The SequelBy Wayne Wallace
Chapter 1Mary Jo’s date politely pulls out her chair as she sits. Rudy, Mary Jo’s date for the evening scoots the chair under the table for her and then takes a seat across from her. The waiter hands them the menus and they begin looking over the splendid meals. The restaurant here at the 89er Inn on North Lincoln boulevard is the fanciest place in Oklahoma City, and Mary Jo is thrilled that Rudy has brought her here.
They order, Mary Jo decides on Chicken Kiev, while Rudy orders the prime rib, rare. Rudy is smooth and not at all nervous and shy like most of Mary Jo’s dates have been during a “first date.” He is holding her hand across the table and asking her open ended questions about her life, her family, what she likes and dislikes. He is a skilled conversationalist, and he chose this perfectly, wonderful restaurant for their date. He has exquisite taste. When she tells him this, he replies, “That’s why I asked you out tonight.” “What an utterly perfect comeback!” she thinks. He is wearing a three piece suit and a paisley tie, the other boys Mary Jo has dated often show up in jeans. Rudy is so mature, so polite, so handsome, and sooooooo charming. Mary Jo wondered if all this was really happening or if it was just a wonderful dream.
“There’s only 5 months until the Class of ’64 graduates Mary Jo,” Rudy said, “Have you decided what your plans are for the future?” Mary Jo pondered the question for a moment, then answered, “I want to teach. I will go to college in the Fall.”
The conversation continues, dinner arrives. They eat and talk quietly throughout the wonderful meal. Dessert is a stunning show of flaming Cherries Jubilee. Rudy pays the check and they continue talking, consumed by interest in each other. Rudy, looks at his watch, “We’ve missed the movie, I’m sorry.” “Oh that’s alright, Mary Jo answers," I’ve lost all track of time.” “ I know a wonderful place to go where we can talk some more”, Rudy says as they leave the restaurant. Moments later they pull up in front of a low building with a strange sign out front. It is a rectangle with three holes in it. “This is the Black Brick”, Rudy tells her, “Ever been here?” Mary Jo, shakes her head and follows him through the front door.
Chapter 2As they enter the Black Brick through its beaded curtain, Mary Jo notices that the only light source appears to be “black light.” The light intensifies any light colors, it is strange, but creates a very interesting visual experience. There are 4 or 5 other couples in the room. They are sitting at low tables, talking and drinking. The music softly playing is jazz, Dave Brubeck; Mary Jo knows it well. She immediately likes this place. They take their seats behind a low table. Mary Jo must be careful because the wardrobe she has chosen for tonight consists of a black, short, tight skirt with a matching jacket with a low neckline. Sitting against the wall in this skirt will be hard to do in a “ladylike” manner. Mary Jo accomplishes it however, providing for the room, only a momentary flash of panty hose covered, upper thigh.
The waitress, a “beatnik type,” dressed in black tights with long, straight blonde hair, hands them a menu. Only non-alcoholic drinks are listed in the menu, but there is quite a selection. Mary Jo, orders something called an orjet, while Rudy opts for a Near Beer.
Mary Jo asks Rudy what his plans are for the future. He tells her that he wants to be a pilot and that he wants to join the Air Force after college. He plans to major in Aviation Science at OU and enter the Air Force ROTC program. Mary Jo sighs and looks into his sky blue eyes as he tells her of his aspirations. “He is absolutely gorgeous,” she thinks as she listens to him. “Then, after a few years of flying in the Air Force, I hope to fly commercial jetliners,” Rudy says, then he pauses, leans towards her, takes Mary Jo’s chin gently between his thumb and forefinger and pulls her to him. He gently kisses her lips. The kiss is simple, sweet and gentle. Mary Jo smiles, and Rudy says, “I’m sorry, It just felt like the perfect moment to do that.” Mary Jo looks around to see if anyone has noticed. If they have, no one lets on. She smiles at him and simply says, “It was…….”
Later, on Mary Jo’s front porch, Rudy kisses her again, this time with an embrace that pushes Mary Jo’s breasts against the heat of Rudy’s chest. Mary Jo’s body reacts to this stimulus immediately, in a way that she has only experienced on rare occasions, and usually, only as the result of a sudden temperature drop in the room. Before she can analyze just what this means, He breaks the embrace and says, “I’ll call you.” Before Mary Jo can fully catch her breath, she watches him wave and drive away…
Chapter 3Donna listens intently on the telephone as her best friend Mary Jo recaps every moment of her date with Rudy the previous night. “Oh, Mary Jo, he sounds wonderful,” Donna tells her, “has he called you yet today?” Mary Jo tells her that he has called and that he has asked her to go out again next Friday night. They are going to a play at the Mummer’s Theatre and then for a pizza at Ned’s. This, of course, sounds wonderful to Donna, who’s current steady, Rob, is of the opinion that finding new and darker parking spots at Lake Overholser is a creative idea for their next date. She is rapidly growing tired of Rob’s “grope and grab” technique. She has endured his feeble attempts at romance up to this point because at least, she hasn’t been sitting at home on Friday and Saturday nights. But with his growing pressure to go further and further on each date, she is beginning to wonder if solitary weekends would be so bad after all. In fact, she might just give him the old “heave-ho” this very night. “Well Donna, should I wear the beige sweater next Friday night or the yellow blazer, which one?” Mary Jo questions her. Donna realizes that she has been lost in thought for several minutes and has not been listening to her friend. “You always look great in that yellow blazer M.J.” Donna recovers. “Alright then, yellow blazer and yellow and gray pleated skirt, with the white blouse. Penny loafers or saddle oxfords?” Donna tells her to wear the penny loafers. “Okay, that’s what I’ll wear! Oh, thank you Donna!” Donna wishes that was all she had to worry about.
Rob, polishes the glass face of his new Sun competition tachometer mounted smartly on a chrome bracket on the black, roll and pleated naugahyde dash of his very cherry, 55 Chevy Bel-Aire. “Yep, old buddy, I believe tonight will be THE night,” Rob tells his best friend Johnny who has busied himself polishing the right front chrome wheel. “Bullshit Rob, you say that every weekend! You’ll never do the dirty deed with Donna. She’ll make you wait till you’re married, and maybe not even then!” Johnny plays the age old game with his friend. “Oh, yeah! We’d uh done it last week ‘cept I didn’t have a rubber!” Rob counters. “Didn’t have a rubber?! Why, you’ve carried a rubber in your wallet since the eighth grade, just on the outside chance that you might accidentally get laid!” Johnny says, laughingly. “That was the problem”, says Rob, “damn thing disintegrated in my hands before I could even get the package open.” Both boys howl with laughter. Rob begins polishing the Hurst shifter that pokes through the floor between the roll and pleated bucket seats. “Sincerely,” Rob says, “I think tonight will be the night.” Johnny listens to the radio in Rob’s garage as Ray Charles (with the Raylettes) plays the piano and sings his newest single, “What’d I say?” before he acknowledges what his friend has said, then, while keeping the beat of the song by tapping on the car’s radiator, he asks, “How’s tonight gonna be any different than any other night Rob?” . “Because tonight,” Rob says with determination, “I’m going to tell her that I need proof that she loves me. See, she tells me that she loves me, but I want her to show me just exactly how much……” “And you think that will work?” Johnny asks. “Yeah..” Rob says, surprising even himself at the doubt in his voice. “Listen,” Johnny’s voice has become muted as he has moved under the hood of the Chevy and is now polishing the six shiny air cleaners that adorn the Rochester two barrel carbs atop the bored and stroked, 301 cubic inch, corvette engine, “I’ve known Donna since kindergarten, she’s smart, she’ll never fall for a line like that.” At least Johnny secretly hopes she won’t.
Rob joins his friend under the hood of the candy apple red Chevy and begins polishing the finned, polished aluminum “Corvette” valve covers. “Well then just exactly what would you suggest Romeo?” Rob’s question is meant to hurt a little, a “stinger” the guys call it. Rob knows that his friend Johnny, though he has dated and does, from time to time go steady, is just as chaste as he is. Johnny doesn’t answer his friend’s rhetorical question.
Johnny secretly wants to date Donna. He has had a serious crush on her since grade school, but they have always been “buddies”. The kind of opposite sex friends that tell each other their problems, cry on each other’s shoulders, and consequently they, at least in Johnny’s mind, have been too close to ever date. Now, when he has finally rationalized the logic of it and has, at long last, worked up the nerve to ask her out, she starts “going steady” with his best friend! Life is, truly a bitch! And worse, he has to sit here and listen to this windbag go on about her. Even though he knows that most of what his friend tells him of his sexual conquests with Donna has been fabricated, it still hurts to hear it. He hates knowing that they are ever even alone together. And if Rob ever does actually …..well, he doesn’t even want to think about that.
Chapter 4The candy apple red 55 Chevy comes to a stop in front of Donna’s house. It glistens in the setting sun, it’s deep throated, loaping idle, giving witness to the Clay Smith full race cam and kit and the hedman competition headers that Rob and his dad installed this Fall. It is the fastest car around, except possibly for Frank Welby’s Henry J. They have never raced, but Rob knows that when they do, it will be quite a contest. The modified Henry J sported a brand new (and rumored to be stolen) Chevy 327 c.i. fuel injected engine. Frank Welby often thrills the kids at Bixler’s drive-inn by doing “wheelies” on 23rd street in the little hot rod. But Rob would make Welby come to him, come from cross town Harding high school and seek him out for a drag race. Rob looks at his watch, almost 7, where is Donna? He honks the horn and races the powerful engine.
Inside, Donna hears Rob honk the car’s horn and race the noisy engine. “That jerk,” she thinks, “won’t even come to the door.” “Bye Mom”, Donna yells in the direction of the kitchen, “I’ll probably be home early.” Donna opens her own door and climbs up into the big ugly car that she so despises! “Rides rough, it’s noisy and Jeezzzzz, this jerks drives it so fast!” Donna thinks as she plans her next move. “Hiya babe,” Rob says to Donna. Donna does not answer and noticeably stays uncharacteristically close to the passenger’s door. Also noticeably absent is the “RG” gold, initial drop that has hung around her neck for the past few months. Even thick headed Rob begins to sense trouble. “What’s wrong honey?” he whines. “nothing” she says very curtly, which any male worth his salt knows immediately is not true. “What did you have planned for us tonight?” Donna asks her date saurcastically. “Nuthin’, thought we’d just cruise around. We can swing by the Delta or the Carousel if you’re hungry.” He offers. “Great, she replies, “I am sort of hungry.” “Hang on then honey,” Rob says with a grin and pops the Chevy’s clutch at about 2500 rpm, which smokes the Goodyear cheater slicks and leaves twin black marks on the pavement for the next block.
Mary Jo looks into the mirror approvingly. Her uncle Jake just brought by one of his latest inventions. He wants to market it as the “boob booster.*” He gives her one to sort of “test out”. Its black lacey cups are a different look but there is something else definitely different about this bra. Nature has been kind to Mary Jo in this department but not this kind! What Mary Jo is staring at in the mirror is cleavage! A dark, shadowy, wasn’t-there-before kind of cleavage. “Uncle Jake just may just have something here,” Mary Jo thinks and smiles approvingly.
Johnny sits in his 59’ VW beetle at the Delta drive–inn listening to the radio. Ronnie Kaye is WKY’s DJ at this hour and he is playing a Beach Boys song, something about sun, surf, sand and bikinis. He orders a Delta burger with fries and a vanilla Dr. Pepper, his standard meal. He loves the special sauce and the single onion ring that comes on top of the sesame seed bun. He sighs and thinks about Donna. Then, as if on cue, the sun and surf boys finish their song and Ronnie Kaye plays a golden oldie, “Donna” by Richie Valens. Johnny, sings along and visualizes his Donna sitting in the seat next to him. Petite blonde, girl of his dreams. The carload of female socialite wannabe’s in the new Impala convertible parked next to him, giggle audibly at the obviously lovestruck boy, singing his heart out all alone in his car. Johnny immediately stops singing and slides down in his seat horribly embarrassed.
“Donna, I gotta’ know what’s bugging you honey. Whatever it is, surely we can work it out.” Rob pleads with her. But before Donna has a chance to answer him, Frank Welby pulls up next to them at the light, driving his 52 Henry J. A weird smile comes to Rob’s lips as he fixes a glassy eyed stare at the road ahead and his tachometer. “Hang on,” he manages to mumble. The two cars rev their engines at the light at N.W. Highway and Pennsylvania. In seconds the two fastest cars in the city will streak southward down Pennsylvania to settle once and for all the question of who is faster.
* The “Boob-booster” never got off the ground under Uncle Jake’s marketing plan. It remained undiscovered until the mid 80s when Uncle Jake sold the patent to Fredrichs of Hollywood who would market his creation as the “wonderbra.”
Chapter 5Over the noise of the two revving engines, Donna yells at Rob, “No, Rob! It’s too dangerous, don’t do this!” Rob, concentrating on the traffic light and his tachometer, doesn’t hear Donna’s plea. The light facing the two cars turns green and instantly the fury of over 600 horsepower erupts in the form of screaming, smoking tires, and ear splitting engine noise. The g-force of the car’s acceleration throws Donna hard against the door and the side window, she strikes her forehead smartly against the glass. Donna blinks and tries to recover just as Rob power shifts into second gear, again slamming Donna’s face against the glass. Donna screams in pain and fear, the noise inside the car is deafening. Rob, totally oblivious to his passenger, or her welfare, again shifts gears violently. Donna strikes the window a third time. Her body slumps lifelessly into the seat, her face leaving a pale, pink smear diagonally across the window glass from her cut and bleeding lip.
At the Delta drive-inn dozens of heads turn toward the approaching sound of high powered engines roaring. It can mean only one thing, a drag race! People jockey for position, looking towards Pennsylvania Avenue to see who is racing and who is winning. Johnny is happy for any distraction that will steer the future junior leaguers, parked in the next space, in their fancy convertible to another topic of conversation. Johnny jumps out of his VW and hurries to the curb to watch the race. He immediately recognizes the two cars, Frank Welby’s Henry J and Rob in his Chevy. They are virtually neck and neck and seem to be traveling far too fast to stop as they rapidly approach the intersection of N.W.39th street. Johnny recognizes the potentially deadly game the two maniacs are playing. The race is a dead heat, a tie, and the driver that “shuts down” and stops will be the loser; and a very busy intersection is less than a block ahead of the two speeding vehicles. Johnny silently prays that Donna is not in Rob’s car.
Rudy adjusts the dial on his radio to AM 930, and listens to Ronnie Kaye “That was the late, great Richie Valens and Oh Donna by request. It’s 7:15 in the big city and we’re playing the top 40 hits, plus an oldie now and then until 10 PM. Here’s number…22 on the “KY” top Forty survey, “Liar-Liar” by the Castaways.” Rudy hums along to the song as he drives east on NW.39th street toward his older brother and sister-in-law’s house. He is having dinner with them tonight. He is, in fact, the very first dinner guest the newly weds have invited to their newly rented home. Rudy would loved to have invited his new girlfriend, Mary Jo along tonight, but he is afraid it is perhaps too early in their relationship for a “meet the family” sort of dinner. He really is crazy about her and it would have been fun, but he doesn’t want to scare Mary Jo off, or to seem too anxious, too “head-over-heels”, even though that is a pretty good description of how he feels about her. Traffic is fairly heavy tonight and up ahead at the Pennsylvania Avenue intersection, he sees that his green light is about to turn yellow, he accelerates the little MG faster, towards the intersection. He doesn’t want to be late.
Chapter 6Rob realizes that the Henry J is beginning to pull away from him, he has been beaten. He lets off the gas pedal and watches the little gray primered hotrod to his right fly past. He throws the gear shift back up into third gear and brakes hard, the rear tires bark, the drive train shudders and the specially designed racing brakes begin to slow the Chevy down. The Goodyear tires dig into the porous concrete and squeal in protest as the Chevy finally lurches to a stop at the intersection, just as the traffic light facing him turns red. Rob has, by the narrowest of margins, avoided the disaster of an intersection collision. Frank Welby, on the other hand, desperately trying to stop his little hot rod, and skidding out of control, veers hard to the right, just short of the intersection, hops the curb doing close to 70 miles per hour, and crashes into the rear of a black-and-white patrol car, ironically parked at the Dennis Donut shop on the northwest corner of the intersection. The impact of the collision pushes the patrol car through the plate glass window of the donut shop and consequently, through the glass counter containing approximately 500 assorted donuts. Donuts, flour, sugar, seven types of cream and jelly fillings, and assorted sprinkles coat virtually everything within 50 feet of the little car and its stunned driver, including the two policemen sitting inside the shop at the time of the event.
Rudy whizzes through the intersection in his little MG and sees an accident of epic proportions taking place with his peripheral vision. He makes a U-turn into a service station and stops to watch.
Rob, amazed that he is still breathing and that he is not sitting in a smoking wreck, still does not realize that the immobile body of his petite blonde passenger is wedged under the dashboard on the floor of his car. “Holy crap!, Rob yells, “Look at that mess!” As the light changes again, Rob squeals around the corner and into the service station on the opposite corner and parks next to Rudy in the MG.
The dozens of teenagers who are in the Delta drive-Inn at the time of what became known as “the wreck of the year, 1964” stream onto the drive of the service station where they can view the proceedings at a fairly safe distance. Johnny is the first to reach the stunned Rob as he climbs out of his Chevy. “Thank God,” he mutters to himself when he sees no one in the front seat of the car. “Donna wasn’t with him.” Rob is staring at the carnage across the street and seems dazed. Then Johnny hears someone moaning. He opens the door of the Chevy and finds Donna bloodied and groggy. Johnny asks her softly, “Are you hurt?” Donna looks at Johnny and says, “Johnny, Thank God!” She throws her arms around his neck and pulls herself out of the car using him for leverage. After she comes around somewhat and Johnny cleans her bloodied lip with his handkerchief, she asks him, “Is your car here Johnny?” “Sure Donna, right across the street,” he answers. “Then I’ll be right back.” Donna tells him as she walks up behind Rob, still staring across at the wreckage. “Rob!” Donna shouts at the dazed teen. “Huh? Oh, hi Donna, what happened to your lip?” Is all Rob can manage to say. “I have two things for you sweetheart,” Donna says. “Yeah?, what are they hon?” Rob asks, still somewhat in shock. “This”, Donna says as puts the gold initial drop (“RG”) over his head. The drop catches on one ear and dangles in front of his nose. “And this,” Donna says as she kicks him squarely in the nads with all her might. Rob’s eyes roll upward and he drops to his knees. The gathered crowd cheers as Donna takes Johnny’s arm and they walk to his car…..
Epilogue: Mary Jo went on to be a Victoria's Secret model The Black Brick became a fond memory Rob learned a valuable lesson and is happily married and living in Florida Rudy flew F4s in Viet Nam and 707s for United Johnny became a famous journalist Donna teaches self defense for women and is a personal fitness trainer Uncle Jake is still inventing things, his latest idea has something to do with edible underwear. Frank Welby (not his real name) went to jail for altering part numbers Wayne always was strange and is now even more so.....
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