During that summer, Mike asked his father, a former college football hero and huge football fan, to explain the game to him. All too happy to oblige, Big Mike would take him into the back yard and throw the ball around. There, Big Mike taught him all about the game. Mike had been looking for some way to bond with his parents, and this summer proved to be the catalyst he was looking for; fitness and nutrition with his mom, and football with his dad. Mike found that he actually had learned to love the game and couldn’t wait for football season to start so he could join his father in the family room and scream at the big TV with him. They could cheer for their favorite team, although he didn’t know who his favorite team was yet.
Big Mike could sense his son’s enthusiasm for the game growing.
“So, do you think you might try out for football this year?”
“I don’t know Dad, you think I could?”
Having seen the dramatic change in his son’s fitness level, his dad asked, “Son, have you seen yourself lately?”
Actually, Mike had seen himself. Every day, in fact, he would examine himself in front of his mirror, now careful to keep his window blinds drawn closed when doing so. Mike’s confidence had skyrocketed throughout the summer. He felt his parents’ pride growing. He had managed to transform his body and his life. He had experienced a huge growth spurt and now stood at five feet ten inches. He wondered if he would be as tall as his father, who was six feet three. This was the closest he had ever been with his parents, and he was truly happy for the first time in his young life.
Mike said, “Yes, sir, I feel great.”
“You’ve easily picked up everything I’ve taught you about the game. I think you’re a natural like your old man, and you have one hell of an arm. Yeah, I know you can do it son, if you want it bad enough.”
Since the three often ran together as a family, his dad went on to say, “Now you can outrun your mother, which is no easy feat. Now she’s the one who’s tired when we finish our runs. Did you ever imagine you would see that day?”
Mike smiled and said, “No way, I still can’t believe it.”
“This just goes to show you something that I hope you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. With enough determination and perseverance, you can reach any of your goals, regardless of how unattainable they might seem. I bet three months ago you could have never dreamed you’d be at this level today. Your mother and I could not be prouder of you, son.”
Mike reminisced about the last day of school, the day when he had truly made up his mind to change everything. But seeing himself now, he had far exceeded his own expectations.
MOVING UP IN THE WORLD
S ATURDAY, JUNE 22ND. It was a clear, bright summer morning. Sarah and her family were moving into the former home of the Millers. She and her parents arrived at the house ahead of the movers, who were supposed to be there between nine and ten. Sarah got out of the car and surveyed the new home.
This was her first time seeing the house, as they had just gotten into town late the night before and checked right into the hotel. She was awestruck by the impressive home in Oak Acres, a quiet, upper middle-class neighborhood in the sprawling suburbs of Louisville. This place is so much nicer than our house back home, she thought.
Back home was Memphis, Tennessee, where her father was a plant manager for a paper company. The family’s move to Louisville, where the company was headquartered, was prompted by his promotion to Regional Vice President.
Since they had some time before the movers arrived, Sarah gave the house a walk-through.
“Mom, where is my room?”
Her mother replied, “It’s upstairs . . . to the right, and it will be the first door on the right facing the front. You’ll have your own bathroom.”
“My own bathroom?”
Sarah dashed upstairs to find a freshly painted bedroom. Her parents had had the room painted in her favorite color, light pink. It was a much bigger room than she’d had back in Memphis, with two windows overlooking the big front yard. And then she saw it, every teenage girl’s dream come true—her own private bathroom. Sarah thought, oh, my God, pinch me, I must be dreaming. Just for fun, she gave herself a pinch on her forearm. She walked in and noticed she had her own shower, toilet and sink. This alone would have been enough for Sarah to want to move.
She surveyed the rest of the house, and became more amazed with every turn. “This house is amazing, Mom,” she called out. Then she looked in the back yard and squealed with excitement. “Like, oh my God, a pool? WE HAVE A POOL?” Sarah pictured herself sunbathing during the warm summer days ahead.
9:42 a.m. Sarah heard her mom from the front yard yell, “Y’all get ready, I can see the moving truck coming down the street!” Sarah and her father ran out the front door in anticipation.
I think I’m going to like Louisville.
As the truck was approaching, Sarah heard some loud music coming from across the street. She looked, and through an open window in the house across the street, she saw a young man flexing in front of a mirror with music blaring, clearly oblivious that his window was wide open. Sarah stood there watching the young man through the window. From her angle, she could not see that he was naked, just shirtless. She thought he was kind of cute; a little on the chubby side, but cute. She thought it was funny the way he was moving around posing and flexing. It made her smile. I hope I get to meet him soon.
The truck pulled up. The brakes squealed when it came to a stop, then there was a loud “PSSSSH” sound from the air brake being set.
The boy in the window turned around and then suddenly vanished. A few seconds later, Sarah saw a hand reach from the bottom of the window then the blinds closed. But the window remained open and she could still hear the blaring music. Before turning her attention to the movers, Sarah thought she could see him staring at her through an open slit in the blinds. She giggled to herself and then turned her attention to the move-in process.
“Sarah honey, we asked the movers to start with your room first. You’ll need to show them where you want your things.”
“Okay, Mom!”
Sarah bolted upstairs with excitement. She hadn’t forgotten about the cute boy in the window, but she had more important priorities at the moment. Sarah was now in full move-in mode, and would not be distracted while her furniture was moved in. She spent the next hour choreographing the movers, occasionally going downstairs to the truck to show them what furniture was hers. Every piece of furniture had to be meticulously placed to her exacting specifications.
The next morning, she was outside in the front yard getting some of her personal items from the minivan, and she was pleased to see the boy stretching on the front lawn with what must have been his parents. Sarah thought, Wow, is that his mom or his sister? She’s gorgeous. That must be his dad. What a big man he is. And there he is, my funny bodybuilder in the window. She had a better view of him now that he was outside in the sun and thought, He is cute.
She sat on the front porch and waited for them to pass. After a while, she was walking around the front yard waiting for them to complete their next lap. Then she saw the boy and his parents running in her direction on the sidewalk across the street. She could see that the boy was looking at her. Do I dare? she thought. Then she mustered up the nerve to wave at him and smile. She saw the boy stumble and almost fall. She giggled to herself, but turned away so as not to embarrass him.
***
Monday morning. Sarah awoke to an empty house. Her father had gone to work and her mother had appointments all day with the utility companies transferring everything into their name. Sarah decided to try out the pool. Before getting dressed, she looked out her window and saw the funny boy across the street out running with his mom. Sarah wanted to meet him, but how? What would he see in her?
Sarah was considered pretty by most, but she was sort of gangly with red hair, and was often teased about her bright hair and pale skin. She was a late bloomer. All her friends back home started deve
loping breasts over a year ago. Now, a few weeks before her fourteenth birthday, Sarah had finally started to develop, but still felt flat-chested.
Sarah donned her black bikini, stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom, and in a self-deprecating display laughed at herself, thinking, this top is too big. My tits look like walnuts in a baseball glove. “I hope I can fill these babies out soon,” she said, staring at the top.
The summer progressed, and fill out she did. Within a few more weeks, Sarah filled out her B-cup size bikini. She would stand in front of her mirror, and was pleased that she actually had boobs. Her birthday came and went. She would regularly see the boy across the street, but still didn’t have the nerve to introduce herself to him. She would always smile and wave, and he would always smile nervously back at her. Sarah wasn’t sure who was more scared, him or her.
As she watched him develop through the summer, becoming more handsome with each passing day, she wondered if he ever noticed her and would often fantasize about their first encounter, dreaming that he would sweep her off her feet and they would fall instantly in love. One day, she caught him watching her in her black bikini by the pool, unaware he had a fetish for redheads, especially in black bikinis. Sarah could see that from his vantage point, he could see into a small portion of her patio around the pool. One day she looked up and saw him watching her, but he quickly walked away when he knew she saw him.
Sarah laughed. From that day on she would make it a point always to lie in that same spot so he could see her. She would always pretend she didn’t notice him, though she always knew. “Maybe I can entice him to come and talk to me.”
One afternoon, no one was home but Sarah. Her mother had gone out for the day and wouldn’t be back until late that evening, and her father was at work. With no one to watch her but the boy across the street, Sarah suddenly got brave. “I think I’ll give him a treat today.”
Sarah had developed a routine, and would be at the pool the same time every day, barring any rainy weather. It was rare that she would not be able to see some sign of the boy watching her. The blinds would be rustling, or she would see a slight bend forming a slit in the blinds, her acknowledgement that he was peering through. She would stealthily gaze back through dark sunglasses so he would not know she knew of his presence. She never put lotion on until she was near the pool, and would apply the lotion as slowly and seductively as she knew how.
Sarah donned her bikini bottoms. She wrapped herself in a large towel and proceeded outside the way she always did. Surreptitiously, she looked through her dark glasses. “Yep, there you are, my peeping Tom.” She let her towel fall to the ground and gave him a big surprise. She was not wearing her top, exposing her young, taut, developing breasts. They weren’t big, but she was proud of them. Her enthusiasm was obvious as she applied an extra-heavy coat of lotion, being sure not to miss any part of her pale, young orbs.
She was careful not to be too obvious when she lay back in the deck chair. She could see through her dark spectacles that the slit in the blinds was wider than normal. Then she thought she saw something she had not ever seen before. There was movement at the lower part of the blinds, as though something was smacking against the blinds. Sarah could scarcely contain her joy at the thought of what he might be doing to himself. This is for you, sweet prince. I hope you enjoy yourself.
***
Summer drew to an end, and it was time for school to begin. Sarah told her mom she needed a new wardrobe; after all, it was a new school. Besides, it was high school and she had to look good. It was the mid-eighties, the height of terrible fashion and Sarah would not spare one penny of her parents’ hard-earned money to get the proper “look”.
With only one week to go, Sarah and her mother went to the local mall and spent a day acquiring all of the fashion hardware that she would need to make her preppy assault on John F. Kennedy Sr. High School. Spending well in excess of a thousand dollars, Sarah came home with an array of every 80’s faux pas known to man. She had an assortment of acid-washed, pegged and pleated jeans with designer pockets. She clearly had to have the stirrup pants that she could wear with any of the four new pairs of pumps. To look good in the short shorts, every color of the rainbow including rainbow leg warmers was an absolute necessity. The ensemble wouldn’t be complete without at least two pairs of lace fingerless gloves—one black and one white, a variety of shirts with fringe, and see-through blouses to accent the lingerie that would hug her recently acquired eye grabbers.
September 2, Labor Day. Sarah’s family was having a barbeque at the house, and had invited most of the neighbors over to join them. This was their chance to get know some of them, including the family from across the street.
The house was abuzz with excitement as everyone started showing up. Everyone was so friendly. The last family to arrive, the guests of honor in Sarah’s opinion, was the family from across the street. Now she would finally meet her mystery boy.
Sarah spent more than two hours locked up in her heavily armed war room, or bathroom to anyone else. It was well stocked with eyeliner, blush, and lipsticks of every color. She wanted to impress this young man and after an hour of applying her war paint like an Apache warrior, she was ready to impress. She exited her bedroom with her “big” red hair teased up. She was wearing a pair of short, white shorts with stockings and leg warmers and her new white sneakers. For her top, she chose a low-cut, tassel-fringed pink shirt that allowed her bra to show slightly. The pieces de resistance, the things that tied it all together, were the black lace gloves.
She performed a quick inventory before leaving the bathroom. “You look fabulous. He won’t be able to resist you.” She blew herself a kiss and gave a quick wink as she bolted downstairs.
Sarah’s mother saw her coming down the stairs. “Well, don’t you look like a rock star?”
Sarah smiled and said, “What a good turnout.”
“Yes, everyone showed up, including that nice boy from across the street.”
Sarah’s heart skipped a beat. Pretending not to be interested, she said, “Oh yeah?” Actually, she was more nervous than she thought she would’ve been. She went outside on the pool deck. Through the large crowd, she spotted the boy of her ever-increasing interest. He was standing alone by the fence with a diet soda in his hand. She collected her thoughts and walked over to him.
He looked taller up close. When she had first seen him, he would run with his shirt on. Now, he was looking very muscular and had been running with his shirt off lately. He was nicely bronzed as a result. His eyes were a light blue that stood out against his tan skin. He was wearing a pair of white pleated pants; a tight, yellow, collar-less shirt that accented his now tight stomach; and a white sport jacket with a pair of white sliders and no socks.
Timidly she approached and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Sarah.”
“I’m Mike.” He looked away nervously, trying not to be obvious that he was attracted to her.
“You’re very shy, aren’t you, Mike?”
Trying to come off as cool, he said, “No, I’m just playing hard to get.” Immediately he thought, Hard to get? That was the lamest line ever. She’s gonna think I’m such a douche bag.
To his amazement, Sarah actually laughed at his one-liner, and in a demure way said, “Really? You don’t look so hard to me.”
Out of instinct, Mike looked down at his still-flaccid manhood. He silently instructed his one-eyed trouser trout, as he called it, Okay, mister, you behave!
The two wandered off and sat alone at the picnic table in the backyard. They spent the rest of the day getting to know each other until everyone left.
***
Later that evening, when the party was over and everyone, including Mike, had gone home, Sarah’s mom asked her, “So, you guys spent a long time together. What was he like? He’s awfully cute.”
“Oh, Mom, he’s the most amazing boy I’ve ever met! He’s intelligent, cute and so sweet.”
“Uh oh, sounds like som
eone’s in love!”
“Oh my God, Mother! We just met!” Sarah smiled and said, “Well . . . maybe just a little.”
Her father overheard the conversation. “Am I gonna have to oil up my shotgun?”
“DADDY!”
“I’m just saying, I have to watch out for my little girl. I can’t have some young stud muscling in on my princess.” “Oh, my goodness, you two are impossible!” Sarah ran upstairs and slammed her door.
Her mother said, “She’s growing up.”
Laughing, her father said, “Yeah, and way too fast for me.” Then he somberly reminisced, “Remember the last boy back home in Memphis?”
“You mean Rupert? Oh, that was just puppy love. She was only nine.”
“Maybe, but she became obsessed with him and she lost it.”
“That was then. She’s older now. She’s been taking her meds and doing very well. The counselor said she should be fine, that it all related to her condition. Besides, she just met this boy today. He seems like a very nice young man. What harm can come from a little flirtation?”
“Hello? Did you ever date a teenage boy? Do I really need to express my concerns about a teenage boy and his hormones? Besides, it’s not him I’m worried about.”
Upstairs in her room, after taking her Haldol and Valium, Sarah felt very sleepy, as she always did. She never knew why, but the nice doctor with the beard in Memphis told her parents she should take them. Her parents used to make sure she took them, but now that she was older, she was trusted to take them on her own. She walked to the window that afforded her the best vantage point, and while she was lying on the built-in window seat, she stared across the street at the home of her new love interest. She thought to herself, Michael Carson, Junior, my mom’s right. I am in love with you. We will be together forever, I just know we will, I just know we will be together forev. . .
***
Sarah finds herself with Michael walking along the shore of a large lake while holding hands and talking like they did at the party. They discuss their future—where they will live, what kind of job he will have, how many kids they want. Sarah is happy and content. She never imagined she could ever love someone the way she loves Mike.
Epistle of the Damned Page 3
