Training Bra (Cousins Part 1)
Mom called Wendell "The Training Bra". I was 14 and he was 18, but he didn't drive, was pretty sweet and not too bright...harmless in other words.
I should tell you my parents were great with their only child dating. They trusted me not to screw up, and I didn't let them down. They gave me freedom with rules and expectations, and I can honestly say that the few things they really put their foot down on were completely right. It let me have fun but kept me out of trouble...for the most part.
It was the summer before I started high school, and I had just turned 14. My friend Michelle and her friend Trish, neither of whom had much parental supervision and lived a block away from each other, had taken to wandering around the streets of our sleepy little suburb to entertain themselves. One night they attracted a car with 3 guys: Brian 16, Steve 24 and Alan 17. Michelle was 14, Trish 16, so of course they lied about their age. The guys turned out to be cousins, and Michelle ended up with Brian while Trish ended up with Steve. This left Alan as odd man out so of course the girls thought of me. And the rest of the world was left wondering what a 24 year old guy wanted with a 16 year old girl. Women his own age didn't want him? But at the time we thought he was hot...don't ask me why.
A few nights later I headed over to Michelle's, of course not telling my parents I was going to go hang out on a corner waiting for some guys to drive by. The story that had been concocted was that I was 16 but smart so I was a junior, Michelle was 17 but not so smart so she was also a junior and Trish was 18 and went to another school (which she did, a Catholic one no less). Now between the time they met the guys and when I got involved there was a dispute over Alan's name. It seems he called himself Rob one night, making him Rob-Alan. A mystery.
So there I was, feeling rather foolish as this car rolled up. Remember I said my parents trusted me? It did not go over well when I refused to get in the car. I was young, not stupid. We were right near a park so I wandered over with the girls while the guys parked the car. Parks are great places to hang out, if all else fails you can swing.
So Rob-Alan turned out to be a nice guy and kinda cute. Not real bright, but at 14 that wasn't the top priority on my dating list. Remember, this is the age where you just need to be able to say you have a boyfriend. Later I would "date" boys I only spoke to on the phone, as would a lot of my friends. Weird, I know, but I think it is something interesting about my generation and the odd things we will do for acceptance.
Anyhow, the evening was nice and at the end I got a hug and a peck of a kiss (mostly because we both went for cheek at the same time and met in the middle). Over the next week or so I talked to Rob-Alan on the phone a bit and saw him once or twice, so I told Mom and she handled Dad. It was about here that I started feeling bad about the age lie. So I told Michelle I was coming clean and she freaked! But she calmed down eventually when she realized I was doing it anyway and it didn't necessarily mean Brian and Steve would question the rest of the story.
Rob-Alan took it well, and happened to be with Brian when I told him over the phone. After a short interrogation over the other's ages which I less than skillfully navigated I heard Brian laughing in the back ground. It turns out I wasn't the only one who had fibbed. Rob-Alan's name was actually Wendell (bet you were wondering what happened to him) and he was embarrassed about it. We called it good and moved on.
So the routine became every Saturday night Michelle and I would go to the skating rink and meet Trish and the boys, skate for 2 hours, dance for 2 hours and then one of our moms would pick us up for a sleep over. Not bad really. We met some other nice people and had a pretty good time.
I should mention here that Brian and I had a very contentious relationship. We were both the youngest and probably the smartest and for some reason always seemed to be butting heads. Unfortunately sooner than later the other couples broke up. Trish moved on but Michelle held on like a woman possessed. This probably didn't help the tension between Brian and I as she was constantly putting me in the middle. Ah well, the things we do for friends.
Somewhere along the line there was the meeting of parents. Wen's parents were nice, if simple. His mom was close to deaf so she introduced herself and her husband about three times before we figured out what was going on. My parents as I said felt he was rather harmless. Somewhere along the line there was another conversation with Brian chanting something in the background and giggling. That's how I found out Wen spent a few early years going to a special school for the developmentally challenged. I can't say I was surprised. But it made finding out he couldn't really write less of a shock. He gave me a card on Valentine's Day and lets just say not even my name was spelled right. But it was the thought that counted.
Eventually feelings faded as they do when you are young and we broke up. Not long after Mom started seeing his name in the police log for petty theft. He wasn't considered so harmless after that. You'd think that would be the end of the story, but it continued 4 years later...
I should tell you my parents were great with their only child dating. They trusted me not to screw up, and I didn't let them down. They gave me freedom with rules and expectations, and I can honestly say that the few things they really put their foot down on were completely right. It let me have fun but kept me out of trouble...for the most part.
It was the summer before I started high school, and I had just turned 14. My friend Michelle and her friend Trish, neither of whom had much parental supervision and lived a block away from each other, had taken to wandering around the streets of our sleepy little suburb to entertain themselves. One night they attracted a car with 3 guys: Brian 16, Steve 24 and Alan 17. Michelle was 14, Trish 16, so of course they lied about their age. The guys turned out to be cousins, and Michelle ended up with Brian while Trish ended up with Steve. This left Alan as odd man out so of course the girls thought of me. And the rest of the world was left wondering what a 24 year old guy wanted with a 16 year old girl. Women his own age didn't want him? But at the time we thought he was hot...don't ask me why.
A few nights later I headed over to Michelle's, of course not telling my parents I was going to go hang out on a corner waiting for some guys to drive by. The story that had been concocted was that I was 16 but smart so I was a junior, Michelle was 17 but not so smart so she was also a junior and Trish was 18 and went to another school (which she did, a Catholic one no less). Now between the time they met the guys and when I got involved there was a dispute over Alan's name. It seems he called himself Rob one night, making him Rob-Alan. A mystery.
So there I was, feeling rather foolish as this car rolled up. Remember I said my parents trusted me? It did not go over well when I refused to get in the car. I was young, not stupid. We were right near a park so I wandered over with the girls while the guys parked the car. Parks are great places to hang out, if all else fails you can swing.
So Rob-Alan turned out to be a nice guy and kinda cute. Not real bright, but at 14 that wasn't the top priority on my dating list. Remember, this is the age where you just need to be able to say you have a boyfriend. Later I would "date" boys I only spoke to on the phone, as would a lot of my friends. Weird, I know, but I think it is something interesting about my generation and the odd things we will do for acceptance.
Anyhow, the evening was nice and at the end I got a hug and a peck of a kiss (mostly because we both went for cheek at the same time and met in the middle). Over the next week or so I talked to Rob-Alan on the phone a bit and saw him once or twice, so I told Mom and she handled Dad. It was about here that I started feeling bad about the age lie. So I told Michelle I was coming clean and she freaked! But she calmed down eventually when she realized I was doing it anyway and it didn't necessarily mean Brian and Steve would question the rest of the story.
Rob-Alan took it well, and happened to be with Brian when I told him over the phone. After a short interrogation over the other's ages which I less than skillfully navigated I heard Brian laughing in the back ground. It turns out I wasn't the only one who had fibbed. Rob-Alan's name was actually Wendell (bet you were wondering what happened to him) and he was embarrassed about it. We called it good and moved on.
So the routine became every Saturday night Michelle and I would go to the skating rink and meet Trish and the boys, skate for 2 hours, dance for 2 hours and then one of our moms would pick us up for a sleep over. Not bad really. We met some other nice people and had a pretty good time.
I should mention here that Brian and I had a very contentious relationship. We were both the youngest and probably the smartest and for some reason always seemed to be butting heads. Unfortunately sooner than later the other couples broke up. Trish moved on but Michelle held on like a woman possessed. This probably didn't help the tension between Brian and I as she was constantly putting me in the middle. Ah well, the things we do for friends.
Somewhere along the line there was the meeting of parents. Wen's parents were nice, if simple. His mom was close to deaf so she introduced herself and her husband about three times before we figured out what was going on. My parents as I said felt he was rather harmless. Somewhere along the line there was another conversation with Brian chanting something in the background and giggling. That's how I found out Wen spent a few early years going to a special school for the developmentally challenged. I can't say I was surprised. But it made finding out he couldn't really write less of a shock. He gave me a card on Valentine's Day and lets just say not even my name was spelled right. But it was the thought that counted.
Eventually feelings faded as they do when you are young and we broke up. Not long after Mom started seeing his name in the police log for petty theft. He wasn't considered so harmless after that. You'd think that would be the end of the story, but it continued 4 years later...
posted by Liz at 11:42 AM
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