Bless Us Father (25 page)

“I tried to tell my mother, but she doesn’t believe me. She gets really mad when I bring it up. I can’t go to her again. She started to hit me the last time. That’s why I came to you.”

“Oh for the love of...then how about your father? Sean Riley is a good man. Can you talk to him?”

She thought a moment. Maybe he was right. She’d tell her dad. Surely he would believe her.

“Yes, Father, I can tell Daddy.”

“Then you are absolved of all of your...sins. Go in peace and sin no more.”

And both were young, and one was beautiful.

-Lord Byron-

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Summer of 1965

In the weeks following her confession, Mary Margaret found every excuse she could to avoid telling her dad about Father Antonio. She was just too busy and now that school was out and she wasn’t working at the rectory anymore, it was easy to put it out of her mind. And that’s where she wanted the whole dirty business to stay--out of her mind.

Working at the Broadway department store was turning out to be a lot of fun. Her candy striper friends, Twyla Scott and Vivian Johnson, both worked at the Whittwood Mall and they frequently got together for lunch or after work.

Mary Margaret’s mother paid her little attention. She’d put a calendar on the refrigerator and instructed Mary Margaret to write her work schedule on it so she could keep track of her, and she’d also relaxed her rules a bit about when Mary Margaret had to be home. She allowed her two hours after work to do as she pleased, as long as she was home before dark. Mary Margaret’s dad picked her up after work on the evenings she worked a later shift. The system worked well.

Today had been really slow at work and her boss had overscheduled employees, so she let Mary Margaret off two hours early. That gave her a full four hours for fun. Luckily, Twyla was getting off at the same time. The met up in the middle of the mall to plan the rest of their day.

“What do you want to do?” Mary Margaret asked. “Shall we go see a movie at the Whittwood Theatre?”

“I don’t want to spend any money,” Twyla said. “Let’s go to my apartment and go swimming. It’s really hot today.”

Mary Margaret frowned. “I don’t have a bathing suit, and besides, I just washed my hair last night.” She didn’t want to have to sleep on rollers again tonight.

“Oh come on, it’s summer. Just braid your hair tomorrow or put it in a ponytail. It’s too hot to wear it down anyway. Besides, there are some really cute guys that live in my apartment complex and they hang out by the pool sometimes.”

This sparked Mary Margaret’s interest. With Father Antonio gone and Todd out of the picture, she was definitely ready to meet some cute guys.

“But what will I do about a suit?” she asked.

“I’ve got one you can wear. I’m sure it will fit you. I’ve kind of outgrown it,” Twyla said, putting both hands on her ample hips.

Decision made, they walked the few short blocks to the apartment complex. The apartment was empty when they got there, and the two girls quickly changed into swimming suits.

Just as Twyla predicted, the loaned suit fit Mary Margaret perfectly.

“This is darling. I’ll bet you’re sorry it doesn’t fit anymore,” Mary Margaret said, admiring herself in the mirror.

The suit was a bright orange, two-piece, with boy shorts and a halter top that tied in the back. There was a long tank top to wear over it. The shorts dipped at the waist just enough to be daring, and the top was gathered at the bust line making Mary Margaret’s chest look larger than it really was. Pulling the tank on over the suit, she hoped she would have the nerve to take it off again when they got by the pool.

“I’m sorry my butt got too big for it. It’s getting too big for a lot of my clothes,” Twyla said, laughing.

Mary Margaret looked at her friend. Twyla was a bit bottom heavy, but she was a really cute girl. Her auburn hair was long and straight, just the way everyone wanted to be able to wear their hair now. She had dark brown eyes that were fringed with thick lashes, and her nose was turned up just at the tip.

“Your butt isn’t too big. That’s just the way you’re built. You look really good,” Mary Margaret said.

“Thanks. Are you ready to go to the pool?” Twyla asked, smiling broadly at the compliment. “Shall we call Vivian’s house and see if she’s home?”

“Sure. I don’t know if she was working today or not.”

Mary Margaret waited as Twyla dialed the telephone and stood with the receiver up to her ear.

“There’s no answer,” Twyla said. “I guess she’s not home. Too bad. We get first crack at the guys.”

The pool was in the center of the apartment complex, and had a high fence all the way around it. Lounge chairs were positioned around the pool and there was a small cabana that offered a little bit of shade. A mother and her two small children had already taken up residence in the cabana, and no one else was by the pool, so they had their choice of chaise lounges.

“Let’s sit over here where we can see who’s coming up to the gate. That way we can sit up straight and pull our stomachs in if the guys come,” Twyla said, spreading her towel out over one of the lounges.

Mary Margaret spread out her towel and sat down, but didn’t take off the tank top. She took the bottle of baby oil Twyla handed her and slathered it all over her arms and legs.

“I put some iodine in it so we’ll tan faster,” Twyla said.

“How about cocoa butter? Have you ever tried that?” Mary Margaret asked.

“Yeah, I did, but it smells like chocolate and just makes me hungry, so I quit using it,” Twyla said, laughing.

They nestled back into the chairs, closed their eyes, and turned their faces towards the sun. They sat there in companionable silence for a time, until Mary Margaret thought of something she’d been meaning to ask Twyla.

“How do you like Central High? I mean, do you have fun? Do you have a lot of friends?”

“It’s okay, I guess,” Twyla answered. “It’s so big I don’t know a lot of people, but I have my own group I hang out with. Vivian is in my group. We all have fun together.”

“I can’t imagine not knowing people at school. How big is it?”

“I think there are about 2400 students. There’s about 650 in the junior class alone.”

“Oh my gosh. No wonder you don’t know everyone,” Mary Margaret said, amazed. “There are only 350 students in my whole high school. And they’re all girls!”

“Isn’t that kind of weird being around girls all the time?” Twyla asked.

Mary Margaret thought about the girls at her school and how mean they could be. And now she was the target of their gossip. Maybe if she went to a school with both boys and girls things would be different.

“Yes, I think I would like a school with both sexes better. I also have the nuns to deal with. They’re always looking for things we do wrong so they can discipline us.”

“Why don’t you ask your parents if you can go to public school?” Twyla said, sitting turning to face Mary Margaret. “You could go to Central High with me and Vivian. We’d have a blast.”

“It wouldn’t work. It’s not a very fun place to be, but my parents insist I go to Catholic school and they won’t let me go to a coed one.”

“Don’t look now, but here come two guys and they’re really cute,” Twyla said, looking at Mary Margaret instead of the boys that were coming through the gate.

Mary Margaret looked out of the corner of her eye. The boys were good looking surfer types. They wore the new style of swim trunks called baggies, huarache sandals, and T-shirts. They both were tanned and had blonde hair grown long in the front and falling onto their foreheads.

Mary Margaret watched the taller of the two boys walk towards her. He was slender and muscular, and was smiling at her. He pulled a chaise lounge over next to hers and plopped down on it.

“Hi, I’m Bill Watson.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I haven’t seen you here before.”

“I haven’t been here before, that’s why,” she said, smiling broadly. “My name is Mary Margaret Riley.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Mary Margaret Riley,” he said, his grin widening. “Do you live here in the apartments?”

Mary Margaret glanced over at Twyla, who was giggling with the other surfer boy. He was sitting on the end of Twyla’s lounge chair and seemed to have eyes only for her.

“No, I don’t live here. My friend lives here, though.”

“What’s your friend’s name?” he asked, nodding towards Twyla.

“Twyla Scott. Who’s your friend?”

“Actually, he’s my younger brother, Dave.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

She twirled her hair between her fingers and tried not to stare at Bill. He was really cute with a dimple in his cheek and hazel eyes flecked with brown. Maybe this would be a chance for her to have a fresh start. He didn’t know anything about her, and hopefully he didn’t know any of the people that she knew.

“Where do you go to school?” she asked.

“We go to Central High. I’ll be a senior this year and Dave will be in his junior year.”

“I’m going to be a senior this year, too,” Mary Margaret said. She was glad to know they were the same age.

“You don’t go to Central, do you? I’ve seen your friend there, but I’ve never seen you.”

It was getting hotter and Mary Margaret could feel herself starting to perspire. “Let’s get in the water,” she suggested. “We can talk there.”

Mary Margaret walked to the shallow end of the pool to the steps, but Bill dove in the deep end. His brother, Dave picked Twyla up and threw her into the deep end and dove in after her.

She popped up to the surface, spitting water out all the while laughing and trying to hit Dave. Mary Margaret laughed out loud at the antics in the water, but eased herself in slowly all the same.

She clung to the edge of the pool and waited until Bill swam over to her.

“Aren’t you going to get your hair wet?” he asked.

“Maybe I will later,” she answered. “You wanted to know where I go to school. I go to St. Mary’s Academy for girls.”

“An all girls’ school? Bummer. Isn’t that a Catholic school?”

“Yes, it is,” she replied. “Are you Catholic?”

“No, I’m not. We don’t really go to church much. I guess if I’m anything I’m Methodist.”

“Oh,” she said, thinking that this was a good thing since it would decrease the chance that he’d know anyone from her church or school. “Come on. I’m ready to get my hair wet.”

They swam for awhile, and Mary Margaret found she loved the sensation of floating on her back and letting her hair fan out in the pool around her. She was going to take Twyla’s suggestion and just braid it tomorrow.

The afternoon went by all too fast. The two boys were exceptionally nice and polite, and nothing like the public school boys she’d been warned about all her school years. They were just normal guys, not lechers.

“Does anyone know what time it is?” Mary Margaret asked.

“There’s a clock over there,” Bill said, pointing towards the small wooden cabana. “It’s four-thirty.”

“Oh my gosh. I’ve got to go. We eat dinner at five and I have to be there tonight or else,” Mary Margaret said.

“Give me your phone number before you go,” Bill said. “Better yet, can you girls go to the beach one day next week?”

Mary Margaret looked questioningly at Twyla. “What day are you off?” she asked.

“Wednesday,” Twyla replied. “How about you?”

“I’m off Wednesday, too!” she said, smiling at Bill and Dave.

“Cool. How about we meet you here at eight in the morning? We’ll get to Huntington Beach early enough for Dave and me to surf, then we can spend the afternoon just hanging out on the beach,” Bill said, smiling back at her.

“Great, we’ll see you then,” Mary Margaret said.

She gathered up her belongings, went back to Twyla’s apartment, changed into her own clothing, and walked the few blocks home as fast as she could. It was almost dinnertime and she didn’t want to be late. She wasn’t even hungry, but there was never an excuse not to be home for dinner. Mom cooked it and you’d better be home to eat it.

She thought about how much fun the day had been and how normal she felt. Finally, she was having a chance to be a regular teenager and do the things that other teens do. She sure wished she could go to Central High with her new friends. She didn’t feel dirty when she was with these kids. Maybe if she was around them all of the time, the bad feelings would go away for good.

As she rounded the corner to her block, she stopped suddenly. There, parked at the curb just outside her house, was Father Antonio’s car.

The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people that are evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.

-Albert Einstein-

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT