Scene 68
Scene Sixty-eight...Bill
Time: Night, Friday, August 30, 1946
Place: The Breeze
Storyteller: Victoria
The taffy is melting in my mouth; it's slightly sweet, but salty caramel.
"Boo!" Paul sneaks up, gives me a kiss, and sits down. "How can you eat candy with gin and tonic?"
"Remember, I worked at 'James Original Salt Water Taffy.' It's an old habit." I kiss him back.
He looks serious again. "I haven't wanted to pry, but may I ask a question?"
"Shoot."
"Was your husband's name 'Bill?'"
"No, his name was Jimmy. Bill was my fiance, killed in WWII. My father was killed in WWI."
"No, stop. You've been through too much heartache. How do you stand the memories?"
"Think about the happy times, like when I met Bill."
"Go on." He squeezes my hand.
"It was June. Hot. Umbrellas dotted the wide beach. I was only fifteen, sunbathing on the sand. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel someone staring. Put on sunglasses. Opened my eyes. It was Bill; he was sixteen. Puppy love."
"Doesn't sound like puppy love if you got engaged," says Paul.
"Thanks to his mean father, he didn't give me his deceased mother's diamond until a month before deployment to Europe."
"Why didn't his dad like you?"
"Because on the one hand, he was rich, rich, rich; Bill was raised in their oceanfront home in Ventnor. On the other hand, I was a poor, poor, poor orphan."
"I want to kill him!" Paul pounds his fist on the table. Steve looks our direction.
"You can't; he's dead."
"Let's go back to that same summer when we were fifteen and sixteen. It was August and we enjoyed strolling the Boardwalk. My high heel got stuck between the boards. Bill reached down and released my shoe. When he stood up again, he was eye to eye with his dad."
"And then?"
"Bill was sent off to a 'la-de-da' boys school in Pennsylvania."
"What was the name of it?"
"The Hill School."
"Oh my gosh. Dad went there. What a coincidence."
"After 'The Hill' he had to go to his father's alma mater, University of Virginia."
"Really? My brother-in-law went there. Sorry to interrupt; go on."
"It took Bill forever to become a doctor. Then he enlisted, which almost killed me and literally killed his dad...a stroke. After that, he gave me the ring and went off to war."
Paul says, "Jake is at the microphone. He's about to introduce you."
I stand and touch his shoulder. "I'll sing 'Just My Bill.'"
Time: Night, Friday, August 30, 1946
Place: The Breeze
Storyteller: Victoria
The taffy is melting in my mouth; it's slightly sweet, but salty caramel.
"Boo!" Paul sneaks up, gives me a kiss, and sits down. "How can you eat candy with gin and tonic?"
"Remember, I worked at 'James Original Salt Water Taffy.' It's an old habit." I kiss him back.
He looks serious again. "I haven't wanted to pry, but may I ask a question?"
"Shoot."
"Was your husband's name 'Bill?'"
"No, his name was Jimmy. Bill was my fiance, killed in WWII. My father was killed in WWI."
"No, stop. You've been through too much heartache. How do you stand the memories?"
"Think about the happy times, like when I met Bill."
"Go on." He squeezes my hand.
"It was June. Hot. Umbrellas dotted the wide beach. I was only fifteen, sunbathing on the sand. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel someone staring. Put on sunglasses. Opened my eyes. It was Bill; he was sixteen. Puppy love."
"Doesn't sound like puppy love if you got engaged," says Paul.
"Thanks to his mean father, he didn't give me his deceased mother's diamond until a month before deployment to Europe."
"Why didn't his dad like you?"
"Because on the one hand, he was rich, rich, rich; Bill was raised in their oceanfront home in Ventnor. On the other hand, I was a poor, poor, poor orphan."
"I want to kill him!" Paul pounds his fist on the table. Steve looks our direction.
"You can't; he's dead."
"Let's go back to that same summer when we were fifteen and sixteen. It was August and we enjoyed strolling the Boardwalk. My high heel got stuck between the boards. Bill reached down and released my shoe. When he stood up again, he was eye to eye with his dad."
"And then?"
"Bill was sent off to a 'la-de-da' boys school in Pennsylvania."
"What was the name of it?"
"The Hill School."
"Oh my gosh. Dad went there. What a coincidence."
"After 'The Hill' he had to go to his father's alma mater, University of Virginia."
"Really? My brother-in-law went there. Sorry to interrupt; go on."
"It took Bill forever to become a doctor. Then he enlisted, which almost killed me and literally killed his dad...a stroke. After that, he gave me the ring and went off to war."
Paul says, "Jake is at the microphone. He's about to introduce you."
I stand and touch his shoulder. "I'll sing 'Just My Bill.'"