That seemed okay with me, so we returned to her home. Mr. and Mrs. Fuchs seemed surprised when we came back early. Heather told them we’d had fun, then added we were going to their den to play chess.
I’d brought my Dad’s Polaroid camera into Heather’s house when we came in. I asked Mr. Fuchs if he’d take two photos of us and that I’d give one of them to Heather.
“I wish I had a photo of my first date with Linda,” Mr. Fuchs said, as he snapped our photos.
Now that I had proof to show my school buddies, it was time to ask Heather if she’d help me improve my chess game. We played two games and she beat me badly both times, but being around Heather made the losses acceptable.
Monday I went to school with my Polaroid photo of Heather and me together. At lunch I showed it to Brian, Jeff, and Shawn, then collected my $30 bet. After that, the guys thought I must have put some smooth moves on Heather, but I didn’t tell them I’d originally asked Heather to improve my chess game.
A week later, Mr. Fuchs’ computer arrived. He called me and arranged a time for me to demonstrate the software we sold at Bits & Bytes. He brought Heather with him.
I introduced them to Mr. Jacobs, the store owner, then fired up a computer we used to demonstrate software we sold.
I showed them how easy it was to use the WordPerfect program to create a document, then to use ‘cut and paste’ to move paragraphs around. Both he and Heather were impressed with the ease of creating and editing a document. Then I demonstrated how Lotus 1-2-3 could store information in a spreadsheet and how it could be used to play ‘what if’ by changing a few parameters and recalculating the entire spreadsheet.
He purchased both programs, and asked, “Would you teach Heather and me to use the software?”
“Of course,” I said. In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have imagined a better situation where I could spend time with Heather.
After they left the store, Mr. Jacobs approached me and said, “I watched your sales pitch from my office. That young lady had her eyes on you the entire time. You could have sold her our whole store inventory.”
“She’s my girlfriend,” I said. “I told her father she’d get better grades if she had a computer with some productivity software.”
Mr Jacobs patted me on the shoulder, “You’re a very lucky young man. She’s a knock-out.”
During the next two months, I spent at least one evening a week teaching Mr. Fuchs and Heather how to use WordPerfect and 1-2-3.
Mr. Fuchs said he appreciated my help with his new computer, and Mrs. Fuchs was friendlier than the first couple times I’d met her. Heather and I were now more than just classmates. We ate lunch together in the school cafeteria. Jeff, Brian, and Shawn pestered me to eat lunch with them, but I’d found a new interest.
Heather and I enjoyed each other’s company so much that we went on frequent dates. We’d moved from holding hands to kissing–and how I savored her gentle kisses. Perhaps it was infatuation, but as I look back on our relationship, it was unbridled love I felt for her.
A couple weeks before Christmas, I was working at Bits & Bytes and noticed a new addition to our inventory–a computer chess game. It received my immediate attention.
In short order, I purchased it and installed it on my computer. I set the skill level to ‘three’ and played several games a day against the computer. After a few days, I went back to some of my saved games and followed the chess program’s moves, attempting to determine why it moved pieces on the board where it did. I began to see some patterns evolve and used them to improve my chess skills.
When my win-loss rate was about 50 percent, I dialed up the skill level to the next level, and gained even more insight about my play. Being able to play against the computer at my own level gave me an opportunity to see how my bad moves led to losses.
Heather and her parents spent a couple weeks over Christmas vacation visiting her grandparents in Florida, so she had no idea my chess game had improved. When she returned, I was ready for her. Generally, she beat me five games out of six, but I’d learned some tricks, so the next time we played, it took her more effort to beat me.
“How did you improve your game so quickly?” she asked.
“I bought a chess program for my computer.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I’ve learned a lot from playing against the computer, and it’s ready to play any time I am. Sometimes I play four or five games against it. Would you like to come by my house to see it?”
“Yes, I would. Your parents wouldn’t mind would they?”
“No, I think they’d like to meet you.”
I told Mom and Dad I was bringing Heather home to show her the chess game on my computer and to play chess after our date on the weekend.
Mom frowned like mothers do, and said, “Mike, your room had better be spotless if you bring a girl over.”
“Yeah Mom,” I groaned. She was always concerned what other people might think of her housekeeping.
Saturday evening after attending a movie with Heather, I brought her home and introduced her to my parents. Dad’s Audubon Society T-shirt caught her attention, and she commented her parents were members too.
After a few minutes of conversation, I showed Heather my computer chess program and let her play against it. She started off at skill level ‘six’ and had trouble beating it.