he establishment has your whole life all planned out for you, even before you get a chance to live it. ”
Two weeks later, Jack walked into the Bluebird Café just before closing time carrying a large cardboard box. Rosie had left for the day, and the place was quiet.
Jack placed the box on the first table by the door. “Yo, Dude and Dudette! I thought y’all might like some new threads.”
He reached inside the box and pulled out a tie-dyed tee-shirt just like the kids wore on TV. The bright splashes of yellow and orange on the white shirt reminded me of the sunset on the hillside.
“Oooo, that’s pretty! How much are they?”
“You just help yourself, pretty lady.”
“For real?”
I rambled through the box and found dozens of tee-shirts with sunbursts of blue, yellow, and orange. I loved the brightly mingled colors.
Andy walked over. “These are real nice, Man. Where’d you get them?”
“A buddy of mine stopped by on his way to Florida. He had a whole truckload of them. I’ve got another box just like it in the van.”
Andy said, “They’re pretty nice, all right.”
Jack looked at me and grinned. “Just take whatever you want there, Darlin’. A tiny thing like you would probably wear a small. Just take them all, the small ones. That’s probably what you’d wear.”
“For real?” I squealed.
Jack winked at me. “Sure, Baby, anything for my pretty lady.”
Jack pointed to his own white shirt, splotched in brilliant orange and red. “Andy, my man, you might take a large like mine.”
Andy handed Jack a Mountain Dew. “Here, Man. On the house. It’s the least I can do.”
“No sweat, Man. What are friends for? Hey, you guys want to take a trip up to the hill?”
“Sure, Man. It’s about closing time, anyway.”
Andy grabbed a couple of shirts from the box and headed toward the kitchen. I looked at the big stack of shirts I’d chosen from the box and felt guilty.
“Jack, are you sure I can have all of these?”
Jack looked at me with a steady gaze that reminded me of Prince Charming in Cinderella .
“By all means, anything for my lady.”
I felt my face go red. “Well then, I guess I could try one on.”
I jumped when I saw Jack leaning on the wall just outside the bathroom door. “Ah, lovely, my dear, almost a flower child, but maybe this will help.”
He lifted his hand in the air, and a dandelion magically appeared. I looked up at the tiny flower dangling from his fingertips and shivered when he placed it behind my ear. Jack made me tingle from head to toe.
We went to the hill together that night. After that, sometimes Andy stayed behind, and it was just the two of us sitting on the secluded hillside watching the sun go down. I spent most of that time listening to Jack talk about his adventures, ideas, and beliefs. I had never done anything worth talking about, so I just listened. I hadn’t had time to form my own opinions about life, so I clung to his. Even though I was madly in love with him, I was nervous about being alone with him after what happened to me. But Jack was always a perfect gentleman. He continued to call me “his lady” and showered me with compliments and friendly hugs. I was thankful when the subject of sex never came up.
August, 1971
One hot day in August, Andy and I just gave up on the afternoon clean up routine.
“Oh, Man, it sure is hot,” Andy said, tossing a playing card into a bread basket.
I took another swig of my Dr. Pepper. “Yeah, it’s so humid that Rosie’s big hair might fall flat as a flitter when she steps out of Miss Ruby’s Beauty Parlor.”
Andy chuckled. “You know what, Annette? You’ve really changed this summer. I mean, for the good, you know. And I think it’s because of you and Jack. You two make a cute couple.”
“You think so?”
“Sure, I mean, look at how sad you were before the summer started and how happy you are now. You two are meant for each other.”
“Does he know what happened to
Two weeks later, Jack walked into the Bluebird Café just before closing time carrying a large cardboard box. Rosie had left for the day, and the place was quiet.
Jack placed the box on the first table by the door. “Yo, Dude and Dudette! I thought y’all might like some new threads.”
He reached inside the box and pulled out a tie-dyed tee-shirt just like the kids wore on TV. The bright splashes of yellow and orange on the white shirt reminded me of the sunset on the hillside.
“Oooo, that’s pretty! How much are they?”
“You just help yourself, pretty lady.”
“For real?”
I rambled through the box and found dozens of tee-shirts with sunbursts of blue, yellow, and orange. I loved the brightly mingled colors.
Andy walked over. “These are real nice, Man. Where’d you get them?”
“A buddy of mine stopped by on his way to Florida. He had a whole truckload of them. I’ve got another box just like it in the van.”
Andy said, “They’re pretty nice, all right.”
Jack looked at me and grinned. “Just take whatever you want there, Darlin’. A tiny thing like you would probably wear a small. Just take them all, the small ones. That’s probably what you’d wear.”
“For real?” I squealed.
Jack winked at me. “Sure, Baby, anything for my pretty lady.”
Jack pointed to his own white shirt, splotched in brilliant orange and red. “Andy, my man, you might take a large like mine.”
Andy handed Jack a Mountain Dew. “Here, Man. On the house. It’s the least I can do.”
“No sweat, Man. What are friends for? Hey, you guys want to take a trip up to the hill?”
“Sure, Man. It’s about closing time, anyway.”
Andy grabbed a couple of shirts from the box and headed toward the kitchen. I looked at the big stack of shirts I’d chosen from the box and felt guilty.
“Jack, are you sure I can have all of these?”
Jack looked at me with a steady gaze that reminded me of Prince Charming in Cinderella .
“By all means, anything for my lady.”
I felt my face go red. “Well then, I guess I could try one on.”
I jumped when I saw Jack leaning on the wall just outside the bathroom door. “Ah, lovely, my dear, almost a flower child, but maybe this will help.”
He lifted his hand in the air, and a dandelion magically appeared. I looked up at the tiny flower dangling from his fingertips and shivered when he placed it behind my ear. Jack made me tingle from head to toe.
We went to the hill together that night. After that, sometimes Andy stayed behind, and it was just the two of us sitting on the secluded hillside watching the sun go down. I spent most of that time listening to Jack talk about his adventures, ideas, and beliefs. I had never done anything worth talking about, so I just listened. I hadn’t had time to form my own opinions about life, so I clung to his. Even though I was madly in love with him, I was nervous about being alone with him after what happened to me. But Jack was always a perfect gentleman. He continued to call me “his lady” and showered me with compliments and friendly hugs. I was thankful when the subject of sex never came up.
August, 1971
One hot day in August, Andy and I just gave up on the afternoon clean up routine.
“Oh, Man, it sure is hot,” Andy said, tossing a playing card into a bread basket.
I took another swig of my Dr. Pepper. “Yeah, it’s so humid that Rosie’s big hair might fall flat as a flitter when she steps out of Miss Ruby’s Beauty Parlor.”
Andy chuckled. “You know what, Annette? You’ve really changed this summer. I mean, for the good, you know. And I think it’s because of you and Jack. You two make a cute couple.”
“You think so?”
“Sure, I mean, look at how sad you were before the summer started and how happy you are now. You two are meant for each other.”
“Does he know what happened to
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