Chapter 54

New Years Day fell on a Thursday in 1959, so Debbie had four days to recover from her ordeal before school started again on the Monday after Christmas vacation. She recovered from the pain between her legs in a day. Mostly, anyway. She wouldn’t be able to ride a bicycle, not that she wanted to. But the fear of being pregnant loomed over her, even after school started. Unlike my irregular periods, hers were like clockwork and it was like a ticking bomb as she counted the days. Then she sighed in relief. It was the first time she was thrilled to have her period begin.

Everything went back to normal. Debbie and I were in school and Marty and Paul back at work. Debbie and Marty didn’t break up. He hadn’t raped her. He hadn’t forced himself on her. His only crime was fleeing the bathroom when she needed him, but she forgave him for that. She said she probably would have done the same thing if she were him.

It was my last leg of high school. Mixed in with my schoolwork was planning my wedding. Graduation was in June and my wedding a few days later. A June wedding was a dream for me, plus I wanted it before some of my friends left town on summer vacation. I let my mother handle the church services and reception that would follow. She was paying for it and I didn’t know most of the people invited anyway. Relatives that I only saw on occasions like weddings and funerals and also my parents’ friends.

Paul and I talked about where to go on our honeymoon and where to get an apartment. I was finally going to be leaving my house. Paul and I were going to have our own place. No more making out in the cramped back seat of a car, always worried about getting seen. I was excited. Paul, not so much. He fretted over how we would afford it. He calculated what our expenses would be, the majority being rent, his car loan and insurance, and food. Then he compared that to his salary. He agonized over it and, as strange as it sounds nowadays, neither of us even considered me working to help out. I was going to be the perfect wife and take care of the apartment, Paul, and the babies we were going to have.

January whizzed by and so did February. Debbie and I had just finished choosing the color of the bridesmaid dresses—again. I didn’t know how many times we had changed our minds. Of course, Debbie was going to be my maid of honor. I got sad thinking about Gina not being there.

“Guess who called?” I asked as I gathered up the color swatches scattered on my bed.

“Who?”

“Wally.”

Debbie’s jaw dropped. “Wally called you?”

“No, he called Paul. He wants to be friends again.”

“What about his college friends?”

“He dropped out of college.”

Debbie’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Too dumb?”

“Too pregnant,” I said.

“What!”

“He knocked up a girl and married her so he had to get a job. He dropped out of college. Guess what he’s doing?”

“Who cares?”

“Just guess.”

“I have no idea. What?”

“Driving a garbage truck.”

When Debbie stopped laughing, she asked, “So what did Paul say?”

“He told him to go fuck himself.”

That brought a smile to Debbie’s face. She and Marty were still together and she thought they would marry, although Marty never mentioned it. Debbie spent a lot of time in Marty’s apartment. She confided in me that the sex was great. Nothing like what happened in the bathroom on New Years Eve. I was tempted to ask her if Paul and I could have sex there, but she still didn’t know about that side of me. I decided I’d wait for my wedding night. I wanted Paul’s and my first time to be special.

March, April, and May passed. I was studying for finals. My last ones. Forever! I was a little distracted by my upcoming wedding, but I somehow studied, took the exams, and passed. Now all I had to do was coast until graduation.

The big day arrived. Graduation!

Marty took off from work to attend, but not Paul. He said that, with the time off for our upcoming honeymoon, he wasn’t able to get away. That was a disappointment. It was a special day for me. Years of school culminating in my high school graduation and my boyfriend wasn’t coming. Not only was Paul my boyfriend, but my soon to be husband. Paul and I had fought over it, but he said graduation was no big deal. It was just them giving me a piece of paper.

The auditorium was packed with kids graduating, their guests, and teachers. When my name was called, I climbed the stairs onto the stage in my cap and gown and marched to the waiting principal. I felt like it was a big deal. And when she handed me my diploma, for a moment I wished Mr. Roman was watching. He would have thought it was something special and would have been there. Well, he would have been there anyway because all the teachers were there, but he would have been there for me.

After the formalities, the auditorium and the hallway outside it were filled with everyone congratulating everyone else. Many of us had been together since elementary school. Almost all of us had gone to the same junior high school which was adjacent to the high school. People took pictures. Most of them had someone making a funny face. Being silly. It was a time to celebrate. There was a lot of hugging and kissing on the cheek. When I turned from a girlfriend I had known since kindergarten, I bumped into Alan Klein who was also graduating.

“Congratulations,” Alan said. He kissed me on the cheek.

“Congratulations,” I said, but I kissed him on the lips.

It was just a quick peck, but a startled Alan jumped back. His eyes were wide.

“Remember that time in Frank’s house when we were kids?” I asked. “In his closet playing Seven Minutes in Heaven?”

Alan smiled. “I think I’ll take that memory to the grave.”

“Did you ever tell anyone what we did?”

Alan looked puzzled. “Everyone was there. They all knew.”

“They knew we kissed, but not the other thing.”

Alan blushed. “What other thing?”

While looking around to make sure no one was watching, I pointed at his crotch.

“You knew?” Alan said, incredulously. Probably too loudly.

“I did it, didn’t I? How could I not know?”

“Oh god, I thought you didn’t know.”

“Did you ever tell anyone?” I asked.

“No! Never!”

“Me either,” I said. “I’m glad you can keep a secret.”

I grabbed Alan’s wrist and dragged him to the front of the auditorium and up the stairs onto the stage. I kept going until we were behind the curtain in the back of the stage. It was filled with boxes and props from the last school play. I dragged Alan to an area next to a stack of boxes piled higher than us. When I stared into his eyes, he looked confused. Maybe even a little frightened. I smiled and kissed his lips again, this time longer.