How I Became a Crouse - Scene Two

Mama PC

He thought I was a cute little girl, and I thought he was a funny old man... Over the next 3 years, I saw him each spring at the yearly competitions, and if we advanced to the finals, I'd see him (from a distance) with his musical group. His ensembles always did very well. The summer before my senior year, he was hired to be a supervisor at the Christian school where I was enrolled. I was dating another man at the time (the youth pastor who was 22) but I'll never forget the first time I saw him when I was 17 years old.

It was a Sunday morning. I happened to be walking down a set of stairs that ended at the foyer of the church. Three or four steps from the bottom, I saw a large green bomb-of-a-car drive up under the canopy, then a little wirey man jumped out of the driver's seat and ran around the car to open the door for a woman! As he opened the door politely for this tall, long-legged brunette, I became FURIOUS! What was SHE doing with HIM, and WHY did I even CARE! It was very strange to feel such intense feelings for a man who I had only met a few times . Add to that the fact that he dressed strangely, wore his hair weirdly and who was too old for me... it was puzzling. I tucked these feelings down deep in my heart because.... no one wouldda believed me if I told them what I had just experienced...and... I wasn't sure I wanted anyone to even know...