Being a young teen boy on the eastern shore of Maryland in the 1950's was a wonderfull experiance. With marshes and woods to explore, it was a modern day Huck Finn daydream. In my 14th year, it was especially so.
Spending summers with my grandparents, I worked mornings on the Lady Anne, pulling crab pots, sorting the jumbo and number 1 males and females into the different bushel baskets. Since the day started at dawn, by noon we were back at the dock and my last chore of the day was hosing down the deck and swabing it clean for the next day. Afternoons were mine, to explore the marsh, swim, plink with my .22 rifle. Sometimes I would ride my bicycle down to Jenkins store for a cold Coke out of the machine, and if I was lucky I'd get to gather any stray bits of wisdom from the esteemed members of the liers circle that held court on the front porch.
This one day in particular in the third week of June, the circle was in meeting, and I went in to get a Coke, and standing by the front counter I heard a familiar voice. The Jenkins had a cold room for meats, and the door had opened and Lizzy Rankin was standing there with a package of white butchers paper in her hand, talking to Mrs. Jenkins. Lizzy came up to the front where I was standing and pulled off a long strand of brown cord from the spool by the meat counter to wrap around the package she had. Dressed in a black T-shirt and snug cut off jeans, she was a vission to a 14 year old boy, and I guess I just may have been staring. Reaching in her right pocket she took out a knife that looked like a toothpick, what we boys called a fishing knife, and she pushed a button on the handle and with a metalic snick, the blade popped open and she cut off the lengh of twine and tied up the paper wrapped package. Then putting the knife back in her pocket, she turned and looked at me with those vivid green eyes.
"Hey pup, you back for the summer?" she asked as she gave me a hard look.
I told her I was, and she smiled and said she still wanted to show me some of her secret fishing holes. I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that in my youthfull inocence, so I simply said I was ready anytime she liked. I must have said something funny, because she threw back her head and laughed, a kind of throaty sexy kind of laugh, and said it was good to see a young pup that was game. then she came over close to me, and just like at Christmas I felt like it had become hard to breath. She stood so close I could smell the mixed aroma of some kind of perfume, shampoo, and it was intoxicating.
It had began to rain, a light summer shower, and she said I'd get soaked riding back to my grandparents place, why don't we put my bike in the back of her pick-up and she's give me a lift? I thought it a pretty god idea, even though I was torn with some indesission. One one hand, the liers circle was in full meeting, but a tall lithe tanned Lizzy was offering to give me a ride. Young hormones won out and we walked out the front and with no further discussion she grabed my bike and put in the back of her 5 window Chevy truck. On the way out her dad, Matt Rankin, called her softly.
"Lizzy." said Matt.
Lizzy turned and looked at her dad.
"It's okay daddy, I'm just giving the pup a lift home. "
"Be nice, Lizzy." was all Matt said.
Driving down the old blacktop road with the light rain spattering on the windshield, I had a hard a hard time keeping my eyes off the long tanned legs. She glanced over at me and gave a little chuckle, and then asked me to get the cigerettes out of her purse and light her one. I got out the pack of Lucky's and found her lighter, and got one going and handed it to her.
"Get one yourself if ya want."
"No thank's, I don't smoke mam."
She laughed again.
"Well, ain't you a polite one. I like that. Who tought you to be so polite?"
"My scoutmaster, Mr. Van says we should always be polite talking to a lady."
"You're really a genuine boy scout?" she laughed. "Oh God this is gonna be more fun that I thought!"
Driving down the road she asked me if I ever had fresh deer liver fried up with onions and gravy, and I told her I never had. I could see grandads mailbox comming up, but Lizzy didn't show any signs of slowing down. I was reluctant to say anything not wanting to sound too something. For some reason she thought alot of what I had to say was funny. I couldn't figure that out till much later. The mailbox at the end of the driveway went past.
"Uh, I think you just went by our place." I said.
"I know." Lizzy casually remarked as she kept driving down the road.
"You can make a u-turn up there." I pointed out.
"Nope. Ain't gonna make a u-turn." Lizzy stated calmly.
I though about it for a bit as we drove along. Then she slowed up and turned off down a rutted dirt road I'd never been on. We passed a big no trespasing sign and I knew we were into Rankin territory.
"So, like, am I being kidnapped or something?" I joked.
Lizzy's answer surprised me a great deal.
"Yeah, I guess you are. "
"So where are you taking me."
"My place, 'cause I want to ride you down to a nubbin."
A kind of weird shock went through me, and a mixture of feeling I didn't have the experiance to sort out just then in my life. Fluttters of exitment and fear went through me, and I wasn't sure which was stronger. I looked at the woman driving and realized I was in for either a dream come true or a nightmare, or a mixture of both. We pulled up in front of a little cabin with a tin roof and we got out of the truck. Lizzy smiled and again I had the intoxicated feeling and short breath when I looked into those green eyes. She took me by the hand and led me into what proved to be a neat little place with one large living room kitchen, with a door leading to a bedroom. I stood there unsure of what to do, when lizzy tossed the paper wrapped package on the counter.
"Its time for you to have fresh deer liver, heart and onion fry up. Get the skillet and put it on the stove there and toss in spoonfull of lard." she instructed me. I did as I was told and Lizzy took out her knife and with that snick, it opened up and she cut the twine holding her package.
"Is that a switchblade?" I asked her.
"I guess you could call it that. I don't like breaking my nails opening a knife. And the place I work is kind of rough. if I want my knife open, I want it quick."
She handed me her knife to examine and it was a pretty thing. Red scales of some sort of translucent celuliod was colorfull, and the blade was a dark grey, exept for a bright bit down the edge, where it was very sharp. On the blade down by the Kick was the marking of Hammer Brand. It was the first knife of that type I had ever handled. It was like it's owner, different and exotic to me.
"You carry this at Tinkers?" I asked her.
"What do you know about Tinkers?." she asked me.
"Not much."
"Good. Lets keep it that way." she came over and stood looking down at me. Lizzy was a tall lady, 5'11" if she wasn't 6 foot even, and at 20 years old she was full grown woman. The Rankin clan tended to run to tall lean types and Lizzy was no exeption. At 14 I had not reached my adult hight of 5'9" standing strait with my neck streched up some. "I don't ever want to see you around there, it ain't a nice place. I mean it, don't ever go 'round there. "
I had heard someplace that she worked at little dive called Tinkers, and it was a rough low down kind of place. None of grandads cronies, rough old cobs that they were, went there. It was even darkly rumored that the girls who worked there would go out to the run down cabins out back for a price, and there was back room gambling as well. The sheriffs department was there often on a shooting or stabbing call.
The lard was starting to sizzle in the iron pan, and Lizzy made us lunch. It was one of the best meals I ever had. The heart and liver were fried up in a gravey with onions and peppers, and it was just great. She gave me a beer, and then another. I told her I'd help her with the dishes, and she gave that throaty laugh again. She washed and I dried. I thought it was the least I could do. Then she was standing close again. She was easy a half a head taller than me, and she looked at me with that way that made me think again of some mystical she-creature that was a couger sometimes, but sometimes a human female.
With no warning she grabbed me by the hair and chin and kissed me in a hard, almost fierce mannor. Now I was not totally inexperianced, I had made out with a girl back in Wheaton, Suzy Sheridan, and we'd had some good times in the back row of the balconey in the movies. Even copped a feel, and felt proud of myself. I tried to let Lizzy know I had some make out time under my belt, but I soon realized I was out of my league. It was like being cought up in a strong undertow, you swim with it or die. And about halfway through this agressive kissing, I began to wonder about my thoughts of a she-cat, wondering instead if there was some ant-eater in the mix, or women just had longer tongues than men.
She let me come up for air, and then led me by the hand back to the bedroom.
"Git yer clothes off, pup."
I hesitated, butterflys flapping around in my belly, and Lizzy took her hand out of her shorts and pressed the button of her toothpick, the grey blade snicking out.
"I've skun muskrat and deer and most things in between. I can skin a young scout out of his duds if I hafta. But you'll be riding that bike home buck necked."
I did as she said and then she pushed me down on the unmade rumpled bed. Standing over me, she slowly peeled off the T-shirt and cut off shorts. It was hard to catch my breath again, she was so beautifull. Smooth all over tan on a slim perfect figure. She sat down astride me, and looked down at me. I could feel the warmth of her on me.
"Are you a good scout?" she asked
"Yes maam."
"Are you a smart one?"
"Yes maam."
"Good, 'cause I'm gonna teach ya, and if you do what I say, when I say, and how I say, we're gonna have alot of fun. If ya don't, I'll have ta maybe thrash ya a little bit. I don't think they give out merit badges for what you're gonna learn."
With that she lowered herself full lengh onto me, and it proved to be a very educational afternoon.
Little did I know then, by August it would lead to heartbreak for both of us. Over the summer I would learn of Lizzy's problem with both drugs and drink, and the inner demons that made her self destructive in the end.
Spending summers with my grandparents, I worked mornings on the Lady Anne, pulling crab pots, sorting the jumbo and number 1 males and females into the different bushel baskets. Since the day started at dawn, by noon we were back at the dock and my last chore of the day was hosing down the deck and swabing it clean for the next day. Afternoons were mine, to explore the marsh, swim, plink with my .22 rifle. Sometimes I would ride my bicycle down to Jenkins store for a cold Coke out of the machine, and if I was lucky I'd get to gather any stray bits of wisdom from the esteemed members of the liers circle that held court on the front porch.
This one day in particular in the third week of June, the circle was in meeting, and I went in to get a Coke, and standing by the front counter I heard a familiar voice. The Jenkins had a cold room for meats, and the door had opened and Lizzy Rankin was standing there with a package of white butchers paper in her hand, talking to Mrs. Jenkins. Lizzy came up to the front where I was standing and pulled off a long strand of brown cord from the spool by the meat counter to wrap around the package she had. Dressed in a black T-shirt and snug cut off jeans, she was a vission to a 14 year old boy, and I guess I just may have been staring. Reaching in her right pocket she took out a knife that looked like a toothpick, what we boys called a fishing knife, and she pushed a button on the handle and with a metalic snick, the blade popped open and she cut off the lengh of twine and tied up the paper wrapped package. Then putting the knife back in her pocket, she turned and looked at me with those vivid green eyes.
"Hey pup, you back for the summer?" she asked as she gave me a hard look.
I told her I was, and she smiled and said she still wanted to show me some of her secret fishing holes. I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that in my youthfull inocence, so I simply said I was ready anytime she liked. I must have said something funny, because she threw back her head and laughed, a kind of throaty sexy kind of laugh, and said it was good to see a young pup that was game. then she came over close to me, and just like at Christmas I felt like it had become hard to breath. She stood so close I could smell the mixed aroma of some kind of perfume, shampoo, and it was intoxicating.
It had began to rain, a light summer shower, and she said I'd get soaked riding back to my grandparents place, why don't we put my bike in the back of her pick-up and she's give me a lift? I thought it a pretty god idea, even though I was torn with some indesission. One one hand, the liers circle was in full meeting, but a tall lithe tanned Lizzy was offering to give me a ride. Young hormones won out and we walked out the front and with no further discussion she grabed my bike and put in the back of her 5 window Chevy truck. On the way out her dad, Matt Rankin, called her softly.
"Lizzy." said Matt.
Lizzy turned and looked at her dad.
"It's okay daddy, I'm just giving the pup a lift home. "
"Be nice, Lizzy." was all Matt said.
Driving down the old blacktop road with the light rain spattering on the windshield, I had a hard a hard time keeping my eyes off the long tanned legs. She glanced over at me and gave a little chuckle, and then asked me to get the cigerettes out of her purse and light her one. I got out the pack of Lucky's and found her lighter, and got one going and handed it to her.
"Get one yourself if ya want."
"No thank's, I don't smoke mam."
She laughed again.
"Well, ain't you a polite one. I like that. Who tought you to be so polite?"
"My scoutmaster, Mr. Van says we should always be polite talking to a lady."
"You're really a genuine boy scout?" she laughed. "Oh God this is gonna be more fun that I thought!"
Driving down the road she asked me if I ever had fresh deer liver fried up with onions and gravy, and I told her I never had. I could see grandads mailbox comming up, but Lizzy didn't show any signs of slowing down. I was reluctant to say anything not wanting to sound too something. For some reason she thought alot of what I had to say was funny. I couldn't figure that out till much later. The mailbox at the end of the driveway went past.
"Uh, I think you just went by our place." I said.
"I know." Lizzy casually remarked as she kept driving down the road.
"You can make a u-turn up there." I pointed out.
"Nope. Ain't gonna make a u-turn." Lizzy stated calmly.
I though about it for a bit as we drove along. Then she slowed up and turned off down a rutted dirt road I'd never been on. We passed a big no trespasing sign and I knew we were into Rankin territory.
"So, like, am I being kidnapped or something?" I joked.
Lizzy's answer surprised me a great deal.
"Yeah, I guess you are. "
"So where are you taking me."
"My place, 'cause I want to ride you down to a nubbin."
A kind of weird shock went through me, and a mixture of feeling I didn't have the experiance to sort out just then in my life. Fluttters of exitment and fear went through me, and I wasn't sure which was stronger. I looked at the woman driving and realized I was in for either a dream come true or a nightmare, or a mixture of both. We pulled up in front of a little cabin with a tin roof and we got out of the truck. Lizzy smiled and again I had the intoxicated feeling and short breath when I looked into those green eyes. She took me by the hand and led me into what proved to be a neat little place with one large living room kitchen, with a door leading to a bedroom. I stood there unsure of what to do, when lizzy tossed the paper wrapped package on the counter.
"Its time for you to have fresh deer liver, heart and onion fry up. Get the skillet and put it on the stove there and toss in spoonfull of lard." she instructed me. I did as I was told and Lizzy took out her knife and with that snick, it opened up and she cut the twine holding her package.
"Is that a switchblade?" I asked her.
"I guess you could call it that. I don't like breaking my nails opening a knife. And the place I work is kind of rough. if I want my knife open, I want it quick."
She handed me her knife to examine and it was a pretty thing. Red scales of some sort of translucent celuliod was colorfull, and the blade was a dark grey, exept for a bright bit down the edge, where it was very sharp. On the blade down by the Kick was the marking of Hammer Brand. It was the first knife of that type I had ever handled. It was like it's owner, different and exotic to me.
"You carry this at Tinkers?" I asked her.
"What do you know about Tinkers?." she asked me.
"Not much."
"Good. Lets keep it that way." she came over and stood looking down at me. Lizzy was a tall lady, 5'11" if she wasn't 6 foot even, and at 20 years old she was full grown woman. The Rankin clan tended to run to tall lean types and Lizzy was no exeption. At 14 I had not reached my adult hight of 5'9" standing strait with my neck streched up some. "I don't ever want to see you around there, it ain't a nice place. I mean it, don't ever go 'round there. "
I had heard someplace that she worked at little dive called Tinkers, and it was a rough low down kind of place. None of grandads cronies, rough old cobs that they were, went there. It was even darkly rumored that the girls who worked there would go out to the run down cabins out back for a price, and there was back room gambling as well. The sheriffs department was there often on a shooting or stabbing call.
The lard was starting to sizzle in the iron pan, and Lizzy made us lunch. It was one of the best meals I ever had. The heart and liver were fried up in a gravey with onions and peppers, and it was just great. She gave me a beer, and then another. I told her I'd help her with the dishes, and she gave that throaty laugh again. She washed and I dried. I thought it was the least I could do. Then she was standing close again. She was easy a half a head taller than me, and she looked at me with that way that made me think again of some mystical she-creature that was a couger sometimes, but sometimes a human female.
With no warning she grabbed me by the hair and chin and kissed me in a hard, almost fierce mannor. Now I was not totally inexperianced, I had made out with a girl back in Wheaton, Suzy Sheridan, and we'd had some good times in the back row of the balconey in the movies. Even copped a feel, and felt proud of myself. I tried to let Lizzy know I had some make out time under my belt, but I soon realized I was out of my league. It was like being cought up in a strong undertow, you swim with it or die. And about halfway through this agressive kissing, I began to wonder about my thoughts of a she-cat, wondering instead if there was some ant-eater in the mix, or women just had longer tongues than men.
She let me come up for air, and then led me by the hand back to the bedroom.
"Git yer clothes off, pup."
I hesitated, butterflys flapping around in my belly, and Lizzy took her hand out of her shorts and pressed the button of her toothpick, the grey blade snicking out.
"I've skun muskrat and deer and most things in between. I can skin a young scout out of his duds if I hafta. But you'll be riding that bike home buck necked."
I did as she said and then she pushed me down on the unmade rumpled bed. Standing over me, she slowly peeled off the T-shirt and cut off shorts. It was hard to catch my breath again, she was so beautifull. Smooth all over tan on a slim perfect figure. She sat down astride me, and looked down at me. I could feel the warmth of her on me.
"Are you a good scout?" she asked
"Yes maam."
"Are you a smart one?"
"Yes maam."
"Good, 'cause I'm gonna teach ya, and if you do what I say, when I say, and how I say, we're gonna have alot of fun. If ya don't, I'll have ta maybe thrash ya a little bit. I don't think they give out merit badges for what you're gonna learn."
With that she lowered herself full lengh onto me, and it proved to be a very educational afternoon.
Little did I know then, by August it would lead to heartbreak for both of us. Over the summer I would learn of Lizzy's problem with both drugs and drink, and the inner demons that made her self destructive in the end.
.
