The year was 1979. In many ways, the Seventies were simpler times compared to the world we live in today, but that doesn't mean they were boring. It was an exciting time; a time of change, conflict, and innovation. There were conflicts and coups around the world, we saw major advances in computing, and the women's liberation movement that started in the Sixties continued. There was the Oil Embargo, the internet and email were new, invented as tools for scientists. The United States celebrated its bicentennial.
Michael had turned eighteen in the early spring, and a few months later he graduated high school. As a young man coming of age in the late Seventies, Michael fully embraced what that meant. Women were expressing themselves in ways they never had before. Many were no longer the meek housewife, they wanted careers of their own. They also expressed themselves through fashion. A great deal of the women's fashion caused him to have a perpetual boner. The cause was not just the women his age, who had grown up within many of the societal changes, but also those who were a decade or two older and were now experimenting with what it meant to be a woman in this new era.
One day, not long after Michael's graduation, a house in his neighborhood with a FOR SALE sign in the yard for months now had a SOLD sticker slapped across it at an angle. Michael kept an eye on the house with great interest, daydreaming about who might move into the home. Would it be a family with a gorgeous daughter his age? Maybe it would be a ripe, newly minted bride who liked to sun herself in the tiny bikinis that were becoming so popular. Whatever the case, Michael was looking forward to the summer, regardless of who the new neighbors were. He figured that worst-case he'd be helping his Dad put up a privacy fence along the property line if they were loud or rude.
A week or so after the SOLD sticker appeared, Michael noticed a moving van at the house. Standing at the patio door of his parent's house he could just see the front of the truck parked in the driveway. Through the windows of the home, he could see a flurry of activity as the contents were unloaded and carried in. At one point the back door opened. That's the moment that the late seventies brought her to him. Soon, he would learn her name—Norma.
She was average height and thin, and unlike most of the long blown-out hairstyles so popular, her rich auburn hair was cut short, in a style reminiscent of Goldie Hawn's hairstyle on Laugh-In. A thin nose graced Norma's heart-shaped face. She had high cheekbones and thin, wide lips. She was dressed in jeans and a loose T-shirt when she first appeared.
She saw Michael and waived, then began crossing the grassy median between their houses. As she approached, he could tell she wore little makeup, and her nails were natural. As she stepped onto the patio he slid the door open. She extended her hand and smiled.
"Hello, I'm Norma. I'm your new neighbor, though I suppose you've already guessed that."
She had eyes the color of milk chocolate, pearl-white teeth, and dimples. A slight breeze carried a floral scent and Michael immediately recognized it—Charlie. All the high school girls were crazy over it. He took her hand, and her long, thin fingers curled around his hand. Michael's testosterone-sotted mind briefly imagined them wrapped around his turgid shaft, which was growing by the moment. Lost briefly in his thoughts, he stood there quietly taking her in. She was a stone fox, and though Michael had found himself attracted to older women, he never met one this much older that he found so attractive.
"What's your name?" she asked, interrupting his lustful thoughts.
"Um…uh…" was all Michael could muster.
She stepped a little closer, still holding his hand, and looked into his eyes. Michael felt as if those brown eyes were looking into his soul.
"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" When she initially greeted him her voice was light and feminine, but now it was husky and breathless.
"I need to know your name so that I know who to ask for when I need help arranging all of my furniture and hanging photos."
"Michael," he finally managed to croak.
"Well, Michael. Are your parents home? I'd like to meet them," she asked as she looked over his shoulder into the house.
"Yeah, um, my mom is home. Come in and I'll get her."
She stepped into the house and Michael noticed her shoes, a pair of black Vans #95s. They were small, even for a woman. Compared to his size 12 Nikes they were diminutive, maybe a size six? With the both of them standing on the same level now, he noticed she was several inches shorter than him.
Michael left her standing at the door while he retrieved his Mom from the laundry room. She greeted the new neighbor and they sat at the kitchen table. His mom told him to get them both a Coke from the refrigerator. Michael popped the caps off the bottles, sat them on the table, and went to the living room. He could hear their conversation as he sat on the end of the sofa out of their view, pretending to read a book.
Norma explained that she had just moved here from a small town in the Midwest. She was excited about moving to the suburbs of a large city. She told his Mom that she was thirty-two and recently divorced. Norma and Michael's mom chatted for nearly an hour before Norma excused herself for taking up so much time. They exchanged phone numbers, and he heard her ask his mom if he might be available to help her get the house set up. Being neighborly, his mom agreed that he could assist whenever she needed. "Michael is a great handyman, he helps out all around the neighborhood. Whatever you need, just ask. Maybe he should mow your lawn as well," his mom said.
"See you later, Michael," Norma called out as she stood to leave.
See you later, my sweet Norma,
he wanted to say but kept his thoughts to himself. That night in bed Michael stroked himself while he replayed the vision of Norma in his mind and imagined seeing her naked. Eventually, he pumped his load into a handful of tissues.
⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎
The next morning, Norma called. Michael's mother spoke briefly to her, then walked to Michael's room.
"Norma would like to paint several rooms before arranging her furniture. She's willing to pay whatever you deem reasonable. You interested?"
"Heck yeah!" Michael exclaimed as he quickly rose off his bed.
"She said that you can come whenever. She's just unboxing the kitchen."