| Biographical Non-Fiction posted December 29, 2023 |
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Keeping a questionable relationship in check.
A Summer Indiscretion
by BethShelby
One of my earliest memories was of a cousin known as Junior. I only saw him for a few days once or twice a year. He was slightly younger than I, but I adored him, and he seemed to feel the same about me. He lived with his mom and dad and older sister in Texas, and I lived with my mom and dad in Mississippi. He was my favorite playmate of all the kids, I'd ever known. When I knew his family planned to visit, I had trouble containing my excitement. There was never a cross word between us. When we were tots, we took baths together and slept on pallets on the floor together.
By the time we were both in school, he was no longer called Junior. He went by the name Davis or Dave. He still remained the most important young male figure in my life. When we were together, we played cards, board games, and invented other games. We climbed embankments, which we called mountains, and rode bikes down graveled hills. Life was always more fun when Dave was in town.
As time went by, his mom and dad got a divorce, and we saw each other less often. A lot changed the summer I was fifteen. His older sister, Jeanine, had gotten married and had two children. She and her husband came to Mississippi for the week. She told us her mother was working, and that Dave had gotten a summer job, but the two of them were planning a trip to Mississippi in a few weeks. Then she suggested I could travel to Texas with her and her husband, Haskel, and I would have a ride back with my aunt and cousin when they came for their planned visit.
My folks never took vacations, so I seldom got to go anywhere. I was thrilled with the idea. Mom and Dad finally consented, and we were on our way. Our destination was Port Arthur, in the southeastern part of Texas near Louisiana. It was morning when we arrived at my cousin’s apartment. Jeanine’s mom had rented a duplex at the end of their block.
Knowing I was looking forward to seeing Dave, Jeanine made a suggestion. “Why don’t you go over and surprise Dave. He didn’t know you were coming, and I know he will be excited to see you. Mom’s already left for work, but Dave’s job doesn’t start until next week. He may still be sleeping, but they never lock the door, so just go on in.” She pointed out the house, and away I went, anticipating the surprise on Dave’s face when he would see me.
Jeanine was right. He was still sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake him. I found his collection of comic books and made myself at home waiting for him to wake up.
After about thirty minutes, he walked out from his bedroom in his pj’s rubbing the sleep from his eyes. To say he was shocked finding a teenage girl in his house was putting it mildly. He almost didn’t recognize me, but when he did, it was apparent he was excited to see me.
“Let me get dressed. I’ll be right out,” he said.
After our excited banter slowed as we caught up with our lives since we'd last been together, he made us both a bowl of Frosted Flakes, which we consumed while listening to a new comedy album he'd bought of Homer and Jethro.
Eventually this form of entertainment grew old, and we decided to walk back to his sister’s apartment. “Hey, you know what? We need to buy some games to play,” he suggested. “Maybe we can find some kissing games.”
“Who needs kissing games?” I asked. Where did that come from? What was I suggesting? It had never occurred to me to think of him in that light. We were best friends and cousins. I’d never been kissed by a boy in my life.
“Oh! I guess we don’t need kissing games.” There was surprise in his voice. His eyes lit up, and a smile played around the corner of his mouth as the meaning of what I had just said sank in. “Let’s go to a movie this afternoon. There is one a few blocks from here which we can walk to.”
“What’s playing?” I asked.
“I have no idea. It really doesn’t matter, does it?”
“No, not really.” I felt a shiver of excitement run down my spine. This vacation might turn out to be more than I’d anticipated.
Both of us were hesitant and naive at this game, but we figured it out. We were cousins, it wasn’t going anywhere in the long run, but you've got to start somewhere. Luckily, Dave's job would begin soon, so we wouldn’t have an opportunity to spend too much time together. We were extended family, and falling for cousins was a no-no. We couldn’t afford to let it get out of hand. At least, when we started dating, we wouldn’t be completely out of our element.
We started out by holding hands, and we had a pretty good handle on the art of kissing before the movie ended. We were careful around his mother and sister, and it never occurred to them, we had suddenly become kissing cousins. We soon realized our emotions were involved, and it was starting to feel like we were falling in love in a romantic way. It had to be our secret.
We never dared being in his house again while his mom wasn’t home. There was too much chemistry forming between us. During the day, he worked until five. I had other relatives in the area, so I visited them. Jeanine and Haskel took me to Houston to visit my uncle and to Corpus Christi to visit Haskel’s sister. My time in Texas stretched into six weeks before my aunt and Dave’s visit took place.
My aunt’s gentleman friend drove on the night trip back to Mississippi. For the first time, it dawned on Aunt Aline, that Dave and I weren’t just buddies any more. The darkness of the backseat gave us an opportunity to sit close. She kept glancing in the mirror and keeping her eyes on us. Often, she warned Dave to move over. I have an idea she had a good talk with him as soon as she got the chance.
By the following summer when we saw each other again, our brief love affair was history. We’d both moved on and had met other people. Our relationship, went back to being more like it had been in the past. We never spoke of that summer again. I’ve often wondered if he ever remembers, and how he sees it now. I hope he wasn’t left with a sense of guilt over our short young love affair.
For me, it eased the transition from the awkward teen days into what relationships with the opposite sex are like. It was a part of growing up, and I was never sorry it happened.
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One of my earliest memories was of a cousin known as Junior. I only saw him for a few days once or twice a year. He was slightly younger than I, but I adored him, and he seemed to feel the same about me. He lived with his mom and dad and older sister in Texas, and I lived with my mom and dad in Mississippi. He was my favorite playmate of all the kids, I'd ever known. When I knew his family planned to visit, I had trouble containing my excitement. There was never a cross word between us. When we were tots, we took baths together and slept on pallets on the floor together.
By the time we were both in school, he was no longer called Junior. He went by the name Davis or Dave. He still remained the most important young male figure in my life. When we were together, we played cards, board games, and invented other games. We climbed embankments, which we called mountains, and rode bikes down graveled hills. Life was always more fun when Dave was in town.
As time went by, his mom and dad got a divorce, and we saw each other less often. A lot changed the summer I was fifteen. His older sister, Jeanine, had gotten married and had two children. She and her husband came to Mississippi for the week. She told us her mother was working, and that Dave had gotten a summer job, but the two of them were planning a trip to Mississippi in a few weeks. Then she suggested I could travel to Texas with her and her husband, Haskel, and I would have a ride back with my aunt and cousin when they came for their planned visit.
My folks never took vacations, so I seldom got to go anywhere. I was thrilled with the idea. Mom and Dad finally consented, and we were on our way. Our destination was Port Arthur, in the southeastern part of Texas near Louisiana. It was morning when we arrived at my cousin’s apartment. Jeanine’s mom had rented a duplex at the end of their block.
Knowing I was looking forward to seeing Dave, Jeanine made a suggestion. “Why don’t you go over and surprise Dave. He didn’t know you were coming, and I know he will be excited to see you. Mom’s already left for work, but Dave’s job doesn’t start until next week. He may still be sleeping, but they never lock the door, so just go on in.” She pointed out the house, and away I went, anticipating the surprise on Dave’s face when he would see me.
Jeanine was right. He was still sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake him. I found his collection of comic books and made myself at home waiting for him to wake up.
After about thirty minutes, he walked out from his bedroom in his pj’s rubbing the sleep from his eyes. To say he was shocked finding a teenage girl in his house was putting it mildly. He almost didn’t recognize me, but when he did, it was apparent he was excited to see me.
“Let me get dressed. I’ll be right out,” he said.
After our excited banter slowed as we caught up with our lives since we'd last been together, he made us both a bowl of Frosted Flakes, which we consumed while listening to a new comedy album he'd bought of Homer and Jethro.
Eventually this form of entertainment grew old, and we decided to walk back to his sister’s apartment. “Hey, you know what? We need to buy some games to play,” he suggested. “Maybe we can find some kissing games.”
“Who needs kissing games?” I asked. Where did that come from? What was I suggesting? It had never occurred to me to think of him in that light. We were best friends and cousins. I’d never been kissed by a boy in my life.
“Oh! I guess we don’t need kissing games.” There was surprise in his voice. His eyes lit up, and a smile played around the corner of his mouth as the meaning of what I had just said sank in. “Let’s go to a movie this afternoon. There is one a few blocks from here which we can walk to.”
“What’s playing?” I asked.
“I have no idea. It really doesn’t matter, does it?”
“No, not really.” I felt a shiver of excitement run down my spine. This vacation might turn out to be more than I’d anticipated.
Both of us were hesitant and naive at this game, but we figured it out. We were cousins, it wasn’t going anywhere in the long run, but you've got to start somewhere. Luckily, Dave's job would begin soon, so we wouldn’t have an opportunity to spend too much time together. We were extended family, and falling for cousins was a no-no. We couldn’t afford to let it get out of hand. At least, when we started dating, we wouldn’t be completely out of our element.
We started out by holding hands, and we had a pretty good handle on the art of kissing before the movie ended. We were careful around his mother and sister, and it never occurred to them, we had suddenly become kissing cousins. We soon realized our emotions were involved, and it was starting to feel like we were falling in love in a romantic way. It had to be our secret.
We never dared being in his house again while his mom wasn’t home. There was too much chemistry forming between us. During the day, he worked until five. I had other relatives in the area, so I visited them. Jeanine and Haskel took me to Houston to visit my uncle and to Corpus Christi to visit Haskel’s sister. My time in Texas stretched into six weeks before my aunt and Dave’s visit took place.
My aunt’s gentleman friend drove on the night trip back to Mississippi. For the first time, it dawned on Aunt Aline, that Dave and I weren’t just buddies any more. The darkness of the backseat gave us an opportunity to sit close. She kept glancing in the mirror and keeping her eyes on us. Often, she warned Dave to move over. I have an idea she had a good talk with him as soon as she got the chance.
By the following summer when we saw each other again, our brief love affair was history. We’d both moved on and had met other people. Our relationship, went back to being more like it had been in the past. We never spoke of that summer again. I’ve often wondered if he ever remembers, and how he sees it now. I hope he wasn’t left with a sense of guilt over our short young love affair.
For me, it eased the transition from the awkward teen days into what relationships with the opposite sex are like. It was a part of growing up, and I was never sorry it happened.
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