Both of Anthony’s children could be very disrespectful to their father at times. They would yell and scream at him and even call him retarded. I could never talk to my mother using that tone of voice, and my mother punished me severely the one time I told her to shut up. About two months after their separation, my mother and Anthony started dating again. They decided that they were just going to date and not live together or get married. After we moved back to my grandmother’s house, my mother began working two jobs to help her get out of debt. She was a single mother and had to pay rent and help my grandmother, who was on a fixed income. My mother still spent hours shopping with my grandmother. My grandmother would usually buy a certain electronic item, and then ask multiple people what they thought of it, only to return it later. My mother would drive her all around town buying and returning these items.
Up until high school, I was very content with my life. The highlight of my sixth grade was the day that Abby, a fellow classmate, was wearing a black tank top without a bra and her nipple was showing. I was only sitting a few feet away. Soon I decided to tell all of my friends, but the more people I told, the guiltier I felt. I decided to fix the situation by writing Abby a note: “Hi, Abby. The day was June 11, 1994, the sun was shining, and somebody’s boob was showing. Abby, that was your boob, and by accident, I saw your boob.” Then at the end of the note, I apologized and told her to feel free to call me if she had any further questions. Abby was embarrassed, of course.
Besides seeing Abby’s nipple in sixth grade, another highlight of my childhood was developing a close friendship with Eric. Eric’s favorite pastime during the winter was sledding. Even if there was less than an inch of snow, Eric and I would be at the hill of Sand Creek Middle School, sledding until nightfall. One time Gary, another boy I had known for years, was going downhill with Eric while Eric’s father videotaped them. Gary made a wrong move, and the two of them landed face-first in the mud. They later tried to submit the video to America’s Funniest Home Videos, but it wasn’t accepted.
We enjoyed cruising the mall. Colonie Center was a moderate-size mall located about five miles from where we lived. Sometimes we would get rides from our parents, but the majority of the time we either walked or rode our bikes. Every time we frequented the mall, the two of us had a set routine. First, after all that walking or bike riding, a stop at the food court would be the main priority. Eric would gulp down a soda and then chew on the ice so loudly that it would irritate the hell out of me. Eric loved to make people laugh with his body. He was often known to fold himself into a pretzel to get attention, and he had large amounts of excess skin on his face that he would play with as if he were a baker kneading dough. No matter how much skin he manipulated, he would always generate a laugh.
Another memorable moment at Colonie Center was when Eric and I were standing at the top of the mall watching a band playing on the first floor. I tried to get Eric’s attention by gently slapping his hand, but it made him drop his soda. We watched it fall right in front of some woman on the floor below. The two of us ran out of there. Finally, none of our mall crusades were complete without at least one of us gawking over some pretty girl both of us knew we could only have in a wet dream. One time I started smiling at this very voluptuous, beautiful older woman, and the two of us made eye contact. Suddenly I read the woman’s lips saying, “My boyfriend is going to beat you up.” Once my friends and I saw the girl’s boyfriend, we ran out of the mall like bandits.
The main difference between Eric and me was that Eric could get girls easily. While I had an easy time talking to girls, initiating any physical relationship with them was considerably more difficult. When I first met Eric, he was dating this girl, though only for a couple of days. He was only eleven, but he claimed to have already had several girlfriends. Eric’s girlfriend at the time was either named Kristen or Caitlin. Eric met this girl at a private school dance, where he also met the girlfriend’s best friend, and now he didn’t know which was Kristen and which was Caitlin. Eric talked to Kristen/Caitlin for about a week until our friend Gary told her that Eric didn’t know her name. Also, Caitlin/Kristen complained that Eric never called her in the week that they’d been dating. Eric would have called her; he just didn’t know who to ask for.
I was very glad my mother did not marry Anthony, as this let me stay in Colonie and be friends with Eric. My mother and I moved back into my grandmother’s house, with just a few minor problems. We moved back in August, about a month before I entered the seventh grade. I spent the majority of that month hanging out with Eric and Gary. Gary had a large swimming pool where we spent much of our time, splashing around and having raucous chicken fights. Gary and his friend Martin were big guys, while Eric and I were scrawny. Eric would get on Martin’s shoulders and I would get on
