Pussy-Whipped

Nothing ruffled him; perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he didn’t allow anything to ruffle him.
-James Kirkwood
“Good Times, Bad Times”, a novel

Twenty-five years ago today:

June 3, 1985
Monday

June was beginning to be a full month ever since I had met Rachelle. WOW! She woke me at 6:30AM to remind me to leave the key under the doormat.

I picked up Sherri and this may be the last week of doing that since she found a new job. Boo Hoo. There will be no company to and fro. One drawback will be loosened though. I will be able to come and go as I please.

Dale’s dying to leave his section at work. He had a talk with the second line manager, Larry, over his supervisor, Pat.
Dale threatened Larry by saying, “I will take a six-month paternity leave of absence if I am not moved from that section!”

At lunch Dale never came downstairs, so I went to look for two new matching journal books. I wanted one for me and one for Rachelle. There was nothing I liked.

I had some rainbow sherbet during my break time with Sue and Mary. Mary’s back from vacation now. Yummy to the rainbow sherbet!

Sherri didn’t get to my car until 5:20PM. I finally got home and Rachelle was there, waiting for me. She had taken a shower and was in my bedroom in a robe that I bought while in Mexico. We lounged and she did ‘su su su dee oh’ on Rodney. It was fun. She’s on her monthly, so I had to use my Rosy Palm and my VIC (Vaseline Intensive Care) lotion.

Rachelle and I went to the gym after fiddling around. I made an attempt to read her journal. I actually read this tidbit:
‘He’s so gentle.’
She also wrote comments regarding Bob Maloney at the gym and how so in love she was of him before she learned what a stuck-up creep he was.
She allowed me to read some sweet excerpts from her journal but nothing too detailed.

While at the gym Bob Maloney was there. The other guy we often see greeted the both of us, too.
This guy said, “Oh, it’s the buffed ones.”
We laughed. I wondered if it was a complement or a cut-down. I wasn’t so sure. It was a hard workout for me today. I had not been there since last Wednesday.

Rachelle and I are going to an Oakland A’s baseball game on Friday thanks to Cindy Chow’s ticket donation. I thanked Cindy for them.

Rachelle ran into an old Jesus lookalike friend. And Susan, the aerobics instructor gave me an eye or two.
Susan said, “Hi, how are you?”
“Oh, I’m doing pretty well,” I replied and made sure that Rachelle wasn’t in on the tidbit conversation.
Rachelle and I departed with loving eyes and kisses while in her car.

Rachelle is getting her hair clipped tomorrow in Pleasanton. She made a copy of my house key.
I told her, “You are welcome any time.”
She liked that.

After the gym I went to mom’s house and we gabbed for a bit about family matters, including Sandy’s wedding from this last weekend. I learned that my cousin Becky Ortega is having her wedding next Saturday. I left to go to my place and called Dale. We talked about his plan to put a job transfer request to San Jose.
“I’m just mad at Larry because he hasn’t switched me from that section. I think I will fill out a transfer to San Jose.”

Rachelle called me and I read her parts of my journal that I had written about her. She thrived over the words I used. I could tell she liked what I had written.
Rachelle transferred some secrets. “You know, I wrote in my journal about your hairy chest when I first saw you at the gym.”
I laughed. “It’s not exactly that hairy.”
She laughed.
“Will you do me a favor?” I asked.
“What?”
“Don’t rap with Dale anymore about me.”
“Okay.”
I know she will though. We went to bed eventually (at 12:45AM). I love that girl so much. I wonder where and how far it will lead.


He seemed thoroughly pussy-whipped by her.
-Stieg Larsson
“The Girl Who Played With Fire”