So Many Agoes

Chapter 7

August 1967

     Captivating summer. The only time of year where adolescents are free from the constraints of school. The sun was out; nights come slowly and when they do they're beautiful. New amazing scents awakened in the neighborhood, whether it was the still beautifully miraculous grill or the fresh breeze coming from the woods to our east.

     However that particular summer I felt tied down. I had asked multiple people around town for jobs I could do in an effort to make up for the money that was stolen from me. I doubled down on shifts at the car repair shop, requested a paper route, began stocking and delivering groceries and even offered to mow neighbors' lawns.

     I was determined to have my car by the middle of senior year. Emilienne, Francis Jr and Eddie all kept me company during the long hours; often bringing music to listen to and sometimes helping me out with tasks when I was exhausted.
 
     Everybody thought I was crazy: my parents, especially my mother thought I was working myself too hard and wasn't having enough fun and Emilienne complained once that we didn't spend enough time together. However Emilienne's complaints ended as quickly as they started when I simply told her,

"I want to be able to pick up my girlfriend and take her on a date or to school. In my own car."

     That's when she started helping me out even if all she was doing was keeping me company. She'd appear while I was doing one of my paper routes, would grab a record and play it while I was repairing a car or playfully mess around while I tried to restock groceries.

     She made working a lot easier, and more pleasant. Things that summer went well even though the summer itself flashed by in a mear blink of the eye.

 
     One day however, something changed. Emilienne joined me on my paper route as usual, but she seemed to be deep in thought. Her eyebrows were drawn together as they did often when she lost herself in thought,

"What's on your mind?"

"Oh. I was wondering if one of the places you work for would be willing to hire me?"

"You want to work? How come?"

"Well my mother needs some help with cash,"

Her voice trailed off, lingering as if she was hinting that what she said wasn't the real reason she wanted to work

"That's not the only reason is it?" I questioned

"No." She took a deep breath, as if to collect her thoughts

"I see you work day in and day out constantly. You set your mind to something and it often happens and I mean look, we're only a month and a week into summer break and you've already made up half of the cash you lost. I want to work too. I've never been able to but if I had the chance I'd do it. It's almost like proving to myself that I'm capable of far more than what the world tells me I am."

     My heart had clenched a long time ago; she wanted to work because people constantly told her she wasn't good for it. I understood what she meant too, often times I would be standing right next to her when someone told her she wasn't good enough; for me, to live, for happiness. Whatever they could come up with to make her feel small, they would say. She rarely ever showed what those remarks did to her mentally but sometimes a little vulnerability would show through, something that suggested she believed what they said.
 
     So immediately I told her that Harvey's grocery shop where I restocked groceries, would more than likely welcome her onto the team and less than a week later Emilienne was standing beside me, stocking groceries with me and getting paid for it.
 
     We worked so well together, not just in the grocery store but in every aspect of life. We complemented each other perfectly. A lot of people looked at us funny, they thought we were odd. We definitely weren't normal, and we knew that but we also knew that we loved and cared for each other and that's what was kept us going. Life seemed fuller with her in it and dulled without.
 
     That was probably one of the best summers of my life; it had started out dull. The promise of doing nothing but work lurked above me like a misty cold cloud that only threatened stormy weather. But Emilienne once again, changed my perspective on work and I started seeing the benefits and her idea of work quickly turned my dull outlook into a great one. Emilienne revealed that even though I was working my behind off and sacrificing spending time with friends, I should be content. I had Emilienne, my family and my friends and at least I was working towards my goal, at least I had a way to make my money.

      These were the golden days. There were no real dangers, no real problems and even though I was learning something new from Emilienne pretty much everyday, I was ignorant. And as we all know, ignorance is very very bliss.