Chapter 2

Kissing such a pretty girl was amazing, but it had a downside, and she probably felt it at that point. Or was that an upside?

“Is that what I think it is, poking my butt?” she asked.

“Be quiet, please. Yes, it is, I’m sorry?”

“It’s OK,” she said.

Leaning back against me, she asked, “How big is it?”

“NO!”

“No, what?”

“We are not having this discussion right now,” I said.

“When will we?” she said, starting another Wowser of a kiss.

“After we are engaged to be married,” I said.

“Oh, so you want to marry me?”

“You have told me you want to get married after you turn sixteen or has that changed?”

“I said I wanted to get married, but not necessarily to you,” she pouted a little.

“Listen to me, please? I’m sixteen, you are fourteen and a half. It feels funny to say, ‘I love you’ to somebody so young, but you are so doggone pretty, ‘I Love You, April Nicholas.”

“I Love You, Michael Love,” she giggled.

This kiss was like no other, and I am very sure, I poked her again, but I didn’t care.

Between kissing, poking, and eating the popcorn, hotdogs and soda we ordered, the movie finished. It wasn’t even noon yet. Our girls cleaned up our faces, then their own.

I think she saw me fixing my ‘problem,’ but I needed to not be poking straight out, when we return the daughters to their crazy Irish father.

Our cohorts in the back gathered up the trash. Something that looked like a series of garage doors opened, and as I drove through, Charles threw the trash into a very large container

It had been a very nice place for a movie, kiss, and a poke.

Pulling up to the house, there were ten people all waiting for us. Both sets of parents and our brothers and sisters.

Mr. Nicholas pointed at his watch, and as I got April out, I said, “The movie didn’t start until nine-thirty, we came straight home, sir – none the worse for wear.”

Our brothers and sisters all wanted to know about the movie, but Charles made the point, “If we tell you, then we would spoil it for when you went to see it for yourselves.”

“Did you leave room to eat, later?” my mother asked.

“All we had was popcorn, one hot dog each and soda at the movie. I don’t know about the others but getting a meal from my mother is always on my mind.”

“April!” her mother said, “You didn’t get all of your lipstick off Michael.”

SHIT!

Mrs. Nicholas took the opportunity to ask us all over for dinner later in the day.

Our mothers went into conspiratorial mode to put together a nice meal for all of us. April’s dad gave me a long look before April and I went off hand in hand.

All eight of us kids go to ‘The Academy for Individual Excellence,’ a K thru 12 private school. When school starts back up in late August, being the oldest and driving, I asked both parents if I could have the responsibility for taking the four oldest of us to school each day.

That is still in discussion amongst the parents. Today’s expedition to the movies was a test I expected. If we can all be quiet about it, driving the four of us to school each day would likely happen. The youngest seem to like the private bus that comes to in front of our homes.

Back up in my room, with the door open, as expected, April asked to look through the sheet music I owned. I told her where to find it, and she got out a few of the collections I had.

April asked me what my favorite genre of music was, and I told her Easy Listening and most anything from a Broadway Musical, although I had little sheet music of that.

Not counting the song, I sang to her earlier, my favorite song ever, just came into my head and I started to play and sing...

MICHAEL
Well I’ve heard there
was a secret chord
That David played
and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really
care for music, do you?

(She stood up, and from behind me, she started to sing with me. It was beautiful!)

Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth,
the minor fall and
the major lift
The baffled king
composing Hallelujah{/red}

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah

Well your
faith was strong
but you needed proof
You saw her bathing
on the roof
Her beauty and the
moonlight overthrew you

She tied you to
her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne
and she cut your hair
And from your lips
she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah