Chapter 6: Young Love

1978

It became official by the end of the week. Mad Dog Maxwell was kicked out of school. His mother made such an ass of herself that she was tossed in jail, at least for a few days. With no father around, Mad Dog ended up with an aunt in Philadelphia. He was Pennsylvania’s problem now. He was not considered a loss.

Hersch decided that it might be a good idea to keep a low profile and keep his mouth shut. Judy, on the other hand, considered him her hero and constantly pushed the boundaries of decorum with PDAs. That landed the pair of them in the vice principal’s office, where they both received a lecture and a warning to knock it off. Afterwards, Hersch had to push her away and tell her to knock it off until they were off school grounds. Of course, he was smiling as he said this and accepted a hug instead.

Their first official date was still going to be the Homecoming Dance, and Hersch’s parents found their son’s love life vastly amusing. Two days after Hersch visited the Roswells, his parents brought her over to the Caparelli house for Sunday dinner. She certainly seemed a very nice girl and was obviously infatuated with their son. Later that evening, while the senior Caparellis were cleaning up in the kitchen, Tommy quietly sang, “I want a girl, just like the girl, who married dear old dad.”

“What do you mean?” asked Mary.

“Didn’t you look at her?”

“Why?”

“Let me see ... short, cute, brunette, really big tits...”

“TOMMY!” Mary protested. “You aren’t supposed to notice that.”

“Give me a break.” He reached out and pulled his wife into his arms. “Besides, I like short, cute brunettes with really big tits.” He smiled and lowered his hands to her bottom and tried to pinch her through her tight jeans. “And a really nice ass, too,” he whispered.

Mary laughed and pushed away from her husband. She snapped a dish towel at him and whispered back, “Later.” It was a good night to break out one of the little nighties he liked her to wear.

Judy teased Hersch right up to the day of the Homecoming Dance. She told him she was wearing a long dress, a short dress, blue, red, green. Every day the type and color changed. Hersch couldn’t respond in kind, however. His mother had informed him he was wearing his good suit and shined shoes, and not to even think about arguing. That evening, as the two boys were getting ready to leave the house, Tommy grabbed Hersch and dragged him into his study.

“Here. Put this in your pocket.” He handed over a small box.

Hersch looked at it and then turned it over, so it was right-side up. The box said ‘Trojan’ and was a three-pack. It took Hersch a second to realize what was in his hand. “Dad!”

“Just in case. You know how these things work, right.”

His son didn’t answer directly. He understood the theory but not the practical reality of it. Instead, he said, “Dad, we’ve never done more than kiss!”

Tommy shrugged. “Yeah, well that might not always be the case, so be prepared. Take it.”

Hersch put the package in his pocket. He was red-faced as he headed towards the front door with Joey. Joey had borrowed their mother’s station wagon.

Mary looked at her husband. “You gave him the packet?”

“If Judy has any taste at all, she’ll send him packing.”

Mary laughed at that. “Better safe than sorry.”

Tommy smiled and put an arm around her waist. “Any chance of fooling around?”

A crash came from the kitchen, and they heard Danny and Sammy arguing. “Are you kidding? Get real! Sort them out. I’m going upstairs and taking a bubble bath and cleaning up - all over.”

Tommy lightly smacked his wife’s ass as she went past him before heading into the kitchen. It was going to be a good night!

“Dad give you some rubbers?” Joey asked as they drove away.

At least it was dark enough that Hersch’s blushing couldn’t be seen. “Uh, yeah.”

“Don’t sweat it. He gave me some when I started dating and driving, too.”

“I mean, we aren’t, I mean, Judy, she’s not like that!”

Joey shrugged. “Maybe not, but who knows. Let me tell you something. Girls like it just as much as guys do, and guys like it a lot.” He laughed and added, “If you want, give them to me. Just remember that Dad’s only good for the first time. After this you have to buy your own.”

It took Hersch a few seconds to work his way through that, and he sputtered, “You mean ... you ... you’ve actually used some of them?”

“Used some and gone shopping for more. And I am not saying with whom. Smarten up. If you do end up using them, don’t go bragging to your friends. Girls do not appreciate it. Keep your fucking mouth shut!”

“Huh. So, you and Jessie?”

“What part of keep your fucking mouth shut don’t you understand?” Joey pulled into the Roswell driveway. “Now, get out and go to the door. The only people who like it less when you beep the horn than the girl are the girl’s parents. And when you bring her back, you both get in the back seat.”

Hersch got out of the station wagon and went to the front door. He knocked and Mrs. Roswell opened it with a smile. “Come in, Herschel.” She looked at the car running in the driveway. “Who is with you?”

“That’s my brother, Joey. He’s a junior. We’re double dating.”

“Yes, Judy said it was a double date. Do you want to invite him in?”

Hersch laughed. “He’ll end up trying to hit on Judy and I’ll have to punch him. Bad idea!” Mr. Roswell was standing in the living room, watching, and rolled his eyes.

She snorted and went to the stairs. “Judy, your date is here.”

“Coming!”

Hersch’s girlfriend came down the stairs, and Hersch’s breathing stopped. Judy was wearing a tight red dress and was wearing red shoes with a two-inch heel. The hem was about two or three inches above the knee and the neckline was a U that showed the tops of her breasts and a fair bit of cleavage. “Wow!” Hersch said quietly.

Judy looked at her boyfriend, who was staring at her. She was suddenly nervous. It had taken her hours to convince her mother to let her wear the dress, and her father wasn’t happy in the least, and now her boyfriend was just staring! Was it that bad? “Hersch?”

“Wow!” he repeated. Then he swallowed and looked at her eyes. “You look ... fantastic!” he exclaimed.

Judy began breathing again. “This is okay?”

“Wow! Yeah, you look ... wow!”

Judy’s father rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. “Your mother wants to take a picture,” he said.

Mrs. Roswell grabbed a small camera and positioned the young couple in front of the fireplace and took several pictures. Then she handed Hersch a dressy jacket and nodded towards her daughter. Hersch took it and held it for Judy as she slipped it on. “You look, just ... wow!”

Judy laughed. “I hope you learn some new words for the next time we go out.”

Hersch blushed and smiled back. “Joey is waiting outside for us.”

“Then let’s go.” She turned to her parents and waved her fingers. “Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door.

Joey was standing by the driver’s door of the station wagon. “Hey, Judy! Looking hot! If this loser can’t dance, look me up!”

Judy laughed. “Forget it! Besides, I don’t need to get into a fight with Jessie.”

“Ooh! Catfight!”

Judy just laughed and got into the back seat, with Hersch climbing in after her. “Drive, Romeo,” said Hersch.

Joey laughed. He got in the station wagon and headed towards the trailer park. The Tarquinos lived in a large doublewide on a corner lot. Joey left the car running and went to the front door. While he was gone, Judy turned to Hersch and asked, “So, this is good? I was so nervous about what to wear. I wanted you to like it. I want to look good for you.”

“Will you calm down? You could wear a burlap sack and make it look good. You look gorgeous!”

“Oh, Hersch!” Judy leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then she was kissing him, and for the first time Hersch felt her tongue slipping into his mouth. He knew this was what they called ‘Frenching’ but it was far beyond what he had imagined. It was wildly exciting, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth. For a minute their tongues were dueling, but then the dome light came on. Joey had opened Jessie’s door, and they pulled away, breathing hard and blushing.

If Joey had noticed what was going on in the back seat, he kept it to himself. From the trailer park he drove straight to the school. The Homecoming Dance was held in the gym, as were all the other school dances except for the prom. Joey parked the car in the far corner of the parking lot, and they all got out. Joey and Jessie held hands, while Judy tucked her arm through Hersch’s and held him tight. They surrendered their tickets at the door and split apart.

“I hope you know how to dance,” said Hersch. The DJ had already started the next set, and people were already dancing on the gym floor.

“No, but so what. I just want to dance with you. Maybe he’ll play something slow, so I can hold you in my arms and kiss you,” Judy replied.

“And get us both kicked out?”

“Maybe it will be worth it.”

Hersch groaned and Judy laughed. He was glad it wasn’t a slow dance because she would undoubtedly feel his hardon pushing against her. Judy began dancing and Hersch tried to keep up with her. He felt like a spastic idiot, but she was happy, so he was happy. Realistically, none of the kids knew how to dance; they just jumped around while flailing their arms and twisting their torsos. Slow dances weren’t much more stylish. Hersch put his arms around Judy, and she put her arms around his neck, and they slowly rocked back and forth to the music. At the end, she kissed him.

The pattern continued through the next set as well, and Judy continued to work Hersch into a lather. He loved the way she moved, and her dress was driving him nuts. He couldn’t believe her father had let her out of the house wearing it and was sure Mr. Roswell was going to meet them at the door with a shotgun. That thought wasn’t helped by the way Judy leaned against him during the slow songs and began kissing his neck. Then he realized that she wasn’t kissing it; she was sucking it! He was going to have a hickey! His eyes popped open, and he pulled away from her. Judy was laughing at him. “What are you, a vampire?”

“I’m marking my territory,” she laughed. Then she leaned in and kissed him before making chomping motions with her teeth. “A bunch of us made a bet as to who could give the best hickey.”

Hersch groaned. Judy was going to get him killed, if not by his parents, then by hers! “I am so dead. You’d better hope your parents don’t see me when I take you home.” Judy laughed hysterically and tried to get back to her target.

Hersch was only moderately successful at defending his neck. On the other hand, he wasn’t trying too hard to stop her. He had a permanent erection, and if Judy noticed it, she didn’t seem to mind. Worse, the only way he could get her to stop was by kissing her, and that tended to draw the attention of the chaperones. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. He resigned himself to a short life.

At ten, Joey and Jessie found them and Joey said, “We need to go. I promised Mom I’d get the children home early.”

“It’s still early!” protested Judy.

“Don’t blame me. Blame your boyfriend. He’ll be sixteen in time for the Spring Dance. He can get his license and drive then.” What he would drive wasn’t clear to Hersch. Joey would still have their mother’s station wagon, so what was he going to drive? A Caparelli Construction pickup truck? Very romantic!

They grabbed jackets from the coat racks and went out to the parking lot. A police car was parked prominently near the entrance, probably looking for drunks, Joey said. They got in the station wagon and Joey left sedately. He drove directly to the Roswell home, and Judy had to stop necking with her boyfriend. He walked her inside, avoiding her parents, and then Joey drove him home. He stopped at the end of the driveway and said, “You can walk from here.”

“Where are you going?”

“I need to drive Jessie home.”

“We drove past her home.”

“Jessie, say ‘Goodbye, Hersch.’”

Jessie giggled and said, “Goodbye, Hersch.”

Hersch got out and Joey sped away. As he walked up the driveway he wondered if this was one of those times he needed to keep his fucking mouth shut. He let himself into the house, but nobody seemed to be up. The twins were in their bedroom, and when he got into his bedroom, he could hear his parents’ bedsprings squeaking. He had to jerk off twice before he could get to sleep.

The next morning, he looked in the bathroom mirror and saw the faint purple bruise of a hickey. “Tremendous,” he muttered.

Worse was that Joey seemed extremely cheerful at breakfast. “Nice hickey, Hersch,” he said.

“Where’s yours?”

“Not where you’ll ever see.”

Hersch simply groaned at that and then had to put up with the twins asking what the mark was, and his parents eyed him curiously. “Have fun at the dance?” asked their father.

“I had a great time!” announced Joey. “Not sure about Hersch, though. It looks like he had an accident.”

Mary gave the older boy a dry look, but it just bounced off him. He and Jessie had stopped in the driveway of an abandoned farm and got in the back seat. Necking quickly moved to petting, and shortly after that his pants were down and her dress was up. They had enjoyed two very pleasant rounds in the back seat before getting dressed and going home. He was in an excellent mood, and it could only get better if he teased his brother.

Tommy and Mary looked at Hersch expectantly. “I had a good time, too.” Joey smiled and looked curiously at his brother. Hersch didn’t rise to the bait. “It was fun,” was all he said.

“Plan on taking Judy out again?” asked their mother.

Hersch smiled. “Yeah.”

His parents simply smiled and nodded.

The morning after the dance, Judy was ecstatic about her date with Hersch. When she got home her mother had quizzed her about the dance, but when she got to her bedroom, she had touched herself in all the places good girls weren’t supposed to touch. She wondered if Hersch would touch her in those places, and if it would feel as good. She fell asleep naked under the covers dreaming about her boyfriend touching her all over.

Monday, when Judy got on the bus and saw Hersch smiling at her, those feelings rushed back. Her face lit up and she skipped down to his seat and plopped down next to him. She wrapped her arms around him and asked, “Can we go out again?”

Hersch laughed and pointed across the aisle. “Ask him. He’s got the driver’s license, not me.”

Joey grinned. “What’s it worth to you?” he asked. When Judy protested, he added, “Get your boyfriend to drive.”

Judy gave Hersch a puzzled look. “What’s he talking about?”

Hersch laughed at his brother and said, “You asshole!” To Judy, he explained, “I’ve been driving ever since I could reach the pedals and still look out the windshield.”

“But...”

“You can’t drive on a public road without a license, but anybody can drive on private property.”

Joey added, “Dad and our uncles taught us years ago. We’ve driven trucks on job sites and around the barns and storage buildings since forever. Every winter we would plow the driveways and parking lots.”

“You have to plow the driveway?” she asked.

“Yeah, but only from November to April. It doesn’t snow the other six months,” laughed Hersch.

Joey laughed and said, “Welcome to the Adirondacks. Where are you from, anyway?” The two boys thought this was hilarious.

“Hempstead.”

“Where’s that?” asked Joey, just beating his brother. She had told Hersch, but he only knew the name, not where it was.

“It’s the largest town in America,” she said proudly. “It’s on Long Island, just east of New York.”

Both boys laughed some more. Winter in the Adirondacks wasn’t a season; it was the season. They both started telling her stories about snowfall measured in feet, of roads being closed, of bodies being lost until they were found in the spring. After a bit, she realized they were just telling stories and tall tales. She punched Hersch in the arm, but then asked, “If we get stuck in a storm, will you keep me warm?”

“Warm all over,” he promised. Judy giggled and kissed his cheek.

Later that night, Judy told her parents about the Caparelli brothers talking about the snow they were expecting. “Is that true?” her mother asked.

Her father shrugged. “Well, I don’t think it’s going to be that bad. Maybe it’s just a couple of boys trying to impress a pretty girl.”

Judy laughed at that. “Hersch has already impressed me, and Joey has a girlfriend of his own. Maybe we need to get some firewood.”

Dating was questionable for Judy and Hersch. Joey wasn’t thrilled with being the chauffeur for Hersch’s dates, especially after he broke up with Jessie Tarquino in November. He was working on another girl but didn’t need a younger brother tagging along.

In November Hersch was called upon to be a hero again. There was a big snowstorm, a nor’easter, and Judy called in a panic. “Hey, babe, what’s up?”

“Hersch, it’s snowing!”

“Yeah, I know. Maybe we get out of school tomorrow.”

“Hersch, I mean it’s really snowing! We won’t even be able to get out of the driveway! My parents are looking through the phonebook trying to find somebody to plow the driveway.” Then Hersch heard some yelling on the other end of the line, and Judy said, “We just lost power!” She sounded panicky.

“Okay, calm down, calm down. It’s probably only temporary,” he said.

“Hersch!”

“Hold on.” He covered the mouthpiece and looked around. He was in the kitchen, with Mary washing the dishes and Joey looking at him curiously. Hersch looked at his brother and said, “Get your coat on. We need to go rescue Judy and crew. Their driveway is full of snow, and they just lost power.”

Joey barked out a laugh and nodded. “We’ll take The Beast.” The Beast was a four-wheel-drive Ford F350 with a plow package on the front, a tow package on the back, and a light bar on the roof. It was big, heavy, and powerful.

“If they don’t get power back by the time you’re done, have them pack some bags and bring them all back. They can stay the night or until they get power back. It sounds like it’s going to be a big storm,” said Mary.

Hersch put the phone to his ear again. “Caparelli Construction is on the way. Give us ten minutes.”

“Please hurry!”

“Bye!” Hersch hung up the phone. “Come on, bro. Got to go be superheroes.”

“I’ll go put on my Superman underpants,” replied Joey.

“You want to rescue her, not scare her,” said their mother. Hersch laughed.

Neither put on special underpants, but they did put on heavy socks and heavy boots, along with coats, scarves, knit caps, and gloves. As they were dressing, the lights flickered and went out; neither boy was worried and thirty seconds later a diesel generator roared to life and the lights came back on.

“Drive safely. I’ll get the boys to start getting the parlor and study ready,” said Mary.

“Judy can stay with Hersch,” laughed Joey.

“Git!”

The snow was heavy and worsening as they drove. The town trucks had begun plowing but were barely keeping up with the snowfall. It took closer to fifteen minutes before Joey found the Roswell’s driveway. “Keep an eye out for any shit,” he said. Then he dropped the plow and slowly worked his way towards the house. Hersch coached his older brother as he looked for possible obstructions. The last thing they wanted to do was plow into a car.

Judy was nervously looking out the living room picture window. It never snowed like this back in Hempstead! Behind her, her parents were wondering when the power would come back on. Then she saw lights through the falling snow, and flashing yellow lights started coming up their driveway. “THEY’RE HERE!” She jumped off the couch and ran to the front door, opening it and looking out through the storm door. “THEY’RE HERE!”