Chapter 3

Glee simply sat there and stared at Barb, then shook his head.

“C’mon, Glee, you can tell me! You’ve got to have something floating around in that great mind of yours.” She was smiling broadly now.

Glee made his decision. He got up, walked over to Barb, and planted a big kiss right on her lips, not a friendly kiss, but the kiss of a lover.

When he pulled back, Barb looked astonished, and looking straight into her eyes, he said with perfect clarity, “A kiss is a secret told to the mouth instead of the ear; kisses are the messengers of love and tenderness.” ⁹

“Glee ... you can’t ... you just cannot go--”

“How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.” ¹⁰ There was a hint of wetness in his eyes, then he turned and ran out the door.

Glee’s mom came into the room a minute later and asked Barb about her son.

“He ... he ... he kissed me,” said Barb, still shocked, not just about the kiss, but about her body and mind’s reaction. She felt flushed, and, realized that Glee had grown from a gawky kid into an attractive, well-built young man.

“Oh Barb, he’s had a crush on you for as long as I can remember.”

“Really? I guess I knew he liked me, of course, but not like that. I mean, I’m ten years older than him, although he does seem much older sometimes. Do you think I should go after him?”

“No, let him be. He’ll be fine. I think he’s probably just a bit embarrassed right now. C’mon into the kitchen, you can keep me company while I do some dishes.”

Glee had bolted out of the house, his mom correct in that he was embarrassed both at his actions and Barb’s reactions. He jogged around back, through the field behind his house, down a path through the woods, and finally into the national park. At that point he stopped jogging and slowed to a walk, not paying attention to where he was going.

As he walked he thought about the kiss, how nice it felt, and how much he was going to miss Barb now that school was over. After a few minutes, he heard some familiar voices.

“Hey, look, it’s the ‘tard!”

“Yeah, you’re right, it’s ‘tard boy. He ‘tard boy, come over here.”

Glee turned away from the trouble and began walking faster. But this time they weren’t simply small bullying children. They were older, they’d been drinking, and they were mad at the world for their shitty lives. They now had a target for their anger.

“Hey ‘tard, we’re over this way, you fuckin’ ‘tard.”