The Tree Goddess

by Tom Raimbault

  Consider the progression of a man's aging. Throughout a man's teens and early twenties, a thin and often toned body is most noticeable. But as a man ages, the whole fattening-of-the-cow phenomenon takes place. He builds more muscle from either labor or exercise. And despite any strenuous activity throughout the days, he gains weight as metabolism slows down, giving the appearance of being somewhat larger from a younger man.

  Wayne had yet to cross this threshold of aging. His thin appearance was most likely brought on by years of anger, nervousness, neurosis and a mind that never grew up. That in combination with his young man's choice of clothing; his use of hair growth products; and the trimmed facial hair, such as a goatee and sometimes sideburns, made Wayne appear very much as he did 15 years ago.

  But what good was this gift of youthfulness, now? Eileen would have nothing to do with him. All the years of fantasies, dreams and hopes were now gone. It was almost as if a loved one was now dead.

  And this is probably why Wayne spent his Saturday morning sitting at the park near Curt's old house; looking to be a disheveled, heartbroken mess. Wayne was visiting the lifeless corpse of hope in a moment when he struggled to bring closure to the dreams that were now dead. It was a moment of mourning for the, once again, lost love. And whether Wayne though of it or not, the moment was more symbolic than he could have realized, a subconscious revelation of the many years of stalking in the background of his ex-girlfriend's life.

  Two girls emerged from the wooded patch that separated the park from Eileen's subdivision. It momentarily brought Wayne back to his early youth when he would visit the parks with his friends. The memories were so cruel. They reminded him of 7th grade when he and Eileen would walk hand-in-hand down neighborhood streets. Somehow, Wayne needed to forget. That was his problem in life. Wayne realized this during an epiphany of the moment that revealed 15 years had been lost in some neurotic depression, unable to let go of Eileen.

  But it was no easy task for Wayne. For years he hoped of a possible chance to go back in time and do it all over again. Wayne wished that opportunity would grace him. He knew the things he had done wrong, but it took some years to admit his foolishness. He was so jealous and possessive at a young age; no wonder Eileen disliked him more and more. If he could go back to those days with the knowledge of the present, perhaps conditions would turn out differently.

  Sitting back in the bench and looking in the direction of the playground, Wayne could not believe his eyes. Eileen was there! After 15 years of her absence, Eileen was no more that 20 feet before him. And it wasn't just Eileen; it was the Eileen that Wayne remembered from 7th grade! He blinked, rubbed his eyes, shook his head and continued watching. It was the same voice, the same laughter and the same gestures. Her hair was much lighter as it was in her early teens. Did opportunity grace itself for Wayne to have a second chance?

  The young Eileen looked in the direction of Wayne and then turned to say something in private to her friend. For Wayne, it was the exact same moment when he and Eileen first met. As he remembered, Eileen once showed interest by whispering to her friend.

  But times were different now. Wayne was much older and had to approach gentler, as if not to frighten the young girl. He stood up and walked over to the pair and spoke directly to Eileen, “Hi there! You girls just hanging out at the park on a Saturday morning?”

  She was cautious, “Yeah…” The child looked a bit unsure, but in the same not wanting to blow a possible chance with the older, cute guy who approached.

  Wayne quickly thought of a way to appear harmless. “Yeah, I'm thinking of buying a house in this neighborhood and just checking out the park. So there's some nice people living here, huh?”

  “Yeah, we live over there.” The young Eileen pointed to the newer subdivision where the older Eileen and her husband lived. “But I guess there's some nice people here, too.”

  “My name's Wayne.” He extended his hand towards the girl.

  She did the same and they shook, “Alexi; and this is my friend, Angela.”

  “Nice to meet you, Angela.” And then Wayne looked back at his young Eileen (Alexi) who only gazed in return with her bright, blue eyes.

  She was so beautiful, just as Wayne remembered. Then his senses yelled out from within as he realized what was truly happening. “And you're much, too young for me, aren't you?”

  The young girl only smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

  But Wayne was curious, “How old are you?”

  “12…”

  “12? Wow! I thought you were a bit older, like 17.”

  The young Eileen was flattered as she blushed and smiled, “Get out of here! Seriously?”

  “Seriously!”

  It was apparent that Wayne was interested, but the young girl was equally curious of his age. He looked to be out of high school, maybe college-age. She asked, “How about you? How old are you?”

  “Well, let's just say I'm much older and not 12. See, I drive; got a Mustang.” He pointed to his car parked in the street.

  Girls that age aren't thinking of driving, and they certainly don't get excited over cars. But she supposed it would look “mature” if she showed interest while replying, “That's cool!”

  “Yeah, maybe I'll give you a ride sometime.”

  Big Boy's Beef and Ribs was scheduled to open in about an hour-and-a-half. Soon, the Saturday employees would report to work for opening. It was Wayne's job to oversee the opening and operations throughout the day as he was the franchise manager.

  Wayne announced, “Well girls, it was nice meeting you, but I've got to get to work.” He looked directly at the young Eileen, “See you around sometime?”

  Although Mother may have been horrified, the young Eileen (Alexi) answered, “Sure…”

  * * *

  Out of sight; out of mind. In a 12 year-old girl's world, this way of life certainly applies. Not more than 10 minutes after the encounter with the stranger, she forgot about Wayne and most likely spent her Saturday texting her peeps, hanging out with friends her own age and gossiping about who's going out with whom. By dinnertime, the encounter that morning was ancient history, completely forgotten.

  But Wayne hadn't forgotten. Wayne developed an obsession with the young girl. Every day after work he would return to the park, but the young Eileen was nowhere to be found. It caused him to wonder if kids these days played outside after school.

  It was exactly one week since the encounter with the young girl. Another Saturday morning with a couple hours to kill, Wayne drove through Eileen and Curt's neighborhood in search of the girl who seemed to be his answer for a second chance. Still, she was yet to be found.

  Patience is a virtue. Wayne continued to remind himself of this as the frustration continued. He exited Eileen and Curt's subdivision by pulling onto Mapleview Road, and then traveled a half block to Vine Street where the route was followed to the park. He exited the midnight-blue Mustang and strolled over to the bench. Sooner or later, whether it was today or next week, the young Eileen would be found.

  No sooner had this been thought, the young girl suddenly emerged from the patch of forest that separated her subdivision from the park. She was alone that Saturday and appeared to be passing through while walking to a friend's house.

  Apparently, the young girl recognized Wayne as evidenced by a quick smile and wave. But she didn't stop for any further greeting, much less show interest.

  Wayne called out, “Eileen!”

  She stopped in her tracks and continued smiling to cover her sudden alarm. It was the first time the young girl had sensed something eerie of Wayne. She knew him, somehow, or more like he knew of her in a strange way. Was Wayne a relative or an old friend of the family? What was it about this guy?

  She carefully approached while maintaining her cautious smile. He was a cute guy and somewhat older, but his interest was a bit alarming. And was a moment like this considered talking to strangers?

  The stranger spoke, “I haven't seen you in a while.
How've you been?”

  She answered, “Fine; did you buy a house yet?”

  “Nah, I don't know what I'm going to do. I mean it seems like a nice neighborhood. Hey, I came by earlier this week, but you weren't around.”

  “My Mom grounded me.” The young girl wondered if this information should have been provided. It sounded nerdy, and perhaps she was giving a stranger too much information.

  But the stranger seemed harmless as he understood her grief. “Grounded? That sucks! Yeah, I remember those days. Wait 'till you move out; it'll be better.”

  The young Eileen agreed, “Yeah…”

  And then Wayne thought of a subtle way to exchange contact information. “So did your parents ground you from the computer?”

  “Yeah; computer, phone, Facebook—everything.”

  “What'd you do to get grounded?”

  “I talked back to my Mom; that's what she says. I was just defending myself.”

  Wayne was so understanding, “I know all about it. I've been there.” For a stranger, Wayne seemed like a cool guy. He wasn't creepy (in the young girl's eyes). He was good-looking and drove a Mustang. In the child's perception, dangerous strangers were the opposite.

  Then Wayne threw caution to the wind, “I was going to say that you could have emailed me about it, let off some steam.”

  But kids that age don't email each other. The young Eileen suddenly asked, “What's your phone number?”

  Seeing the girl pull out her cell, Wayne assumed she asked for his mobile number. Since he was the franchise manager of Big Boy's Beef and Ribs, Wayne was given a Blackberry for purposes of being reached. He gave her this number. Then he watched from a distance as the girl typed into her phone, assuming she was entering his contact number. As she put the device back in her pocket, Wayne's Blackberry made a beep.

  “Is that you?” Wayne asked.

  “Yeah, I sent you a text.”

  “A text?”

  The young Eileen laughed, “Yeah, a text! You ever hear of that?”

  Despite the fact that Wayne's generation made text messaging, IMs and social sites the reality in our culture; he had yet to send or receive a text. In fact, if Big Boy's Beef and Ribs hadn't provided one, Wayne would have never owned a Blackberry. And if you suspect that it's only tweens and teens who text, look at the adults who type away in their own vehicles at the red light. Sorry kids, it was Generation X (and the generation previous) that invented the LOLs, BRBs, BTWs and the notable :-)

  Wayne pulled out his Blackberry which showed a message. “Hi dis is Alexi's nmbr.” It was all intuitive for Wayne. He could clearly see the reply option and used the QWERTY pad to reply back, “Cool thanks”.

  * * *

  It didn't take long for Wayne to master the art of sending and receiving text. At first he used full words and sentences, quickly learning that his young Eileen used acronyms and abbreviations. Sitting at his PC with a page that defined acronyms, he spent his evenings communicating with the young girl and getting to know her.

  It was only necessary to quickly type in the names of artists or songs along with movies, videogames and other elements of preteen pop culture that were mentioned by the young Eileen. Through this diligence, it was very possible to hold a conversation with a girl young enough to be Wayne's daughter. It's frightening to think how easily a child's world can be learned with nothing more than a series of 150 character messages.

  And then came a night in May when the young Eileen spoke of her aggravation with Mother.

  Wayne suggested, “Maybe u need 2 get out of da house 4 a while.”

  She replied, “Ya rite…”

  “Seriously, sneak out when ur parents r asleep. Meet me @ prk.”

  “Then what?”

  “Go for a ride in my Mustang.”

  Father often went to bed early. And although Mother stayed up in front of the TV, in reality, she fell asleep around 10:00 until awakening at midnight to stagger into bed. Only a quick glance into the family room to verify that Mother slept, the young girl next fluffed her pillows under the blanket to give the appearance of lying in bed. Then she carefully climbed out the bedroom window and ran off into the night.

  Wayne was full aware that his young Eileen was a nothing more than a girl. He wouldn't dare complicate her youth with adult affection; and in no way is this going to become another tale of, “What to Do with Little Lolita”! Wayne had more class than that and loved his young Eileen. But this doesn't mean to say that embraces, strokes to her beautiful hair, cuddling and occasional kisses were avoided.

  The young Eileen received her first kiss from an older man on that May's night-ride in a Mustang. She was in love from that moment and equally obsessed with Wayne as he was with her. She couldn't wait to see more of him. The young Eileen texted him more and more while using words such as luv. As for Wayne, he returned to the happiest days of his life.

  These secret dates continued through the late spring and early summer as Wayne would pick up his girl at the park. Her sleepwear was changed to “date wear” while walking through the small patch of forest that separated her subdivision from the park. She was a woman who would ride with her older boyfriend for a late night dinner at Taco Mile. Mother hated the place and avoided it like the plague. Thanks to Wayne, finally, the young girl would learn of what her friends bragged about.

  But it was a little odd sitting in the Mexican, fast-food establishment as other late night patrons and servers appeared to look suspiciously at the couple who had quite an age gap. Was that his younger sister or niece? Little did they know that Wayne was old enough to be her father. And how eerie the young girl looked so lovingly in his eyes. Wayne would have to address this reality to his young Eileen.

  This danger was communicated on July late night while cuddling near a small bonfire in the woods. Wayne purchased some beer for himself and Smirnoff ice for the young girl. Not only would tonight be a discussion of how to conduct one's self if the love were to last, but it would also be a special night for Eileen.

  Wayne kissed his girlfriend on the forehead, “So, I've been thinking that you and I are really involved, lately. And obviously, others might look at us and notice the age gap. I've never said this before, but I'm sure you know I could go to jail for doing this.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Wayne continued, “I know you know, but I just want to make sure that you keep this thing as secret as possible. I hope you don't tell anyone, not even your friends. People talk and if someone's parents find out about us, they might call the police.”

  His young Eileen reassured him, “Don't worry, this is secret. It's no one else's business. You make me so happy and I don't want anyone to take this away.”

  Wayne was relieved to hear this, but who was the young girl fooling? She was so elated in love and could hardly contain the excitement for herself. She told her best friend, Angela, who in turn told some of her friends. This supposed secret was the gossip among the preteen-aged kids in town! But it wasn't necessary for Wayne to be aware of this! You know how children that age are.

  Wayne pulled out a small box and held it before his young Eileen. “Eileen, I got this for you and want you to wear it.” He opened the box and produced the same ring that was the older Eileen's promissory ring of some 15 years ago.

  It was beautiful for the young girl. It made her tingle all over and shake from excitement. This was the moment that took the relationship to a serious level as she allowed him to put the gift of love on her finger. It was a bit larger and would need adjustments to get it to fit. Along with her excitement, the girl remained confused with Wayne's silly insistence of calling her by Mother's name. Yes, in case you haven't already figured out, Wayne was having an affair with Eileen's 12-year-old daughter. But his deliberate ignorance of her true name, Alexi, was merely ignored. She was completely blinded by her young and obsessive love; kissed him, and then wiped away her own tears of happiness.

  Chapter 41

  “Wayne, when you ha
ve a chance, I need to talk with you.”

  A Monday afternoon in August, just after the lunchtime rush, the regional manager of Big Boy's Beef and Ribs visited Wayne's franchise. Although a visit from one of the higher-ups can often be considered stressful, the regional manager, Jerry, was a laidback sort of guy who often wore a pair of jeans and a t-shirt (polo shirt if there was some big business). Jerry was a gloves-off man who talked straight with his franchise managers. Aside from that, Jerry was Wayne's boss for many years while he worked the position that Wayne now filled. After his own promotion, Jerry felt that Wayne had proved himself to be a dedicated employee all those years, and most qualified to run the operations of the very, successful beef and ribs grill.

  Wayne sat in the backroom office with the now regional manager who appeared to have something serious to discuss.

  Jerry broke the air, “So, as you may or may not know, along with everything else, I am also responsible for handling the bills for cell phones, internet service, electricity, water and stuff like that at each of our restaurants. And…Well… I'm looking at the July bill for your Blackberry and can see that you sent and received 2,781 text messages.”

  The regional manager paused and looked up with a puzzled look and then continued. “That's a little problem, actually a big one. You see, your account doesn't include unlimited texting and sending pics & videos. We have a corporate deal that includes each account to have 10 free text messages for the month. The remaining 2,771 gives us an additional charge of $415.65.”

  There was another moment of silence as Jerry gazed at Wayne without blinking an eye. Then his animation returned, “Here's the thing, Wayne. I hired you when you were just a kid in college, and I would expect something like this from someone that age. That's why we wouldn't supply our regular employees with a Blackberry. I mean that's a lot of money to expect me to pay for your own personal use. And might I interject that the Blackberry was not intended for personal use, maybe a few calls here and there, or one or two texts to your girlfriend that you're running late.”