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about us.
One of the things that Brett and I started doing together
was attending a youth group called Campus Life. This
organization was sort of a religious group, though they were
not particularly preachy. They just got together each week
and did something fun. Sometimes it was sledding, or
maybe roller skating or bowling. We had pizza parties and
board game nights sometimes also. At some point during
the activity we would congregate and the group leader
would deliver some sort of devotional message, which
generally was intended to spark conversation. Mostly we
discussed issues pertinent to teens - peer pressure,
substance abuse, premarital sex, getting along with your
parents. It was all very wholesome.
I began to develop a very special friendship with one of
the group leaders, a young woman named Kay. She was in
her late twenties and was one of the most caring people I
had ever met. She seemed to be very devoted to working
with the youth that attended her group. She was the sort of
person that lends money to everyone, constantly looks for
ways to help people, and seems to never expect anything in
return. She was a good person for the job of group leader,
for in my estimation she was practically a saint. Kay and I
related well to one another, for she also had an alcoholic
father. Her parents too had divorced when she was in her
teens, and she was extremely close to her mom. I got to
meet Kay's mom on several occasions. Her name was
Thelma but she instead went by her nickname, Fritzie. I
thought it was so funny every time I heard this nickname
because it always caused me to draw a mental picture of
Walter Mondale.
Kay also was one of the most ambitious people I had
ever met. She had a full time job at a local factory, but in her
spare time she had purchased and renovated this huge
three story home which was located only a few blocks from
where I lived. She converted each floor of the house into a
separate apartment, and then on the very top of the
building, using what used to be an attic, she built herself a
loft. The loft was absolutely beautiful, and it was here where
she lived. It was sort of a bitch in the winter to keep the
snow shoveled off the four flights of steps, and I remember
the first time I ascended the steep incline I became very
much aware of my fear of heights. She stood behind me
though, wrapping her arms around my waist and we walked
up the stairs together. After some time, I got used to the
ascent and descent and used the stairs unaided.
I started to suspect that perhaps Kay and I shared
another bond, other than just the commonality of our
situation with our fathers. One of the Campus Life
attendees was a younger girl named Carrie. Carrie was her
early twenties and had recently moved to Michigan from
some southern state, Texas, I believe. She spoke with a
very thick southern drawl, and I thought it curious the way
that Carrie always seemed to act so mannish. She dressed
in what I considered to be men's clothes, though not the
type of men that I particularly admired. She wore jeans and
flannel shirts and carried a wallet in her back pocket. She
also chewed tobacco, though never during Campus Life,
for it was not allowed.
Kay and Carrie were very close to one another and spent
a great deal of time together. It sort of reminded me of the
way that Brett and I were together. No one ever verbalized
any assumptions that they may have had about the two of
them, but I was really starting to wonder if maybe Kay was a
lesbian. I wanted for the longest time to bring up this topic
with her but was far too intimidated to broach the subject. If
Kay were not a lesbian she would be terribly hurt and
possibly angry at me for even suggesting as much, and
even if she were gay, she may not be comfortable
discussing it. So I decided to simply enjoy her friendship
and if the topic ever did come up, I'd just roll with the flow.
Well, finally it did become a conversation between us,
initiated by her. It was late February and we were having an
oddly warm day. I think that maybe it was our January thaw
coming a month late. Generally we get snow well into
March, but then by mid April it has magically disappeared.
We were sitting outside on her porch, the one that was at
the top of her steep flight of steps leading to the loft. She
had built this huge platform porch with high railings around
it. Against each railing was a bench, which completely
encircled the entirety of the porch. We sat there together on
those benches and Kay posed a question to me, "So do
you go to church anywhere?"
"Yeah, sometimes I go to my mom's church, Faith
Community. Where do you go."
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