❝REMEMBER, WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE THIS SOMETHING.❞
VALERIE KESTER took a gap year from college to tend to her ill mother. She came to realize that there was nothing good about living in small-town Benton, Illinois. Yet, the arrival of her neighbor's youn...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
September 17, 1963 Benton,Illinois
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
VALERIE LEANED AGAINST ONE OF THE KITCHEN WALLS that held the cream-colored rotary phone. Momma Ruth told her to stop running the phone bill up, but Val couldn't help but love talking to her best friends, Marlene Garling and Frederick Hill.
Marlene Garling was beautiful. The first time Val laid her eyes on her she was at the park, sitting alone. Her dark skin was glowing, radiating, attracting the other over to her. Once Valerie made it over to Marlene, those golden eyes of her's captured Val's. She was stunning, absolutely gorgeous. Her figure was rather boyish-looking, however she had long legs. Miss Valerie could not take her eyes off of her; not then, not now. Marlene made Val a whole different person. In fact, Valerie would not be who she was if it was not for her.
Frederick Hill, better known as Freddy since he hated his full name. It made him feel like an older man. Anyway, he had long wavy burnt umber hair that was always in his eyes, yet he refused to get it cut. His piercing gray eyes were always glazed over and droopy; that might have been from all the hash he'd smoke. Though, they were soft and caring the rest of the time. There was no meat or muscle on his bones. Christ, that was all he was - skin and bones. Freddy's crooked snub nose was very prominent; it was broken by Valerie. What did he expect was going to happen when he nailed her in the face with a basketball? He threw it at her so she threw it right back. He was a handsome guy, and never did an unfunny joke come out of his mouth. Sometimes, just a few times, he did say a non-laughable joke.
At the moment, she was talking to Marlene about God only knows what.
"Marlie, Kipp will not judge you."
Kipp, Kipp Kays. Big 'ol Kippy was not big at all; he was a pudgy fair-skinned boy, standing at the mere height of five feet, five inches. Yes, Marlene was taller than him (Val too), even though she specifically told her best friends that her boyfriend had to be taller than her. Kipp had a pair of beautiful sage green eyes and a freckled face that made up for his shortness. Other than that, the guy had nothing else going for him except his drop-dead gorgeous girlfriend, that loved him oh-so dearly. Was Valerie jealous? Possibly. Jealous of Marlie? No. She was jealous of big 'ol Kippy.
