Growing up in the '50s I was a junior in high school and I had just begun to really notice girls during this year in school. I had classes with many good looking girls in school, some of whom really would not give me the time of the day. Those girls were the girls that many of the guys and even some of the other girls called "stuck up" or "stuck on themselves," Most of the other girls were nice, sweet girls who were willing to treat most of the guys as well as the other girls with genuine civility and equality and didn't look down their nose at them.
Shirley was one of those sweet somewhat shy girls who was not "stuck up" and she was pretty but she was not sought after as were the stuck up girls. I had some classes with Shirley and I began to notice her in class. She was very intelligent but, she did not need to go to any lengths to show it, and she was very reserved but, she was not conceited. Some of the guys and even some of the girls thought that she was kind of mousey. She was an excellent student as she was always on the school honor roll. When she was called on to answer questions in class she was always prepared to correctly answer the teacher's questions about the class study without hesitation.
I soon found out that she was not only very smart and she was very good looking, too. Or at least she was to me. I guess that some people would consider her to be a nerd and a book worm. It seemed that most of the guys were turned off by the clothes she wore that obscured her great figure and her lack of makeup and her hair was not cut and styled the way that most of the other girls' were. It sure made me think that she was a diamond that had not been set in a pretty mounting, so to speak.
Once I met her I always treated Shirley well and respected her for who she was as a sweet, slightly shy girl who always treated others well. Shirley's beautiful, shining blond hair came down to below her shoulders and some of it curled just under her chin. Her hair framed her pretty face and accentuated her gorgeous, sparkling, sky blue eyes. She was a petite girl at only about 5 Ft.-4 in. tall with small breasts probably 34B, a 24 inch waist and 36 inch hips when she wore clothes that revealed her figure which wasn't often.
I thought that her breasts were small but I reasoned that the size of a woman's breasts did not define the whole woman and as far as I was concerned it had no bearing on how smart she was either. Shirley's intelligence, her sweet gentle personality, her pretty face, her gorgeous sky blue eyes and her gracious treatment of other people much more than made up for her somewhat small breasts. More than that, unbeknownst to me at that time, her breasts were likely to get larger after she got married and had a couple of babies. I was told that happens as a gift of nature to the women who bear babies.
As time went on during the school year, Shirley and I began to look for one another in class and very often we sat next to one another in class if we could. We would talk to one another before and after class about our mutual class interests and school activities. We both really enjoyed each other and our interactions with one another.
Often times on a Friday Shirley would tell me, "Ted, I'm planning on going to the football game (or to the basketball game) tonight if my parents will let me and I'm wondering if you plan to go to the game and the dance as well?."
Most of the times, I would tell her, "Yeah, I'm planning on going to the game tonight, Shirley."
She would respond, "I and a couple of my girlfriends are planning on going to the game and maybe we'll see you at the game or maybe I'll see you there at the or at dance in the school's girl's gym after the game if my parents will let me stay for the dance."
When I went to the games my buddy, Dave, and I generally went to the games together and many times we did not see Shirley and her girlfriends at the game. We usually went to the dance after the games that we went to and only once in a while would we see Shirley there. Those times when I did not see Shirley at the game or the dance, I saw and asked one of her girlfriends where she was. Most times Shirley's girlfriend told me that her parents would not let her come to the game or to the dance after the game that particular night.
Those times that I went to the games and the dances following the game and Shirley was not there, I left and went home disappointed for not having seen her there. When I did see her there at the dance, I really enjoyed talking with her and dancing with her as she was a great dancer and she was a good conversationalist with her great personality.
I always thought that she was able to follow my lead on the dance floor very well when we were dancing. I marveled at how good a dancer she was because I felt like I was a real "clod hopper" when it came to dancing anyway. I always enjoyed talking to her as time permitted and I was comfortable with her and just enjoyed being with her. Looking back on it I think that I was falling in love with Shirley but, I sure as hell did not know it at that time.
This continued until the end of our junior year but, I did not see Shirley during the summer when school was out. I was both working around the house for my parents or for my dad in my dad's business and I had very little time for socializing. However, I was happy when school began again in the fall. That meant that I was likely to see Shirley again in class or at the games and other after school functions. Again in my senior year I had a couple of classes with Shirley and was happy to see her and talk to her during or after our classes. During my senior year I saw her several times at the games and at the school dances and I sure got along well with her and wished I could see more of her.
One night at the dance I saw Shirley and danced with her. After our dance ended I told Dave I was going to go get a cold drink and asked if he wanted one. I went outside to get the drinks for us. The lines were very long so it took me a while to get our drinks. When I returned with our drinks Dave was nowhere to be seen so I sat down with our drinks in hand and waited for him to come back to where we had been sitting. A short time later Dave showed up and I asked where he had gone.
Dave said, "I have been out on the dance floor with Shirley and then I went to the restroom after our dance had ended. Ted, she is a really nice girl and she is a very good dancer, too, Ted. I don't really understand why most of the guys think that she is a nerd."
Shirley had asked Dave, "Where did Ted go, Dave? Did he leave the dance and go home?"
Dave told her, "No, he just went to get something cold for us to drink."
Then she told him, "Ok, I'm glad to know that as I want to see him and dance with him again before the dance ends tonight. Let Ted know that I want to see him and dance with him again, will you please, Dave?"
He responded, "Sure, Shirley, I'll do that for you and tell Ted."
Just before the last dance of the night I went over to Shirley and asked, "May I have this last dance, Shirley?"
Shirley quickly responded, "Yes, you may. I have been saving this last dance for you, Ted."
During our last dance she said, "Ted, since this was the last game and is the last dance of the year I want to invite you to come over to my married sister's house a couple of weeks before graduation just for a little get together. I would like to introduce you to my sister as I have been telling her about you and how well we get along at school and at these dances. And I have told her that I really like you, too, Ted. And I think that he likes me, too, Sis."
Shirley further told me, "It's coming up on my sister's first wedding anniversary and she is going to have a small party for some of her friends. She wants me to be there and she said I could invite whomever I wanted to invite to come to the party with me. That was her way of telling me I could invite you."
I replied, "Yeah, Shirley I would love to come over there to be there with you and meet your sister but, especially to see you there."
Then she told me, "There will be soda and other refreshments along with some of my sister's high school friends. I'll get you the address, the day and time of the party at school a few days before the party."
Ok, I told her, "I'll look forward to being there with you, then, Shirley."
About a week before the party Shirley saw me in class and handed me a sheet of notebook paper with the party information hand written on it.
I looked at it and said, "Yeah, I know where this is and I am looking forward to coming to the party to see you and your sister."
Shirley said, "That's great that you'll be able to come to the party with me, Ted. I'm looking forward to having you there and my sister is looking forward to meeting you, too."
I saw her in class several more times before the party was scheduled and she seemed to be very excited that I was going to be there at the party with her. I was equally as excited about being at the party, too, and seeing and being with her that evening.
When the day of the party arrived, I was very excited about seeing Shirley somewhere away from school. I arrived at her sister's house for the party that evening and Shirley met me at the door. She invited me to come into the house, and she introduced me to her sister and her husband and to the other guests who were there. Shirley's parents were not there and I thought that was a little strange but, I decided to ignore it as it really wasn't any of my business why her parents were not there. Unfortunately I found out why later and how it affected not only Shirley but, it affected me too.