He wore tight cords and a madras shirt - the uniform of a 1960s surfer boy. His white blonde hair swept across his forehead and his freckles spoke of many hours spent on the waves. He looked about twenty years old - about a decade younger than when I would eventually meet him. "Oh my God, Claudette. It's Thomas and his surfing buddy, Sam." I barely knew how to respond. The Fresca and Twinkies sunk to the bottom of my stomach and I felt a little sweaty.
"Paulette, I think we need to leave, like now. We need to hide."
"What? What is the matter with you?"
"I don't think it's a good idea for me to mess with the sequence of the universe, if you know what I mean."
She paused to look at me. "Look, if you are worried about meeting your husband too early, I really don't think there is anything to worry about."
"But you don't know that! I could screw up everything. I mean, look at me! I did not get the looks at this age. Did you notice the broken glasses? How about the pimples? When Dad let me get contacts and mom finally got me to the dermatologist, well, you know. I started looking good - like you, obviously. I mean since were twins. Shit, Thomas takes one look at my 1969 self..."
"Stop! Stop right there. You are beautiful through and through whether you are fifteen or fifty. And look at them," Paulette and I both glanced at Thomas and Sam, who were at this point standing on a nearby hill, passing a paper bag back and forth - consuming a libation of some sort. "They are boys, really. He won't remember this moment even if we do have a conversation with them."
"Oh, no, Paulette. We are not engaging them in conversation." I wagged my head back and forth several times and started to walk towards the park exit. Paulette grabbed the back of my dress.
"What are you so afraid of?"
"Are you kidding? I'm scared to death he'll be repulsed by my present teen state and remember said repulsion and then when we meet a decade from now, he will run for the hills. No marriage, no kids, no life." I looked down at my sandals and closed my eyes for a second.
"Oh shit, here they come." Paulette put her fingers under my chin and whispered, "Smile," and then twirled me around. Thomas and Sam were right in front of us.
"Hey, I know you," said Sam looking at Paulette. "You hang out at the beach. Are you friends with Sonny LaChapelle?"
Paulette replied that she and Sonny's sister were friends. While they were going through the names of various acquaintances, I studied Thomas. He wasn't looking at either Paulette or me, but rather, he was surveying the crowd and looking bored. He was so boyish; when I met him in 1978 he wasn't nearly as lanky or freckly. But, he sure was cute.
I took my eyes off Thomas and took in the scene around me - the music, the smells of hot dogs and weed and the wind kicking up the limbs of pine trees. I started to feel a little less terrified. Thomas and Sam were at the park to listen to music and drink beer. They had no interest in a couple fifteen year olds. I felt my breathing return to normal, but then -
"Hey, you guys want to go to a party?" Sam asked. I snapped my mind back to the conversation and blurted, "No."
At the very same moment, I watched Thomas lean into Sam and say, "What are you doing, man?"
Paulette, also at the same second, looked at me and said, "Let's roll, huh, sis?" I pulled her to the side and urgently whispered to her that we weren't going to any party. For God's sakes, we were too young to be going with these guys to a party.
Suddenly, Sam sprinted over to the hot dog stand and said, "Whoa, these dogs smell good. I just realized I'm hungry. Thomas?" Thomas loped over as well, and we followed. "Wow, 50 cents. I can't believe they charge that much for a hot dog." Sam and Thomas both laid out a dollar each. And they both nearly swallowed their first dog whole.
"I guess you guys were hungry." I don't know what compelled me to speak at that moment, but once I did, I didn't feel as scared. Thomas looked at me for the first time since we'd encountered them.
"Hey, I don't think I caught your names. I'm Thomas."
"I'm Claudette and this is my sister, Paulette." Paulette gave a little wave and started laughing, which got me to laughing.
"What's so funny?" Thomas grinned crookedly and then I saw a familiar expression cross his face - one that told of impending mischief. He hadn't taken a bite from his second hot dog; he pointed the dog very close to my face and forced the wiener in and out of the bun. He did this several times, all the while, chuckling and looking to Sam for an audience. Sam laughed and started doing the same thing with his hot dog.
I pushed up my glasses to stare at Thomas more acutely.
"Wow, you are being an ass." Paulette's expression was grim.
"You squeakers are so up tight. Jesus, lighten up." Thomas' laughter had died down, but then Sam started sliding the dog back and forth once more, and they both busted up again.
I had had it.
"So, like, are you indicating you'd like to have sex with me - a squeaker? Is that it? Are you into underage sex? I mean, you are twenty years old, right? Is that how you get your jollies? Hmm?"
The laughter stopped and Thomas' jaw hardened. "What ..."
I cut him off. "Look, I don't think it's funny. I think you are acting incredibly stupid for someone so smart." I felt as if thought I'd been running several blocks - my breathing was heavy and my heart was pounding.
"First off, how do you know how old I am?" I started to say something, but he cut me off. "Just wait. You don't even know me."
"Well, I know that your behavior is inappropriate." I could see Paulette in my periphery, looking bemused. "But I guess, being inappropriate isn't the end of the world." I frowned at him, pushed up my glasses, and looked off in the distance. Little tufts of fog were starting to skirt the tops of the pine trees. I didn't have a sweater and the breeze was brisk. I looked at my sister and wondered what was going to happen next. I also wondered if meeting Thomas at this juncture may prove to be edifying.
"So, where's this party?" I heard myself ask.
