Bonnie Falls Into Love 01
Tim was my older brother Jim's best friend, three years older than me. When I was just eighteen, Mama said I was beautiful, but nobody'd asked me out yet-- I thought she sort of had to say that to me. So, I was eighteen, in my senior year, and I was tall and thin, long legs; I ran cross-country which was a fall sport in my school, both girls and boys, at five thousand meters, I was second next to this really tall boy named Paul, and every once in a while, if I got off fast enough, he couldn't run me down in time... breathe, Judy.
So, it was April and I got home from school. I had run for practice since cross-country season was in the fall, but I thought I might try at college. My coach said since I was five-foot-eleven, I could be pretty good. We lived in the state of Washington, on the west side of Puget Sound, just outside this old town of Bremerton. There was a Naval shipyard that was built during World War II, and it was a maintenance yard for aircraft carriers, submarines, and other ships.
All the boys wanted to get jobs there because of the security of medical benefits and a good, steady paycheck. Play softball, get married, have some babies, live in one of the inky dinky houses. Look at me putting them down, and I'd never been on a date, and was afraid to talk to a boy where I was literally paralyzed with fear and shyness. I'd get all flushed if some boy came towards me, and I couldn't think nor hear for my heart beating.
I got home and was talking to Mama and she knew something was wrong. She walked over to me, wrapped her arms around me-- and I don't know why-- but I started bawling and hiccupping. She held me tightly and patted me, and I almost stopped; then, I heard something and opened my eyes. There was Tim, and Jim too, watching me, looking so sad and worried-- I started again.
Never had I cried so hard; it was like my soul was running from me. I heard Mama say, "Go," with anger in her voice.
Finally, I was laying my head on her then-sopping shoulder, and my breathing slowed down. She walked us out to the living room, and I sat down next to her, still held tight. She looked at me and raised her eyebrows.
"I'm eighteen, Mama," I declared, "I can't even look at a boy without blushing and shaking. Forget even talking to one! I want to be like you and have babies and a husband and it is so not happening, and, and..." I started sniffling again. "The prom is in three weeks, and nobody's asked me, and I'm so ugly, and if I had nice breasts like you, they, for sure, would have been after me, but I'm flat as board. Why me?!"
The crying burst forth again. After a while, I wore myself out and curled up on the love seat and slept.
Bremerton was way north on a map, so in May, the days got really long, with the sun setting around nine at night. Mama had taken my shoes off and put on a long T-shirt of Jim's, and there was a note that said 'shopping. dinner. in fridge--Mama.'
I got a water bottle and there was a plate with cucumber, tomato, and Swiss cheese slices, and some red grapes. I took it back to the love seat and nibbled on the snacks, little bites that were near perfect. I was so thirsty, I went back to get two more water bottles, and just drank and nibbled, putting the damage in the sink when I was done. I went back and lay back down and fell soundly asleep.
I blinked my eyes and stretched, looked at my phone; it was almost eleven in the morning, and the house was quiet.
I thought I'd get running to the State Park, which was a few blocks from the house, where there were a bunch of trails, and overlooked Rich's Passage; maybe I would see some of the ferry boats. I put on a thong, and a pair of my daddy's old school shorts, who had passed in Iraq when I was four. Mama said I took after his side of the family, with my dirty-blonde hair, which I put up in a high ponytail with a black scrunchy. And after putting on my trainers, I was out the door. It was in the low sixties and there was a crisp breeze, which is normal for May.
I wanted to take it easy, to stay around eight-minute miles, which is leisurely. But, sometimes, if you run hard every day, you don't take a day off; you cruise, get loose, and pamper your muscles, to just help get all the lactic acid out, so that I might be more aggressive Sunday morning.
Jim's T-shirt must have been from junior high, as it was tight across my chest; with the breeze off the water, the cotton fabric was rubbing my nipples, and they got hard as the rubbing continued.
I had learned this in IT language class that C++, an old development language, that a simple teaching program to create was called a 'do-loop' and my nipples were a half-inch long and it was hard to ignore what the do-loop was doing to my nipples.
Then this tall, red-headed man came out of a side trail, and just took up running next to me. He was tall, maybe six-foot-six, and was wearing a University of Washington rowing crew shirt, and long, gold shorts to capture the Husky colors of purple and gold. His legs seemed to go forever, and he was wearing purple Adidas trainers that must have been a size fourteen, at least.
"You're a runner, obviously. What's your objective this morning?"
'How'd he know I'm a runner,' flashed through my mind. "Umm, I'm doing eights as a wind down from the week for twenty five minutes, and drop to two tens to warm down, and then do sevens for ten thousand tomorrow. How did you know I'm a runner?"
Nonchalantly, he replied, "Well your ass and your legs are exquisite."
My mouth flew open. "Excuse me! You perv," and burst off from the dickwad old man.
But within ten strides, or so, he was easily loping beside me.
"Easy there, Flicka. You're Judy Martin, right? Sissy's daughter?"
I just stared at him not responding, and ran harder to get away, which was not going to happen.
He said, "Your mom sent me to get you and for you to come home for lunch; she has an announcement to make."
I cut across the grass and up the hill to the street which was a big incline, and he did not stay with me. I cut across the street and through a grade-school friend's yard, and made it my home before him. My mom was in the front room in a light-yellow sundress with daisy flowers, and she held her left hand out to me-- showing me this huge diamond ring, and squealed at me.
Everyone was there, Jim and Tim; I could not, would not, tell my Mama what the perv had said to me. P
I asked her, "Who is he?"