Forever Sweet Innocence

Kissing a toad would be better than touching the lips of a yucky girl. A smile spreads across Ben's face as those words crash into his memory with a flood of vivid pictures. The slender glass sweats in his trembling hand. He holds it awkwardly high into the air as he nervously looks down at Tom. Throughout the room, faces stare at him, waiting in great anticipation. A familiar sweet face looks lovingly towards him. Her dazzling green eyes give him a wink of encouragement. After a heavy sigh, Ben begins to recall the childhood memory that everyone came to hear.

"We were about eleven," Ben dreamily mumbles. He continues the story as he sees it playing out in his mind.

The metal cart bounced over the rough terrain and the cargo it contained shifted, banging loudly against the sides. I trailed behind it, my blood boiled with annoyance. Tommy was pulling the thundering beast and seemed completely oblivious to the noise. We were supposed to be hunting for rabbits and then go build a tree fort. I couldn't take it any longer. I took my sling shot out of my pocket and whipped it at Tommy. It hit him square on the back of the head. The noise abruptly stopped as Tommy's shoulder's crunched up around his ears, and he grabbed his head. He saw the sling shot at his feet and scooped it up.

"What is wrong wit you?"

"Wit all dat racket, we ain't ever gonna get a rabbit," I yelled.

Tommy held the sling shot out in front of him and laughed, "You can't hit nuttin anyhow."

A girl stepped out from behind Tommy and grabbed the sling shot. "Let's see who can hit that branch over yonder," She cooed.

A pouch of pebbles was tied to my belt, but I did not offer any of my stash to her. I glared at her as she patiently waited for Tommy to find her a stone. Everything had been perfect until Tommy invited this new friend. Addie. A girl. Her overalls and straw hat made her look like a scarecrow, I thought. She had freckles and bangs that got into her eyes all the time. Once in school, Tommy got the switch for pulling one of her long, braided ponytails during class. Next thing I knew, Tommy invited her, with that stupid wagon, along on one of our great adventures.

I rolled my eyes and stomped my way to the girl.

"A branch is too easy," I growled. I snatched the sling shot and motioned, "That pinecone."

I placed a pebble in the smooth leather holder, my stubby fingers gripped the carved wooden handle tightly as I pulled it back. The rubber stretched and my hand trembled. The rock flew only a few feet when I released it. Tommy burst into laughter, although his attempt wasn't much better. We both laughed so hard, tears rolled down our cheeks.

"I guess neither of us would git a rabbit," Tommy breathlessly croaked.

Addie took her place alongside us. After tucking a strand of hair behind her ear; she cocked her head to the side, closed one eye, and fired. WHOP!! The pinecone exploded. We stared in awe. Addie put my sling shot in her pocket and turned away on her heel.

"I can," Addie called over her shoulder.

Tommy whispered, "Ain't she great?"

Without waiting for an answer, he ran to catch up with her. I didn't think she was that great. Not only did she keep my sling shot, but I ended up pulling her stupid, loud wagon. Earlier that day, Tommy had said Addie gave him butterflies in his stomach. I pondered that as I grudgingly pulled her wagon. When we were really young, on a fishing trip, we ate worms. It started as a dare but quickly turned into a bet on who could eat the most. We ended up getting horrible tummy aches. I wondered if butterflies fluttering in the gut would cause illness. My mom once had a shirt in her closet that moths ate. Sometimes Tommy had a pained look on his face when he gazed upon Addie. Maybe those butterflies were torturing him. Soon they might burst through his chest. I wondered how she got them in there.

When we came upon our favorite tree, I was still deep in thought. Tommy shimmed up the massive trunk with ease. Addie's face looked unsure.

"If you ain't gonna climb it, you can't help build it," I taunted.

Addie's brow furrowed as she studied the trunk. She rummaged through the materials in the wagon, grabbing a mouthful of nails and a hammer. I nervously shifted my feet as I watched her effortlessly attach boards to the trunk making her way to the limb Tommy was perched on.

When she reached Tommy, he gave me a big toothy grin and said, "C'mon, let's build our fort."

I guess he forgot about the butterflies she gave him. The ones, I was sure, were probably eating a hole through his stomach at that very moment. We spent all afternoon building a platform with railings. When we finished, Addie brought up a basket with sandwiches, apples, cookies and soda pop. I only grabbed an apple even though my stomach growled in disagreement with my choice. Addie made the cookies special and Tommy kept complimenting how great they were. After they ate all the cookies, she offered him a soda, but he declined. I couldn't take his goofy behavior anymore.

It truly was annoying.

"Aw, c'mon, Tommy. You love soda. He can burp the whole alphabet," I said. Tommy's cheeks turned bright red.

Without missing a beat. Addie gulped down two big swallows of the bubbly mixture and with a mighty belch, "Soooo CAAAAn IIIIiiii...."

Tommy hooted and hollered. I thought it was a little gross. She chattered on about her sister, Kim, and the stupid sandwiches. I bit into my apple and looked over the valley. Girls talk too much. I was glad when things started to finally quiet down. An eagle in a tree caught my eye a few yards away. It was feeding on something. An animal laid limp in it's talons. I squinted to see better. A rabbit!! The eagle tore fur and flesh from the rabbit's back.

"Oh, my gosh!! You guys won't believe this," I said, with excitement in my voice.

When I turned around, to my utter horror, Tommy's lips were touching Addie's lips. They quickly pulled away but it was too late. Both their faces blushed. I stumbled to the steps. Maybe that was how she gave Tommy those horrible butterflies.

"Ben," Tommy croaked.

"Eww, that is so gross," I said. "Kissing a toad would be better than touching the lips of a yucky girl." I felt so betrayed.

When I reached the ground, I was startled by a girl. The cool sunset danced between rippling leaves cascading a dazzling glow across her face. Her green eyes shimmered in the fading light. She was almost pretty, even though she was a girl.

Her voice was sweet as honey as she softly spoke, "I'm lookin for my sister, Addie."

"She's in that there tree, kissing my bestfriend," I mumbled.

"Eww, Gross!!" She said in disgust.

This response made me very pleased for some strange reason. I blurted, "Do you want to see an eagle eating a rabbit?"

The girl's eyes lit up and she nodded. I suddenly felt fluttering in my belly. I put my hand over my stomach. "Are you still hungry? I made the sandwiches," The girl said as she climbed the tree.

"I'll try one," I muttered. My tummy fluttered again. I wondered if she slipped a butterfly in without a kiss. It didn't feel so bad. Maybe not all girls were yucky. I followed her up. Things were never the same for any of us.

Women are dabbing their wet eyes as Ben finishes. Maybe even some of the men. He stands at the head table with the glass of champagne still held high in the air. He looks down at the groom one more time and says, "Here is to my bestfriend, Tom, and his beautiful new bride, Adeline. May your lives be full of butterfly flutters and treehouse kisses..... To first love and bestfriends! Forever Sweet Innocence!!"