Mary sipped the ice cold Coca-Cola as the little droplets of condensation slipped down the clear blown glass. She sat, basking in the sun as Marilyn Monroe’s voice hopped out of her casio speakers and whispered in her ear. Her washed out, personally cut, hip huggers allowed a small wind’s breath to blow across her knees. Her mother, Lina, dragged the slider door open just enough to make Mary push down her Ray-Ban sunglasses.
“Here’s to a summer of nothing.” Mary playfully exclaimed. Her mother laughed and clanked the glasses together.
“Here’s to a summer of nothing,” she giggled under her laugh. They leaned back and simultaneously sipped their iced-cold beverages.

The next day, Mary was basking on the hot California serene beach.
"I'll be back by about nine." Mary exclaimed.
As she slumbered upon the hot beach, little drops of rain danced on her warm skin. She briskly packed all of her belongings and sprinted off the beach. She dragged her metal beach chair and bounced into someone.
“ I’m so sorry,” Mary looked down in embarrassment and kept walking.
“ It’s okay.” The boy chuckled. “Have we met before?” He patted he's chest. "I'm James. James Stupe."
“I don’t believe so.” Mary kept walking. Then it began to down-pour. Golf ball-like-drops fell from the sky. The boy laughed as the pellets landed on his dark, smooth, skin.
“Can I take you for lunch?” he hopefully wondered.
“I don’t see any harm in that.” She responded as she bit her bottom lip and it cascaded back to place. They went to Tom’s Burger Joint, “where every burger is a happy burger.” They giggled over mountain-sized burgers. The hours passed like a whirligig.
Jame's Chevy Corvette stumbled into Mary's smooth paved driveway. James turned his head to Mary. Her Tru-Color lipstick plumped her lips just enough to make her high-waisted shorts noticeable.
"I guess this is it." Mary stated.
"Yeah. I guess so."


Mary opened the heavy gloss-red door and. Started her way up the walk-way.


"Bye." She flirtatiously waved.


"Oh wait! I need your number."


Mary turned back. Her blonde hair flew over her moist bathing-suit strap. She shouted her number over the evergreen grass and proceeded her walk to her pale-yellow aboad. And with a screech and a puff, James was off. She squeaked the egg-shell McGraw-Hill front door that her parents recently installed and closed it behind her. As she fell, the back of the door caught her and she crossed her arms across her denim-blue tote bag. Her mother walked up to her and smiled in excitement.


" Who's the boy?" She accurately assumed.


"Ah! There is no boy" She attempted to fool her.


" Sweetie, I've been a girl for forty-five years. Don't even try." Her mother walked into the kitchen and Mary followed telling her all about James and how smart and funny he is. Lina was unbearably eager for her daughter. It was about time Mary started to spend time with family who didn’t spit-up on her or tell her stories about the nineteen-hundreds.

“Okay. Stop.” Lina muted Mary, “When is the next date.” Mary gazed at her mother puzzled. She knew she didn’t have nearly enough time for another person to take care of. As Mary saw it, family came first and no one would be more important. She always thought of boyfriends as people who you were obligated to spend time with. She just didn’t like the fact of having one. Besides, she thought of James as more of a slodge anyways.

“ Hello! Earth to Mary!” Her mother exclaimed. But still Mary was silent. “Mary! How many times will you make me quote myself?” Mary stayed still. Overwhelmed, she spoke.
“ A date? Well James and I are just tight.” Her mother became frosted with her. Mary tried to make it unreal.
“Well we’re just vacant about it.” She replied with a fake laugh. She wondered if James really thought of her like that. Nobody has ever thought of her like that. She was normally known as a wet-rag.
“Well baby what are you doing standing here? Go call that boy and set a date!”
“You don’t think that will be too desperate?” She wondered.



“Shoo!” Her mother brushed the dish towel towards her. She ran upstairs to her baby-pink Bell telephone and dialed James’ number. She recognized the zorros bubbling up inside of her. With each ring, her stomach turned once more. The heat was plummeting on her and she began to feel very nauseous.
“Hello?” What seemed like a sweet woman’s voice lightly dove through the phone. She was going to respond and she stuttered.
“I’m looking for J- Ja- James.” She felt it coming up. Fake gagging. Nope, real gagging. Chunks flew to the ground and she dropped the phone onto the bed.
“Mary? Mary?” James’s voice soothed Mary into a secure state. Her mother ran to the phone and imitated Mary.
“Yes. James. I was wondering if you would like to go out for dinner tomorrow.” Lina poorly imitated. She hung up the phone while Mary was still spewing chunks all over the pastel mirror-warmer. She paused.
“Well guess who has a date with James tomorrow at six, after his “wig-chop”?” Lina questioned. She leaped with glee and raced out of the room. After cleaning her fluid, she rest in her fluffy white comforter on her queen-sized bed-spread. As she drifted to sleep, she thought of everything that her and James would do. Her eyelids fluttered when her subconscious meshed her social life and her family life together. She developed a tremendous amount of guilt pouring on her.
She had awoken to an unusual surprise. Flapjacks and orange juice, eggs and bacon. And of course, her favorite, waffle and ice-cream blankets. She sat there wiping the sleep out of the corner of her eyes. Her mother was a racehorse around the table.
“Eat up darling. We have a busy day.” Her mother nudged.
“Busy day?” She tested.
“Well of course darling, first we have to go shopping for a dress for tonight then we have to go to the beauty parlor for a make-over for tonight. So Finish eating then get in the shower. We’re already running late.”
Mary scooted upstairs and turned on the hot water to rinse in. She thought about her mother. She was truly worried about her. Mary had never seen her this way. She seemed desperate for Mary to date James. It was finally time for the date.
James pulled up in the same Chevy corvette as he used the day before. "Wow! You look... Let's just say I hope those other boys don't cast and eyeball on you or boy will I be in trouble." James flirted.
"Well, aren't you just an apple butter?"
"Who wouldn't be I mean look at that classy chassis!"


Mary giggled and strowed to the door that James shivelrisly opened for her. She sat in the white leather seat and waved at her mother because she knew she was looking through the sheer nylon curtians.


"You've got a nice set of wheels here." Mary remarked.


"Oh! So you like it? Yeah it's my father's. He let's me use out every now and then. It's more of a mid-life-crisis kinda thing. Mary giggled and let out a clamorous snort. By the time Mary was done with the pig noises, James had parked into a drive-in movie.


"What are we doing here?" Mary requested as she felt her blood heating up as if it was held over a stove.


"Oh you know I was planning on playing some back seat bingo." Mary, at this point crimson. Her cheeks so red cars would yeild to her on the road. "I'm just playing." He whipped his hand, "No but seriously. Want to go grab a bite?"


As they munched on Stewart's hot dogs and tossed back their famous rootbeer floats, Mary really began to fall for James. She had never noticed all of the little things. Like when he laughed and his pearly-whites would gleam like a dog with dentures. Or his little black curl that hangs from his hair line. Its those little things that made Mary see him as more than a friend.


Once again, the glossy-red corvette pulled up to Mary's smoothly paved driveway. This time James walked Mary to the McGraw Hill front door and they front door bingoed instead.


"Oh you're such a dolly." James flirted.


"Well you're a flutter bum." Mary flirted back.


"I guess I should go. See ya later alligator."


"In a while crocodile."


"That's enough cream-puff."


Mary walked inside and leaped onto her bed. Love soon became an obsession with each other. Where ever she went Mary would think about James and vice-versa. Her mom turned from eager to worried. They would spend every night together. It was Mary's cousin's graduation and Mary missed it for mini-golf with James. Lina was at wits end and could not, would not take it anymore. So she sat Mary down for a talk on the white, show-not-sit couch with the lace doylees on top.


"You can't do this. I'm finally happy and you have to ruin it. I'm not going to take this. Just because my attention isn't one hundred and fifty percent on you, you have to do something about it." Mary shouted.


"Mary I just want..."



"What's best for me. Yeah right. I'm done. I'm sleeping at James'."



"No. Mary." Lina tried to catch Mary but she grabbed her bag and slammed the door. She ran out to catch her but the car was already started and moving. James noticed Mary's flip-top and ran outside.



"You have to leave." James frostedly shouted.



"My mom and I had a fight and I just need to stay here on the couch or something. I just can't stay there." Mary yelled back while walking inside, James repeating each step.


"James who's there?" A girl walked out and spotted Mary. Mary looked at James in dissapointment, repacked and ran outside. James followed her.


"Mary its not what it looks like. Please stop."


With nothing said, Mary jumped in her car and drove off. Bawling, she sprinted up to her front door. She walked inside into her mother's arms.


"Aw. Baby doll. What's wrong." Lina empathetically questioned.


"There was someone else." Mary hiccuped over her tears.


Many missed calls later, and after a long night's sleep, Mary sipped the ice cold Coca-Cola as the little droplets of condensation slipped down the clear blown glass. She sat, basking in the sun as Marilyn Monroe’s voice hopped out of her casio speakers and whispered in her ear. Her washed out personally cut Hip Huggers allowed a small wind’s breath to blow across her knees. Her mother, Lina slid the slider door open just enough to make Mary push down her Ray-Ban sunglasses.
“Heres to a summer of nothing.” Mary playfully spoke.