fun, she had another baby! They were beautiful children though and each one a memory of some good time! The first one was her husband’s and maybe one or two of the others. She didn’t know and it didn’t matter no-way! She had some money from the state and her own little odd jobs (not toomany tho, she had been tired a long time now) so that in case, as usual, her husband didn’t bring nothing home, she could feed them and him, too. Sissy was like that, treated everybody alike.
So Lida Mae hurried to school and to play, even to household chores with a smile on her pretty face. She lived by rote that way til she was 14 years old and was coming home from school and got a ride from one of her mother’s friends, Smokey, who had a run-down raggedy car but acted like it was a new Oldsmobile or something. During the ride he drove real slow, the long way, cause he couldn’t get enough of feasting his eyes on Lida Mae and all her innocent peachy splendor. She shone like a brilliant star in that dirty beat-up old pile of junk. She had accepted the ride cheerfully enough so he asked her to accept $1.00 first then changed it to $2.00 to let him touch her in her very own private spot. She seemed disappointed for a moment, but Lida Mae kept looking at the $2.00 on the seat til she said “I ain’t gonna pull my panties down!” He said he could manage that and she opened her young legs and he managed it as she picked up her $2.00 and rolled it deep into her fist. She got out at home, at last, and he whispered “Don’t tell your mama!” She answered “Are you a fool? I ain’t gonna give her my $2.00!” and slammed the door and bounced on in her house!
Now, people don’t have to be there to “know,” you know? Somehow some people just looked at Lida Mae and knew something from their own experiences. Lida Mae had a few boyfriends her own age she laughed and talked and kissed with and sometimes at a show or playing hide and seek, they did just that: played hide and seek. She was not really a loose young girl or a prudish one, just caught up in the middle of life and didn’t know a damn thing about it so she just “felt” her way through. Then, when she was 15 years old she was still a virgin because she also liked her school work, books and the teachers. She knew all about love leading to marriage and all that but she wanted something out of lifebecause her teachers told her there was something to get out of life. She wasn’t always thinking about boys.
But the unexpected is so unexpected it’s expected! One day going home from school (she was really a doll at 15 going on 16) the man who owned the filling-station called to her and said “Hey, little bit! come over here and have a Coke with me! It’s on the house!” Lida Mae, because of her fight for survival at the dinner table at home, seldom refused something to eat or drink for free. She smiled as she turned her feet toward the station, “O.K. Mr. Hammon!” He grinned down at her. “Let’s sit inside, it’s too hot out here!” “O.K.” she smiled as she followed him. He opened the Cokes asking her if she wanted some whiskey in it and when she said “No thank you” gave her plain Coke. He sat down in the only chair pulling her by her dresstail down on his lap, “Sit down here girl, ain’t got no other chair for you to sit on.” Now, Lida had known him all her life it seemed so she wasn’t nervous, she sat! He rubbed her leg through her dress while he talked to her, “Who your boyfriend girl?” he grinned. (He wasn’t a bad looking man.)
“I don’t know,” she said smiling.
“You don’t know who you love?” He looked shocked.
“I don’t love none of em, I just like em!” She took a drink.
“I know they like you.” He lowered his voice.
“How come?” She grinned.
“Girl, you know you pretty, pretty as a picture!” He rubbed her leg. “Even I could like you!” He was serious now.
“Oh, Mr. Hammon, you wouldn’t! I’m too
So Lida Mae hurried to school and to play, even to household chores with a smile on her pretty face. She lived by rote that way til she was 14 years old and was coming home from school and got a ride from one of her mother’s friends, Smokey, who had a run-down raggedy car but acted like it was a new Oldsmobile or something. During the ride he drove real slow, the long way, cause he couldn’t get enough of feasting his eyes on Lida Mae and all her innocent peachy splendor. She shone like a brilliant star in that dirty beat-up old pile of junk. She had accepted the ride cheerfully enough so he asked her to accept $1.00 first then changed it to $2.00 to let him touch her in her very own private spot. She seemed disappointed for a moment, but Lida Mae kept looking at the $2.00 on the seat til she said “I ain’t gonna pull my panties down!” He said he could manage that and she opened her young legs and he managed it as she picked up her $2.00 and rolled it deep into her fist. She got out at home, at last, and he whispered “Don’t tell your mama!” She answered “Are you a fool? I ain’t gonna give her my $2.00!” and slammed the door and bounced on in her house!
Now, people don’t have to be there to “know,” you know? Somehow some people just looked at Lida Mae and knew something from their own experiences. Lida Mae had a few boyfriends her own age she laughed and talked and kissed with and sometimes at a show or playing hide and seek, they did just that: played hide and seek. She was not really a loose young girl or a prudish one, just caught up in the middle of life and didn’t know a damn thing about it so she just “felt” her way through. Then, when she was 15 years old she was still a virgin because she also liked her school work, books and the teachers. She knew all about love leading to marriage and all that but she wanted something out of lifebecause her teachers told her there was something to get out of life. She wasn’t always thinking about boys.
But the unexpected is so unexpected it’s expected! One day going home from school (she was really a doll at 15 going on 16) the man who owned the filling-station called to her and said “Hey, little bit! come over here and have a Coke with me! It’s on the house!” Lida Mae, because of her fight for survival at the dinner table at home, seldom refused something to eat or drink for free. She smiled as she turned her feet toward the station, “O.K. Mr. Hammon!” He grinned down at her. “Let’s sit inside, it’s too hot out here!” “O.K.” she smiled as she followed him. He opened the Cokes asking her if she wanted some whiskey in it and when she said “No thank you” gave her plain Coke. He sat down in the only chair pulling her by her dresstail down on his lap, “Sit down here girl, ain’t got no other chair for you to sit on.” Now, Lida had known him all her life it seemed so she wasn’t nervous, she sat! He rubbed her leg through her dress while he talked to her, “Who your boyfriend girl?” he grinned. (He wasn’t a bad looking man.)
“I don’t know,” she said smiling.
“You don’t know who you love?” He looked shocked.
“I don’t love none of em, I just like em!” She took a drink.
“I know they like you.” He lowered his voice.
“How come?” She grinned.
“Girl, you know you pretty, pretty as a picture!” He rubbed her leg. “Even I could like you!” He was serious now.
“Oh, Mr. Hammon, you wouldn’t! I’m too
Similar Books
April Morning
Howard Fast
Cover Her Face
P. D. James
Black Dog Short Stories
Rachel Neumeier
Zombie Surf Commandos from Mars!
Tony Abbott
Of Starlight
Dan Rix
Willow Pond
Carol Tibaldi
Criss Cross
Lynne Rae Perkins
Rescue Me
Catherine Mann