Part 11

After making our way to the front of the bus, we both held tight to the overhead rail until the big bus came to a halt. The driver reached up and turned the swivel handle and the doors opened in to the brilliant autumn sunshine. I exited first so that I could help Leah down since she was rather short in stature…5’ 1” to be exact though somehow in later years she almost swore she was 5’ 2”, but that is another story in itself. After exiting the bus we made our way down the steep grade into the flat which signaled the entrance to the park itself. I had been here many times over the course of the years and could tell Leah a great deal about the structures that dotted the park and their uses in their former days of glory. I knew all this because my Dad and Mom had told me all bout them from when they were teenagers and dated at this very same park.

I started relaying these tales to her and she hung on my every word. I said…you see that old stone bridge over there? Well it was beneath that bridge that my dad stole his first kiss from my mom. He told me that he had lured her to the park on the pretense of going skating and I then pointed to a rather large brick structure on the other side of the Reedy River across the bridge. He said that once he got her down here that he was just too tired to skate and would she (mom) mind if they just sat on the river bank and talk. Once they got over there Dad said that one thing led to another and that I was conceived…”

WHAT Leah exclaimed!!! He did WHAT?”

I had to talk pretty fast at that point and tell her that is what my dad said, but that he then poked me in the ribs with his elbow and said he was just kidding. Leah then asked me how old was I when dad told me all this and I told her that I was about fourteen or so. “Allen, she said…I know that he is your dad, but that was kind of cruel in my opinion to be telling a fourteen year old boy that he was conceived under a bridge.” I told her that Dad had always been a jokester and liked first reactions when he would tell his shock and awe tales, but now that I think about it I guess it could be considered harsh in its own way…I guess I just never gave it much thought since I knew he was joking. That is when Leah taught me a valuable lesson that I have found out over the years to be true .

She said “Allen, whenever someone is joking like that you can just about count on there being some truth in it; if not in the actual physical realm at least in part in the spiritual realm, for the thought behind the joke came from his heart.” She then out of the blue asked me if I would like to go sit under that bridge with her. I think I uttered something like “uhhh” because I did not know what to think or say at that point. She then squeezed my hand and gave it a tug in the direction of the bridge. When we got to the edge of the bank she stopped and looked me straight in the eye and asked…

 “Allen, tell me what you are thinking this very second”. I was honest with her in my thoughts as I was now completely taken by this strange and mysterious young woman. “Well Leah…I don’t know what I am thinking for certain, I mean I was shocked when you asked me to go sit under the bridge with you after our previous conversation about the bridge.”

She then said “You want to kiss me don’t you”? My reply was less than graceful as I seesawed back and forth from yes…I mean no…I mean I don’t know what I mean”.

She then smiled and said come on and we inched our way down the bank. Just to one side of the bridge support was a small sand bar and we walked over and sat down. We both sat there in momentary silence listening to the sound of the water as it made its way over some brush from a recent rainstorm and then she spoke again.

“Allen, I have a confession to make; I did not mean to make you uncomfortable back there a minute e ago but I just had to know for certain what was in YOUR heart. You see, I go a lot on first reaction too and your reaction was what my spirit told me it would be and that is you are indeed a kind and gentle man. I knew this in my heart when I first saw you standing at that bus stop that morning last week, but now; now I know that you will treat me like a lady, so please do not be hurt at me for this because Allen, I really do believe in love at first sight and when I first laid eyes on you I knew.”

I was dumfounded to say the least, but was relieved nonetheless because it was true , I did want to treat her like a lady. Over the years I had honed my heart for a woman such as this and I knew that I would give her the respect that she so deserved. I had seen too much disrespect for women already in my life. I had seen so many men that I have worked with and knew throughout my life treat women as objects to use and discard at will. Seldom had I seen these men treat the ladies in their life as they were something to be nurtured; something to be treasured. I never understood how they could treat the helpmates that God had given them to love the way t hey did sometimes. No I could not.

I then smiled at Leah and told her that in no way was I hurt…a little confused maybe, but not hurt. She then took my hand in hers and pulled it to her lips and softly kissed my hand. To be continued…..

J. Allen Wilson © 9/2008