LARRY

A new guy came to work

in the sales department.

His name was Larry.

He was quiet but mannerly.



One weekend he invited me to his house

and I went.



The kitchen was warm and sunny

from the window over the sink


full of bright white metal cabinets

a big wooden table

with benches against the wall

and plenty of chairs to sit on.



Larry made me an egg sandwich

to go with the chicken soup

that was simmering

on the stove


and he got cheese and shiny red apples

out of the fridge

and we ate supper by ourselves in the kitchen.


No man had ever made me a sandwich before

so that melted my heart.


His little sister flitted in and out of the kitchen

complaining because she couldn't find her arithmetic workbook

and his mother came slamming in from work

smiled at me when we were introduced

then ran upstairs to get into comfortable shoes.



After supper we got into his 53 Chevy

red and white

and he took me to the drive-in to see "Tammy's In Love".


He didn't talk much

but I figured it didn't matter

because I could talk up a storm.


He laughed at me

when I told him about getting up to go to the bathroom

and finding a mouse running down the hall

and being scared to go


and gently reached past me to shut the car door

when I popped it open by leaning against it.



I talked to him about work

and Bernie

and Eleanor's baby shower that we were planning

and about Mom and Daddy

and all the babies


and he was kind

and said to me

"I bet you miss your family"

and I told him I surely did.



He went up to the concession stand to get us some hot buttered popcorn

and then the movie came on

and we were quiet

watching a movie about love

and I wondered if I could love him

or he could love me.


It didn't seem possible to me

because being quiet

and gentle

and kind

like he was

didn't really appeal to me.



I thought of Charles' wide laughing mouth

and his jokes

and hugs

and how he could talk up a storm just like me


but I also knew

that Charles was married and gone from my life.



My eyes slid off the screen

to a magnificent sunset

that spread out to the left and right as far as the eye could see

pink blue purple orange

and my heart lifted

and I thanked the Lord for such a stunning sight


and later on I thought maybe it was a sign

that this man was the one the Lord had picked out for me.




Music Playing: Tammy
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This story is a continuation of Diary of a Preacher's Daughter.
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