My mother's sister Betty had an only child, my cousin Bill who was just nine months older than I was. We spent a great deal of our childhoods together even though we lived across town from one another. I remember playing cowboys and Indians, (he always got the toy gun because he said girls don't know how to shoot), building our forts with Lincoln logs, and playing Monopoly for hours on end when we got a little older. We went to the movies every Saturday morning and often attended baseball games because he lived just a block from Cobb Field, home of the Billings Mustangs.
To my dismay, the time came when he was more interested in girls than playing games, especially since I had been away from home so long. He was now attending West High School (along with all my other childhood friends), and that's where he met his girlfriend. Rita was unlike anyone I had ever met before. The first time Bill brought her to meet my parents and me, I found it somewhat humorous. Instead of sitting on the sofa, she sat on Bill's lap, wrapped her arms around him, and proceeded to tell us that she would be marrying him someday. Good Grief!! I think they had only been dating for two weeks!
I laughed so hard--not at Rita--but at my parents' reaction. They were very conservative in their ways, and I could just imagine what was going through their minds right about then. My dad kept making peculiar facial expressions while my mother just kept a smile pasted on her face; it was obvious that they were feeling quite uncomfortable at that moment. My father was usually so outspoken, and I was surprised he didn't give Bill his two cents worth of advice. He must have been in shock and speechless!
The following week Bill telephoned me because he needed a favor. He wanted me to go on a double date with him, Rita, and a friend of his from school. Wow! After meeting Rita, I didn't think my parents would ever allow such a thing, but they did. Oh No!! I didn't particularly have any interest in boys even though all the girls I knew were dating off and on. I just thought, "Who would want to date ME?" and never really cared one way or the other...
...until then. What have I gotten myself into by telling Bill "Yes"? What is this friend of his going to think? I wonder if Bill told him EVERYTHING about me? or am I going to spend the entire evening answering question after question? This could be bad!
To be continued...
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