My Blue Eyes (4 page)

     I woke up bright and early Monday morning with a sudden new anticipation for the school day.  That anticipation was seeing Mary in seventh hour science.  It was impossible to get a good night sleep as the thought of kissing Mary was replayed in my mind a thousand times.  I was falling hard for her, and the butterflies in my stomach only verified my feelings.  
     We were such an odd match.  I was the star baseball player, and Mary was the odd girl who never spoke to anyone.  Being with Mary would definitely cause my reputation to take a hit, but I didn't care.  The way her hand felt in mine, the way our lips felt together was so perfect it was scary.  I was planning on asking her to go back to our spot after school to have another make out session and work a little bit on our senior project.
     
     The only time I saw Mary at school was during the class we shared.  I never really looked for her beyond that, but today was different.  I had no idea what her class schedule was, so between classes, I would try to catch a glimpse of her.   It was all for not.
     Sixth hour class was a living hell.  My stomach was turning in knots, and I didn't hear a word my teacher said.  All I could think about was Mary.  The teacher even called on me one time to answer a question.  I didn't hear him, and he proceeded to say my name again, and again and again until the laughter from the class startled me out of my daydream.  Of course, I had no idea what he was talking about so I gave a bullshit answer.  I wasn't even close.
     Immediately, I rushed out of my seat with an eagerness to reach science class when the sixth hour bell rang.  I even blew off Matt as he tried to have a conversation with me.  He was none too happy with me and he let me know by hollering out a couple of profanities.  
He'll get over it, 
I thought.
     As I entered class, I noticed right away Mary wasn't sitting in her chair.  
She was usually the first one here
, I thought.  I glanced around the room and still no sign of her.  The bell rang to signal we all needed to be in class, but there was no Mary.  I spent most of the hour looking at the door expecting Mary to come in late.  She never came.
     The school day ended and I headed dejectedly to my car.  Matt ran up behind me and knocked my books out of my hands.
     "Dude, what the fuck was that all about?"
     "What was what all about?" I asked while picking up my books.  "Why do you have to be such a dick and knock my books out of my hands?"
     "Why did you fucking blow me off after sixth hour?" Matt stated with his hands stretched out wide.  "I wanted to tell you Lisa is going to ask you to a movie or something.  That's why I needed to talk to you."
     "I'm really not interested anymore." I said as I put my books into my truck.
     Matt was a little caught off guard.  "You're not interested anymore?  Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you?  The hottest girl in the school wants to ask you out and you say you're not interested?  Have you gone loco?"
     I rubbed my fingers through my hair and kept my hand resting on my head.  "I'm just not, Matt.  That girl blew me off all summer and now she wants to ask me out?  Fuck her!"
     Matt replied emphatically and slowly, "Darrel, Lisa Yates wants to ask you out!"
     "Honestly Matt, I don't care," I said.  "Tell her I'm not interested."
     "Whatever man, your loss.  Do you want to hang out tonight?" Matt asked.
     "No, I'm not feeling good, so I think I'm just going to go home and sleep."  I said as I entered my truck and gave Matt a wave goodbye.
     I went home and crashed on my bed as soon as I entered my bedroom.  Dad woke me up around 10:00 PM to tell me to get ready for bed.
     "Did Mary call?" I asked hoping for the answer to be yes.
     "No, but Matt did earlier this evening and I told him you were sleeping."
     "Thanks Dad," I said drifting back off to sleep.
     I woke up Tuesday morning with the same eager anticipation.  Waited all day for seventh hour, and there was no Mary.  Wednesday was the same, no Mary.  Thursday and Friday came and went with still no sign of Mary.
     I tried calling her several times throughout the week with no luck.  I would have went over to her house, but I never got her address.  I remembered my mom saying something about her mom working at the gas station off of Walnut Street, so I gave it a try.  
     There were several gas stations off of Walnut.  I should have known.  I went to four different gas stations until I finally lucked out and found her mom.  Her mom was pretty. She had to be in her mid-thirties.  She had a nice figure and wasn't afraid to show it off.  I waited off to the side for the line to clear and then made my way to the cash register.
     "Ms. Wizcowski," I asked.
     Appearing shocked a teenage boy knew her name, she replied, "Yes."
     "Hi Ms. Wizcowski," I replied politely.  "I'm a friend of Mary's at school, and I was wondering if she was alright.  I haven't seen her all week, and I'm a little worried."
     Shocked, Mary's mom questioned, "You're a friend of Mary's, huh, I didn't know she had friends.  Wait, are you Darrel, her partner for the senior project?"
     "Yes ma'am," I answered.  "Is she sick or something?  I know we got rained on pretty good last Sunday, so I thought that might have gotten her sick."
     Reassuring me Mary was fine, she stated, "Mary had to go away for the week, and she should be back next week."
     The line behind me started filling in quickly so I stepped to the side and asked Mary's mom for a favor.  "Will you just let Mary know I asked about her?"
     "I sure will," she answered as she attended to her customers.
     I went home not knowing anything more than when I started.  
Mary wasn't sick
, I thought,
so where in the hell is she?  
All I know is I missed Mary and I wanted to see her more than anything.  Monday couldn't get here fast enough.
Chapter 9

     Two more weeks had passed and still no Mary.  At this point, I had given up hope I would ever see her again.  My heart ached like this was an unexpected break up.  I hated going to school.  I hated starting each day thinking there was a chance I would see Mary, only to be deflated once again.  
Maybe this was part of her plan, 
I thought.  
Maybe this was her way of making me fall hard for her.  
She was a genius if it was, because I had fallen hard for Mary.
     
Senior year was supposed to be the best year of my life
.  
I went from being stuck working with a girl I despised, to being stuck waiting lustfully for the girl I couldn't take my mind off of.  Lisa Yates had moved on too.  She and Matt were now an item.  I didn't mind at all.  I was happy for Matt, and he let me know how happy he was any chance he got.  He begged me to take him to my spot without the blindfold so he could take Lisa there.  I refused.  The spot wasn't just mine anymore, it was me and Mary's spot.
     
There were parties happening practically every weekend, and I attended each and every one.  I would get butt ass drunk and let a few things slip from time to time.  I always thought drinking was supposed to ease your troubles, but it seemed to make mine worse.  I always wanted to see Mary more when I was drunk.  I even called her house one time at 2:00 AM and hung up immediately when a very angry Ms. Wizcowski answered the phone.  I prayed she didn't know it was me.  Then there was the time when the party had ended, and Matt and I were on our way home.  I had to talk to someone about Mary.
     
"Matt, I miss Mary."
      
"Dude, you are so fucking wasted," Matt said laughing hysterically.  "Scary Mary, that's a good one Darrel."
     
"I'm serious Matt!" I said with and emphatic slur of words.  "When we've been together, she's not like she is at school.  She's completely different.  She's open and free, and so much fun to be around.  I don't know what happened to her Matt."
     
"Do you want to bang Scary Mary or what you freak?" Matt stated with a touch of disgust in his voice.
     
"Don't call her that dude," I continued in a drunken slur.  "Next time you call her that I'm going to beat your ass.  Friend or no friend, I will beat your ass."
     It looked like I had convinced Matt that it wasn't the booze talking and I was serious.  He was really taken off guard by my drunken statements.  He shook his head and continued to drive me home.  It was an especially crisp night for the first week in October, and Matt rolled all the windows down to try and sober me up.  Last thing I needed was to get lectured from my parents for drinking underage.  
     The cool down had helped as I attempted to walk straight and did a good job, until I tripped on the front step banging my head on the wooden porch railing.  My head must have made a loud thud hitting the porch as Mom ran out to see what was happening.  She shook her head as I lay there pressing on my eyebrow hoping there was no blood.
     
"Darrel Mathew Watson!"
     Oh shit!  I was in trouble.  She used my full name.
     "You better thank your lucky stars your Dad is sleeping," mom stated.
     It was just before my 1:00 AM curfew.  Dad had long been asleep and Mom had waited up for me.  She always did.  It didn't matter how tired she was, she was always there to greet me with a smile.  She had to know all the times I came in drunk and this was no different.  I was her baby, and I guess she wanted to make sure I was safely tucked away before she went to bed.
     "I'm sorry mom," I said trying not to slur.  "I just haven't felt good the last couple of weeks, and I thought drinking might help it a little."
     "What's wrong Darrel?" Mom asked, not wanting to pry too much.  "I have noticed you've been down a little the past couple of weeks.  Is everything going well at school?"
     I really didn't want to have this conversation with my mom.  "School's fine, I just haven't seen Mary for three weeks.  She hasn't been at school since we went to the creek."
     "Is she alright?" Mom asked with concern.
     "I don't know Mom," I said starting to fall asleep.  "Can you help me to my room?"
     My poor mom.  I could only imagine what my one hundred and eighty five pounds felt like dragging up the stairs to my bedroom.  Like I've said before, my mom was awesome!
Chapter 10
    

     I awoke Sunday morning with a splitting headache.  It was one of those headaches that feels like a two ton brick is sitting on top of your head.  I put my hand up to my head and winced in pain as I had forgotten about tripping on the front step and breaking my fall with my head. It was especially painful over my right eyebrow, and as I felt it, I noticed it was bandaged up.  Dried blood was scattered over my pillow, and as I looked in the mirror, all I could think of was how much trouble I was in.  Mom must have patched me up after I passed out in my bed.
     I headed downstairs and was greeted by my mom and dad sitting at the kitchen table.  Dad right away noticed my bandaged eye and looked at Mom while shaking his head in a disapproving manner.
     "What happened, did you have too much to drink last night Darrel?" Dad asked.
     Mom came to my defense right away, "No Paul, he slipped on that piece of wood on the porch you've been promising to fix for the past two years."
     I looked at Mom with so much appreciation for not ratting me out.  Once again, Mom saved me from weeks of punishment.  Dad got up from the table with his paper and went to his normal spot in the Lazy Boy recliner.  Mom gave me a stern look and whispered to me so Dad wouldn't hear.
     "Now, you owe me big time for that Darrel.  Don't drink yourself stupid.  You have too much riding on your future."
     "I won't mom, I promise," I said with a tone of gratitude and embarrassment at the same time.  "Is it alright if I go work on my project today?"
     "Is Mary back?" mom said with surprise.
     "No, but I need to get started on testing the pH of the water. Is it alright if I use some of your mason jars in the basement?"
     Mom gave me a nod of the head yes, "Also Darrel, I bought you some pH strips. They're on the counter behind the bread."
     "Thank you mom," I said as I walked into the kitchen to collect my supplies.  She bought me a large pack of strips, which should last for the remainder of the project.  Mom was awesome!  Always thinking two steps ahead of me.
     I needed to check a few things with the water today.  Since I've been noticing a lack of fish (minnows) in the water, I needed to check the pH for its acidic level.  A water source that is not polluted should have a pH level of seven or higher.  Anything less than that would be an indication the creek is acidic, which would explain the lack of fish and plant life living in the water.  I would need to test the waters on a consistent basis to see if there is or is not a drastic change in the pH level.  For example, if I checked the water today and the creek had a pH of five, which would indicate the creek is acidic.  To make sure this isn't normal for the creek, I would need to keep testing to see if the number changes.  Should the number change on a consistent basis, this would indicate there is pollution in the water.
     A polluted water source was bad for anything living in or around it.  Since I've already noticed a change in the fish and plant life, I would also need to check and see what the wildlife population was like living in the area of my spot.  Pollution of Colapi Creek is especially bad, because it runs for miles and empties into the Mississippi River.  It's amazing how one polluted water source can negatively affect the lives of so many animals and people.  
     I already knew where the pollution was coming from.  The hog farm a mile up the creek must have a run off coming from somewhere on the farm.  Depending on whether or not the pH level changes, would determine if I had to make the mile trek up the creek to search for the run off.  I already had my mind made up I would be doing the hike, I only wished Mary was doing it with me.
     I made my way to my spot and did a quick search around for any signs of deer or squirrels.  Since it was the first week of October, bow season for deer had begun.  I didn't recall ever seeing any hunters in the area, so that was my first bad sign.  There were also no tracks leading to and from the water in the area I searched.  The creek was down a little and I was able to thoroughly investigate the water for any life.  There were a few minnows here and there, but nothing like there were before the hog farm.
     I scooped up some water in the Mason jar and labeled it 
Test 1, October 4, 1992.  
I dipped the strip in and pulled it out waiting the appropriate amount of time to get an accurate reading.  I checked the color with the color on the box and it gave me a pH reading of six, demonstrating the water was in fact, acidic and polluted.
     It wasn't as bad as I expected and knew since it hadn't rained in a couple of weeks, the run off from the farm wouldn't be as bad.  I could almost guarantee, after a nice rain the acidic level of the water would be much higher.
     The sun was starting to set over the red oaks, so I gathered my things together.  The days were starting to get shorter and it was only a matter of time before fall was kicked into high gear.  The leaves were still green with a splash of yellow and red here and there.  It was beautiful.  Three more weeks and this spot would be a Bob Ross painting. 
 
     I kept picturing Mary, standing on the water’s edge with her arms stretched out wide, letting the rain set her free from the outside world.  The water dripping from her rain soaked hair quickly rushing down her cheek.  She was the one that made this spot more beautiful than I had always thought it was.  She was the one I wanted to be with, at this moment, soaking in God's beauty.  All it took was one kiss from this girl to set me on fire, and I longed to see her again.
     I made my way through the woods and started up the hill, noticing a car parked next to mine along the bridge.  
Was that Mary, 
I thought.  It was! Sitting on my tailgate, in the Alabama sweatshirt I let her borrow, and she looked amazing!