!” Kristen said with a snicker.

“Does Lynette know this?” I asked.

Kristen shrugged as if she didn’t care. “Lynette does what I tell her.”

I nodded, but Sherry was still staring open mouthed at Lynette, who finally reached us.

“Going swimming, Lynette?” I asked, amused by the prospect.

Lynette looked at Kristen, who nodded. “Of course,” Lynette replied.

Kristen said, “You should put on a bathing suit, Jim. I left one out for you on the bed.” She turned to Sherry and added, “Jim can show you where my bathing suits are if you didn’t bring any, Sherry.”

“Um, thanks,” Sherry said.

Kristen took Lynette by the hand and started walking toward the pool.

Without a word, Sherry took my hand and led me back to my apartment.

When we were alone, Sherry said, quietly, “I’m not sure what you did, but the compulsion I had a couple of days ago isn’t as bad.”

I nodded, a bit embarrassed by my behavior the other day.

“Kristen knows about me, doesn’t she?”

“What makes you say that?” I asked guardedly.

“Kris and I talked last night. We were alone in your bedroom.”

Really? “About what?”

“Kris confirmed that she had seen the two of us the other day. She also told me she understands how I feel about you. From the way she said it, she implied that I felt different about you than the way we were just friends a week or two ago. I got embarrassed and that probably confirmed any suspicions she may have had.”

Uh oh...

Sherry continued. “Then Kristen said something that I am still finding hard to believe. She first said that she wanted to thank me for being such a good friend to both of you, and that she realizes that I always had a crush on you. She told me that the future is for the two of you, but that you were very understanding of her needs. She admitted to me that she sleeps with Lynette, but also that she’s slept with Camille, Archy, and Patty. That’s when she told me that if you could let her have her freedom with those people, it would only be fair for her to let you have that same freedom with me.”

I was stunned. “Kristen said that?”

“I tried to tell her that I didn’t want to... and that is when she said whatever I do with you... even on your birthday—and she mentioned that! Whatever I do with you, she said, it has her blessing, as long as I don’t try to interfere with the love between the two of you.”

I had no idea what to say to this. I knew that Kristen had given me permission the other day, but this conversation with Sherry was out of the ordinary!

Sherry added, “I promised Kristen that I wasn’t out to get you anymore.”

Suddenly, I eyed Sherry suspiciously. “Why are you telling me this?”

Sherry stopped walking and looked me straight in the eyes. “Look, Jim. I have this compulsion, and I’m not really sure where it came from. The really eerie part is that I used to be worried about it—I was worried sick! Now, it’s like... it’s like, it’s not a problem. That should worry me, but it... it doesn’t. I’m starting to think that I’m losing my mind... only, it’s like... well... so what else is new? This isn’t like me at all!”

Sherry’s face revealed none of the worry that her words would indicate. I remembered again how my friend Jack Williams seemed confused and confounded when I told him not to remember things under the influence of the tickets. I was careful not to play with people’s minds like that since, but it appears I really fucked Sherry’s mind over now.

“I’m...”

“I know what you are going to say, Jim,” Sherry said, her voice much softer. “I think you don’t want me to worry about things, and for some reason, I’m not. It’s that it just doesn’t make any sense.”

Letting out a sigh, I said, “I know. Things don’t always make sense to me, either.”

The two of us looked at each other for a long moment. Neither of us seemed to know what to do.

Finally, I moved closer to Sherry, bringing my face close to hers. Sherry’s eyes closed and her lips pursed; she obviously knew my intention.

I kissed the girl. I felt her lips part, but I didn’t follow her lead. Instead, I moved my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to me.

After a few seconds, I felt Sherry breathe out through her nose. It was almost a sigh.

I’m not sure how long we kissed.

When we finally broke it off, I pulled Sherry into the master bedroom. I sat her down on the foot of the bed, and then walked into the large walk-in closet. I turned the light on within and then opened a large drawer inside, verifying the contents within.

I left the closet, and I could see that Sherry had a look of quiet expectation in her eyes. I intentionally ignored her, and grabbed the bathing suit that was on the bed. It was one that Kristen and Lynette purchased a few weeks before that I hadn’t worn yet.

Gathering up all my will power, I finally spoke. “Kristen’s bathing suits are in the open drawer in the closet, Sherry. I’ll give you some privacy in here as you get dressed.”

I picked up my bathing suit and quietly left the bedroom to go into the spare bedroom to change.

I was sitting in the living room when Sherry finally emerged from the bedroom. She was wearing a pale blue bikini that seemed to fit her properly.

“Jim, did I ever tell you why I’ve loved you for so long?”

The question startled me. “I don’t think so. Why?”

Sherry gave me a slight smile. “Ever since I saw you the first time, I noticed that you seem to have a self-assured determination to achieve whatever it is that you seem to want to do. I heard that you learned to play the clarinet in seventh grade in a matter of a couple of weeks, and when you played it, you played it better than anybody else in the junior high.”

I remembered that incident. One of the older students told me that anybody could play the brass instruments, but it took a real musician to play the clarinet. I asked my teacher, Mr. Thurd, if I could borrow a clarinet for a couple of weeks, and begged my mother to purchase a box of reeds for it. I went to the library to find a book with the fingerings, and it took me about three weeks to get to the point that I was confident enough of my ability to actually play it in front of people. Sherry’s version was exaggerated, of course. I doubt anybody could pick up an instrument and be as proficient as she said so quickly.

“Sherry, you know that most of that story is just exaggeration.”

“I know that. Answer this question, then. How long did it take you to learn the oboe, Jim?”

Sherry’s question made me very uncomfortable, so I avoided it.

“OK. When I set my mind to doing something, I tend to do it. What’s so special about that?”

I got a warm smile from Sherry. “I always dreamed that one day, you’d get it in your mind that you were in love with me, and that you’d go after me in that same way. I figured that you would be like Cyrano or Romeo, or perhaps Tony in West Side Story.”

That drew a chuckle from me. “That’s not me, Sherry!”

“That is you, Jim. Everybody knows why they call you Oogie.”

I sighed. This was the second mention today about the Hooked on a Feeling set I performed for Kristen on the first day of school last year.

“You are that person, Jim,” Sherry said. “Only, it isn’t for me, but for Kristen. My cousin saw how this tied me up in knots, and she was pissed at Kristen because Kristen just walked away from Dale and all those other snobs. Dale knew how I felt and she told me things that I was secretly believing myself, trying to make me feel even worse. She said you were just another gold-digger out for Kristen’s money. She said you were a rock and roller and Kristen was just a convenient but rich groupie. ‘Kristen’s opening her purse and her legs for your lover boy, Sherry!’ she’d say...”

“Sherry...”

“Please! Let me speak! I went from loving you to hating you! It wasn’t just Dale, because she was saying what I was really thinking. If you were just looking for a groupie, then I could prove it by trapping you, and Dale dared me to try. She offered me money!”

Sherry paused. I waited, since Sherry asked me not to talk. Finally, she said, “I failed, but something else happened. You noticed me, but treated me nicely... like a friend. You introduced me to Kristen and to Patty, and they treated me like a friend as well. I wasn’t sure what to make of this, and... it took some time... but I found that I liked you even more this way. It wasn’t just me, either. You were now talking to everybody. Suddenly, people noticed you. At first, I was jealous. I mean, where were they when I was the only person who loved you, right? People would call you ‘Oogie,’ and you pretended to hate it, but every time they did, you’d glance at Kristen when she was around. And she did the same with you.”

There was another pause, and I was about to speak, when Sherry said, “I finally realized that while I may have dreamed about you being my lover, what I really wanted was for you to see me as a friend. And you did that!”

“You are a friend, Sherry,” I softly replied.

Sherry nodded. “That’s why it hurt me so much to tell you about how I felt the other day. After being friends with both of you for a year, it was as if I was going back and trying to trap you once again... and that’s not the case!”

“I know, Sherry.”

Sherry looked me in the eyes, and said, “You do know, don’t you?”

I simply nodded in return.

“And Kristen knows, too.” This was not a question, but a statement.

I nodded again.

“And Kristen is serious... she’s not jealous of me, is she?”

“Can I tell you something, Sherry?”

Sherry looked a bit apprehensive. “What?”

“I never knew how you felt about me in junior high... at least, not at the time. My life wasn’t a very happy one...”

“You were always mad at your father.”

“Please, don’t interrupt,” I said, softly. “I let you say what you had to say. It’s my turn.”

Sherry nodded and I continued. “Anyway, my life wasn’t happy, but I found that when I played music, a part of my brain that felt so frustrated and angry would go someplace else... a place that I find difficult to describe. It was like, I found a place where I could be happy and not have to worry about anything. A place where everything followed the rules. If a note goes up on the paper, its pitch goes up. It’s like mathematics. Once you learn the rules, you can predict where everything will go.”

I looked at Sherry, and she seemed fascinated by what I was saying. I didn’t go on and explain how the rest of my life didn’t follow the rules... husbands shouldn’t hit their wives or children; I stayed away from that tender subject.

“Anyway, after Kristen and I started going together, I found that the rules had changed, slightly. Instead of pursuing music just to satisfy myself, I found myself doing it to make Kristen happy. I didn’t know the whole story at the time, but Kristen was very lonely. I once played the Moonlight Sonata in the parlor of her parents’ house, and she’d later tell me that she used to play that song when she was alone. I could see in her eyes that she really felt that loneliness, and that she saw music as a way to escape. When she told me that, the song meant more to both of us... it was no longer a lonely song, but a song of love. I found a purpose to my life, and it wasn’t really music after all... but with Kristen, the music became even better! I’m no longer alone when I’m making music. We are there together! Does that make sense?”

Sherry nodded, her mouth open a bit with a surprised expression.

“It’s not Kristen, either. In junior high, I would play the piano or some other instrument, but I was mostly showing off. ‘Play this, Jim!’ somebody would say, and I usually knew the song. ‘Can you play Uncle Albert?’ That sort of thing. I don’t do that anymore. When I play for people, I’m really playing for the people that are listening. It started with Kristen, but I found that it’s more fun this way. I record my own music in private, but I did it better when you were watching me do Dion... I was doing it for you! You are a very important part of my life, Sherry, and I’m sorry that I ignored you for so long. I just think we’re better suited as friends than as lovers.”

“Do you still think of me as your friend?” Sherry asked.

I nodded. “You bet!”

Suddenly, Sherry threw herself at me and we kissed. Again, it was not a romantic kiss, but it was enthusiastic, nevertheless.

Kristen’s surprise performers on the stage was a six member combo from Chicago named “Aureus.” There was a lead guitar, a bass player who also doubled on the trombone, a female who sang and played the tambourine, a drummer, a keyboardist, and a guy who played different instruments, depending on the song. In all, they were five guys and a girl.

The group also had a sound man, who sat way behind everybody who was listening to the band, and he spent the time they played wearing headphones and making adjustments on his console.

The group were all in their early twenties, and as such, they played a lot of rock and roll covers. However, they augmented that with some older numbers, and they even did some comic numbers that I recalled hearing on late night radio played by a disc jockey named Doctor Demento. There were a few numbers they played that I did not recognize which may have been their own creations.

The group was thoroughly entertaining—even the adults seemed to enjoy them—and Kristen told me they would do two sets, ninety minutes each.

Near the end of the first set, I heard the song Birthday from the Beatles’ white album. It didn’t take a genius to know that the band was going to do something special for me. Kristen, Lynette, Sherry, June, and Archy were all with me, and they all sang along to the Beatles’ melody.

Then the lead guitarist made an announcement. He indicated to my girlfriend and said, “Kristen, over here, requested us to do a special song for the birthday boy, and we asked her what we could play, and she said, ‘Could you let my boyfriend play a song? He likes playing!’ So, if you guys think you can applaud to give the boy some courage...!”

People clapped, but a lot of people were smiling and even laughing. Most of my guests, with the obvious exception of the band, had already heard me play!

I looked at Kristen. “You really want me to play?”

“Do you think you can play something nice with them backing you?”

“I’ll see.”

I walked toward the stage, and saw my music teacher. I stopped for a moment and asked him for a favor. He smiled at me, and nodded, and headed off to the house as I continued on my way.

The band made a big fuss of me coming onstage. The girl asked me off-mike if I played any instrument. I indicated toward the stack of keyboards, and she told me to go over to where they were.

When I got there, I was staring at a bunch of keyboards. What looked like three keyboards when I was standing in the crowd was, in reality, five of them. One of them had keys like an acoustic piano.

“What’s this one?” I asked.

“Rhodes piano,” the keyboardist said. “Have you ever played one?”

“I have a Yamaha back at the house...”

“That one feels like a real piano... Try it.”

I did, hitting a middle-C. Surprisingly, no note came out. Apparently, the sound man had anticipated that I would be taking a few practice notes and didn’t want to embarrass me.

The keyboard felt surprisingly like a real piano.

“Do you guys know Love, by John Lennon?”

The keyboardist said, “Never heard of it, man. Which album?”

“Primal Scream,” I answered. I realized that the song was simple but the chord changes might not be something that having a backup band would be able to pull off. “No big deal. How about Elton John?”

The keyboardist smiled. “I play a lot of his songs. Which one?”

I told him the one I had in mind.

“What key?”

I thought for a second. “G.”

The keyboardist nodded and then went quickly to all the other members. They looked at me strangely.

The keyboard had a pedal underneath it, which I guessed was a sustain pedal. I pressed it, and looked at the sound man, who nodded back at me and he fiddled with his controls.

I started the first notes of the intro, my confidence increasing with each note that I played. The keyboardist was sitting behind another keyboard, which I would later find out was a synthesizer.

I looked at my blonde Goddess, and started singing:

It’s a little bit funny, this feeling inside.

I’m not one of those who can easily hide.

I don’t have much money, but if I did,

I’d buy a big house where we both could live...

If I was a sculptor, but then again, no...

Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show.

I know it’s not much but it’s the best I can do,

My gift is my song and... this one’s for you!

As I sang the chorus, I could hear the synthesizer backing me like the strings in an orchestra. I decided right then and there that there would be a Rhodes piano and at least one synthesizer in my studio pretty soon!

The band was great doing backup for me. I could hear them “Oo-ing” behind my vocals.

I wished that I had my tapes recording this performance!

The song got a big round of applause.

Members of the group seemed impressed by my performance. One of them asked me, “Do you have another song you’d like to play?”

“Can you play Jim Croce?” I asked.

“Which song?”

“You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.”

This got a big laugh from the performers, and luckily, they knew the song.

I turned to the mike and invited Kristen and Archy on stage. Archy looked stunned, but June started pushing him toward the stage.

As he passed Mr. Proilet, the teacher handed Archy my trumpet. I could see a big smile appear on the linebacker’s face.

“I’m doing this with a couple of friends as well.”

I told Tiny the tune, and he shook his head. I told him that I’d signal his solo, and he nodded. I had every bit of faith in Archy’s ability to pick up a song by ear.

I signaled the lead guitarist, who had Kristen standing next to him. The two held acoustic guitars and, at the same time, the two of them strummed the intro.

I didn’t use a keyboard for this song, but simply stood next to Archy, who was phantom-fingering his trumpet to get the notes right. I grabbed the mike stand toward me and sang:

Uptown got it’s hustlers,

Bowery got it’s bums.

And forty-second street

Got big Jim Crittenhouse

He’s a pool shootin’ son of a gun!

A lot of people laughed at my renaming of the hero in the song. It was actually unintentional on my part... every time I sang that song to myself, I had put myself into the song. The big, mean, S-O-B that would one day turn the tables on my father. That never happened, but the name still came out. I just barely realized in time and sang the correct words in the next line, instead of “mother fuckin’ son of a gun!” which was another of my modifications.

I continued through to the chorus. The members of the group sang along with me at the refrain:

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape!

You don’t spit into the wind.

You don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger,

And you don’t mess around with Jim!

I sang the second verse, and everybody sang along with the refrain again. It was a pretty rousing song. During the repeat, I gave the cue to Kristen and Archy for Archy to take his solo, and Kristen passed that cue on, and Archy played his solo.

I was going to miss having that big lug around this year.

I looked in the audience, and saw that Sherry had a big, pleased smile on her face. She never heard my first live performance in public, but she got to hear this one!

When the song ended, we got lots of cheers. Archy, Kristen, and I took our bows, and then thanked the band members, who announced that they’d start their next set in forty-five minutes.

“You’re a natural behind the microphone,” Mr. Proilet said as I came offstage.

“I feel more comfortable behind the keyboards, though. That guy has something called a Rhodes piano...”

The two of us talked for a bit on the minor performance I just gave, and I found a lot of people were coming over to me to wish me a happy birthday and it took me a while to get over to the picnic tent where they were serving my birthday cake.

“Congratulations, son!”

I turned around at the unexpected voice. It was my step-father, smiling at me. “Huh?”

“I know for a fact that you didn’t have that performance planned. You are really very talented!”

“Um, thanks.”

“I wish Merry would take up an instrument. I think she’s getting too involved with those cheerleaders.”

My mother interrupted. “Don, don’t go complaining about Merry. All of her friends are here, dear.”

“I know, it’s just...”

“You’re proud of her, and you’ll be seeing her first game next week, won’t you?”

I wasn’t sure if this was directed at me or my step-father, but my step-father answered, “Oh, yeah. I’m sorry, Marge.”

I winced. My mother preferred the name Margaret, and my step-father knew that.

My mother looked unperturbed. “Maybe we can all go to that Vaughn’s place afterward.” She looked at Kristen and me. “How about you two? Would you like to go to Vaughn’s afterward?”

Kristen smiled and answered before I could. “The four of us can go. We’ll have Sherry and Lynette with us, and we couldn’t leave them.”

“Table for seven, then!” my mother said, smiling.

Merry had heard the conversation and hadn’t said anything up until now. “Um...”

“What dear?” Mom asked.

I saw Roy right behind Merry, who looked like she was ready to blush. I decided to come to my sister’s rescue.

“Actually, Kris,” I said, interrupting. “I was thinking that we might be taking Roy to the game, too. That would make it an even eight people.”

Both Merry and Roy looked surprised. Kristen smiled at me and gave me a secret look that told me that she was proud of me. “I forgot about Roy,” Kristen said. “I’m sorry, Roy. Think you could come to Vaughn’s after the game next week?”

“Um, yeah,” Roy said, a bit in shock.

“Eight sounds just right,” my step-father said.

My mother didn’t answer me, but looked at me and then at my sister. I knew right then that she knew that something was up—I found it very difficult to keep secrets from her! I hoped she wouldn’t embarrass Merry in front of her father.

“It’s a date, then,” my mother said sweetly.

That simple sentence told me everything I needed to know. If she didn’t know that Merry had a boyfriend before this conversation started, she knew it now.

Later on, members of the band came over to talk with Kristen and me. They were impressed with our performance.

“This isn’t your first time performing in public, is it?”

Kristen answered. “We did a lounge act out at Purdue a couple of weeks ago to help out a friend.” She looked around and found Archy and June talking quietly by a tree. “That guy, over there. He’s our friend and he’s with the Boilermakers this year.”

“He looks like a linebacker!”

“He is,” I said, smiling.

We talked a bit about music, and I discussed various keyboards with the keyboardist. After about ten minutes of intense discussion, I found that the two of us were alone. I decided to take him into the garage to see my studio.

“Hey, man! This is a great setup!”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ve been doing a lot of multi-tracking.”

“That’s a great mixer! Where did you get that?”

“I got it today, in fact. It’s Kristen’s birthday present for me.”

“Wow!”

We spend about fifteen minutes in the studio, and I played him one of the Wanderer tapes I made, which he seemed to enjoy.

When we finally came out of the garage, we noticed that the rest of his band had already started to set up for their second act. Before he left, he offered me another chance to perform, but I turned him down. I already performed, and as the local hero at this party, I didn’t want to detract from the group’s performance.

Instead, I listened to the group play a wonderful set, and I talked with a lot of friends and family that had come over and made this day so wonderful for me.