Summer, 1953: Elsa

Bayside Police Sergeant Raymond Schmidt’s vacation was from Saturday, the seventeenth of August, through Labor Day. He, his wife, Tina, and their closer-to-sixteen-than-seventeen-year-old daughter were spending their vacation in a rented cottage at Far Rockaway.

This weekend belonged to the Port liberty section, but it was hot and humid and he didn’t feel like taking the long ride into the city and, seeing as Ewing was away for the weekend, he’d decided to spend Saturday and Sunday just laying around the beach and to go to Flatbush on Saturday evening for a Chinese dinner, then to see From Here to Eternity for the second time.

Standing knee-deep in the warm, calm water, he watched as a girl in a two-piece bathing suit trudged across the sand. Approaching, he saw that the girl was “put together” just like he liked girls to be put together: big busted, slightly on the meaty side, and not too tall. Carrying a blanket and a towel over one arm and a picnic basket in the other hand, coming closer the girl reminded him of someone he knew… someone he used to know.

Walking in the hot sand, looking for a likely place to spread her blanket, she noticed a darkly tanned young man standing knee deep in the water, whom she knew was watching her. Even though the beach was not crowded and she could have put her blanket just about anyplace, the girl absently veered in the young man’s direction. Coming close to the water’s edge, to almost directly in front of him, putting the basket onto the sand, flipping the blanket open, bending her body towards the water—showing more than just a bit of cleavage—she attempted to spread the light blanket, but the breeze lifted the end off the sand.

Watching as the girl came closer, then as she tried to spread her blanket, thinking, She came here on propose. Starting out of the water, “Hey!” Mitchell said, “I’ll give you a hand.”

Pretending she hadn’t noticed him, looking up, straightening her body, pulling her shoulders back—showing off her jutting breasts—“Thanks,” the girl said, as, shading her eyes with her hand, watching as he approached, “Wow!” she muttered, because ten months in the Coast Guard had removed even more weight, and had added even more muscle.

Holding two ends of the blanket down, “Hi,” now remembering whom this girl reminded him of.

Dropping to her knees, “Hi,” she answered back.

Using the picnic basket and her sandals, the girl weighed three points of the blanket down, as he, using a soda bottle he found in the sand, did the fourth.

Looking for some sort of an opening line, thinking, The truth here might work best. “You know,” he said, “you’re much prettier, but you remind me of someone I used to know from back home.”

“Yeah?” Smiling. “That’s a new approach! So, I remind you of someone you used to know from back home, only prettier, huh?”

Laughing, “No, it’s true , you do! You remind me of a girl I used to know in Chicago by the name of Ina Dorfmann.”

Sitting, “Ina Dorfmann?” she laughed. “I remind you of an Ina Dorfmann?”

Standing above her, “Yeah, but like I said, you’re…”

“I know! I’m much prettier.”

“Yeah, you are!”

He knew that New York men did not usually shake hands when meeting a woman for the first time but, It worked with Julie! Besides, he felt that it made meeting a young woman easier because once they’d touched, they’d shared something personal so, holding his hand downward, “I’m Mitchell.”

Smiling, “Hi, Mitch.” Taking hold of his hand, “That’s a pretty sneaky way to hold a girl’s hand before you’ve even met her.”

“Yeah,” returning the smile, and—so long as she hadn’t tried to free her hand—still holding her hand, “guess it is.”

“I’m Elsa.” Patting the blanket with her free hand, “Sit down, why don’t you.”

“Hi, Elsa!” Feeling the pressure of her fingers about his hand, What the hell, he thought, If she wants to hold hands it sure as hell’s okay with me. Sitting, “You know,” he said, “you’re not only the first Elsa I’ve ever met, you’re the prettiest Elsa I’ve ever met.”

Thinking, My God! He’s the fastest guy I’ve ever met! “Yeah,” she said, “I’ll bet you tell that to all the girls.”

“Only girls named Elsa…” Thinking, This is going too good, too fast! “You, uh, expecting anyone here today?”

Surprised at herself because, After all, I only first met him three minutes ago. Elsa enjoyed the feel of her hand in his, thinking, This guy is too good! “No, I’m all by myself today.” Lifting their hands, looking at them, “Uh?”

“Oh, sorry.” Reluctantly releasing her hand, “How’d you like the company of a lonely Coast Guardsman who’s far, far away from home?”

“You’re in the Coast Guard?”

“Yeah. I’m stationed right here, at Rockaway.”

“Sounds like tough duty. Yeah, sure, I’ll do my bit for my country by keeping a lonely Coast Guardsman who’s far, far away from home company today.”

“Great! Thanks! I’ll get my stuff.”

Licking her lips, Elsa Schmidt watched Mitchell Lipensky’s backside as he retrieved his blanket, T-shirt, book, and Thermos of lemonade.

Spending the afternoon on Elsa’s blanket, talking, they became acquainted.

Lying in the sun, they became warm, and…

On his side, looking at Elsa, letting a stream of sand trickle through his hand onto her bare midriff, both were becoming warmer, mentally and physically.

“Whew, it’s getting hot. You want to go for a swim?”

The warm sand tickling her stomach, shading her eyes, looking up, the look of him further warming her, “I’m not such a good swimmer, Mitchie. But if you promise to hold onto me,” rubbing her tongue seductively over her lips, “I’ll go in.”

Watching her tongue, impulsively lowering his head, placing his mouth over hers, kissing deeply—feeling a further tightening in the crotch of his bathing suit—drawing Elsa’s tongue into his mouth…

Just as impulsively—sensing a further flow of her fluid—Elsa complied.

…The long, ardent kiss breaking, Whew! “You kidding?”

Whoa, catching her breath, “Me kidding, what?”

“I promise! You bet I’ll hold onto you!” Adding suggestively, “Wherever you’d like me to hold onto you… Come on!” But, his erection very obvious beneath his bathing suit, standing, turning quickly, he ran into the water and didn’t stop until he was waist deep and the water covered the bulge in his suit. Diving, he swam underwater a few strokes, surfaced, looked to the beach and, “Come on!” Waving to Elsa, “The water’s great!”

Savoring their kiss, her lips warm, her tongue still tingling, standing, Elsa pulled the elastic bands of her two-piece bathing suit over the lower swells of her buttocks and the upper swells of her breasts.

Knowing he was watching, walking slowly to the water’s edge, Elsa hesitated as she felt the cool water on the soles of her hot feet, then continued on till the water reached her mid thighs. “Mitchie,” holding her arms out, “you said you’d hold onto me.”

Diving, he swam underwater until he touched her ankles. Breaking water, “Hi!” he said, but, because he still had a partial erection, remaining on his knees, looking at her, slowly moving his hands upward until they were on the backside of her upper, so smooth, still warm thighs.

(A "Becoming" Excerpt)