Peaches

The Dandelion

Jean woke up that Tuesday and hopped out of bed. The day before was a wonderful day, and thinking back on it made her heart pitter. A bunch of women from town had come over to play cards, and Mrs. Bernet had brought along George Thomas. Jean was in incredible luck. Just before they arrived, her Mama let her take a cold bath in the big tub they had in the bathroom. It had felt great to get all the day old sweat off her, and it did wonders for her complexion. Mama had said she gone from a Raggedy Ann, to a china doll.

George Thomas was dressed plainly, in brown slacks and a cream button up shirt. Even then, he still looked handsome in his plainness. With his blue eyes and charming grin, Jean melted at the sight of him. He had asked her for a brief walk around the property, and then after, he had asked her for a night out on the town the very next day.

It was going to be wonderful. He had his driving license since he was 17, so at 20 he was more than experienced enough to drive her around. His family had a rusty truck that they let him borrow when he wanted. After he picked her up at 6 o'clock, she hoped that they would go to the soda fountain and talk even more than they did on Monday. Jean hoped with all her heart and soul that he would fall in love with her that very night.

She wanted to look pretty for him so badly. She wore the cleanest dress she had, a minty green thing with a peter pan collar. She got her mother to pin curl her hair the night before, and stole Mary's lipstick when she wasn't looking. In a last-ditch effort to seem more shapely, she stuffed her bra with tissue paper.

The doorbell rang when she was packing a small basket purse full with a compact, tissues, and spare change. She had read somewhere once that it was better to make a boy wait at least twenty minutes, but she was too excited. After waiting a moment, she looked in the mirror to adjust herself, and then slowly, almost lazily, opened the door.

George Thomas stood there, six feet tall, holding both his hands behind his back. He looked wonderful. His dark hair mussed, his blue eyes shiny, and he had the kindest smile on his face. One could say that he looked as if he walked straight out of a romance novel.

He dug something out of his back pocket and quickly placed it behind her ear. It was a dandelion. "It made me think of you, all yellow on top and pretty." Jean blushed and took a step outside. He let out his arm and she took it merrily. "What do you want to do?"

"I—"She took one long look into his eyes and blanked. She had visualized the entire date since he had asked her out, down to every last detail, but it was gone. It was as if she had blinked, and then forgotten her birthday, her address, even her name. "Whatever you wanna do is fine with me." She spilled out nervously.

He smiled with his teeth then, all wide and beautiful. "Good," He led her to his family truck, following the dirt path. "I have a great place in mind."

George Thomas opened her door like a gentleman, holding it open until she began to climb into the truck. Jean placed her hand down on the seat, trying to place herself but quickly pulled it away. The rich leather had absorbed enough sun for it to burn to the touch. She sat down hesitantly, clenching her teeth and trying to appear graceful. The seats set her bottom and back ablaze, but she bit her lip and stayed still until it faded. George was watching her wiggle into her seat, and she didn't want to annoy him with complaints. Noticing the sudden displeasure in her eyes, George Thomas asked if she was all right. She nodded yes, but silently wished for a block of ice to sit on.

A pang of anxiety got caught in Jean's throat when he took the left turn instead of right. He took the turn away from town. "Where are we going?" She asked, gripping her purse tightly to her chest.

"It's just a little place that I like going sometimes." He said, momentarily moving his head from the road to turn and face her. "I think you'll like it. There are other girls that go there too." Jean was even more confused now, especially by how he avoided directly answering her. If she didn't think she knew him so well, she might've been scared.