Thoughts by Adults

I spent most of every weekend alone swinging from tree to tree having a boring time. I was twelve years old and cared little about having a boyfriend or anything remotely similar. I did, however, have a best buddy. His name was Paulie. Paulie and I were great pals and had every class together. Our mother's were best friends and they had arranged a secret wedding for us when we turned twenty one. Every weekend he visited his father and then returned Sunday evenings. Not knowing that my mother had already selected my boyfriend, I was completely oblivious to her plans for my future. Everybody at school seemed to think that Paulie and I were dating. In all reality, Paulie was not cute or appealing to any of my senses. He stunk like sweaty armpits, his teeth were as yellow as corn , and his hair seemed to be covered in snow. Mom said he had a bad case of a fungal infection in his scalp, but I never knew what that meant. The only thing Paulie was good at was swinging from tree to tree. He was the one who showed me how swinging could be fun and relaxing. He appeared to be swinging like monkeys , and anybody walking by would stop in amusement when we were hanging around like monkeys from my mother's trees.

As we got older, it became apparent that our mother's had been secretly trying to get us to be a couple. I was not attracted to Paulie and I never thought he was attracted to me. One weekend ,like his normal routine was, he went to see his father. When he returned, Paulie was completely transformed into a totally different guy. Paulie managed to look stunning in his formal suit and his clean shaved face. His armpits were not stinky and his teeth were whiter than snow. He looked so handsome I almost did not recognize him. Unaware of what was happening, I approached Paulie and asked what had happened. As I was asking the question, he got on one knee, showed me an engagement ring, and declared his love to me. I was in deep shock . Paulie and I had grown up together, but he never showed any sign of being interested in me. It took me a while to understand what was going on .As our mothers cheered him on ,I refused his proposal. Paulie was so heart broken that he never came over to visit me again. Shortly after the proposal, he moved away. I was so distressed I made my mother cut down the trees. I have not swung from a tree since then.