She turned her back toward us, and Rickie’s eyes bulged as he stared at her bare bottom. That seemed strange to me at the time. She turned, saw Rickie, and hastily covered herself with the towel.
“Hello, Rickie.” Her face red, from the sun I thought.
“Hel..ll..oo,” he stammered.
#lookinmybriefs

“It’s amazing how much your mother looks like you.”
“Gran says I’ll look just like her when I grow up.”
Mom chose that moment to walk by the hallway. She was rubbing her face and hair with a towel, so she didn’t see us right away. #lookinmybriefs #birthdays #contemporary #shortstory

Hastily I licked my fingers and tried to rub them away, but I only made it worse. I knew I would hear about it from Mom, but there was nothing I could do at the moment, so I shrugged and forgot about them. I did another cartwheel while Rickie studied the picture. #lookinmybriefs #birthdays

I did a cartwheel down the hall and then another back to where he stood. “Gran says I look just like her at that age.”
I bounced up and down, and then I lifted my foot to see how high I could touch the wall, but when I lowered it I noticed toe marks on the wall.
"Oops."
#lookinmybriefs #birthdays

I was leading him toward my room, intending to show him my new game console when I realized he had stopped. He was looking some old photos my mother had mounted on the wall in our hallway. I waited impatiently, bouncing on my toes. #lookinmybriefs #birthdays #shortstory #contemporary

When I went to investigate, I saw Rickie.
“Hi.” I unlatched the door, so he could enter. “I thought you weren’t coming?”
“The A’s were behind by ten runs, so I asked my dad if we could leave. Did you have a good party?”
“The best ever.”
#lookinmybriefs #birthdays #shortstory #contemporary

My mom had made a zillion cupcakes covered with genuine chocolate frosting, the best I had ever eaten. The hot August day had been perfect for a birthday party with a water theme, and the few adults had made sure we kids were slathered with sunscreen. #lookinmybriefs #birthdays #contemporary

He did not attend my party, because his father had purchased family tickets to the Oakland A’s game. I missed him, but he had loaned me his water toys.
My dad had rented a jumping castle and had set it next to our pool. #lookinmybriefs

He would be a sophomore when school started. He and I were friends, even though we were four years apart. Our buses stopped at the same place, and we often walked to the bus stop together. Older boys sometimes picked on younger kids, but they didn’t pick on me if Rickie was around. #lookinmybriefs

Eleventh Birthday

It had been the best day of my life. I turned eleven years old, was one of the most popular girls going into the sixth grade, and it didn't hurt that I lived next to Rickie Baines, at fifteen already one of the most popular boys in high school. #lookinmybriefs #birthdays

The other kids left, and Mom told me to return the water toys. I hauled them next door and found him in the backyard, gazing sadly at the empty pool. Tired from the excitement of the day and from the exercise of childhood, we lay on the grass, side by side, content to watch clouds. #lookinmybriefs

It quickly became a contest, boys against the girls. It was so much fun, at least until Kelly slipped on a patch of wet grass and landed face first. He got up crying, putting a damper on the merriment. Mom got him cleaned up, gave him an ice cream bar, and sent him home. #lookinmybriefs #shortstory

We ate hot dogs and cake, and then I opened my presents. My clueless parents gave me cute clothes, but I got a doll, a truck, and some costume jewelry from my friends. Rickie didn't give me anything, because he hadn't had time. I didn't care, because he brought all his water toys. #lookinmybriefs

There were four girls besides me, mostly from the street where I lived. Marsha was there from my class. I invited her because she asked me if she could come. We were not close friends. I had to invite Kelly, a seven-year-old boy, because he lived across the street. #lookinmybriefs #birthdays

"Are you coming to my birthday?"
"Oh. Well. I guess so."
“Can we play with those at my party?” I asked, pointing to the water toys.
"Sure, if you want."
"My name is Lucy. It's actually Lucile, but don’t call me that."
"Okay. I'm Rickie."
"Cool."
It was a typical ten-years-old party. #lookinmybriefs

Curiosity caused me to wander over to their open garage the following morning. The boy was unpacking, and I noticed a box full of water toys, like Super Soakers, Water Blasters, and water pistols. My eyes widened in delight.
"Hi," I said.
"Hi," he responded.
#lookinmybriefs #birthdays #contemporary

One more person at my party didn’t matter. I had not arrived at that moment when self-awareness leads to self-consciousness, and the boy had not put on a growth spurt, so he was not so tall that I would place him in that strange category between “us” and “adults.” #lookinmybriefs #birthdays

“His name is Rickie Baines,” she informed me when she returned. “He’s fourteen. I hope you don’t mind, but I invited him to your birthday party.”
I shrugged and said, “Okay.”
Like Christmas, my birthday was all about gifts when I was ten. #lookinmybriefs #birthdays #contemporary #shortstory

My mom had made a huge sheet cake with my name in chocolate icing, real chocolate, not the kind from a plastic tub. As I was skipping through our house, I noticed Mom peering through the window over the sink, toward the vacant house next door. #lookinmybriefs #birthdays #contemporary #shortstory

Birthdays

Tenth Birthday

The day before my tenth birthday, a woman and her son moved into the house next to us. I was about to reached double digits, and I was excited. A bunch of kids were coming over at noon, the time my party would begin. #lookinmybriefs #birthdays #contemporary #shortstory