which she hated.
'You like Jim, Ma? Don't you?' Blue Girl would ask, and Ma would just shrug. Blue Girl kept asking over and over, trying to get some sense of what her mother thought, and finally Ma said, 'Don't let him get too familiar, if you know what I mean.'
Blue Girl knew. But she did not listen.
The next few nights, she waited for Jimmy to turn up and when he didn't, Blue Girl cornered him at school while he was taking his jacket out of his locker.
'Hey,' she said, feigning indifference, but he did not reply, nor did he meet her gaze. 'You haven't been by lately.'
'I'm in a rush, Cath,' he said brusquely, and then he softened, 'Listen you're great, but you're a still a kid, if you know what I mean.'
Blue Girl was left standing there with her heart pounding, wondering what had changed between them. I'm eighteen, she thought, and ready to graduate.
Travis
She was half way home, walking along the side of the road under the crab apple trees which were flowering, holding her books closely to her chest. She didn't even look up when a man crossed her path, and moved sideways to avoid him. They danced a shuffle before she heard his soft laughter. She looked up from the ground and saw that he was slim and tall, and had a long lovely face that was joyous and open when he smiled. He tipped his hat, which was sweat soaked around the ribbon, and she turned to watch him go, watching his blue jeans and his white shirt receding as he walked down the strip of road.
She never thought she'd see him again. He recognized her one day when she had gone to the store to get some dry goods for Ma and offered her a ride home. Afterward, and occasionally, he would turn up out of nowhere, in the diner where she went with her friends after the movies to have a soda, and sometimes when she was alone, just walking. Was he following her, she wanted to ask. But he said he liked to wander sometimes, just to see what he could see. He was a wanderer in many respects, and he'd been doing that since he was a boy. Leaving places, just to leave them behind.
He took to calling her Blue Girl, because he thought she seemed a bit pensive, though it was a name her classmates had coined because she had always worn blue when she was younger. She was surprised that he used that word; she didn't think he was the kind of man who knew what it meant. He read some, he told her, and liked to learn new words. He had left school early, leaving behind his stepfather who used to tan his hide for the hell of it when he got drunk, and leaving his weakling mother who never stopped it from happening. He said this in a rueful way and then grinned as if he was ashamed of his circumstances but didn't want her to think he felt sorry for himself. Sometimes he would talk about his sister, who was smart like Blue Girl.
'I can tell you are,' he said. 'You should make something of yourself.'
She tried to get him to talk about the things he read, but he never had more than a word or two to say. 'I'm laconic -like,' he said, 'but you don't talk much either.'
'It's because people here don't really understand me or what I'm trying to say, so I mostly keep my thoughts to myself.'
'We don't always need to talk,' he said. 'Sometimes it's just nice to be with someone and share the silence.'
She thought about that and how comfortable it made her feel since the sight of him made her go all funny inside. It felt like there was swarm of bees in her nether regions and that their buzzing was permeating her whole body and making it tingle and glow. This made her flush, which flustered her and made her feel ashamed of feelings and sensations that she could not control. She hoped he wouldn't notice, but if he had, he pretended not to.
The First Time
She met him one summer night when the wild was calling them both. The hay was in the meadow, the stars were in the sky, and she felt an animal restlessness welling up inside her that she couldn't explain. She was still thinking about Jimmy,
'You like Jim, Ma? Don't you?' Blue Girl would ask, and Ma would just shrug. Blue Girl kept asking over and over, trying to get some sense of what her mother thought, and finally Ma said, 'Don't let him get too familiar, if you know what I mean.'
Blue Girl knew. But she did not listen.
The next few nights, she waited for Jimmy to turn up and when he didn't, Blue Girl cornered him at school while he was taking his jacket out of his locker.
'Hey,' she said, feigning indifference, but he did not reply, nor did he meet her gaze. 'You haven't been by lately.'
'I'm in a rush, Cath,' he said brusquely, and then he softened, 'Listen you're great, but you're a still a kid, if you know what I mean.'
Blue Girl was left standing there with her heart pounding, wondering what had changed between them. I'm eighteen, she thought, and ready to graduate.
Travis
She was half way home, walking along the side of the road under the crab apple trees which were flowering, holding her books closely to her chest. She didn't even look up when a man crossed her path, and moved sideways to avoid him. They danced a shuffle before she heard his soft laughter. She looked up from the ground and saw that he was slim and tall, and had a long lovely face that was joyous and open when he smiled. He tipped his hat, which was sweat soaked around the ribbon, and she turned to watch him go, watching his blue jeans and his white shirt receding as he walked down the strip of road.
She never thought she'd see him again. He recognized her one day when she had gone to the store to get some dry goods for Ma and offered her a ride home. Afterward, and occasionally, he would turn up out of nowhere, in the diner where she went with her friends after the movies to have a soda, and sometimes when she was alone, just walking. Was he following her, she wanted to ask. But he said he liked to wander sometimes, just to see what he could see. He was a wanderer in many respects, and he'd been doing that since he was a boy. Leaving places, just to leave them behind.
He took to calling her Blue Girl, because he thought she seemed a bit pensive, though it was a name her classmates had coined because she had always worn blue when she was younger. She was surprised that he used that word; she didn't think he was the kind of man who knew what it meant. He read some, he told her, and liked to learn new words. He had left school early, leaving behind his stepfather who used to tan his hide for the hell of it when he got drunk, and leaving his weakling mother who never stopped it from happening. He said this in a rueful way and then grinned as if he was ashamed of his circumstances but didn't want her to think he felt sorry for himself. Sometimes he would talk about his sister, who was smart like Blue Girl.
'I can tell you are,' he said. 'You should make something of yourself.'
She tried to get him to talk about the things he read, but he never had more than a word or two to say. 'I'm laconic -like,' he said, 'but you don't talk much either.'
'It's because people here don't really understand me or what I'm trying to say, so I mostly keep my thoughts to myself.'
'We don't always need to talk,' he said. 'Sometimes it's just nice to be with someone and share the silence.'
She thought about that and how comfortable it made her feel since the sight of him made her go all funny inside. It felt like there was swarm of bees in her nether regions and that their buzzing was permeating her whole body and making it tingle and glow. This made her flush, which flustered her and made her feel ashamed of feelings and sensations that she could not control. She hoped he wouldn't notice, but if he had, he pretended not to.
The First Time
She met him one summer night when the wild was calling them both. The hay was in the meadow, the stars were in the sky, and she felt an animal restlessness welling up inside her that she couldn't explain. She was still thinking about Jimmy,
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