Dream date

Morning could not come too soon for me! I awoke early, but I had to wait for Karen to be up and about, as her Mom would not let us go to the beach alone. She was afraid that some unscrupulous stranger would take advantage of us, we being such lovely innocents and all-(Boy did she not know her daughter!) I was very hungry as well, and decided to go to breakfast and let Karen sleep in for awhile. I thought that she would be awake when I got back, and we could go to the beach. I gobbled some eggs and a sweet roll, and when I got back from breakfast, Karen was still sleeping. I gently poked at her exposed foot, trying to get her to wake up. She just yanked her foot under the cover, and I stood there trying to hold my patience. Next, I tickled her arm, but she just rolled over. I whispered her name, but no response. I was getting impatient, I knew that Henry was waiting for me! Finally, I called her name rather loudly, and she shifted a bit. "whadaya want?" she mumbled. I told her to come on and get up, I wanted to go to the beach, but she said she didn't feel well. I asked her again, more earnestly, and she just rolled back over and pulled the covers over her head. I was getting desperate. I yanked the bedspread off of her and told her to get up. I wanted to be there with Henry, and she wasn't going to stop me! With a few unlady-like words, Karen glared at me, telling me that she had no reason to go to the beach, after all, I was the one with a boyfriend, not her! Quickly, I came up with a lie. I told her that Henry was bringing one of his friends to meet her and we would hang out together. That piqued her interest. I handed her one of her most scanty bikinis and told her that no one could resist her in something like that. By now, she was smiling, and had a crafty look on her face. Because she was dragging her feet, I began to throw towels, the bikini, sun tan lotion and t-shirts into our beach bag. Once again, I pressed her to hurry, and at last, after donning the ugly, one-piece swim suits that her mother insisted we wear, we finally found our way down the back stairs and on to the beach. We had not gone far, when I heard my name called. Looking back, I saw Karen's mom calling and motioning for us to return. Going back to her, I listened in horror as she told us that she wanted to spend the day at the beach with us. She thought it would be fun for just us girls to hang out together. She said we could build sand castles, lay in the sun, eat hot dogs and snow cones and suggested that Karen and I introduce her to out little friends. I saw my highly anticipated day shatter right before my eyes. Both Karen and I had a problem with her mom's plans for the day. In no way was Karen going to be seen on the beach in such an ugly swim suit, and I knew that I could not hang out with Henry if Karen's mom was there. Just as I thought I was going to break down and cry, something wonderful happened. I guess the summer beach fairy was looking after me, because right then, Karen's dad came down the stairs dressed in bermuda shorts, boat shoes, a t-shirt and had a camera slung about his neck. With a booming, cheerful greeting, he told us that he was going sight-seeing and invited us to join him. Karen quickly spoke up and told her dad that she thought it would be a good idea if just he and her mom went together and let us just spend the day at the beach. She added that they did not ever have much time to be alone, and, waggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, said that it would be romantic for them to spend the day together. (She had such a silver tongue!). Her mom looked at her dad and smiling, said that it sounded good to her. She insisted that she didn't want to leave us all alone like that, but we assured her that we would have fun and not to worry. In no time at all, Karen's parents were gone to their sight-seeing, and we were on our way to the beach once again. As soon as we were out of sight of her parents, Karen pulled her genie act and snaked into the tiny bikini that we had smuggled from the hotel. I was amazed at the fact that such a small amount of fabric could even cover the vital parts of Karen's body. Next to her physical perfection, I felt like a whale, but then I remembered that Henry was waiting for me and he had said that he liked me just the way I was. As I ran along the expanse of the white sands of the beach looking for Henry, once again I was amazed that I had been given the opportunity of having a vacation such as this. Karen had found her usual gaggle of admirers (I guess she had forgotten about my little white lie) and I went, as usual by myself to see what the day would bring. Before long, I heard my name called. It was Henry! He was running along the beach, calling and waving to me. The dream continued. There was actually a boy that wanted to be with me! As we met by the water's edge, Henry told me that he had the day planned for us. After spending some time with our friends, he wanted to go to the shops and look around. After that, we could get some lunch, and then he had a surprise for me. I was so excited, and I thought if only Mindy could see me now! The morning passed quickly, and soon we were on our way to the little shops that lined the main street where the beach began. Once again, I was enchanted by all the souveniers available. The tiny preserved alligators stared at us as we passed by, and I thought again how much I wished I could take one home with me. Carved coconut monkeys grinned at me in passing, as if they knew that I was having a special time. In one shop, Henry picked up a large conch shell and put it to his ear. His face lit up with a huge smile, and he told me that he could hear the sea. I asked if that was all he could hear, and he said no, that he could also hear the shell telling him that I was special to him. I blushed radiantly, no boy had ever spoken to me like that before! We left the shop and strolled past other shops, most of them offering the same souveniers. As we came to one shop however, I noticed that they were advertising salt-water taffy. I told Henry that I had never had salt-water taffy, and he suggested that we go in and try some. Inside the store was a counter lined with striped taffy candy in several colors and sizes. Off to the side of the counter was a machine that was "pulling" taffy, or in other words, stretching long ropes of candy over and over. It was amazing to see the candy lighten up in color and it was stretched. Most of the colors were pastel pinks, greens, blues and yellow with stripes of white running through them. Some of it was chocolate, vanilla or strawberry, and were in solid colors. After the taffy was stretched, it was rolled into long snake shapes and cut into small, round pieces. Then, a worker would wrap each piece by hand and throw it into a bin of the same color. From each bin, the candy was packed into lovely foil boxes to be sold. There were free samples of the taffy, and I eagerly chose a pink piece. Popping it into my mouth, I was surprised at the sticky sweetness of the taffy. Noting my surprised look, Henry asked me what I was thinking. I told him that I thought that since it was salt-water taffy, it should have had a salty taste. The clerk heard me and explained that it was only called salt-water taffy because it was usually sold only at the beach. I loved the sweet, vanilla taste of the taffy, and found myself pulling it from my teeth with my tongue as I tried to eat it. Before long, the taffy had dissolved, and I wished that I had another piece. Before I could say anything, Henry pulled out some change and had the clerk fill a small bag with pieces of taffy of each color. Smiling, he handed me the bag and told me to enjoy myself. All I could think was that I would never eat all of that precious candy, because Henry had bought it for me and I wanted to keep some to remember him by. Soon after we left the taffy store, Henry led me to a small cafe where we had corn dogs and cokes for lunch. I felt like the heroine in a romantic movie as I enjoyed each moment in Henry's company. He was so sweet to me, and I never wanted the day to end. After lunch, I found that the surprise that Henry had for me was to rent a bicycle built for two. We rode all over the shopping area with the wind blowing in our faces and the sun beating down on us. It was magical. Finally, we turned the bike back in and went back to the beach. Sitting at the water's edge, we sat in companionable silence while I thought of the wonderful day. Dusk was falling and the night beach goers were coming out. Campfires were being lit and the smell of roasting marshmallows and hot dogs permeated the air. The wave gently rolled in and out and the smell of salt caressed the breeze. Stars began to blink in the dusky sky. How could anything be any better? Henry and I talked of nothing in particular, but we held hands. Then, I knew it was time to go in, and as much as I would have spent the whole night sitting on the beach and talking to Henry, I also knew that it could not be. So, I stood up and told Henry that I had to go and find Karen and go on back to the hotel. Henry took my hand and looked into my eyes, and I knew that the time had come for a kiss from him. But as everything else in my life, the magic had to come to an end. As we stood face to face, Henry quietly told me that he and his family were returning home the next day. It took a moment for that information to register, and then I asked him why he had waited until the last minute to tell me that he was leaving the next day. He told me that he did not want to spoil our last day together. I asked him if he would write to me, and he told me no, he didn't think that we could sustain a long-distance relationship like that. Giving me a hug, he told me he enjoyed our time together and he would never forget me. And, just like that, the dream was over. I could not believe that I had only known him for two wonderful days! It seemed much longer. I found Karen and she changed back into her "proper" swimsuit. Together we walked back to the hotel, and noticing that I was quiet, she let me be alone with my thoughts. I don't know what I thought would come of the magical days on the Florida beach with Henry, but I knew I would always remember the farm boy that made me feel so special.