Throughout the six weeks I spent in southeast Texas, Dave and I went to every movie playing at three different theaters. In my opinion, none of them were worth watching. They were mostly war pictures and westerns, but we weren’t there for the picture. It was our best opportunity to be alone, but still in a place that was public enough to keep our raging hormones in check. We even used the “love” word with each other, but I knew, and I’m sure he did as well, kissing cousins shouldn’t make plans past a summer romance. We were careful to act as we were expected to in the presence of others.

Dave’s sister, Jeanine, was eight years older than me, and we hadn’t done a lot together in the past, but while staying in her home and playing with her children, we became a lot closer.  Art was her passion as well as mine. She was a talented artist, although with a husband and two small children, she didn’t have the time she’d once had to draw and paint. She had taken the same correspondence art course I was taking. She brought out her books which were an earlier version than mine, and showed me assignments she had completed.

Jeanine was determined to entertain me. As a result, I got to experience some enjoyable things I’d never done before. I hadn’t had the opportunity to play around in a commercial swimming pool. I was thrilled to be in all that clean blue water. This summer, I actually had a bathing suit and hadn’t been forbidden to go near the water. However, my perfect day was short-lived because when we got out of the pool, I found someone had taken my purse from the locker. It contained all of the money I had brought with me to Texas. It was only ten dollars, but back then it seemed like a lot. It was enough to put a damper on an otherwise fun day.

The next thing planned for me was to visit a cousin I’d heard of but had never met. Jane was a year older than me and was the granddaughter of Mom’s much older half-sister. I spent a night and day with her and had one of those uncanny experiences which leave you scratching your head. Jane said to me, “Since you’re spending the night with me, I think we should have a sleep-over. I’ve invited my best friend to come. She is fun to be around, and I know you will like her. Her name is Janet Jenkens.”

“Wow, what a coincidence. My best friend in third grade was named Janet Jenkens. Her family moved away from Newton and we lost touch.”

Now what are the chances of it being the same girl. I’m sure the odds would be astronomical, but fate has a way of playing games. She turned out to be one and the same. We had grown apart over the years, but it was still fun to get reacquainted. The three of us slept crossways on Jane’s double bed with our feet hanging off the side.

The next visit was to the home of another cousin a few months older than me. I didn’t find her to be nearly as much fun as Jane. This one was Alice Carolyn. She is mentioned in an earlier chapter when I visited in Texas at six. She was Uncle Lee’s daughter. He was mom’s alcoholic half-brother. He and some of her other half-brothers brewed their own liquor, and got my mom drunk at four. They had to keep her out of sight until she’d sobered up, but I digress. I’ll soon return to the present summer of 1953.

Uncle Lee married Aunt Merrial and Alice Carolyn was their only child. They spoiled her rotten, in my opinion. She was tall and very pretty. She started dating at twelve and believed herself to be desired by all males and envied by all females. The family was by no means rich, but she had a model’s wardrobe and visited the beauty shop at least once a week. It seems since I was related, I was expected to spend at least one night with them.

Uncle Lee was a lot of fun when he wasn’t passed out drunk, but Aunt Merrial was persnickety and patronizing as her daughter. She always seemed to be comparing me unfavorably with her daughter. When both of us girls were about ten, Aunt Merrial once told my mother, “I’m so glad Alice Carolyn isn’t like Beth who is always reading books. I feel that makes girls become interested in boys way too young.”

How’d that work out for you, Aunt Merrial. I’m fifteen and officially not dating and your daughter has been dating since twelve. I didn’t say it out loud, but I sure wanted to. The only thing I remember about the visit was waiting three hours in the beauty shop for her to get prettied up for her date that night, and her comment while staring at me as I ate a donut. She remarked, “Wow, people look so funny when they eat. The food goes in and just disappears when they swallow.”  What a profound observation.

Jeanine and Dave’s mom, Aunt Allene, was divorced from Mom’s brother, Uncle Newman. He was the only one of Mom’s siblings who shared the same mother and father. Uncle Newman had left Aunt Allene for his secretary, and he lived in Houston. Aunt Allene was dating Mr. Allred. He came every week and picked us all up to go to church.

In the big Baptist church, I met some very friendly girls in Sunday school class. They invited me to a party, and I went and had a good time. I saw them each Sunday when we went to church. Baptist have separate classes for male and female so Dave and I weren’t in class together at church.  

Mr. Allred took us all out to eat at a Seafood restaurant. This was another first for me, because I had never even seen shrimp before and I was surprised because they looked gross, but tasted pretty good. Hearing my sad story of having my ten dollars stolen, Mr. Allred decided to restore what I had lost. I didn’t want to take it, but he insisted.

My next adventure involved a trip to Corpus Christi to visit Haskel’s sister. But first there would be a stopover in Houston to visit Uncle Newman and his wife, Dell. Dell had two children. One was Richard, who was my age and his sister was older. Richard was quite handsome. He looked like a young Clark Gable with his black wavy hair and brown eyes. He wore cowboy boots, a western shirt, jeans and a chain around his neck. He was more than willing to take the new girl in his house out for the evening. I was starting to get the hang of this boy/girl thing. We took city busses to get around. This was another new adventure for me. We went to a soda shop and to two different theaters in one night. How would I handle my simple country life after all of this.

The next stop was Corpus Christi, and it turned out to be another blast from my past. Haskel’s sister Ruth Savage, was divorced with two boys and a girl. One of the boys, who was also named, Richard, to my surprise, was someone I’d known before. This Richard and I were in the same grade for two years in Newton. I’d not seen him since fifth grade. I’d always found Richard to be nice as well as cute. We sat up half the night getting reacquainted. He gave me an evening tour of this semi-tropical city on the back of his motorcycle. Riding behind a biker was definitely another first. This was getting to be almost overkill with all the adventures I’d never had before. Despite the intense heat, I loved Corpus Christi with its palm-lined streets and gorgeous flowers. I would have loved to have been there longer.

There were more adventures on my trip, like amusement parks, relative visits, and a trip to Galveston beach, but I’ve hit a lot of the highlights. My trip back to Mississippi seemed to come too quickly in spite of the fact six weeks was the longest I’d ever been away from home. Mr. Allred drove Aunt Allene, Dave and I back to Newton traveling throughout the night. My summer vacation will end with the trip home in the  next chapter.

Characters:
Beth- Me at 15
Dave Lay-1sr cousin and summer fling
Jeanine and Haskel Davis-1st cousin and her husband 
Aunt Allene-Mom's ex-sister-in-law.
Uncle Newmon Lay and wife Dell- Mom's brother and wife
Richard Strickland-Dell son
Uncle Lee, Aunt Merrial and Alice Carolyn Lay- Mom's half-brother and family
Jane Jolly- half first cousin I'd not met before
Janet Jenkins-Jane's friend and my former friend and classmate.
Ruth Savage- and son Richard Savage-Haskel's sister and nephew from Corpus Christi and my former classmate
Mr. Allred= Friend of my Aunt Allene.