Chapter 2

"Jesus, Chris, do you realize what we just saw?" Herbie paced back and forth in the shack while Chris sat in a corner trying desperately to conceal the wet spot that had worked its way to the outside of his shorts. "Mrs. Todd... naked... fucking the meat market man... holy shit... while Dr. Todd watched... I almost came in my pants!"

Chris looked around sheepishly and said nothing.

"Think about it, Chris. One, the guy obviously talked Mrs. Todd into fucking him. How the hell did he do that? I mean what was the first thing he said? Hey, baby, after I wrap up your meat do you wanna go down by the river and fuck? I don't think so."

Herbie began to pace faster and he punctuated his remarks with frenzied gestures.

"Or, maybe she asked him!" Herbie stopped dead in his tracks for a moment. "Oh my god, what if she did?"

Herbie paused as if to let that notion sink in and then resumed his walk about the small room.

"Two, Dr. Todd was there watching. How did he find out? Did he follow them? Oh shit, what if he knew all along? What if Mrs. Todd and he worked it all out? That would mean that she knew that he was watching! Jesus H. Christ, Chris! That's it. I'll bet she knew."

"Her tits were amazing," Chris said softly.

Herbie abruptly stopped pacing and stared down at Chris.

"I said her tits were amazing. And her pussy hair was blond. I thought all pussy hair was dark. All the women in the pictures have dark pussy..."

"Jesus, Chris. Give me a break here. We have discovered that the fucking superintendent of all the fucking schools in the county is a goddamned pervert and you are trying to fathom the depths of pubic hair color."

Chris had no response.

"Herbie! Chris! Are you in there?"

Both boys were startled by a loud female voice from outside the shack.

"Shit, it's Boots. I forgot that I told her we were coming out here," admitted Chris.

Herbie peered out one of the shack's dusty broken windows and saw Mary Margaret McDonald making her way up the steep path toward them.

"We're here, Boots. Come on in," shouted Herbie through the window.

Mary Margaret McDonald, whom everyone called "Boots" lived across the street from Herbie. No one, except Boots and her family, knew where the nickname came from. Actually, no one had ever asked where it started. Boots simply had always been Boots.

Boots had grown up in a neighborhood of boys and always had been a bit of a tomboy. Adolescence had not been kind to her. Her awkward junior high stage had extended into high school and showed every sign of continuing forever. In junior high, she had been taller than all the boys-and stronger. Finally, most of the boys had caught up with her in size, but the imagery of being somewhat of an Amazon woman had stuck with her.

Perhaps one basis for her friendship with Chris and Herbie was because she was their female equivalent. She played clarinet in the band and had few friends, except for the two boys. Boots liked to sneak out and smoke cigarettes, so it was not unusual for her to join her buddies in the shack, although her visits had been far less frequent of late. In the past year or so, Boots had changed physically from a girl into a young woman. For reasons unclear to Chris and Herbie, she also had become more and more distant from them during the same period. She certainly had not been a part of their weekend retreats to the woods in a long time.

Boots was huffing and puffing by the time she arrived in the doorway to the little wooden building.

"I certainly hope you guys have some cigarettes," she exclaimed. She wore her usual jeans and loose fitting shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. Neither of the boys could ever remember seeing Boots wearing makeup and today was no exception. Boots was plain of face and of body. But, if there was ever a problem, the boys knew that they could count on Boots' support and she on theirs.

"Boots, you are not going to believe what Chris and I just witnessed!" exclaimed Herbie.

"Jeez, Herbie, are you going to tell... ah... her?" said Chris. He instantly wished he could take back his words.