Since Enid had experienced a woman, she felt it was behind her and as much fun as Carol had been, and MIGHT be again, Enid was done. Hal was having trouble lately getting an erection since his hospital visit, and Enid was just fed up. She didn't blame Hal, it wasn't really his fault, but that didn't help Enid.
She was still keeping her vow concerning the contest she had sponsored with that group of guys; giving the blowjobs and loving every minute of it. She was also getting an occasional visit from her neighbor Hank, though Hank did not want to admit it, especially to his wife. Enid was looking forward to her 75th birthday in a few weeks. She had inadvertently heard that an early surprise party was being planned and had mixed feelings. Though she certainly appreciated her friends and loved the fact that they thought enough of her to throw her a party, she didn't know if she wanted one. She was enthusiastic and tickled pink about turning ¾ of a century old, one terrific mile stone, but she thought maybe just a quiet dinner and a few drinks with her closest friends, Ruth, Eileen and Roberta, and maybe some guy to take care of her needs later on in the evening would be nice. Eh, she'd just go with the flow.
Enid walked to the grocery store. She was in pretty good shape so a 2 mile walk was a joy for her, especially on this lovely spring day. She took in the sunshine and the birds singing, the warm breeze and the smells of freshly cut grass, the trees and flowers that filled her suburban neighborhood. It was a glorious day and Enid was in a glorious mood. She didn't wear earbuds for two reasons, one, they were for the young, not her and two, she preferred to hear what was going on around her rather than miss a siren, warning of potential danger or the nicer things. She had gotten a laugh out of the kid on the skateboard who was zipping down the street one day wearing those damn fool things in his ears. He was so 'into' his music and his dancing on the board, he didn't notice the cop trying to direct him away from the construction site and the kid went straight past the cop, the traffic cones and the barriers and into the hole. He broke his arm and Enid, who was only a few feet away, burst out into such a fit of laughter that at one point the cop ran over to check on her, ignoring the ignorant little snot in the hole. Enid liked to hear what was going on around her. She never texted or spoke on her phone either. She'd seen the results of that all too often as well; people walking into poles, fountains, people, dog leashes, fences, etc. Enid just paid attention to her surroundings. When someone would say, "That's just so old fashioned and out of date," Enid would reply, "It's kept me alive for this long, let's see how long what you do keeps YOU alive!" She was her own best example of how to be safe. She also carried mace, just in case; that made her feel safe also.
Enid strolled into Ferdinand's Market and grabbed a carriage. She stopped and bought some grapefruit juice, some cold cuts and a couple of frozen dinners. Coffee was next on her list as well as some filters for her coffee maker. When she got to produce, she was looking over the various vegetables and fruits. When she got to the cucumbers, she was trying to decide which one looked freshest when the young man beside her proved HE was the freshest. As Enid picked one up, the young man said, "Mine's bigger than that," as he held up a larger cucumber. Enid replied, "I beg your pardon?"
The young man added, "Oh, my cucumber, it's bigger."
Enid looked him square in the eye and said, "I've seen 'Animal House' more times than you've changed your underwear kid, but I appreciate the game. Did you want something or is this just some random act of crassness?"
The young man was stunned and found the words to reply, not forthcoming. He put the cucumber down and sort of shuffled off looking dejected. Enid found it funny and pathetic at the same time. She did, however, pick up the cucumber he had chosen and bought it. It WAS bigger.
On her way home, dragging her little grocery cart behind, she happened upon the young man. He was probably about 21 or 22, probably home on Spring Break and bored. He wasn't a bad looking kid, kind of nerdy, but hey, Enid didn't really like to judge...as a rule. Sometimes she just couldn't help it, she was human after all. He was sitting on a bench by the main street just staring ahead. Enid walked up and sat down next to him. After a short silence, she nudged him and asked, "So, what was that all about?"
At first he didn't want to talk, hoping she'd just go away and end this humiliation that he felt he somewhat deserved. She nudged him again. "Talk to me kid. I'm not mad, just curious." Then she added holding out her hand, "My name is Enid, and you?"
The kid just sort of sighed and then taking her hand said, "I'm Clyde."
Enid pushed the issue, "So, tell me Clyde, you often hit on old ladies on grocery stores using lines from movies? You WERE hitting on me, right, not just screwing around?"
Clyde shrugged. Enid nudged him again even though she honestly believed that people who do a lot of nudging are pains in the ass. "Talk to me kid. What's going on?"
Clyde sighed again and said, "I don't know. I guess it seemed like fun. I really didn't think it through. I've always been told that older women are excellent lov..." he immediately looked up at Enid and apologetically blurted out, "Oh, not that you're OLD, I just..."
Enid cut him off, "Kid, I AM old and damn proud of it. For a woman of my age, I'm holding up pretty damn well and if you were going with this where it seems you were, I'm very flattered." She patted him on the shoulder and smiled. He seemed like a nice kid but Enid never trusted anyone right off the bat, too many crazies in the world. "So you were going to say older women make better, what?"
"Lovers. It's hard to explain my true mindset without sounding like a dick...oh, sorry, an idiot. I should watch my language, out of respect, of course." Clyde meekly added.
"Clyde my boy, I consider myself a lady (she thought, 'a dirty lady!') but I've been known to fucking swear from time to time. The consideration on your part is appreciated, however." They both laughed at that one. "So go ahead, you tell me what was going through your mind when you approached me, but could you do it while we walk to my place so I can put my, well my stuff that WAS frozen, away?" Clyde agreed and they began to walk.
"Well, to be honest, and please, if I start to sound like an idiot again, say so," he began with Enid just nodding. "I'm 20 years old and a virgin. I'm sick of being kidded about it. I've had no luck at all with the girls at school and I'm literally dying to get laid...sorry, be intimate with a woman. I've always heard that more mature women are often more receptive to guys and can teach them shi...STUFF. I saw you and kind of followed you around the store. I thought, 'she's pretty healthy looking and not too bad looking.' And I thought I might, just might have a shot if I was clever. Plus, I could see you weren't buying a whole lot of stuff so you probably lived alone, like, you know, no husband. That also led me to believe you probably hadn't had sex in a while and maybe could use a young guy to rejuvenate your sex life. Pretty stupid, huh?"
Enid took all this in. "So, he doesn't think I'm TOO bad looking, eh? He stalked me. He seems to have a good mind in figuring out I'm alone. Is that a sign he's a lunatic?" All this was going through her mind and she finally spoke, "Clyde, you seem to have given a lot of thought to all this and stupid is not how I would classify it." She stopped walking for a moment and turned to look at him. "You don't want an old lady, do you? You want someone your own age, not some prune, right?"
"I would NEVER call you a prune and I don't even know you," came his immediate response. "I have to say, I'm not really sure what I want. The girls at school...there are lots of hotties but even the ones I'm interested in seem to have no interest in me and frankly, I'm not sure what I'd be doing if I did get with one of them. I'm almost as afraid of failing as anything else, you know, in bed. I've seen plenty of porn movies...oh, sorry, you probably think I'm sick for that."
"I wouldn't say that," countered Enid. She added, "Pornography has its place and can be instructional. I'll give you that. Oh, and yes, I've seen a fair share of it, some good, some great, some pretty scary, so don't worry about that. Be open and stop apologizing for anything you say, unless of course you insult me outright. Then you'll be apologizing on your ass from the sidewalk."