I recently received an email with a photo attached. It was a group picture. There were five of us in the photo. I was in it along with my best buddy and three girls. At first, I only recognized one of the girls. The one I recognize was the woman who sent the email because of her height. The photograph was really a picture taken of the original photograph using a cell phone. It was clear the original photo had seen a lot over the years. It didn’t take too long before I could remember the other two girls in the photo. Grace was the next one I remembered. I remember she was constantly harassed by the boys because she had developed early and in a big way. They had nicknamed her “Jugs.” She and my buddy were dating. The lady who had sent me the email was Millie. She was the most petite of the three girls and had a great sense of humor. The last girl was Sue. She came from a very large family. As their family had grown, they had converted the garage into a couple of bedrooms, one for the boys and one for the girls. Sue always felt a little uncomfortable because she had to wear hand-me-down clothing. I remember Sue giving me a kiss. Sue took my face in both her hands and kissed me very gently on the lips and then told me that she liked me. It was the first time any girl had initiated a kiss with me. I think that’s why I remember it.
Millie said in her email that she had been “very much in love” with me. She had made every attempt to get me to notice her. Millie said she got mad at Sue when Sue told her that she had kissed me. Millie said she had kissed me after that to get me to notice her. I can only remember kissing Millie once. I think the only reason I remember the kiss is because we got yelled at for kissing. Millie was so short – she might be 5 foot nothing – and I was standing and we were talking, I remember picking her up and setting her on something so we were almost at eye level with each other.
Millie said in her email that when she found my blog it didn’t take her long before she realized who I was. She said, “There were many nights where you kept me company in my hopes and dreams.” “After you moved, I was angry that I hadn’t made any attempt to keep in touch with you.” From our few exchanges, it’s clear Millie has had a very successful life. She’s very proud of her grandchildren.
Back those many years ago, I was too dumb or innocent or something to recognize Millie’s interest in me. It makes me wonder what or who else I may have missed.
One Response
I have been asked how old I was when this happened. I think I was a freshman in high school. I don’t remember being able to drive, so it couldn’t of been much later than that. I do know as they say “the hormones were raging.” I’m also not sure I knew what to do beyond kissing – grin.