Sunday, July 31, 2005
It was a hot summer night.
The lightning bugs had come out for the first time, so the heat was there to stay. The air was humid.
We lived on Carl Avenue, Carl being my dad's name though the street was not named after him. My sister Robin and I had walked down our Carl street to the main road, New Harmony Way, and walked several blocks to Beth's house.
I was around eight years old, Robin around eleven years old.
When we arrived, the sun had just gone down. Kids from all over the neighborhood were there. Freddy, Gunner and Charlotte and Beth were there.
There was a large elm tree in Beth's front yard and there were kids dangling from various limbs, swinging back and forth, singing and calling back and forth to each other. There were no parents to be seen, so the kids had the run of the place.
From out of the crowd, there she came, walking toward us, wearing a cut off cotton tee shirt that showed her belly button, a pair of cut off shorts, and leather sandals with rings that looped around her big toes. Her hair was long and straight and brown. Her eyes were green and glinted in the light of the now burning street lamp. She was a foot taller than me and was very athletic in build. Her arms and legs were sinewy and she had definitive bicep muscles. Light beads of sweat rolled down her chest, accelerating beneath her damp tee with each breath she took.
It was Beth, and I was undeniably in love with her.
The kids had decided to play freeze tag before we got there, and were now assembling beneath the tree to start the game. Beth yelled at Robin and I to 'come on'! She turned on her heels and ran toward the tree. As she ran, I noticed her hind quarters were just as muscular as her biceps.
The three of us trotted along with Beth in the lead to gather with Freddy, Gunner, Charlotte, and the rest of the kids.
There must have been twenty of us as we all decided who would be 'it' first. I stood next to Beth, thinking about how even her armpit looked cute as she raised her hand to volunteer to go first. Charlotte was standing behind me, Freddy and Gunner were a few kids away, but Robin was nowhere to be found.
Soon enough we were all running around the big yard willy-nilly frantically freezing and unfreezing each other. I ran in and out of the kids, breathing in the warm musky air, getting mosquito bitten and having a ball. I ran past Beth. I ran past Charlotte. I ran past Freddy and Gunner. I unfroze that kid in my class who always smelled of farts. Still, no Robin. Had she walked home alone?
We played freeze tag. We played kick the can. The can was underneath the street lamp in the street. We climbed the tall elm tree and jumped from various heights.
One by one, two by two, kids began to leave. Suddenly Robin appeared out of nowhere and said it was time to go. I wanted to see Beth one more time, but she seemed to have already gone into her house. Charlotte came up to me and punched my arm. 'Bye, Kevin' she said as she shyly looked at her shoes.
Charlotte had coal black hair cut into a boyish bob. A hairstyle that would not be popular until much later in my years. She had brown eyes, stood my height and was skinny. Her sweaty bangs were flattened against her forehead. Her skin was white as moonlight.
On the way home, Robin was in an excellent mood. 'Where were you'? I asked. 'I was with Chris' came the reply.
Chris Christianson. Robins secret steady boyfriend. He was such an all american, although I didn't realize this at the time. I just thought Chris Christianson was a big nerd. I thought of the two of them making out behind the house all night and the thought of it slightly turned my stomach.
'Did you know that Charlotte likes you'? Robin asked as we were walking our last block to the house.
Charlotte.
Skinny, pale Charlotte.
I couldn't have cared less.
'Yeah. She really likes you a lot. She wants to go with you'.
Charlotte of the pasted bangs, the boyish bob that was not in style yet, Charlotte of the skinny legs and the dusty Keds shoes.
Charlotte.
The anti-Beth.
'What about Beth'? I asked. 'Has Beth ever said anything'? We were now walking down our street off New Harmony and were approaching our house.
'No, Beth has never said anything'. And of course she hadn't. Beth probably had as many boyfriends as I had fingers.
In bed that night with the window fan blowing and the crickets chirping, I didn't give Charlotte another thought. All I could think of was Beth and how cool it would be to hold her sweaty, sinewy body and kiss her deeply and for a long time.
That was as far as I ever got with Beth.
The lightning bugs had come out for the first time, so the heat was there to stay. The air was humid.
We lived on Carl Avenue, Carl being my dad's name though the street was not named after him. My sister Robin and I had walked down our Carl street to the main road, New Harmony Way, and walked several blocks to Beth's house.
I was around eight years old, Robin around eleven years old.
When we arrived, the sun had just gone down. Kids from all over the neighborhood were there. Freddy, Gunner and Charlotte and Beth were there.
There was a large elm tree in Beth's front yard and there were kids dangling from various limbs, swinging back and forth, singing and calling back and forth to each other. There were no parents to be seen, so the kids had the run of the place.
From out of the crowd, there she came, walking toward us, wearing a cut off cotton tee shirt that showed her belly button, a pair of cut off shorts, and leather sandals with rings that looped around her big toes. Her hair was long and straight and brown. Her eyes were green and glinted in the light of the now burning street lamp. She was a foot taller than me and was very athletic in build. Her arms and legs were sinewy and she had definitive bicep muscles. Light beads of sweat rolled down her chest, accelerating beneath her damp tee with each breath she took.
It was Beth, and I was undeniably in love with her.
The kids had decided to play freeze tag before we got there, and were now assembling beneath the tree to start the game. Beth yelled at Robin and I to 'come on'! She turned on her heels and ran toward the tree. As she ran, I noticed her hind quarters were just as muscular as her biceps.
The three of us trotted along with Beth in the lead to gather with Freddy, Gunner, Charlotte, and the rest of the kids.
There must have been twenty of us as we all decided who would be 'it' first. I stood next to Beth, thinking about how even her armpit looked cute as she raised her hand to volunteer to go first. Charlotte was standing behind me, Freddy and Gunner were a few kids away, but Robin was nowhere to be found.
Soon enough we were all running around the big yard willy-nilly frantically freezing and unfreezing each other. I ran in and out of the kids, breathing in the warm musky air, getting mosquito bitten and having a ball. I ran past Beth. I ran past Charlotte. I ran past Freddy and Gunner. I unfroze that kid in my class who always smelled of farts. Still, no Robin. Had she walked home alone?
We played freeze tag. We played kick the can. The can was underneath the street lamp in the street. We climbed the tall elm tree and jumped from various heights.
One by one, two by two, kids began to leave. Suddenly Robin appeared out of nowhere and said it was time to go. I wanted to see Beth one more time, but she seemed to have already gone into her house. Charlotte came up to me and punched my arm. 'Bye, Kevin' she said as she shyly looked at her shoes.
Charlotte had coal black hair cut into a boyish bob. A hairstyle that would not be popular until much later in my years. She had brown eyes, stood my height and was skinny. Her sweaty bangs were flattened against her forehead. Her skin was white as moonlight.
On the way home, Robin was in an excellent mood. 'Where were you'? I asked. 'I was with Chris' came the reply.
Chris Christianson. Robins secret steady boyfriend. He was such an all american, although I didn't realize this at the time. I just thought Chris Christianson was a big nerd. I thought of the two of them making out behind the house all night and the thought of it slightly turned my stomach.
'Did you know that Charlotte likes you'? Robin asked as we were walking our last block to the house.
Charlotte.
Skinny, pale Charlotte.
I couldn't have cared less.
'Yeah. She really likes you a lot. She wants to go with you'.
Charlotte of the pasted bangs, the boyish bob that was not in style yet, Charlotte of the skinny legs and the dusty Keds shoes.
Charlotte.
The anti-Beth.
'What about Beth'? I asked. 'Has Beth ever said anything'? We were now walking down our street off New Harmony and were approaching our house.
'No, Beth has never said anything'. And of course she hadn't. Beth probably had as many boyfriends as I had fingers.
In bed that night with the window fan blowing and the crickets chirping, I didn't give Charlotte another thought. All I could think of was Beth and how cool it would be to hold her sweaty, sinewy body and kiss her deeply and for a long time.
That was as far as I ever got with Beth.
