First Blush

I was ten.

The school district had changed the borders again, and I found myself back at Burton School. New friends, all the others left behind. For a chubby girl who was used to having lots of friends, it was quite a change. I didn't like it.

But then there was Miss Peters. No MS in those days. She seemed kind, and she seemed to understand what it meant to be the new kid. Right away I felt like her pet. For a spoiled brat like me, it was the only place to be. Even when I had to stay late to finish my work, it was ok because it seemed the same ones always stayed, too, and three of them were BOYS. Even though I was always a little shy, I also knew I liked BOYS, and was never much of a tomboy.

One day, Billy had finished first and had gone home. In a few minutes he came running back in the classroom, screeching , "Waldo, your house! It's ON FIRE!!" We all ran to the windows and sure enough, smoke and flames were roaring from Roger Young, the housing project (originally army barracks) across from the school. I remember Waldo (Walter) staring, tears streaming down his face, the rest of us and Miss Peters trying to console him, yet too terrified to move. Someone came to get Waldo eventually. None of us ever forgot that day.

I remember most of my classmates. A few I used to run into occasionally. A couple have passed on, some moved away, others I have looked for but cannot find. Then there was Randy. Ah, yes, Randy. William, actually, but I never one time ever heard him called that.

Randy was cute, with a winning smile that melted my fifth-grade heart. He would walk me home sometimes, and we would laugh and joke as only innocent ten-year-olds can do. I still remember the gift he gave me that Christmas, a pink-and-blue flowered china set for my dresser. Years later I realized his mom probably picked it out, but I loved it anyway, right to the moment when the dog broke the last piece. I cried for days. Randy had a little mop of a dog, Liebchen, which he said meant "little darling".
We lost touch when his family moved. Years later, he dated my best friend and fixed me up with his friend Jeff for one memorable afternoon at the beach. By then Randy and I had become more brother-sister, a comfortable place to be. Jeff? Oh, that was doomed from the start, and I doubt he would even remember me. But Randy?  I found him again, though the first blush has gone. He is still someone I will never forget.

Happy Valentine Day, Randy.