7/3/14
“Now is the winter of our discontent …”
“Stop. I don’t want to hear about winter.”
“Just shut up and let me finish the quote. ‘Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York.’ There; I was talking about summer after all. Shows how much you know.”
“That quote, from Shakespeare’s Richard III by the way, was a sarcasm. Richard didn’t really think his brother had turned their discontent into joy. He was just mocking him.”
“I know that. And I was being sarcastic when I said you know a lot. Two can play the sarcasm game, and two can point out the obvious.”
“Is this how it’s going to be all summer?”
“You started it.”
Jack Hillman and Jill Waters were interrupted by the sound of his mother calling them in for lunch. As they sat at the table she stood over them with a large, apparently uncomfortable smile.
“Have you two been having fun this morning?” she asked.
“Yes ma’am, Mrs. Hillman,” answered Jill with her sweetest voice.
The Hillmans and the Waters had occupied adjacent lakefront cabins every July for five years. Each year prior to this the two kids had always enjoyed their month together. But now they were each fifteen years old and there was a new tension between them. They both knew the cause but neither had mentioned it yet.
“What do you two plan to do after lunch?” continued Jack’s mother.
“I don’t know,” answered Jack. “Maybe we’ll explore some of the trails in the woods.”
“Or, how about you just stay by the lake. I thought we would go into town later and I need you where I can find you.”
“Whatever,” he sighed.
After lunch the two of them again sat on the dock and dangled their feet in the water.
“She doesn’t trust us, you know?” said Jill.
“Mm-hm.” Jack, too, had noticed the concealed efforts of both sets of parents to keep them constantly in sight. He turned his head rapidly to look back at the cabin and was sure he saw the edge of the curtain flick. He turned back to the lake. Jill read the meaning of his expression and gave his shoulder a soft bump with hers to cheer him up.
“Why does everything have to change?” he whined.
“Change comes whether you want it or not. But sometimes you can choose to make it good.”
“Okay. So how can we change this discontent into a glorious summer?”
“What’s up with that quote?”
“Oh, our drama class did an excerpt from Richard III and I was the lead character.”
“Cool! We did Romeo and Juliet and I played the lead too. Here, let me show you the kissing scene.” She leaned toward him with her lips in an exaggerated pucker.
“Cut it out!” He blushed and leaned away from her. But his smile showed he had enjoyed the pretense.
“That ought to give them a shock.” She motioned her thumb towards the cabins.
“See! That’s one of the changes I was talking about.”
“So? What’s wrong with it?”
“I don’t know. It’s … it’s.”
“This change is fun. It’s normal. Your discontent is because you’re fighting it.”
“Yeah, but I’m sc-. I’m, I just need some time.”
“Okay. But it’s not like I was going to hurt you.”
“Ja-ack.” His mother’s voice came down from the cabin. “Come on in, honey. It’s time to go.”
He waved his arm to show he had heard her.
He then looked at Jill, “You want to go too?”
“Nah. She’s just doing this so she can separate us for a while.”
“All the more reason you should come,” he said with a sinister grin. She laughed and got up with him.
Once they reached the cabin his mother looked at Jill and began stammering. “Oh, honey. I, uh, I don’t think your parents …”
“It’s okay, Mom,” said Jack. “I told her you meant we could all go, so she already has permission.”
“Oh all right,” she huffed. She then walked briskly to the car.
Jill got in the back seat behind the driver and sat close to the door in order to stay out of Mrs. Hillman’s rearview mirror. Jack at first reached for the front door on the passenger side but then changed his mind and sat in the back.
Once they left the long driveway and were on the road that went up the hill into town, Mrs. Hillman began lecturing them both. It was apparent her speech had been rehearsed.
“Now, Jack,” she began. “You know you’ve always been a well-behaved and highly moral boy.”
“Mom!” he interrupted her. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“Every teacher you’ve ever had has noted how conscientious you are to always do what’s right. You’ve even been given awards. It’s like you hold the title, the crown so to speak, of being the most upright young man there is. Surely you don’t want to do anything to break that record.”
His mother paused to see his response but Jack didn’t say anything. He glanced at Jill and she gave him a wink.
He wanted to hold her hand; he needed some support right now. But he was afraid his mother would see. Instead, he carefully slid his foot along the floorboard until it touched Jill’s. She rubbed her foot softly back and forth along his. It was good to have an ally against a common foe.
Mrs. Hillman then shifted her attention to Jill. It was as if she were aware of something passing between them.
“And Jill. You also have a nice reputation as a good girl. You wouldn’t want anything to spoil that, would you? Many lives have been ruined by bad choices made during weak moments. We wouldn’t want that to happen to either of you, now, would we?”
Thankfully the distance was a short one, although today it felt like forever. The lecture stopped once they pulled into the grocery store parking lot.
“What are we getting, Mom?” asked Jack. He hoped to shift her attention to something else.
“Oh, we need some bottled water. We’re running low.”
“You made me come with you just for that?!”
“Well, I want to get several cases and I need your help carrying them.”
The errand was soon done and they started for home. Jack was glad to see the sermon didn’t have a second half. Instead the three of them sat silent the whole way. But Jack did manage to get his foot over to Jill again.
After unloading the car and carrying the cases into the storeroom Jack was ready to put some distance between his mother and himself.
“I’m going out. I’ll be around the lake and stuff.” Then he was out the door before she could think of another diversion.
But rather than going to the dock he signaled Jill and they ran around the side of the cabin and headed to the hiking trails which criss-crossed the woods. He picked the one which seemed the least used.
They had walked about ten minutes when they came to a small clearing. In the center was a large magnolia tree. It looked like a good place to stop. As soon as they sat down Jack spoke out.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with her! I’m tired of her trying to control my life.”
“It was brave of you to not tell where we were going.”
“Well maybe it’s time to do what I want for a change.”
“And what do you want?”
Uh, oh. This was it: the reason their friendship had changed. They had always liked each other and often joked about how much they grew between summers. But this year was different. The changes had been huge. They neither one were children anymore.
He had paused too long since her question, yet still he couldn’t speak. Did she really want to know? His eyes moved down to her chest. Oh, yeah! He quickly looked back up to her face hoping not to get caught. But her eyes had followed his and she was grinning.
“Would you like a look?” she asked.
His heart skipped a beat and his breath caught, but he didn’t answer.
“Maybe even a little touch?” she said teasingly.
“Oh, god, yes!” Oops. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
“And what if I’d like a little peek too?”
“O-, ahem. Okay.”
Jill pulled off her shirt and set it on the ground beside her. Then she waited.
Her skin looked so smooth. Even with her bra still on he could see they were amazing. After staring for several seconds he rapidly pulled off his own shirt.
“One more,” she said.
He pulled off his shorts too. Now he was just in his underwear. He looked at her expectantly.
She gave him a seductive smile then reached behind her and unclasped the hooks. She let the bra hang in place a moment to build his anticipation, then shrugged her shoulders and it fell.
“Wow-w-w!” Slowly, almost involuntarily, his hand reached forward. Oh! They were warm. And she had flinched in a satisfying way when he made contact. Soon both his hands were busy. He stayed silent as he held onto this piece of heaven.
Before he could react, Jill reached forward and took a grip on what she found. Even through his briefs he could feel the heat of her hands. Pleasure overwhelmed his sense of shyness. He couldn’t pull away.
“JACK!” The shriek of his mother’s voice rang through the clearing. She was standing where the trail came into the opening. Her eyes were bulging and her mouth was agape.
He jumped up. Then realizing his situation, he quickly placed both hands over himself down there. Jill stayed seated but grabbed her shirt and held it across her chest.
“You come home right now!” his mother at last managed to say.
Jack began to reach for his clothes but stopped as he realized he still needed his hands where they were.
Understanding why he wasn’t moving his mother called out once more then turned back to the trail.
“Right now!”
Once she was out of sight they both dressed hurriedly. Then, despite the risk of further anger, they paused long enough for a short conversation.
“Yikes!” Jill said. “It looks like we’re in for a real squall when we get home.”
“I don’t care,” Jack replied. “Besides, she can’t stay mad forever; we haven’t actually done anything. So I’ll just listen to her till she winds down, then come out again.”
“Come out again?” Jill asked surprised.
“Yeah. You were right, this is fun. But we need a place where we can’t be found. I know, we can use that abandoned sloop at the farthest campsite.”
“How do you know it’s abandoned?”
“ I explored it after your family left last summer. There’s nothing in it but some old gin bottles.”
“Okay, then. The first one to get free will wait by the lake shore for the other one. But let’s hurry now before she comes back.”
As soon as he walked through the door he saw there would be no rendezvous. His mother and father were rushing around the cabin shoving everything into boxes and setting them by the door.
“Go pack your things,” his mother ordered. “We’re going home.”
She didn’t wait for a reply; she just hurried to the next box.
“Oh, well,” he thought to himself as he shuffled toward his room. “Next year.”
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