I'm kicked back at home having a beer with the TV blabbing away about someone's life in a small town. One of those "this is your life" shows. My ears perk up at the comment about the guest early days in my home town of Los Banos, California. They are talking about Los Banos Elementary School. The sudden mention of that school takes me back to 1
st
grade and our new student; Monica Consuelos.
Her family moved into town during our Thanksgiving break. We returned to class and there she was sitting in the back of the class. All through grade school Monica was always there off in the distance of our class room. During our time in elementary I was very shy in general and it got worse around girls. Especially talking to a girl. That just did not happen.
Middle school seemed to put us on different life paths. I had a paper route and a hand full of guys that hung out together. Sports was the main focus or our gang. The girls (Monica in particular) began to develop which triggered a desire in me that went unfulfilled. For me the breast made it even more difficult to talk to Monica.
In high school there was even more distance between us. I had a job at a local service station. Back when we pumped the gas for the customers car. We cleaned windshields and checked oil as requested. Between high school sports and work, I had no time for girls. My friends found the time but that was not in the cards for me. Still to shy to act on my desires I could only watch for her every waking moment in school. By graduation it was nothing more than her signing my year book with her generic "Have a great Life, Monica" quip.
Off to college we went. Monica to Stanford and me to our local Junior college. It was there that things changed. I had continued with my service station job. Money saved allowed me to by a decent truck. This grabbed the attention of a few girls and boy were they ever forward. Not due to my action, but I got double teamed by Mary and Elizabeth after our English class. They wanted a ride home. On the way they wanted to stop at the only Dairy Queen in town. Pretty soon I'm buying three cones and not much chance to get a word in edge wise with the two of them yakking away. Elizabeth (Betty) wants to go to a party Friday night and she has no date. "Tim, will you take me to the party" Betty abruptly ask.
Off to the party and to my surprise she stuck to me all night. I had expected her to mingle and leave me as a wall flower. She was friendly and very affectionate on our first date. Betty decided to go home earlier than I was anticipating. She lived in a small apartment with Mary that was real close to the campus. She invited me in to her bedroom and we were off to the races. I am technically a virgin and I quickly told her. She got this little twerk of her mouth and said "she would be proud to pop my cheery".
After that night we began to see each other on a regular basis. Both of us got our AA degrees and set out to find a job. Betty at a local diner as and assistant manager and I as a mechanic at Tony's Truck Repair. Things went well and I bought a very small older house that had a decent sized garage. Betty and I christened the new bed that first night and I asked her to move in with me. Three months later we got married.
And then life happened. Betty and I had a few good years until Stanley. He bumped into her at the Barrios Taco House while she was buying our dinner since she had worked late. Two weeks later and Stanley is fucking her in our bed while I was at work. They were so into it that they never heard me come home and opening our bedroom door to her screams of "Fuck my ass you pervert". After the divorce and the end of 5 married years it was apartment living for her and Stan.
My work as a heavy truck mechanic in a small shop had very little interaction with females. I spent the next few years with my head down and concentrated on work. This paid off as my boss decided to sell the business. He offered it to me on a pay as you go basis. A very small percentage of my profits tacked on to the small monthly payment. Having to only manage myself and the office receptionist meant I could control my own destiny. Diane, the current receptionist left after 5 months and left me looking for a replacement. This is a new challenge!
I posted an ad in the local newspaper and waited for the hoards to show up! And they did. Not wanting to do any major training, I needed experience. That seemed to be far a few between. Eventually I hired Lorrie, a 20 year old trained as a Dental receptionist. At least she knew how to answer the phone and file papers. Boy did she know how to file papers. The office never looked so good nor so organized. Her dark black hair tumbled down to her wisp of a waist which just added to the pert breast she brought to work every day. She loved to wear bib overalls that I swear were sprayed on over a tight fitting tee shirt. It was appropriate for our shop environment but more than distracting when she walked out onto the shop floor.
Lorrie's boyfriend was the son of one of my customers. He was a budding mechanic and as business picked up he was just what I needed in the shop. Glen was a graduate of a local mechanic school and did have some good skills and work habits. Things went on for the next few years and the three of us had increased business two fold over my original first year.
One of my high school friends stopped in to see if I was going to the class reunion next week. That was news to me. It was on a Saturday and that is one of our busy days. After discussing this with Glen he figured he could handle it for one day and encouraged me to go.