Wally became a problem. In this day and age, he would be in jail for this. He never laid a hand on any of us, but what he was doing was still wrong…and we knew it.
That winter, we were messing around at Jacee’s house across the road from my place. Jacee was an only child who had things we coveted, like Avon’s peach soap, that was shaped like a peach and opened into two halves, revealing a soap peach pit. She had more than one Barbie. We went over there to see the new stuff she had that we didn’t. Then we’d go home and crow about how spoiled she was. Jealous…
Jacee was also Protestant. Pretty well the only one in a Catholic neighborhood. There were other Protestants, but they didn’t matter. They were on the other side of 13th street. She was within the boundaries of our kingdom. I was always trying to convert her. I dragged her to our church once. I was summoned to the Tribunal of Mothers, hers and mine, and asked what I thought I was doing. “Converting her!” I proudly announced. I got into trouble! For doing the Lord’s work! Which my mother was always going on about. Apparently, Jacee had her own church and Jesus is there too. “Ok then,” I said “why do the Catholics whisper “they’re Protestants!” like it’s something bad?” I never did find out, because I was grounded for a week, and the case was closed. I was doing the Lord’s work…
That day, we were in Jacee’s kitchen minding our own business. The phone rang and it was Wally. Next to Jacee’s house was a vacant lot. Next to that lot, was Wally’s house. From his bedroom window, he could see us in Jacee’s kitchen. Uhn uh…So he’s yakking at us to take our clothes off and stand in the kitchen window for him. Jacee hangs up on him and tells us his request. Of course, we start freaking out and I mean major freak out! He calls again and Jacee yells at him to stop it. Anda says it’s time to tell our parents. We know we can’t without proof….they’ll never believe us…it’s his word against ours…we’re just kids with overactive imaginations…No one else has said stuff like that about him. Well no! We’re the only girls in the neighborhood. Duh!
Somehow one of us hatched a plan. Call Wally we said. Get him to take his clothes off for us! Then what? Then Jacee takes her Polaroid, runs over there and takes a picture! Oh my God! That would work! Then we have him! What if he doesn’t want to take his clothes off! Are you freakin kidding? It’s WALLY! The PERV!!! Oh yah…Then there’s the round of “who will call him.” You call…nooo you call him…you call him! It’s your phone! He saves us all the trouble by calling again. We’re so trying to play it cool, that we get the giggles. Shut up you guys, were gonna blow it! He’s going on how we’re nothing but teases. Jacee takes a deep breath and says “well then, why don’t you strip and stand in your window for us!” she barks. Followed by “You WILL?!”
He never hesitated. Says he’ll be in the window in 10 minutes. We’re screaming like idiots, scrambling around…for what? Jacee can’t find her camera! Oh my God! We’re just a pack of nerves. ”Oh my God!” screeches Anda. “What?!” Jacee and I say in unison. “We’re going to hell! We’re going to see a naked man!!!”
Next -> Seeing the Big Picture
Tags: Avon, Barbie, Catholic, Polaroid, Protestant