“You did what?!” exclaimed his mother at last.
“I'm sorry,” Mark cried. “I know I shouldn't have, but Betsy really wanted to see me, and I really wanted to see her, and she-”
“You disobedient brat of a son,” his father stammered. “You hear me now. You are never ever ever to set foot anywhere near Betsy Parker ever again. You hear me?!”
“Father!” Mark cried. “Please have a heart. She's not who you think she is. She's so kind to everyone. She's smart too. She got A's all through high school, despite the fact she could never attend any of her classes. She's a really pleasant, sweet, fun girl. She's lost and confused, and all she wants is to be loved.”
“She is a sick exhibitionist, possessed by the devil!” barked Mr. Turner shortly.
“She's a person, just like you and me, and she needs respect!” Mark insisted.
“Not a person!” Mark's father cried. “One of the defining characteristics of a person is that a person can wear clothing to keep itself decent. Since Betsy lacks that characteristic, you are to treat her for what she is; an animal.”
“But father!”
“God would NEVER create a 'person' that has to be an exhibitionist in order to live. I tell you, she is of the devil Mark. She is a beast, and you are to have no affiliation with her.”
“But she can't even get a job!”
“Sure she can get a job,” Mrs. Turner cried out, “as a porn star!”
At that utterance, a volcano exploded inside Mark. “THAT DOES IT!” Mark yelled. “YOU TWO ARE CLEARING OUT OF MY HOSPITAL ROOM NOW. YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS ROGER, BOTH OF YOU!”
“Roger actually had respect for his parents!” Mr. Turner yelled, “and he still does, unlike the way you're turning out to be.”
“I have no regrets about going to see Betsy,” cried Mark. “In fact, I'm glad I did. And I will gladly see her again, and again, and maybe even stay with her forever, stay by her side, and never leave her, no matter what. And so help me if you stand in my way.”
“See her again and again?” gasped his father. “Mark, what sort of depravity is this? So you want to see this naked girl every day, do you? You lust after her, Mark. She's so attractive and so pretty with all her clothes off, that you can't get enough of looking at her. Well I'm telling you, that you can cut this out right now, and never see her again!”
“It's not like that!” Mark yelled. “I like BETSY. I don't like her beauty; I don't like her nakedness. I like HER, her personality, her heart, her individuality, her SELF. Betsy Parker could turn into a hideous beast, and I wouldn't care. I'd stick with her, because she'd be the exact same person on the inside. Betsy could get over her allergy, and become able to wear clothing and function like everyone else, but she would still be HER, I would like her no less, and I wouldn't dream of leaving her. In fact, I'd be happy for her.”
“So,” growled Mr. Turner, “if Betsy had been normal, or had been a hideous beast, when you met her for the first time, would you be raving about her like you are right now? Don't lie to me boy! I don't think so!”
“What attracted me to Betsy was her courage!” Mark insisted, “her strength and stamina to live life like a normal person. That courage of hers was what inspired me to feel the compassion I now have towards her. She can't help how she is. She had no choice in the matter. She struggles, but she fights for what she believes in, and she doesn't let her affliction stop her or discourage her. She doesn't give up, and that is what I admire about her. She doesn't just want acceptance, she needs acceptance, and even if no one else is willing to give her acceptance, I am, because I believe in her.”
“Well, that does it then,” said his father firmly. “You are grounded for a month for skipping school, lying, both to your school and to us, associating with this 'creature' and indecently exposing yourself to others. During this period, you will not watch any TV or movies, you will leave home only to go to school, you will not go to see any friends, or have any friends come over, and you will be in bed every night by nine o'clock. You know, Mark, it makes me sick that, at your age, we still have to punish you like this.”
Mark said no more. He didn't care to say another word to his parents, and he wasn't in the mood to argue. There was no more point in arguing. All he wanted was to lie quietly in the hospital, waiting for his leg and chest to get better. When Mark's parents saw that their son wasn't going to say another word, they departed from his bedside, and left the hospital. Mark, relieved that his mother and father had gone, drifted back off to sleep.
17 A New Way of Life for Mark
Mark never saw Betsy in the hospital, but he did receive a card from her. It was a folded piece of cardboard, with writing, in rainbow-colored letters, that said, “I hope you get better soon. Miss you.” Betsy.
On the other half of the inside of the card was a colored pencil drawing of a pretty stream, flowing over rocks, with reeds and bushes on the side.
“Oh Betsy,” Mark whispered to himself. “This is wonderful. Thank you so much.”
He put the card on his bedside table, so that he could see it, always.
A little while later, the nurse came to Mark's bedside. “How are you today, dear?” she asked.
Mark smiled. “Today? I am much better, thank you.”
Mark was now, truly at peace. He wished he could stay in the hospital forever. He dreaded the day he would be better enough to go home, and he would see his parents again.
But then, if he never left the hospital, he would never see Betsy again either. Either way, Mark never wanted to go home, ever again.
Eventually, the day came when Mark was better enough to go home. The nurse called Mark's parents, who came to the hospital to bring him home. They hadn't stayed at the hospital for one minute, since the argument at the beginning of Mark's stay.
“Well, you're better now!” Mark's mother cried out. “I hope this teaches you never to misbehave again.”
Mark rose to his feet, and stepped out of the hospital with his mom and dad. Now, it was time for Mark's grounding period to begin.
But, at that moment, Mark snapped. He was a different person; he could feel it inside. He was not going to get grounded. He wasn't going to let that happen. He was eighteen now, a young man. Mark decided, right then, that he was going to move out.
But how was he going to move out? His parents were so stern and rigid that there was no way they were going to let that happen. They would keep him shut under their roof for as long as it took them to 'correct' their son and make him a 'proper person.' Until then, even if it took Mark until he was an old man, his parents were not going to let him go.
Mark would run away from home. It was the only way. Late one night, he would pack up his belongings, call Sunny Palms, and move in, with Betsy; the girl who liked and understood him, whom he could look up to, who would save Mark from this tyrant man and woman, who had forced him to live under their roof his whole life.
But then, there was the financial issue too. If he was to move out, he was going to have to get a job. The only jobs he'd ever had, apart from his tutoring, had been his summer jobs. Then, he was right back in school every year.
He would manage, though. He had to, even if he had to find his own way in the dark, even if he had to work his fingers to the bone, even if he wasn't sure he would ever feel comfortable being undressed at Sunny Palms. He would do all of that for the sake of Betsy. Betsy was worth all of that. Betsy lived life tough. If Mark put his mind to it, he knew he could do the same.
The first thing Mark did when he arrived at home was to call Fresh Cafe. “Hello? Are you hiring?” Mark asked.
“Hello Mark,” came a man's voice on the other end. “Is that you? We've seen you quite a lot around the shop. Yes, we do have some positions available. When do you want to start?”
“As soon as possible. I have a resume from various summer jobs. What more would you like to see?”
“For a job at our shop? Just fill out an application form. You can pick them up a
ny time from the desk at Fresh Cafe.”
“Great. I'll fill one out when I come by tomorrow before school.”
Mark may have been grounded and far behind in his schoolwork, but that did not stop him from coming to Fresh Cafe the following morning to pick up an application form. He filled in everything he could think of to give himself the most opportunities for employment, while he caught up on his schoolwork.
When he completed the form, he submitted it to the hiring manager, Bill Smith, who called him for a brief interview, and announced he was hired.
The first thing Mark did when he had his job at the cafe was pack up all his belongings, (books, tent, poles, wallet, toiletries) at midnight, after his parents had gone to bed. He left the house, and headed to Sunny Palms.
Mark did not care that he was showing up, unannounced. In fact, the reaction of Sunny Palms' manager didn't even cross his mind. It never occurred to Mark that they wouldn't accept him as a member, or even a visitor, if he rudely barged his way in like this. All Mark cared about was getting away from his parents, once and for all.
Because it was the middle of the night, and no one was going to come to let him in this time of night, Mark stopped a couple hundred feet short of the gate, unpacked his tent, and set it up on the shoulder of the road. He spread out his sleeping bag on the tent floor, curled up, and slept.
Mark awoke the next morning to the sounds of birds chirping in the trees. He checked his watch, and saw that it was nine o'clock in the morning. School was starting now, but he no longer cared about school, as much as he cared about getting away from home. He disassembled his tent, stuffed it back in his pack, and headed to the gate.
Mark didn't know what to do. There was no one in sight, and here he was, unexpected, not knowing how to proceed.
Mark didn't have to wait long, however, for after a few minutes, Susan (fully clothed) showed up at the other side of the gate.
“Mark!” she cried in astonishment. “I remember you from a couple of weeks ago. What brings you back here?”
Mark's face turned white, and he began to stutter.
“Susan!” he cried. “I am so sorry to barge in like this. But, my parents, they said such awful, terrible, things about Betsy that I can't bear to stay under their roof anymore. Please let me in. I must see Betsy, and this is the only place I'll be happy.”
Susan wasn't angry with Mark, but she was definitely concerned. “Mark,” she explained, in sympathetic tones, “Sunny Palms is not a fortress to shut out problems. It's a place where people come to relax, in the freedom of being without clothing. We require all our visitors to contact the office beforehand and call just as they're arriving. Otherwise, we don't let people in.”
Mark shook his head. “I can't go back,” he said. “I would rather be in hell than in my parents' house. I am not running away into a fortress to shut out my problems. I am moving out, becoming independent. I'm of the age where I can make my own decisions, can't I?”
“Do you have a good job?” Susan asked. “If you're moving out, you need to pay your way through life.”
“I work at a coffee shop, Fresh Cafe,” explained Mark. “It's quite a classy place really. The workers there get paid really well.”
But, with this utterance, Mark was losing confidence. Even he wasn't sure if he was up for this. Would a job at the coffee shop be enough to pay his way through life? He didn't know. As a matter of fact, he greatly doubted it. Then, Mark thought about Betsy. She lived here. How was she paying her bills to keep herself in residence?
“Hey, what does Betsy do?” Mark asked. “She doesn't have a job. How does she live here?”
“She has a friend, Catherine, who has a good job, and pays for both her own, and Betsy's expenses. Betsy's parents are also helping her.”
“If you won't let me in, can you at least bring Betsy up here so that I can speak to her?”
“Well,” replied Susan, “seeing as we're right by the side of the road, I won't be able to bring Betsy up here, but I can let you in to the outer limit of the resort, so that you can have a quick talk with her.”
Susan opened the gate, and Mark stepped inside, still guilty about being an intruder, but excited that he could see Betsy for just a little while.
Once Mark was inside, Betsy caught sight of him, and came running up to him.
“Mark!” she called. “I'm so glad to see you. Are you better? How is your leg?”
“It still twinges a little,” Mark explained, “but it's much better. It will be fine. Thank you for the card, by the way. You did a beautiful job. It really helped me feel better in the hospital.”
“You're very welcome,” Betsy smiled, “it was the least I could do.”
“Betsy,” Mark continued. “I am so sorry. My parents came when I was in the hospital and demanded to know where I had gone when they thought I was at school. They pressured me so hard that I ended up telling them about coming here and about you. I feel terrible, Betsy, like I have betrayed you. I know it was wrong, and I should have kept quiet.”
“Mark,” Betsy soothed. “It's okay. We're not perfect. I'm sure you did the most you could to not tell them about me.”
“Thank you so much,” Mark breathed in relief. “That makes me feel so much better, but I have chosen to leave home for good. I like it here, Betsy. I like being around you. I feel so much at ease and happy when I'm around you. I want to stay here forever.”
Betsy smiled and nodded in understanding. “And you will,” Betsy replied. “I will find a way, Mark. Don't worry.”
“I got a job at Fresh Cafe,” Mark explained, “but I'm not sure it's going to be enough to keep me in residence here, and I'm not sure what you will be able to do.”
“I'll find some way I can get work,” Betsy soothed.
“But how?”
Betsy spent the next couple of minutes thinking. While she was thinking, she remembered how Mark had appreciated the card she had made for him while he was in the hospital. “I was top of the class in most of my subjects at school,” Betsy explained. “I can draw really well. Any homework I did in high school, I submitted in an envelope. For my job, I could make drawings, send them to an outlet near here, and they can sell them under my name. You and I can share the money I make.”
“Betsy,” Mark replied. “That's a great idea, but where will you send them?”
Betsy's smile grew. “You inspired me with the idea. Could I send them to you?”
“I can do that,” Mark replied, but then he puzzled about how. There wasn't any shop handy for Mark to sell the drawings from. “But where will I work?”
“You could start out simple,” Betsy suggested. “It is a new idea, and I'm not sure how well it will play out. You can start by setting up a table.”
“Thank you for the advice Betsy. I have a feeling it will work out well. It's a great idea.”
Then, Mark looked again at his watch.
“I'd better be heading off to school,” said Mark. “I'll come back here and see you after.”
“Have a good day Mark,” Betsy smiled. “See you later.”
Mark left for school in a daze.
At school, that day, Mark had a hard time paying attention to his teachers, and his mind was swimming with the thoughts of Betsy becoming an artist. Mark was elated. Betsy was becoming a real person at last. Even though she wouldn't be selling her drawings in person, she would be doing something useful and helpful for society.
Mark's friends felt as if there was something amiss that day. For once, Mark wasn't paying attention to them. When lunchtime came, Mark joined them in the cafeteria but he sat at the table, munching on his ham and pineapple pizza, off in his own world.
“Hey Mark!” his friend Peter finally asked. “You're such a space cadet today. What's itching you?”
“Betsy and I will be selling art,” Mark smiled humbly.
“Betsy? Betsy who? You mean Betsy Parker the naked girl?” and Peter, along with the rest of Mark's friends, laughed mockingly.<
br />
“Cut it out, all of you!” Mark yelled. “I have become her friend, and I am not ashamed of who she is. She's just a little different, that's all, but she's wonderful on the inside. In her heart and spirit, she's just like you and me.”
“Hey, what's got into you?” Mark's friend, Tony, jeered. “You've gone all loopy in the head. This is not like you Mark.”
Mark stood up and yelled at the entire group at his table.
“STOP IT!” he yelled. “JUST STOP THIS RIGHT NOW! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE MY FRIENDS! FRIENDS RESPECT EACH OTHER! THEY STICK UP FOR EACH OTHER! AND THEY RESPECT EACH OTHER'S FRIENDS TOO!”
There was ten seconds of silence at the table. Then, Sebastian made a mocking, snickering laugh, which was joined by a similar laugh from Tony, which was joined by Peter, and soon, the whole table was laughing, jeering, and pointing at Mark.
Mark picked up his tray and walked away. “Goodbye all of you!” he called out. “I'm eating somewhere else. You're not my friends anymore.”
***
Susan let Mark back into Sunny Palms when school was out. He was still a little fazed at having lost his whole troop of friends at lunch hour, but he decided that, if he wanted to continue returning to see Betsy, he would need a membership.
“Hey Susan,” Mark smiled when he saw her at the end of the school day. “I feel so happy here, everyone is so friendly, and this place is so wonderful. I would like to become a member.”
“Why sure,” Susan replied. “We are happy to accommodate you. Your first year as a member will be probationary. This is to ensure that all our members come for the right reason, and behave appropriately.”
“I will always be on my best behavior,” Mark smiled, “especially around Betsy.”
Susan handed Mark a membership form, and Mark wrote down his name, address, and the rest of his personal information. He read the disclaimer which pointed out all applicable naturist etiquette, and signed his name at the bottom.
By the time Mark saw Betsy for the first time after school, that day, Mark was smiling and was eager to see her. Much to Mark's astonishment, he found that he could get out of his clothes quickly and easily this time around. It removed a barrier between himself and Betsy that Mark longed to be rid of, and he found that he could talk to her more easily, now that he was at one with her, at her level.
The Sheltered Life of Betsy Parker Page 13
