Author:
spelvin
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Date Posted: 22:12:03 11/13/25 Thu
Author Host/IP: 72.78.201.247
Logan Henderson climbed out of the bath tub. He suddenly remembered his promise to check the mailbox when his mother was at work.
He thought, “I lost my towel last time, but I’ll hang onto it this time.”
With his foot in the doorway, and with the towel around his waist, Logan stepped out on the front porch.
It so happened, though, that it was the gusty season in New Bedford. While one hand was checking the mailbox, the wind swept down and carried away his towel. Logan ran after his towel, shouting, “Towel! Come back!”
The towel floated up and over the horizon. Logan stubbed his foot on a tree root and fell face down.
He pushed his way back up and who did he see but Eliza Jayne, the neighborhood girl that he had a secret crush on.
Eliza looked down, looked up, and smiled.
“This can’t be true!” Logan said.
“That’s what I say!” the beautiful heartthrob said. “This is how I’ve always wanted to see you, and I’m not the least bit disappointed.”
She noticed a wound on Logan’s leg. “You need some first aid there. You got anything at home to treat your sore?”
“I do, but I’m locked out.”
“Then come to my place. My mom can fix anything with her first aid kit.”
“But I feel kinda silly.”
“Don’t worry about it. No one’s gonna see you but me and my mom.”
* * * * *
Mrs. Jayne came to the front door and cheerfully greeted her newcomer. “So this is Logan! I’ve heard a lot about you!” Mrs. Jayne looked at the wound on Logan’s leg. “It looks like you need a little tender loving care. I’ll be right back.”
Logan took a chair in the living room.
Mrs. Jayne returned with the salve for his laceration wound. While she was treating the wound, Logan and Eliza explained how the unusual encounter took place.
Logan asked, “Can I borrow a towel for the occasion?”
Eliza said, “All the towels are in the wash.”
Mrs. Jayne said, “We did the wash yesterday.”
Eliza said, “Shh.”
Mrs. Jayne turned to Logan. “That’s all right, Logan. Eliza knows you’re a boy, and she’s realized that fact for a long time.”
She turned to Eliza. “Haven’t you, Eliza!” Eliza looked down bashfully and smiled.
Mrs. Jayne turned to Logan again and said, “You said your mother is at work. Would you like to use our phone to where you are?”
Logan said, “Good idea.”
Logan dialed his mother’s work number. “Hi, Mom, I’m at a friend’s house.” He asked Mrs. Jayne, “What’s the address here?”
Mrs. Jayne said, “Seven Eccles Street.”
Logan repeated, “Seven Eccles Street. Can you pick me up here when you get off work? You can? Fine. Thanks. Bye, Mom. I love you too.”
Logan hung up. “She has to work late today, but she can pick me up this evening.”
Mrs. Jayne smiled. “That’s quite all right. I can cook enough for a visitor.”
Eliza said, “You know Elizabeth, Betsy, and Beth? They’re coming over for a slumber party tonight.”
Logan tried to keep the emotion out of his voice. “They are?”
Eliza said, “Yeah, but don’t worry. No one will see you but Elizabeth, Betsy, and Bess.”
Mrs. Jayne got up to leave the room. “We won’t need the first aid equipment any more. I’ll go to the kitchen and prepare a meal for the three of us.”
Logan asked, “Anything I can do to help?”
Mrs. Jayne spoke in a loud voice from the kitchen. “You can help Eliza set the table.” She brought a dish into the dining room. “It looks like your friend is a fine gentleman, just like you said he was.”
Eliza and Logan had a sotto voce conversation. Eliza said, “I told her all about you.”
Logan said, “You shouldn’a done that. Now she expects me to be perfect.”
At the dinner table, Logan complimented his hostess on the splendid repast.
After everyone finished eating, Logan helped in stacking the dishes.
Mrs. Jayne said, “Like I say, Eliza gave a very good description of you.”
Logan and Eliza spoke secretly again. Logan asked, “What did you tell her about me, anyway!”
Eliza giggled. “A lot of things!”
Next, Eliza heard voices outside. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”
From outside, Logan heard Eliza say, “Remember, look down, look up, and smile. Got that? Down, up, smile.”
He heard another voice say, “I learned that from my cousins last summer. That’s the way they like it, too.”
Eliza brought in three visitors with three sleeping bags. Elizabeth, Betsy and Bess greeted Logan and Logan greeted Elizabeth, Betsy, and Bess.
Mrs. Jayne whispered to Eliza, “I like the way he’s keeping his hands by his side.”
The visitors discussed how to spend their time together. It was decided on badminton.
Eliza said, “How about that? Do the rest of you want to?” Betsy and Bess nodded. Eliza said to Logan, “Don’t worry.
No one will see you but the neighbors.”
Eliza gathered up the rackets and birdies, and they were all ready to head outside. Logan, forgetting his shameful state, said, “I bet I can beat every single one of you.”
Logan played a game against Eliza and Elizabeth. He played another game against Betsy and Bess.
Night began to fall. They all came inside to a delicious aroma of fresh popcorn.
Logan told Mrs. Jayne, “I beat every one of them, just like I said I would.”
Mrs. Jayne laughed. “Maybe so, but if you keep acting like that, you’ll never win a sportsmanship trophy.”
Logan again spoke to Eliza in a half-whisper, “Good. Now she knows I’m not perfect.”
Mrs. Jayne and her daughter laid a picnic mat on the living room rug. There they gathered for a popcorn snack. The conversation began with mention of a stern math teacher. One girl said sarcastically, “Yes, I know, it’s all for our own good.”
Another girl said, “And we’ll all feel differently when we’re older. Don’t forget THAT standard line.”
Mrs. Jayne said, “You might not, though. I had some mean teachers that I didn’t like then and still don’t like to think about now.” Logan appreciated that.
The conversation rolled around to talking about a new girl in the class. She didn’t talk to people very much. Was she stuck up? Nah, maybe she was shy. Give her time.
Next was a news bulletin on who loves who. “How could he like her? She’s a real dork?” “How could she like him? He’s a real nerd.”
Through all this talk, Logan made a concerted effort not to say anything derogatory about anyone. He was still concerned over his impression on Mrs. Jayne.
The doorbell rang. Mrs. Jayne went to the door and let the guest in.
The guest said, “I’m Mrs. Henderson. I hope Logan wasn’t too much trouble.”
Mrs. Jayne said, “Not at all. He has been a pleasure and a delight.”
Mrs. Henderson took an astonished view of her son. “Why, Logan! I haven’t seen you like that in a long time!”
Logan said, “Yeah, I’ve changed a little, haven’t I!”
Mrs. Henderson said, “You sure have! I wouldn’t mind seeing you that way more often!”
One of the girls said, “Don’t take him away? Pleease?”
Logan said, “I appreciate that, but to tell you truth, I’m about ready to go.”
Another girl frowned and asked, “What’s the matter? Don’t you like us?”
Logan said, “Yeah, I like girls and all that, but—well, you could get too much of a good thing.”
Eliza said, “We were getting a little whispery and giggly, weren’t we.”
Logan said, “For the last little bit, you were. That’s when I felt out of place, being the only boy.”
A girl eagerly said, “I know what: bring in some more boys!”
Another girl said, “Yeah! It’s not fair, all of us fighting over Logan!”
Logan said, “I tell you what: I can bring in Alfonse, Gaston and Leon.”
Elizabeth said, “I like Alfonse.”
Betsy said, “I like Gaston.”
All eyes turned on Bess. “I guess I like Leon”
Eliza held up one finger and said, “But on only one condition.”
Logan nodded. “Agreed.”
Mrs. Henderson said, “This cozy little pact is heart-warming, but I’m feeling a little concern for Mrs. Jayne, opening up her house for eight kids. Maybe you can meet at her house one week, my house another week, and someone else’s house another week.”
Mrs. Logan smiled and nodded. “That would be fine with me. I’ll do it next week, though.”
They met the following week, same time, same station. Eliza’s three friends arrived first and Logan arrived next.
Some rustling was heard outside. Logan went outside and instructed his friends on “hands by your side.” Eliza stayed inside and instructed her friends on “down, up, and smile.”
Mrs. Henderson put on some records and the children practiced square dancing. She played some records from the folkdance club and the children practiced British country dancing, Croatian circle dancing, and Slavic line dancing.
And so it went, week after week. They kept on with folk dances of every style, but it was square dancing that they really got good at. They held popcorn snacks, pizza snacks, and sundry other snacks, and continued to malign their classmates just like they did the first time.
The end of the school year rolled around and it was time for the spring talent show. The emcee announced a square dance number performed by eight students. Four girls came out, dressed exquisitely in colonial style petticoats. Four boys came out, dressed exquisitely in Nature’s garb.
They gave a flawless performance. After the students and teachers of the audience deported themselves like perfect ladies and gentlemen, they responded with a hearty ovation.
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