Love And Innocence
Thursday November
21, 1963
Sleepyside, NY
Diana aimlessly flipped through
her 45s, bored with what she already had on that Thursday afternoon.
Ricky Nelson was cute, but it was old hat. Elvis was drop-dead gorgeous,
but she was burned out on him. The radio wasn’t playing anything new
these days, and television was boring. Nothing was on except news reports
involving Cuba and things she didn’t really care about. It mattered
to her parents, but not to her.
Because of the Thanksgiving weekend
coming up next week, the teachers weren’t giving out much homework.
Trixie and Honey were naturally busy with a mystery of their own at the moment,
without really a care in the world what Diana did.
Earlier that summer, Diana had turned
sixteen. She was known as the ‘prettiest girl in school’ because of
her shoulder length blue-black hair and violet eyes.
She pulled out a Leslie Gore record
and popped the fitted piece in the center to slide it down on the spindle
of the turntable. Trixie and Honey always listened to music together,
but Diana seemed to be always out of the picture.
When the record was done playing,
she slid the record back into its sleeve. Instantly, she got an idea.
Mart! Diana tucked her princess style
phone under her dark hair and waited for the operator.
“Yes, Glen Road 20661. Thanks.”
Diana waited for the operator to put her through to the Belden residence.
“Hello?”
“Hi Mrs. Belden. This is Diana.”
“Why hello, Diana,” she answered.
“I thought you were with Trixie and Honey today.”
“No, Mrs. B. I…I don’t know
what they’re doing today. But, may I talk with Mart?”
“Certainly, Diana. Please
hold.”
Diana could hear muffled noises
as she could make out Mart and Bobby’s voices.
“Hi,” Mart greeted. Diana
could tell he wore a smile from how cheerful his voice sounded.
“Do you have anything going on right
now?” Diana asked. “If not, I thought we could go downtown.”
“As usual, Trixie got out of her
chores, so Moms wants me to rake the yard, but that’ll take me about an hour.
We can go to town later.” Mart paused for a second. “I thought
you had something going on with Honey and Trix.”
“No, Mart,” Diana sighed.
“I have no idea what they’re doing. But, since I feel so cooped up
in here, I’d rather just go out and do something…anything.”
Mart laughed. “You’re house
is five times the size of ours and you feel cooped up?”
“I guess ours doesn’t have walls
that stretch. Things just feel constricting.”
“Give me an hour and I’ll be over
in a bit to pick you up.”
Diana smiled. “You know what?
Two hands could get the job done faster. Do you have an extra rake?”
“Sure,” Mart said quickly.
“I know. Once we’re done, we can have some hot chocolate.”
After hanging up, she felt her cheeks
flush a gentle rosy color. Mart was someone with whom she felt she
could be herself. He had moved past the stage of trying to impress
her with large words. Her blank looks didn’t give him the satisfaction
that Trixie’s scowls gave him. In fact, they made him feel bad, as
if he was making fun of her.
Diana fastened her brown suede boots
and zipped her tan jacket. Harrison met her in the front hallway as
she headed for the door.
“Hello,” she said cheerfully.
“Tell Mummy that I’m headed to the Beldens and that I’ll be home in time
for dinner.”
“Yes, Miss Diana,” Harrison said
as he held the door for her. “Have fun.”
“Thank you, Harrison,” she said
as she stepped outside and pulled her white rabbit fur cap down over her
hair.
The cold November breeze bit at
her cheeks as she hurried down Glen Road toward Crabapple Farm. As
she rounded the bend, she could see a tall figure working in the front yard
of the small, white frame house down in the hollow. She blushed again
as she let a smile spread across her face. She stood at the foot of
the driveway watching him for a little bit.
Mart was taller now than he had
been at the beginning of the year. At seventeen, and the oldest son
living at home now, he had matured quite a bit. He paid more attention
to his appearance these days than before. A year ago, it was more important
to him that he didn’t have curly hair for fear that he might be mistaken
for his sister’s twin brother. He finally came to terms with the fact
that it didn’t matter what he did with his hair, he was always going to be
Trixie’s “almost twin”, as she called it.
“Mart!” Diana called and waved at
the figure who was raking the front yard.
He looked up and turned toward the
voice. He waved back to her and blew a kiss.
She stuffed her hands in her pockets
and cut across the large yard, trying to hide her smile. As she approached
Mart, her smile grew wider and out of control.
“Hi,” she greeted. His nose
and cheeks had a slight rosy quality due to the chilly air and his hard work.
Mart smiled at her and handed her
his rake. “Thanks for coming to help. You didn’t need to, you
know.”
“No, I don’t mind,” she answered.
“Like I said, anything’s better than being cooped up in that house.”
“Oh, Diana, you probably shouldn’t
do any raking with those gloves,” he said, pointing to her cotton knitted
gloves with the white rabbit fur around the cuff. They were a set with
the hat she wore. “You’ll get blisters. Let me get you a pair
out of the house.”
As he took off, she looked down
at her hands. It was true; they weren’t work gloves. She didn’t
even own a pair of work gloves. In her household, Diana didn’t work.
She wasn’t expected to. That’s what servants were for.
Mart came jogging across the lawn
with a pair of gloves in one hand. “Here,” he said as he reached Diana.
“These are Trixie’s. They should fit you.”
They felt funny on her, but she
didn’t care. They were work gloves and she was ready to work.
As they raked, Diana found she enjoyed this more than lounging all day while
others did chores. She didn’t necessarily enjoy the task at hand, but
as long as she was working alongside Mart, it was more enjoyable than anything
else she could think of.
Her jacket wasn’t the best for the
November wind, but with all the energy she put into working, she kept warm.
She slowed down once to watch Mart when he had his back to her. He
was wearing a pair of Jim Frayne’s old jeans, which he filled out rather
nicely. Mart wasn’t tall like Brian, but more Jim’s height, and husky
too. At one point, he took his jacket off. Diana watched his
muscles as he worked hard. She began to feel bad that Mart was doing
something that was really Trixie’s job. It wasn’t really fair that
she was able to talk her way out of anything. She always made promises
that she couldn’t keep just to get a day off so she and Honey could go investigate
a mystery.
“You’re going to rake that area
bare,” Mart said with a grin, which brought Diana out of her reverie.
“Hmmm?” she asked, a bit startled.
Suddenly, she got embarrassed as she realized she was watching him the whole
time. Then she looked down at her rake. She was almost pulling
up grass. Nervously, she giggled and moved on to a different spot.
As she started working again, she
turned her head a bit to see if she could catch another glimpse of him as
he worked, but instead, he was watching her this time. She jerked her
head away and continued to work this time, a little harder and with more
enthusiasm.
Suddenly it came to her. I must thank Trixie
for giving up her chore!
She continued to work as she blushed
a little harder and even let a small giggle escape. Mart was a nice guy,
and he’s been so special to me since we were kids. I hinted at going
steady in Hawaii this summer, but it didn’t seem to work. Mart was
so shaken by everything that was going on, plus I was a nervous wreck the
whole time. I wish I could have had the bravery that Trixie and Honey
have, but if I did, I’d be off on this stupid mystery of theirs rather than
raking leaves with a hunk. Diana sighed. I wonder if we’ll
ever get together. He seems to want it, and I know I do, but it’s so
uncertain. What if we aren’t right for each other, and we get married.
Mummy and Dad would disown me if Mart and I divorced or something.
I would surely get written out of the will, and I’d become a disgrace.
But, people are divorcing these days, so maybe it’s not such a bad thing
after all. Wait! What am I saying? Mart is simply wonderful
and there’s no way in Heaven or on Earth that we would ever be apart.
We’re, as Jane Morgan says, soul mates… Diana inwardly giggled at the
modern phrase; something that she wasn’t too likely to use. But, it
seemed to fit their relationship. Soul mates…soul
mates…
“Diana,” Mart said from behind,
which made her jump.
She turned around and started to
speak, but the only thing that came out was an oomph as she became the recipient of a whole
wad of leaves thrown in her face.
Mart took off as Diana let out a
squeal and cleared the leaves from her face. She gathered up a handful
of leaves and took off across the yard after him. His strong thighs
helped his speed, but Diana’s long legs helped her gain time as she finally
caught up with him. As he turned around, she let him have it with her
handful of leaves…but Mart didn’t need to duck or flinch. There were
only two leaves in her hands.
Hastily she looked down at her hands
and then turned around to find a trail of leaves on the freshly raked lawn.
She started to giggle and laugh as she turned back to face Mart. But,
the laughter in her violet eyes didn’t match twinkle in the blue eyes that
watched her. Mart lifted a gloved hand and pulled a leaf out of her
fur cap, and lightly traced her creamy cheek with it.
“You’re so beautiful, Diana,” he
whispered as the wind blew her long black hair around her shoulders.
Diana felt her body go warm with
a little bit of delight. It was something she heard from many of her
parent’s adult friends and the students at school, but it was different when
it came from Mart. Her stomach tightened up as she gazed up into his
blue eyes. For a long moment, time seemed to stand still as neither
one of them were sure what to do. Diana wanted to kiss him, but she
felt scared. He looked as if he expected her to, but she couldn’t gather
up enough courage to do it.
She found Mart’s dark blue eyes
looking deep into her violet ones. What was he looking
for? Why is he looking at me that way? Would it be all right
if I kissed him first? Does he know that it’s okay? Diana quit wondering when Mart
took her by the hand and led her over to the large leaf piles in the front
yard.
“It…It’s getting dark,” he stammered.
“And it’s supposed to snow, so I guess we should get these leaves cleaned
up.”
Diana took in his frustration.
In a small moment, she knew that he wanted to kiss her. It wasn’t supposed
to snow at all later on.
In a few minutes, they had the leaves gathered up into the bin in the garage
that Mrs. Belden used for mulching.
As Helen and Peter Belden watched
the evening news on NBC, Diana and Mart sat in the kitchen, silently drinking
their hot chocolate that Mart had promised. Diana swirled the gulp
that was left in the bottom of her cup as she thought about the interaction
between them while raking leaves. She lifted her head to say something
to Mart, but he was already staring at her.
“What?” she asked, knowing full
well ‘what’.
“I’m not sorry that Trixie and Honey
didn’t invite you to wherever they were going today,” he said. “Hot
chocolate just wouldn’t be as fun alone.”
“I’m not sorry either,” she whispered.
Mart scooted his chair to be closer
to her. She had no trouble at all reading his mind. In fact,
the very thought of his intentions made her blush. Was she ready for
it?
“Sweet sixteen
and never been kissed.”
Of course she
was ready for it. She
stared up into his eyes as he came closer to her. Nervously, he slid
his arm around and rested it on the back of her chair.
He stopped. “Diana, I’m not
sure how to do this,” he said, more nervous than before.
“How hard can it be?”
Mart gulped. “You really want
me to answer that?”
Diana searched his face. What is he talking
about? How hard could a kiss be? She saw him shift in the kitchen
chair so that the red and white checkered tablecloth was covering most of
his lap. What was he up to?
“Do you want to kiss me?” she asked.
The question didn’t come out quite the way she had hoped. It sounded
as if she were pleading with him, rather than just asking a question.
Mart nodded, not taking his eyes
away from hers. “Diana, I would love to kiss you.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
Diana reached up with her hand and delicately ran her well-manicured fingernails
down the length of his jaw. “Kiss me, Mart.”
Mental pictures of Clark Gable,
Cary Grant, and Rock Hudson kissing their leading ladies raced through Diana’s
mind. She thought about throwing her head back, closing her eyes, and
letting herself go limp in Mart’s arms, but settled for just closing her
eyes. When nothing happened, she opened them again.
“Mart?”
“Diana,” Mart whispered. “I
know some kids at school view a kiss as a status symbol. Some go further
and brag about it.” He let out a pent up breath. “I…I’m not like
that. I’m not going to tell my friends or anything.”
Diana felt her heart grow warm.
“I won’t tell anyone either. I want it to mean something, Mart.
Just between you and me. Not the rest of the school.”
Mart bit his bottom lip. “Can
I kiss you now?”
Diana nodded her head and shut her
violet eyes again. She wondered if she should pucker her lips or just
let them stay the way they were. The light sensation of the soft texture
of Mart’s lips on hers washed away all her thoughts and worries. Her
heart beat faster as he let the kiss linger for a bit. As he pulled
away, she opened her eyes. For a minute, she couldn’t talk. Her
lips were too numb. Mart’s freckled face was slightly flushed as he,
too, was having trouble talking.
Her eyes danced as she slid her
hand from the tabletop down to Mart’s thigh. His breath caught as she
slightly squeezed the muscle on his leg. Without saying another word,
he leaned over and touched her lips again with his, this time parting his
lips a little and lightly touching her upper lip with his tongue.
Diana’s legs had turned to butter.
Something felt as if were melting all over the kitchen floor. He wants to French!
Only Jane Morgan has ever French kissed anyone! She parted her lips slightly and
touched her tongue to his. It had a strange sensation. It wasn’t
what she expected.
For a second, all they did was touch
tongues. Diana reached in further with her tongue and ran it along
Mart’s, causing more feelings inside her to well up. Mart wrapped his
arm around her as a groan surfaced. Her tight feelings from deep within
felt tighter as he massaged her tongue with his. She noticed his breathing
pattern had changed, becoming labored instead of normal. Her face flushed
and felt hot as he lightly traced a line up and down the small of her neck.
Mart pulled away and let out a deep
breath. “That was amazing,” he whispered.
Diana nodded. “It…it wasn’t
anything like Jane Morgan says it is.” At Mart’s concerned look, she
continued. “It was better. She makes it sound so cheap.”
“I don’t want anything between us
to be cheap,” Mart said, keeping his voice low, beneath the murmur of the
television set from the living room that drifted into the kitchen.
“I don’t care what Jane does with Randy McCormick.”
“Was that your first kiss?” Diana
asked, nervously taking a hold of Mart’s hand. “It was for me.”
He smiled warmly at her as he leaned
forward and brushed her lips with a light kiss. “Yeah, I guess you
could say it was my first.”
“You ‘guess’?”
“Well, there was one other kiss
that wasn’t quite as deep, but cost me a whole night of sleep,” Mart explained,
his eyes twinkling. “Remember our first official kiss?”
Diana blushed. Can’t believe I forgot
that! “I still haven’t
forgiven Larry for that,” she giggled.
“I thought it was Terry,” Mart corrected.
“I’m sure it was Larry.”
Mart shrugged. “Well, whoever
it was apparently saw right through us.”
“I guess,” she chuckled. “I’m
sorry you lost sleep over it and spent a whole night in turmoil.”
“Turmoil? I spent the night
grinning like a moron and trying not to let on to Brian how giddy I felt.
I think he knew, though.” Mart smiled his widest at her. “So,
did you enjoy it?”
Diana nodded her head and said nothing
for a while. “Do you think we are the last of the Bob-Whites to get
together?”
Mart shrugged. “I don’t really
care, Diana. All I care about is that we’re happy.”
“Me, too,” she said with a smile
and leaned in for another kiss when the back door flew open. The couple
instantly split apart as Trixie and Honey came barreling in.
“Hey guys!” Trixie blurted out.
“Man, it’s cold out there!”
Diana simply nodded and smiled.
Mart blushed a little.
Honey eyed the couple a bit.
“Something tells me it’s warmer than usual in here, Trix.”
Trixie glanced over at her brother
and friend, sitting at the table. “Yes, dear Honey, I think it is.
Almost like a sauna!”
Diana gave Trixie a pleading look,
silently begging her to leave the room and for her to understand. Trixie’s
look, in return, told Diana that she wanted details. After her point
had been made, Trixie and Honey left the kitchen.
“Sorry about that,” Mart apologized.
“You know how siblings are!”
Diana laughed. “Don’t worry
about it, Mart! Trixie didn’t know, and besides, it’s cold out there.
I’d hate for her to just stand out there so we can finish kissing.”
“I guess.” Mart stood up and
took the hot chocolate mugs to the sink. “It’s pitch black out there,
Di. I’ll drive you home if you like.”
“I’d love that!” Her violet
eyes danced at Mart’s invitation.
Diana stood behind Mart as he told
his parents where they were going. She gazed at him admiringly, taking
in his soft blond curls and broad shoulders. The freckles, which were
so prominent before, were fading; as was his boyish personality of yesteryear.
Mart started the engine on his father’s
Ford as Diana pulled her suede jacket tighter around her waist. She
glanced at the dashboard and noticed that the dial for the heater was pointed
toward the off position.
“Why don’t we turn the heater on?”
she suggested as her body shivered. “It’s cold in here!”
Mart put the car in reverse and
backed out of the driveway. “The heater conked out on us last week.
Dad’s going to get it fixed though.”
Diana nodded in understanding as
she rapidly rubbed her arms in a feeble attempt to keep warm. Her father’s
old, rusty black Buick didn’t have heat either, but he got rid of it as soon
as the money came rolling in. She felt rather guilty that her father’s
newer Cadillac had all luxuries, including power windows and seats, which
is something that the Belden’s wouldn’t see for a long time, if ever.
As Mart carefully made his way up the lane, Diana’s heart grew warm as she
looked at her surroundings. A family grew up
with this car.
“Cold?” Mart asked, taking note
of her shivering. She nodded her head and met his eyes with hers.
He pulled the Ford over so it was just out of site from her parent’s elaborate
estate. “Come here,” he whispered, even though there was no need to.
Diana slid across the bench and
let Mart slide his husky arm around her shoulders. Feeling less nervous
now than before, she slid her arm around his back and wrapped one of his
curls around one of her long, slender fingers. Feeling his hot breath
on her face as he held her close, she began to feel warmer now that they
were together. Gently, as he cradled her against his body, he leaned
down and touched her lips with his once again sending bolts of warm electricity
through her body.
She felt herself losing control
as Mart slid his other hand along her stomach and around her waist.
All flags went up as she realized this was a situation she didn’t want to
be in right away.
“Mart,” she gasped as he pulled
her closer. She rather enjoyed how he held her, but at the same time,
it needed to stop. “Mart, please.”
He pulled away, his breathing heavy.
“What is it, sweets?”
Diana took a few seconds to catch
her breath as well. “I…I’m not ready.”
His eyes locked with hers.
“I don’t want to rush you, Di.”
Diana chuckled. “Rush me?
Mart, we’ve only just started being a couple three hours ago.” Her
face softened into a smile. “Trust me, when the time is right I won’t
stop you.”
Mart nodded and reached up with
his hand and ran his fingers through her hair. “I know. I guess
this is just something I’ve wanted for a long time, and have always been
so shy about it. I’m not the smooth Belden. I believe that title
belongs to Brian.”
Diana laughed. “I have the
hardest time thinking of your brother as ‘smooth’. He’s definitely
handsome, but he’s just not my type.” Her laughter wasn’t the effective
remedy for the tightness in her stomach and the frustration of stopping in
the middle of the moment. She felt like crying and laughing at the
same time. “Mart, I stopped because I’m scared.” There. I said
it. I was honest. He can laugh at me now.
Mart reached over and pulled her
into a hug. He bent his head down and whispered in her ear, “Diana,
please don’t be scared. You’re with me, and there’s nothing to be scared
of. I love you.”
Diana pulled back to look him directly
in the face. He loves me! “I love you, too, Mart,” she sighed
happily and rested her head back on his chest. As he smoothed her hair,
she listened to his heartbeat. He pulled his arm back from around her
and started the Ford back up again, rounded the bend, and pulled up into
her long driveway.
“Do you want me to walk you to the
door?”
“No,” she answered. “Harrison
will no doubt meet me there, so I think it would be better if we said goodnight
here.”
Mart reached over and turned the
radio on and adjusted the tuner to bring in WSTH 1340 AM, one of two radio
stations in Sleepyside. The soft tone of Ritchie Valenz’s “Oh Donna” flowed out.
“It’s a pretty song,” Diana said
softly as she once again scooted up next to Mart.
There was something about the moment
that made her feel completely at home in his arms. They were strong.
Trixie often described Jim as “supple”. Mart isn’t as athletic,
but he’s definitely supple!
“One last kiss and we’ll say good
night?” Mart asked.
Diana nodded and pressed her body
up against his and, more to her surprise than anything else, slowly ran her
hands up his chest and let them rest around his neck. She hadn’t meant
to be so forward, but they were urges she couldn’t resist. She shifted
so that they faced each other. Mart squeezed her shoulders as he passionately
kissed her.
Mart finally backed away, gasping
for breath. Diana leaned up against the cool vinyl seat and gazed at
him. She felt comfortable with kissing so far. Jane Morgan makes
it out to be such a big deal. Although she says she does a whole lot
more than kissing…
For the first time since they stopped, she noticed the windows had steamed
up and she felt hot. She was certain she was sweating.
Mart let his hand rest on her knee.
“Di, you better head up there. Harrison or someone is going to come
out looking for you if you don’t.”
“They don’t know I’m back, Mart,”
she said, hoping to spend at least a few more minutes with him before saying
good night.
Mart let out a small chuckle.
“They must’ve heard the car, Di. It’s not quiet by any means.
Which is another reason why you’ve gotta go. Moms and Dad are expecting
me back home soon.” Diana nodded and reluctantly opened the passenger
side door, but Mart stopped her.
“I’ll save you a seat on the bus
tomorrow,” he said quickly.
She grinned and leaned back to give
him a light kiss. “I’d love that, Mart.” After she shut the door,
she blew him a kiss and watched as he drove the car along the loop around
the large flowerbed and back down the long driveway.
That night as she fell asleep, she
thought about her evening with Mart. She loved the feel of this new
part of her world that had been opened for her. Tomorrow she would
be sure to get a few looks from her friends, but she didn’t care. They
were in love.
Friday November,
22, 1963
Sleepyside, NY
Diana proudly sat next to her new
boyfriend on the school bus that morning. She could feel others staring,
mainly Trixie and Honey. Not my fault if their
boyfriends are in college and never around, Diana thought as she grinned a little.
Her long, slender fingers entwined with Mart’s as he took a hold of her hand.
Dan sat behind them and tried to have a conversation with Mart, but it just
didn’t work. He was preoccupied with something else at the moment…and that something
else is me, Diana thought, as her grin grew wider.
As the first bell rang, Mart quickly
gave her a peck on the cheek and hurried away to class. Honey and Diana
walked together down the hall to Algebra.
“Okay, chickie,” Honey said, keeping
her voice low but hardly controlling the twinkle in her hazel eyes.
“What’s going on with you and Mart?”
“Oh, Honey,” Diana sighed.
“Don’t tell anyone because I told Mart it would be just between us, but we…well,
we took our friendship to the next level, I guess. We kissed!”
“That’s cool, Di!” Honey blurted
out loud and flung her arms around her friend’s neck. “Isn’t it sort
of a relief getting past the first kiss?”
“How did you know that this was
our first?”
Honey laughed. “Last night
after Trixie and I got back to the Farm, you looked just like Trixie did
in Hawaii after she and Jim came back to the hotel. She saw it too,
Di.”
Diana blushed a bit and hugged her
books a little tighter. “I didn’t realize it looked so obvious.
It wasn’t our real first, though.”
“You’re counting that party we had
at Trixie’s two winters ago?”
“Yeah. The one where Mart
was made to give me a kiss.” Diana blushed again at the thought.
Even her fingertips felt warm, just like they had felt that February evening
back in 1962.
Honey flipped her hair back and
led the way through the classroom door. “You two looked very cute that
evening, Di. You sitting there making eyes with Mart and trying to
hide it from the rest of us.” Just as the two girls were seated, the
bell rang. Honey leaned over to whisper, “Try to keep your head out
of the clouds, Di. Rumor has it there’s a pop quiz today.”
Mrs. Lawson slid the clean chalkboard
down along the track to reveal ten neatly written algebra problems on the
board behind it. The rumor became fact.
Diana pulled out her notebook and
scribbled down the first two answers. The quiz didn’t seem too hard.
But, her mind soon drifted back to Mart and how special he was to her.
It seems as
if he’s always been special to me, but now it just seems that our relationship
has been given a new meaning. As if things are just different now.
Like it’s energetic or something. Oh, what am I trying to say?
Ugh! Formulas,
variables and algebraic sentences! How anyone keeps it all straight
is beyond me! Honey doesn’t seem to have any problems with it.
But, she’s had Miss Trask to help her. I wish I had a governess who
was a math teacher.
Mart is good
in math. Maybe he can help me. She blushed and bit back a slight
giggle as she thought of the previous evening again. Then she looked
up at the classroom clock and noticed that 10 minutes had gone by and she
was only on the fifth problem. Most of the other students were finished
already. Hurriedly, she scribbled the answers down for the rest and
handed her paper in when Mrs. Lawson come by to collect them.
After Algebra, Diana and Honey parted
their ways as Honey headed to gym class and Diana went to English.
They were reading and analyzing Romeo and Juliet, a play that seemed rather
dull to Diana, even if she did play Juliet once upon a time in a Junior High
production. Today, they were finishing with the last scene. At least this will
be over with! She couldn’t
help but roll her eyes at some of Romeo’s lines as he found Juliet laying
in the crypt, believing she was dead because of the bottle of poison.
Just
drink the poison already and be done with it!
Finally!
Everyone was given the assignment
at the beginning of the play to write out his or her thoughts and viewpoints
in a critique. As always, Jane Morgan was the first to tell the class
her thoughts.
“To me, this is a wonderful, yet
sad story of true love at a young age. Romeo and Juliet were only about
thirteen and they were willing to go to such great measures for love.
Even as their families fought, they were still together in the end.
Don’t forget that they died, so now they will be eternally together, which
is just so romantic. I think if it were for a really good cause, like
true love, it would be okay for two young lovers to die. Young love
is something that’s just so hard for adults to understand. I think
when you get old, you forget what it’s like to be young. This play
is the perfect example of why it’s okay for two young lovers to be together.”
Diana was doodling on the back of
her assignment as Jane went on about how the play signified today’s youth
and how even Shakespeare was so far ahead of his time. Finally, after
comparing Romeo and Juliet to herself and her boyfriend, senior Randy McCormick,
and how no one seems to understand their cause and what they stand for, she
finally sat down and allowed someone else to take the floor. Diana
barely paid any attention for the remainder of class. She was relieved
when the bell rang and she didn’t have to give her critique, at least not
until tomorrow.
The morning seemed to slow down
and lunch hour seemed to be days away. Diana glanced at her watch as
Mr. Lauren droned on about the Civil War. He hardly made the class
exciting at all. Why? Why did
this class have to be before lunch?
After what seemed like years, Diana
found herself hurrying to the cafeteria in search of her new boyfriend.
There he was, at the Bob-White table as usual. And he saved me a
spot! Quickly, she
grabbed her lunch and sat down at the table.
The conversation that surrounded
her was that of Trixie and Honey’s apparent new mystery. She looked
down beside her and noticed Mart’s hand. Slowly, she reached down to
grab a hold of it, feeling his tough, warm fingers intermingle with her own
slender, manicured fingers. While Trixie, Honey, and Dan discussed
things, she sent silent vibes to Mart.
She wanted more. There had
to be more to a relationship than just sharing a kiss. Maybe Jane Morgan
didn’t, or couldn’t see it, but life seemed more than just a kiss.
Mr. and Mrs. Belden never kissed in front of people, yet they seem happier
with every new day. Mummy and Daddy never
get romantic in front of others. Is that the way it should be?
What if our relationship isn’t kept secretive? What if I kissed him
in front of everyone?
She pondered things for a while,
absentmindedly nodding at whatever the others were saying. They didn’t
seem to notice how quiet Mart was. It was clear he wanted to be somewhere
else. He didn’t even have anything quick and witty to say to Dan for
whatever it was Trixie and Honey were talking about, nor did he tease his
sister for her lump of curiosity. It was almost as if he was...distracted.
Diana’s train of thought made her
blush a little as she made eye contact with Mart. His blue eyes pleaded
with hers so much. Her violet eyes softened as she sent him one of
her warmest smiles in understanding. Would the others
notice if we just got up without a word and headed for another part of the
school?
Finally, Mart stood up and grabbed
his empty tray. “I need to leave early. I promised Mr. Zimmerman
I would start writing Miss Lonelyheart early today to make the deadline tonight
so we can have a paper out by Wednesday, before the Thanksgiving weekend.”
Diana noticed Trixie smother a giggle
as Mart made his announcement. None of the Bob-Whites really ever got
used to the fact that he continued the column, even after the problems he
had with it a while back. He changed it slightly, though. Instead
of people writing in and asking for advice, he would post a question and
print everyone’s responses. If there were any questions that the students
asked, he would bring those questions to the counselors and a general answer
would be printed. It seemed to work better that way.
As he turned around, he winked at
Di and left. She waited about five minutes and stood up. Trixie
and Diana were so into their conversation that they barely noticed, but Dan
did.
“You’re not leaving me with this
insane duo, are you?” he asked.
Diana shrugged and threw him a cat-like
grin. “You’re a big boy, Dan. You can take care of yourself.”
“Thanks a lot,” he sighed.
Diana went to her locker first and
wandered up to the third floor and into the journalism room. Sure enough,
Mart was stacking papers around the old typewriter and getting himself organized.
“Have a seat,” he invited and gestured
to the typewriter next to him. “Monica Anderson is sick and Lance Peterson
won’t be in until after lunch.” Bill Morgan used to be the photographer
for the newspaper until he got accepted into Varsity Football. Lance
ended up taking his place.
“So what question does Miss Lonelyheart
pose for us this coming week?”
“I’m not sure. I know there
has to be something better than the age old “What are you thankful for” question.
I want to keep it in tune with the holiday coming up at the end of this week.
“Maybe it’s age old because it’s
a good question?”
“But sometimes I think we get tired
of being asked the same things over and over. Sometimes I think it’s
sort of a guilt trip, kind of like the phrases Moms used to tell Bobby when
he wouldn’t eat his carrots. ‘Children in China would love to have
that’, you know?
Diana giggled. “Mummy used
to tell me that too.”
“She stopped using it on Trixie
when Brian asked her if she could name two kids.” Mart chuckled.
“He got in Dutch over it, but it was funny. Since Bobby came along
much later, she figured that maybe it would work all over again.”
“Mummy never tried it again.
She leaves that up to the nannies.” Diana chuckled at her own statement,
but noticed that Mart didn’t. She sobered as she thought of how there
weren’t any servants of any kind at the Belden home. Everyone had chores.
“Actually, I feel kind of bad for
Mummy,” she sighed. “For as long as I can remember, she’s wanted to
be just like your mother. Then when Daddy got rich, she wanted to be
like some of those high society dames. But, a small part of her still
wants a small home, without all the help. I think we’d be happier if
we were poor again.”
Mart scrolled a sheet of paper into
the typewriter and set the margins. “I know Moms would love to have
servants, but sometimes I think she has pride in getting the job done herself.
I’ve seen her smile after a job well done, Di. It’s one of those smiles
that says, “I’m happy with what I have”.
“Things have sure come a long way
since the olden days,” Diana added. “Mummy told me about how when she
was small that her parents didn’t have indoor plumbing like we all have now.
There was a pump at the kitchen sink and they used bedpans. I’m not
sure I could live like that now-a-days.”
“Medical science has gotten so much
better, too. Doctors are more in touch with sanitization rules.
They’ve also come up with vaccines and cures for diseases they didn’t know
much about one hundred years ago.”
Diana nodded again in agreement.
“I’m sure thankful I’m not living in the 1860’s. Just think, it would
during the Civil War and all that.” She glanced at her watch again.
“The bell’s going to ring any minute, and I haven’t let you get started.”
“Don’t worry about it, Di.
I started writing it out last night. I just said what I did during
lunch hoping you would follow me up here.”
Diana raised a dark eyebrow.
“There were ulterior motives? Martin Belden, I never! I’m just
not that kind of girl!”
“You aren’t, are you?” Mart said
and leaned over to lightly kiss her. “Then what about last night in
the car?”
She blushed a bit as she tried to
keep from giggling. “But that was then. This is now, and we’re
in school.”
Mart grinned and shook his head.
“But that’s just the thrill of it.” He took her by the hand before
she stood up. “Diana, if we don’t see each other before school’s out,
meet me back up here after seventh period.”
Her violet eyes twinkled a bit.
“Okay, sweetie,” she murmured as she leaned forward for another kiss.
“Gee whiz, I can see the headline
now!”
Mart and Diana jumped apart and
stared up at the tall student holding a large camera up to his face.
“Expose’: Miss Lonelyheart
Gets Up Close and Personal With the Students.” He chuckled and pulled
the camera down from his face. “Now that headline with this picture
should raise some pretty interesting questions.”
“Lance, quit clowning around.
That camera is school property and you’re going to ruin it or something.”
“Take it easy, little lady, there’s
no film in it. And since when did you become so concerned about clowning
around with school property?” The tall, thin blond boy strolled over
to the desk and set the camera down. “When Mrs. Cowles had to leave
the room yesterday during Chemistry,” he said to Diana, “Lonelyheart over
here thought it’d be funny to stuff rubber stoppers up the air hoses and
then turn the air on. He’s dangerous, you know.”
Diana giggled and glanced at Mart,
who had a sheepish grin on his face. At that moment, the bell rang.
She gave him a quick kiss and left the two seniors to their work.
Fifth period seemed to crawl along.
Biology
might be fun for people like Brian Belden, but not me, Diana thought as the teacher began to
hook up the film projector. They were going to watch a short film on
the inner workings of plant cells. Is this what Brian
talks about when he takes Honey out? ‘That’s really nice Honey, but
haven’t you ever wondered how the plant cell works? What it’s functions
are?’
Diana stifled a giggle as the teacher
adjusted the projector and made sure it was in focus as it started.
Mart probably
could make sense of all this. He and Brian seem to have a knack for
anything scientific. All science means to me is a bunch of guys standing
around with too much time on their hands, so they study germs and bacteria.
No, that’s not
true. Like Mart said during lunch about the medical breakthroughs we’ve
seen. Why, if it weren’t for scientists, there’d be no polio vaccine.
Maybe this is why it’s so fascinating to Brian. But it seems like a
very unsure field to work in. What if every project scientists work
on begins to fail? What if they can’t get any more government funding?
Yeah, right.
Like they’re getting it now anyway. I’ve heard Brian talk, and it just
seems like you’re shooting yourself in the leg to become a scientist.
Maybe it will get better as they find out more things.
It seemed as if the film had just
started when an announcement came across the loud speaker above the chalkboard
at the head of the classroom. It was Mr. Stratton.
“Attention students and faculty
members. Students and Faculty members, your attention, please.
There will be an emergency assembly in the auditorium at 2:00 P.M., right
after your fifth period classes. Teachers are asked to dismiss their
classes five minutes early so students can regroup with their homeroom classes
to adjourn to the auditorium. Thank you.”
Diana’s mind raced. Wonder what happened? She felt a little comfort in her
own thoughts, as she thought of what Trixie and Honey must be thinking right
now. They were probably wondering what was happening just as much as
she was. It was a possibility Mart already knew since he was on the
school newspaper.
“We’ll finish up the film and I’ll
hand out a small work sheet we were going to complete in class,” said the
biology teacher after the announcement. “If you are paying attention
to the film, the work sheet shouldn’t be too hard.”
Oh, great...
Diana passed Trixie while on her
way to homeroom. She held the same puzzled expression that every other
student had.
“Any idea what this assembly is
all about?” Diana asked her friend.
Trixie shook her head. “I’ve
asked around and just haven’t been able to receive any answers. I saw
Mr. Stratton in the hallway and he looked just horrible. I guess we’ll
just have to wait.”
“See you in a few minutes,” Diana
said as Trixie hurried to her homeroom.
As soon as Diana’s homeroom class
arrived at the auditorium, she spotted the other Bob-Whites right away.
Trixie waved to get her attention and Mart pointed to the empty seat next
to him. As she took her seat next to Mart, she looked around at the
faces of the sea of students who surrounded her. Up on the stage were
the Westchester County Superintendent of Schools, Assistant Principle Boyd,
and Principle Stratton.
“Any idea what’s going on?” she
asked Mart.
He shrugged and grabbed a hold of
her hand. “I’m not sure, Di. It looks pretty serious though.
You almost never see the Superintendent here unless something pretty major
happened.”
Mr. Stratton stood up at the speaker
stand in front of both the Junior and Senior high students and the teachers.
“I very much appreciate everyone’s
attentiveness through this assembly, as something pretty serious has happened.
Mr. Randall, Westchester County Superintendent of Schools has verified the
news. We received news at one-forty-five this afternoon that our President,
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas. We received word
about ten minutes ago that he has been pronounced dead.”
Diana felt her heart lurch itself
in her throat. The quiet auditorium was at once alive with a loud murmur
between students and staff. Jamie Kenworthy, one of the more outspoken
students, made sure his voice was heard above the murmuring. The Business
teacher let out a very audible “Oh no!” Mart let go of her hand to
wrap his arm around her slim shoulders and pull her close. Trixie sat
quietly, watching the turmoil of the students around her while Honey burst
into tears and leaned into Dan for support.
Next Mr. Randall stood up.
“To help answer questions that have already been asked, I would like to help
you understand the situation at hand. First of all, it has not been
released as to who is responsible for this. It is too recent to begin
ruling out certain individuals or parties involved.”
“It’s the Cubans! Blame the
Cubans!” Jamie shouted.
“That will be enough, Mr. Kenworthy!”
Mr. Stratton shouted from the stage. “Any more outbursts and you will
be escorted to my office.”
After he sat down, Mr. Randall continued.
“No names or suspects have been released, although many are speculating.
Please watch the evening news tonight for more coverage.”
As he sat down, the murmur grew
louder again and Jamie stood up.
“Students!” Mr. Stratton called
to get everyone’s attention. “Please! I need your attention.”
After everyone calmed down, he continued. “A message has been sent
to all Westchester radio and television stations that out of respect, school
is dismissed early. After this assembly, there will be busses waiting
out front.”
Diana wasn’t sure how to feel at
the moment. Many students had stunned expressions on their faces, while
others looked confused. She was aware of Mart squeezing her shoulders
tightly, but didn’t react.
“You guys going straight home?”
Dan asked as they left the auditorium.
Trixie made eye contact with her
brother. “Moms will be expecting us if she’s heard already.”
Honey wiped her swollen, bloodshot
eyes. “Mother and Daddy aren’t even home, so I’m game for anything.
I’ll just have to call Miss Trask to let her know where I am.”
“Why don’t we all gather together
at Crabapple Farm,” Trixie suggested. “I’m sure Moms won’t mind.”
“It sounds like a good idea, but
only if Mrs. B. is up to it.”
“Why not if we just all get off
at our bus stop and go from there?” Mart suggested.
Diana leaned into Mart a little
and nodded. “I think it sounds like a perfect idea.”
“Let’s see a little space between
you, Miss Lynch and Mr. Belden!” snapped Ms. Von Trammel, the school secretary
as she stiffly walked by.
“Fascist!” Dan muttered, causing
Trixie to snicker.
Honey giggled slightly. “Dan,
that wasn’t very nice.” She tried to keep her laughter down as she
added, “but if the shoe fits...”
Diana and Mart sat on the couch
as they watched news footage and interviews. The whole thing seemed
unreal to her, as if tomorrow morning she would wake up and President Kennedy
would be back in the White House. When she called home, she learned
from Harrison that her mother was in shock and was lying down. Franklin
Lynch, her father, wasn’t home yet. He had called and said he was headed
home from Manhattan.
“How’re you doing?” Mart asked her.
“I’m okay,” she murmured.
“It just doesn’t seem possible. I mean, why would anyone want to kill
him?”
“Diana, there isn’t any other job
as life-threatening as being the leader of a nation. If there is some
activist out there who doesn’t agree with the president, and he has the guts
to do it, there really isn’t anything stopping him from opening fire on the
President.”
“But it’s so wrong,” she replied.
“It’s taking another human life.”
Mart nodded and lightly kissed her
on the cheek. “I know. The world of politics is a very dirty
world. I’m glad I’m not part of it.”
“Me too.”
Trixie insisted that Honey spend
the night. Dan headed for Mr. Maypenny’s and Mart took Diana back to
her place that evening. As she said good night to him in the car again
that night, she knew that life would never be the same again. All in
the matter of minutes, the United States had been put through a pretty rough
shock and probably nothing like this would happen again. She couldn’t
fathom anything worse than this happening right now. While life would
move on, she felt her heart ache for the poor family who was now without
a son, brother, uncle, nephew, husband, and father. One man was killed,
yet so many people felt such a loss.
Diana went to sleep that night with
different thoughts in her head. Instead of blushing and thinking of
how wonderful Mart was, and how he cared so deeply for her, she fell asleep
with tears in her eyes; tears of pain for her parents who had switched from
Democrat to Republican a few years ago, but voted for him in this last election
anyway.
What was this world coming to?
The End
On November
22, 1963, the President of the United States of America was shot to death
in Dallas, Texas. While there have been countless theories as to who
committed the murder, one thing that is always a common denominator is that
a man was killed. John F. Kennedy was admired by many in the US, and
since my Trixie Belden Universe takes place in this era, I felt it would
be fitting to write about a few of the reactions I felt that the characters
would have.
This coming
Friday (November 22, 2002) marks the 39th anniversary of his death.
Author’s
notes...
A big ol’ Bob-White
thank you goes out to Long Island Lisa for editing this little thing for
me. Thanks for putting up with my comma misusage. :) Not
to mention a few honorary Bob-White calls for Leslie, Susansuth, Cathy P.
and Kathy K. for helping me with figuring out who each student was in Sleepyside.
Thanks Leslie for having your book “within arm’s reach.” *g* Thanks
to Cathy P. (again) for her help when I emailed her about JFK's real assassination
date. My brain and my gut still haven't agreed with each other yet...
Vielen grossen danken auf Deutschland gehen fur Susi, wer Deutsche
klassical Musik finden. Aber, ich habe nicht die richtiges Musik finden,.
Aber nechtes Zeit... (Okay, that's the best I can do after not
speaking German for about 7 years...)
All characters
with few exceptions are from the original Trixie Belden series. I did
not have permission to use Trixie & Co. but I did anyway. The exceptions
are Randy McCormick, Mrs. Lawson, Mr. Lauren, Lance Peterson, Assistant Principle
Boyd, and Mr. Randall.
I did not have
permission to use Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Leslie Gore, Ritchie Valenz
(and his song “Oh Donna”), Cary Grant, Clark Gable, and Rock Hudson