I was a senior in high school at the time. My mother had kept me home an extra year as a child, so I was already well into my 18th year, and I was especially ready to move beyond the local school culture.
We lived in a small neighborhood of Town Houses, a popular design of the 70's era, We had moved into the house when it was new just 5 years earlier. I can still recall the excitement, the new house smell, ongoing construction just down the block, and a kitchen furnished with harvest gold colored appliances.
It came as quite a surprise when my math teacher moved into the house just 3 doors down. It dawned on me that it certainly might be helpful to have help with math problems just a few short steps from home, but I can also remember feeling a little strange to have a current teacher as a neighbor. I am not sure why I found it somewhat unsettling; perhaps it was because I was unsure if the teacher-student relationship would extend to my yard or if it would somehow be different.
I have to say that my reputation at school was solid. I was one of those students who was completely involved, band, chorus, soccer, track. There were times that I wondered how I was able to keep on top of my studies, but, in fact, I excelled in the classroom as well. But, when I was home, school was the last thing on my mind, and I did not want that spoiled by constantly running into a teacher!
It soon became apparent that my concerns were unfounded. In class, Mr. Sanders had a very no-nonsense approach. He expected a lot from us, and moments of fun, off-topic conversations were rare. But at home, he was relaxed, and I found that I enjoyed it when he saw me outside and asked me to lend a hand with moving a piece of furniture or unloading his truck after a visit to the grocery store. At one point, it dawned on me that we tend to view our teachers as if they existed in the single dimension of school, and rarely consider that they have a home life just like us, a family, a dog , chores like cutting the grass.
There was not a whole lot of grass on our small house lots, but Mr. Sanders did have a dog. He also had a wife, but no kids. Mrs Sanders was not terribly remarkable, not in the way that a healthy high school male of that time viewed women. She had long straight hair, a cute face with a small pixie nose and very small breasts. But, she did have a lovely smile, the type that made you feel like she liked you from the moment that she met you, and she had a beautiful voice, smooth and comforting.
As the end of the school year approached, Mr. Sanders encountered me in the hall and said, " I meant to ask you this past weekend if you might consider taking on the job of watching our dog while we are away for two weeks in June."
Being one who always wanted to please the adults in my life, I barely took time to consider the request when I blurted, "Of course!"
I was always looking for ways to make extra money in the summer, and this was a job that would require a minimal investment of time on my part. Mr. Sanders proposed that I stop by the Saturday following graduation so that he could review the particulars, where the food was kept, how often to let the dog out and contact information in case I had questions.
The next week or so was a blur of activity as we prepared for graduation, and then, in an instant school was done. We collected our diplomas and closed the door on that chapter of our lives. The following Saturady I made my way over to the Sander's home at the appointed hour. Mrs. Sanders answered the door and greeted me, expressing her pleasure that someone so responsible would be taking care of the dog while they were gone. She showed me how much food they gave Snoopy ( a very popular name for dogs at that time). She also showed me a list filled with contact information, including people who could help out if I needed questions answered and could not get in touch with her or her husband. She asked that I let the dog out for 15 minutes 4 times a day. Then she handed me the key to the door. Snoopy came over and sniffed me, and then he rubbed against me.
"I think that Snoopy and I will do just fine," I said.
"I am quite sure that you will," her voice was soft and reassuring. And then, almost as an after thought, she said, "Would you mind bringing the mail in each day? It becomes pretty obvious that no one is home if the mailbox starts to overflow."
"Sure," I responded. I bid her a wonderful day and headed home.
The next week included the final two days of school, an end of the year celebration picnic that I had planned with some close friends, and, on Friday, the departure of the Sanders. I lent Mr. Sanders a hand, loading their car with luggage for the trip and then held Snoopy and waved goodbye as they pulled out of the driveway.
"Just me and you for the next two weeks," I said to Snoopy.
He looked at me and licked my face.
We settled into a routine over the weekend. I walked over to the house in the morning and let Snoopy out, put food and fresh water in his dish and then sat on the step while keeping an eye on him. He was excited to see me, and soon began to anticipate my visits at noon, dinner and just before bed. He quickly became my friend, and I even took him for walks about town just to spend extra time with him.
On Monday, I awoke to rain. Snoopy still had to go out, but I was not about to join him outside, opting instead to sit at Sander's kitchen table. The layout of the house was exactly like ours, so I felt quite at home in no time. At lunch time, I let Snoopy out and then went to the front door to get the mail. The box was nearly full. Apparently both Mr. and Mrs. Sanders enjoyed magazines, and this was the time of the month when they typically arrived. I had a notion to sort their mail, but then thought that they might find that a bit odd. So, I found an empty basket and laid the items in it, thinking that I might need a box by the end of two weeks if the volume of mail continued at this rate. It was as I was turning to retrace my steps down the hall back to the kitchen when I noticed that one of the magazines was in a brown paper sleeve. Curious, I picked it up and saw that the return address was Playboy.
I was shocked, literally, I felt like I was unable to move or to think clearly. I was simply unable to process the idea that my math teacher and neighbor, Mr. Sanders, would subscribe to such a magazine. I must have been blushing, after a moment I came to realize that my cheeks were warm. I had never seen a Playboy magazine, but I had certainly heard about them in the locker room. I had never seen a picture of a naked woman, but I had come to understand that some women posed naked, some even danced naked at clubs, but that was simply not the kind of magazine or the type of establishment that men I knew frequented. Or did they? Here I was in my math teacher's living room, holding a magazine that contained pictures of naked women.