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Cherry Quilt
November 9, 2021
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I once had a friend...
Knew her for years...
Went to Catholic school with her.
I was fifteen... when...
One day she called me.
She had a date with a guy...
And this guy had a friend...
Who needed a date...
And it was important...
For some reason that I forget.
But... I couldn't date til I was sixteen.
She called again and begged.
She insisted again and again.
So... I agreed to break the rule.
I wore a new pink outfit...
Slacks and matching vest...
A pink-flowered blouse...
I dressed pretty.
I thought we were going to the show.
Then... her date turned the car...
Into a wooded area...
Between the highway...
Next to a large drainage ditch...
Not far from the country club
Where my family went swimming...
And they parked and got out.
Bad news.
"Just take me home," I demanded.
"Don't be silly," she said.
They left to take a walk...
Left me alone with the guy...
Who was holding a blanket...
Ready to go drink some beer.
I wouldn't leave the car.
I held my seat firm.
"Take me home." I said again.
"Go get them and take me home."
Now he was frustrated at me...
Went to get my friend...
Who came back angry at me...
"Nothing is going to happen.
Get out of the car.
Don't be silly."
She left without helping me.
Silly? Now what. So... I caved.
I was not agreeable to this.
I sat on the blanket away from him...
My arms wrapped around my knees...
He had a beer...
It wasn't long.
My new outfit was torn off me...
Zipper ripped...
I kicked and I screamed...
And screamed and screamed.
No one came to help.
The wind was blowing...
There was a foul sewer smell...
As he pinned me down...
Forced himself on me...
And it hurt... a lot.
I learned what kind of thoughts
Go through the mind
Of a young woman
Who had dreams
Of love and marriage.
Who could I ever tell...
What could I ever do...
How horrible my life would be...
How vicious my own demise.
I had lied... to my mother.
I pulled myself together...
Went back to the car...
They soon returned...
The guy threw the blanket
Behind the car seat...
And I saw it more clearly...
A quilt... with a cherry print fabric...
Patches of color... and cherries.
Monday... I found my friend at school.
I wanted the address of that date guy...
That "John Henry" guy.
And said... directly to her face...
"he was NOT a nice guy"
I would write him several letters...
Demanding an apology...
And tear into his conscience
About what he had done to me...
...The best solution I could muster.
Turned out...
She had only given me
His first two names...
Which just sounded like
A first and last name...
But wasn't.
What a surprise.
"Oh, no... that's not his name...
His last name is Hawkins."
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