Our story - part 1

Since it is February, and with Valentine's Day and all, I thought I would share the story of Hubbs and I.



I met JP the spring of my 8th grade year. I was 14, almost 15, JP was 11. My older cousin, Dawn, had a baby then got married and moved to Charleston Ave, where JP lived.


Dawn's nephews by marriage, the 3 Fazzini boys, lived next door and my brother and I soon became good friends with them. There were tons of kids who lived on Charleston Ave. The Fazzini's introduced us to hubbs, his sister, brother and 2 step brothers, the Skinner girls and a few other kids that spring.


At dusk every evening as the street light came on all the neighborhood kids would meet at the corner in front of my cousin's house to play spot light. Spot light is basically hide and seek in the dark. The entire two block neighborhood was our playground. Our game would last until around 11 every night when JP's grandma would call the police because someone had run through her neighbor's yard and tripped the motion light and it was past curfew. When the police car drove up the street looking for us the game was over.



Hubbs ended up growing about a foot that summer and growing a mustache. He was not your ordinary almost 12 year old. Luckily he stayed the sweet funny guy who had become one of my best friends. He went almost everywhere with my brother and I that summer.


Late one evening, while playing spot light, all the kids decided we would go down to the abandoned church on the block and let ourselves in through a broken door to have a look around. It was an ancient church due to be demolished. It had beautiful mosaic tile work on the walls that was crumbling, holes in the floor of the sanctuary and was a bit spooky when lit only by flashlight. We were upstairs when the flashlight burned out. I was scared to death. All the girls screamed, I had a death grip on JP's hand. He seized the opportunity and kissed me. I knew then that I loved him.


I was 15, he was almost 12. I couldn't love him, he was a little kid. What was I thinking!?!


I would be a freshman in a couple of weeks, I swore to myself I didn't like JP. I set my sights on the oldest Fazzini boy (he was a senior and could drive) he would be the one for me. JP was crushed when he saw the two of us kiss one evening. I felt terrible. Things didn't work out with Fazzini and I, he ended up being a real jerk.