Gamine

Your mother was the most beautiful woman in Discovery. I can say that without bias because she won the Miss Discovery pageant when she was 18. Of course, the mother you knew would have had a fit if you or Emily had ever wanted to participate in anything quite so shallow and meaningless. But at the time, she was less mature, and beauty and boys were her whole life.

Normally she would have had nothing to do with me. We were as different as two people could be. She ran with the popular crowd, I did the Science Fair. We both loved football, but me for the sport, she for the players. In fact, she was dating the star running back Trevor Anderson when we met.

It was a Saturday night at the old drive-in. She and Trevor were there to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid -- supposedly -- and I was working to earn money for college. I poured drinks and popped popcorn and walked everything out to the cars. Well, Trevor had ordered dinner for them and I came by with it, but they were necking in the front seat with the windows closed. I tapped, and your mother drew back from Trevor as if she'd been slapped. I tried not to laugh, but I did smile, because boy did your mother look beautiful when she blushed. I gave them their food and went back to my station.

Later your mother told Trevor she had to go to the bathroom, but she came to talk to me instead.

"It wasn't what it looked like," she said.

"You don't have to explain nothin' to me," I replied.

She sort of bit her bottom lip, a habit of hers when she was nervous. "You won't tell my papa, will you?"

I'd forgotten that her father was a regular at my father's barber shop. I shook my head.

"Oh, thank you!" she said. "Thank you so much."

She started to walk away, then turned back. "Hey, you wanna grab a burger sometime? On me."

It was a silly question, but a miracle that she asked. I said yes, and we made plans to meet up later that week. I didn't want to let her pay, but I had a four-year degree in my future, so we went Dutch. I think that actually pleased her, though. She was so used to guys doing everything for her, whether she wanted them to or not, and I let her be independent. Free.

Well, you know how it went from there.