Burke

Now that Burke was driving, Janice persuaded her father to let him pick her up at home for their next date. She wrote the directions to her house on a piece of paper. He decided to ride his bike out to make sure he would know exactly where it was. The written directions were easy to follow. After turning off the main highway onto a narrow road, trees lined each side. He rode quite a distance before seeing the first house. It was small and an old pickup truck was parked in the yard. Riding even further, there was a large clearing with a gravel lane leading to a much larger white two story house with green shutters, just as Janice had described it. A porch extended across the entire front with four round white pillars. Several white chairs with green cushions were facing the road. Riding back to town, the image of the Johnson home created anxious feelings. Wondering how Janice’s parents would accept him fueled the feelings of inferiority that he had tried so hard to overcome. Sunday morning the anxiety of meeting Janice’s parents that evening was difficult to overcome. To do so, he tried to concentrate on how much he would enjoy being alone with her again. Washing his mother’s car that afternoon helped calm his feelings. While doing so he planned what clothes to wear. Saturday, Mr. Zell had been helpful in advising him and he was confident at least his clothing would meet the Johnson’s standards. Dressed for his date, his mother’s compliment was reassuring. “I have never seen you look so stylish. I have no doubt but that you will make quite an impression on some lucky girl. May I ask who she is?” “Her name is Janice Johnson. She is new in town and I don’t think you would know her.” His mother’s reassurance failed to last. Driving out to where Janice lived, the closer he got, the more nervous he became. The gravel drive made a circle in front of the house. He parked and walking up the steps to the porch, he took long deep breaths. Janice’s father opened the door just as he reached for the brass knocker. His black rimmed glasses were a sharp contrast to his grey hair and neatly trimmed sideburns. Standing erect, not too much shorter than Burke, his posture conveyed a confident individual. His stern facial features failed to show any emotion as he spoke. “I’m Robert Johnson and I presume you are Joe.Burke.” Mr. Johnson failed to extend his hand, “Yes, sir, I am. I’m pleased to meet you.” Mr. Johnson’s demeanor offended Burke to the extent his anxiety diminished. Janice’s mother was standing just behind him. Mr. Johnson said, “And this is my wife Elizabeth.” In contrast, her warm smile eased Burke’s feelings as she spoke. “I understand you are quite an athlete and an outstanding student. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Her resemblance to Janice was remarkable. Her hair much darker, pulled straight back and tied with a blue ribbon was a preview of Janice in later years. Burke had gained his composure with Mrs. Johnson’s kind words and politely said, “Thanks for the compliments. I am delighted to meet you.” Janice entered the room. “I see you have met my parents.” Abruptly, Mr. Johnson spoke. “I expect my daughter to be home no later than thirty minutes after the movie ends. Do I make myself clear?” “Yes sir, I understand perfectly. “Enjoy the movie” came from behind Mr. Johnson. Walking to the car, Janice apologized, “I hope my father didn’t upset you.” “Meeting your parents made me too nervous to pay too much attention what they said.” After turning onto the main road to town, Janice scooted over to him. Feeling her touching him eased the apprehension over her father’s behavior. There was a long line at the ticket booth. The movie Casablanca had been touted as being considered for an Oscar. Tommy and his date were at the end of the line. Hoping to find four seats together, they joined them. There were not four seats together, so they had to split up. The movie lasted longer than most and they didn’t have time to visit with Tommy and his date. Burke had hoped to find a place to park for a few minutes before taking Janice home. Instead, he drove directly there. Lights on the front porch were aimed so they lit up the drive in front of the house. Janice squeezed his hand and whispered, “I’m sure he heard us and is watching.” Burke parked in clear view of the front door, slowly got out and walked around to open the door for Janice. The front door opened as they climbed the porch steps but no one showed. Janice’s conversation was limited to, “I had a great time.” “Me too, goodnight.” It was all Burke could muster. The bright lights were very intimidating. Driving towards town, all he could think about was the harsh treatment of Mr. Johnson. He had ruined the evening. Football and basketball practice normally ended in time for Burke to help Mr. Zell trim the windows each Monday evening. Janice had been the topic of conversation on several nights. This particular night, Burke was anxious to get Mr. Zell’s opinion on his meeting with Mr. Johnson. After relating his reception last night, Mr. Zell said, “I have never met the man. We have a group of business men that get together once a month. Don Miles, Johnson’s father-in-law, was at most of the meetings. Since his stroke, we understand he turned everything over to Johnson. He has never showed at any of our meetings. I understand from the scuttlebutt, he came from a well-to-do family in Connecticut. How he was appointed state senator when Senator Anderson died raised a lot of eyebrows.”