First Kiss

I had been walking Cindy to her classes and spending whatever free time with her during the school day, and we had been labeled as couple by our classmates.  I was so clueless, but I liked her and I ended up at her house on Halloween Night, just days before my 15th birthday.  Her parents were gone and she was there with her older sister, who was a senior.    

I remember sitting on the sofa in the living room when the big sister ceremoniously entered the room in a white costume dress with white gloves, turned around in front of me, and asked me zip up the back, pleased at my girlfriend's annoyance.  There was some half-hearted bickering as I was led away to a screened-in front porch area which also had a day bed. It was getting dark and the trick-or-treaters would be showing up any minute, as would my father, who I'm sure did not like the idea of his son loitering at a strange girl's house. 

I probably was standing there on the porch, looking dumbfounded.  I don't remember much else about that night except for Cindy suddenly pushing me onto the bed and sitting on me.  She laughed, probably at my confusion and helplessness.  I was way out of my element.  She leaned down and gave me a long kiss, seeming very sincere.  I enjoyed it and didn't struggle to get away.  Her larger physique was probably more formidable than my scrawny 14 year-old frame.  I didn't struggle, but I was very uncomfortable with the whole situation, nonetheless.   

Cindy seemed to be much more at ease with the whole situation and was smiling at me as she came in for another kiss.  I will never forget being interrupted by the ever-so-recognizable sound of my father's 1969 Ford Galaxie car horn, which instantly jolted me back into my 14-year old reality.  I remember looking out the porch window and seeing the big, bright yellow beast idling in front of the house.  Horrified, I said goodnight and half-reluctantly, half-thankfully, ran down the steps to the safety of dad's car, his eagle-eyes bearing down on me before I even climbed in.   

He asked me what was going on, and I'm sure I offered little detail.  My heart was probably still pounding as we drove away.  I've thought about this event so many times in my life.  What did my dad see?  Did he witness my first kiss ever?  That would be just my luck, but I will never know.  It was one of those things I wish I could have asked my dad, but he was not an easy guy to talk to.

The '69 Galaxie I knew so well

I don’t believe the young love affair lasted much longer.  Cindy soon left our school and I never saw her again.  Probably within the year, I learned that she had taken her own life, which has always baffled and bothered me.   I wish I knew why and the circumstances around it, but I never heard another word about her.  Although our romance was brief and awkward, the image of Cindy’s face is still crystal clear to me, even after 40 years.  I'm sure it always will be.