Friday afternoon, Steven Lee, the tall, seventeen year old great nephew of Julia Armstrong, finally paid a visit to a lonesome Bob Armstrong.
Bob was sitting on the front porch and saw Steven as the lanky lad walked up the front sidewalk. Wearing gym shorts, a tank top, and tennis shoes, Steven perspired and brushed his long hair away from his hot forehead.
"Hey, buddy!" Bob greeted.
"Hey, Bob," Steven replied, in his youthful, deep voice. "Sorry for not visiting in so long!"
"Aw--don't apologize," Bob replied. "You look like you've been running."
"Yep," Steven replied. "I just got through with track practice."
"Then go back to the kitchen and get us two coca-colas out of the ice box!"
Steven, at the young age of seventeen, had experienced quite an interesting life to the people of small town Cole.
When he was seven years old, his beautiful mother died. Steven was too young at the time to understand this tragedy.
Over the years, Steven began to look more and more like his mother. His face, hair color, eyes--these features daily reminded the people of Cole that Steven Lee once had a beautiful mother, and now she was gone.
When Steven was nine, his father, George, sold their home, and the two moved to an older, smaller house in a less desirable part of town. In this area, Steven fell in with a tougher group of friends. He matured early, both physically and emotionally, and his "growing pains" included regular sessions of drinking, smoking, minor vandalism, and having sex with black girls. None of the adults knew about this misbehavior, until one night when Steven and several other teenagers were hauled in to the local police station, busted for underage beer possession. George, understandably upset, grounded Steven for several weeks, and during that time Steven did a lot of soul searching, got more involved with the small youth group at the Episcopal church, and began learning more useful skills such as yard work, laundry, etc. He soon outgrew his petty crimes, did better in school, and developed a loyalty to elderly relatives whom he visited more regularly than others his age did.
George remarried a woman from Lake Providence, Louisiana, named Edwina Bingham, whom he had been dating for several months. Steven was shocked by the marriage, though. During the honeymoon, steven stayed in the home of his father's close friends, a Jewish family named Karl Katz, Karl's sister, Miriam, and Miriam's husband and daughter, Joe and Jeidi Mayer. The four convinced Steven that things, somehow, always worked out for the best, and even though Edwina might not "hold a candle" to his real mother, there would be other good qualities she would possess. The few days at the Katz-Meyer home inspired Steven.
After the remarriage, the Lee's again moved--this time, to a new house, one mile north of Cole. Steven reached full physical maturity by age seventeen, acquired better manners, and hung out with nicer friends. While still considered "cool," gone were Steven's wildest days, and he showed a lot of promise.
Steven returned with the cokes, handed one to Bob, and took a seat in one of the wicker chairs on the porch.
Knowing how interested Steven was in the adult goings on of Cole, Bob began discussing the events of the past week.
"Yeah!" Steven said. "I've heard a thousand different stories! Since you were at the party, straighten me out!"
Bob, after several days of a particular story, forgot the main thread, and never kept the facts straight. Thus, he added to the Cole rumors. "Well, the doctor--what's his name?"
"Taylor Baker."
"Yeah--baker--well, anyway, Taylor Baker went home and beat his wife. Then, Mark Engle, the fellow at the post office, comes running in and screams, 'Taylor just knocked his wife out!'"
Of course, Steven knew that Bob, even though he was at the party, was quite confused. He was really amused by the routine. Thus, Bob continued.
"Then, John throws Sam--yes, that's his name--Sam Masters, out for having a bottle of vodka."
Steven knew that part well. He'd heard it from Sam and Joycie.
"I'll bet Joycie was upset!"
"Upset?" Bob replied. "She almost had a damn fit! Anyway, you know they've been fighting over there a lot. I'm eating with them. Clara tells me that every day Joycie has a bad day, Clara herself has a bad dat. Clara cries an awful lot, you know!"
Steven then wanted the scoop on Jim and Fifi Ballinger.
"You heard anything about Fifi Ballinger?"
"The unfortunate thing about Fifi," Bob began, "is that she's not only a whiskey head, but also a pill head!"
Steven laughed.
"It's not funny!" Bob said. "The man that sprays for termites told me he was in the store next to Janie--what's her name?"
"Janie Engle."
"Yes--Janie Engle--the girl that runs the beauty parlor! Anyway, the guy that sprays for pests in the old building next to the beauty shop says he saw Fifi go into the shop the other morning, and she looked drunk. Well, I'll bet you anything she was on pills that morning! I hear she goes in Clarence Donovan's drugstore and buys all sorts of pills, things most people buy once or twice a year--Fifi goes in there every week and buys 'em by the carton!"
Steven wanted to avoid further discussion about the Donovan drugstore, as he knew of some his girlfriends who'd illegally gotten birth control pills there in the past.
"Do you know when Julia will be home?" Steven asked.
"When I talked to her last," Bob replied, "she said she'd be home in a few days, then back to New Orleans!"
They were discussing Mary Anne's condition when a brown Buick drove up in front of the house, and parked. Jack Fisher and the girl he was then dating, beautiful Margaret Hensen, got out, and joined Bob and Steven on the porch.
"We've been looking for you all afternoon, Steven," Jack said.
"Aren't you excited about tonight?" Margaret asked.
"Whatever is going on tonight?" Bob asked.
"Steven has a date with Valerie Black!" Margaret said.
"I don't believe I know her!" Bob said. "Give me some background."
"Well," Jack said, "with the exception of Margaret, she's one of the most beautiful girls at Cole High! She's being chased by two or three other boys.
"Yes," Margaret chimed in, "and old Steven has ner tonight."
"Be careful, Steve!" Bob joked.
Everyone laughed.
"Don't worry," Steven said. "I will."
After some close calls in the past, Steven meant what he said!
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