“Merry Christmas, Love,” he whispered. Hailey rolled toward him with a smile even though she was still blinking sleep from her eyes. The mornings ...ere too cold for naked sleeping and she wore fleece pajamas. Phil wore a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.“It is a Merry Christmas!” Hailey said as she snuggled against him. “Our first Christmas together!”“The first of many,” Phil replied.Hailey burrowed closer to him and kissed him on the chin.“Yes,” she stated. “The first of many Christmases.”The. “I have to get permission from my parents. I’m pretty sure Mom would drive us. Can I pick you up?” Heidi nodded her head and the bell rang for next period.My first date! I’d just turned sixteen and I was actually going on a date. I’d tried to date my freshman year at St. Joe Valley, but all the girls insisted that their fathers wouldn’t let them date until they were sixteen. I found out many years later that wasn’t always the case, but up until this point I’d never deliberately escorted one. '" 'So, not me especially?' I says to her. You know, Mitch, like, for clarification?" 'No, ' she says. 'Not you especially. When the other three guys left and you were alone, you got elected.'" 'So what is it?' I ask her." And she says, 'My dad died recently. He was a big fan.'" 'Sorry to hear it, ' I tell her. I mean, I don't know why she's telling me this, but I'm just trying to be like, y'know, polite." 'My dad was the same age as Brooks Robinson, ' she tells me, 'almost right to the day.. It was clear that although she had only met with him once before to see if he seemed okay -- and to discuss arrangements. Otherwise he was basically a stranger which somehow brought added illicit excitement to the whole evening. Later I established that Matt was a friend of Sue's gym trainer.Matt was good company and by the time we had finished our meal and quite a few glasses of wine, I stopped thinking of him purely as Sue's sex machine. He seemed like a normal, pleasant, clean shaven guy..