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SATURDAY MORNING, HE WAS UP before daylight and so excited there was no way he could get back to sleep. All he could do was think about Peggy. Would she be there tonight? Nick seemed to think so. He prayed Nick was right. Then a cold chill ran down his spine. What will he do if she would be there? He didn’t have a car; he didn’t even have a driver’s license. Would he say, something like: “Can I walk you home, twenty-five miles to Jasper?” Don’t think so! What makes you think she wants to be alone with you anyway, he thought. If she is there tonight then maybe I have a chance. If she isn’t, then I know she doesn’t feel the same as I do. Be patient, he said to himself.
Mike closed the window of the post office just after noon. Going to his apartment, he took a shower and put on clean clothes.
Instead of walking directly to the supper club as he normally did, he walked in the direction of Mr. Bob’s house, crossed the street from the post office and to the sidewalk that marked the boundary of the yard. The sidewalk ran north and south, with a set of steps in the middle of the block that joined the walk leading to the front porch. It looked as if it had never been used. He continued on until reaching the edge of the yard on the north side, turned left, which was west, on the sidewalk that led to the elementary school. The yard bordered the sidewalk almost three-fourths of the way. At the end of the yard was a dirt road that ran south, just behind the house and joined the sidewalk on the south side of the yard.
Jim thought that was strange. A neatly mowed lawn with a concrete sidewalk on three sides, with an impressive lay of cement in the middle should have more than a dirt road leading to the house. Behind the road was a small strip of woods that prevented anyone from seeing the house from the rear. The trees also blocked the view from the school. He was sure that was Mr. Bob’s idea.
He continued up the sidewalk until he reached the school. Then he turned south looking for a possible route through the woods. He was pleasantly surprised to see that over the years the kids had made a path they could use and not be seen by anyone in the house. He followed the path to the south side of Mr. Bob’s yard.
Deciding he had learned enough today, he continued south to McKinney Street, turned left and began his walk to the tavern to see his friend, Nick, and more important, to see if Peggy would show up.
It was a beautiful fall day with the trees taking on the colors of a rainbow. What made it more impressive was that the leaves were so bright it was hard to look at them in the sunlight. He didn’t remember leaves being this brilliant in his hometown. He thought these North Georgia Mountains do have a special charm or maybe he had just never noticed the colors before. He wondered if Peggy liked the fall colors. In fact, he wondered about the things she did like besides dancing. He had never met anyone who liked to dance as much as she did.
Nick was in his usual place when he arrived. He filled a frosty mug with beer and slid it to him across the bar top: “Come to see if your plan worked?”
“Yes, sir. You know a guy has to follow his fate.”
They started talking until the usual crowd began to arrive. Then he moved to a booth where he could see the front door. Time went by, song after song. But eventually, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Suddenly there she was. He looked at his watch and it wasn’t 8:30 p.m. yet. She was early and it looked like she was alone ? a good sign. He was paralyzed and couldn’t get his feet to move or his brain to sort out what was going on. Why did she have this effect on him? All he could do was to look her way and smile. She made a quick scan of the room and saw his big smile in the corner booth. As she started his way someone grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to their table. His heart stopped, but she quickly recovered and continued on to his booth.
“Hi, there, stranger!”
“Evening, ma’am.”
“You ready to dance, cowboy?”
“You know it!”? Jim said. But it was all he managed to say.
After a couple of fast dances, they sat down with a couple of beers to cool down.
“Do you think I’m good looking?” — she said, looking straight into Jim’s eyes.
“Oh, no! Here you go again. Do you always say what’s on your mind?”
“Guess I do”? she said.
“I know it saves time and yes, I do”
“Do what?” — she said smiling.
“Yes, I think you’re beautiful, but you know that. Why did you ask?”
“Just wondering. Are you playing hard to get or are you just not interested?”
“What if I say I’m playing hard to get?”
“Well, if you are, it’s working” — she said.
“Now that you know I’m interested, are you going to dump me?”
“No, silly. I’m going to show you the submarine races” — she said with a newfound energy.
“Submarine races?”
“Oh, yes. They race every night on Blue Ridge Lake. Interested?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s get out of here.”
They walked outside to her car. She opened the door saying: “Get in.”
“Is this your car?”? Jim said a bit surprised.
“What do you think?”
“I’m surprised to see you driving such an expensive car.”
“Yeah, you don’t see many school teachers driving a baby blue Buick. Got a deal I couldn’t refuse.”
“Deal?”
“Graduation gift from my father” — she said.
“He must be a nice man.”
“Not really. We haven’t spoken in, well, what is it, over three years, I guess.”
“Sorry.”
“That’s okay.”
“Tell me about these races” — Jim said.
“Just be patient, dearest. I think you’ll like them.”
She drove through Blue Ridge and out of town on a crooked and twisting road that led to nowhere he had been. She made a steep turn to the left. This caused him to slide up against his door.
“That’s dead man’s curve”— she said.
“I can see why they call it that.”
A half of a mile later she turned onto a well-used dirt road. After a few minutes she turned onto an even smaller road. Then without warning she pulled up behind some bushes and stopped, turning out the lights and shutting off the engine.
“Is this it?”
“Yeah, what do you think?”
“I think you just wanted to get me alone! In South Georgia we call this parking.”
“We do, too” — she said smiling as she slid across the seat until her face was only inches from his. “What do they do when they go parking in South Georgia?” Without saying a word he pulled her to him giving her a long, slow kiss. It was the kiss he had been dreaming about for weeks! When they parted they were both out of breath. She whispered: “My God, that was good.” For the next ten minutes they didn’t even come up for air. Then they relaxed in each other’s arms, smiling.
“I knew you were something special the first night I saw you.”
“I didn’t think you knew I was alive.”
She pulled his face to her lips: “What do you think now?”
For the next few hours they talked, kissed, talked, kissed and held each other as if they were afraid the other would get away.
“I’m hungry. What time is it?”
Looking at his watch, he said: “It’s 2:00 a.m. It’s past my bedtime.”
“Jimmy boy, are you complaining?”
“No way! Indeed, when can I see you again?”
“Want to see me again, huh?”
“I really don’t want to let you go anywhere.”
“Good answer.”
They talked as she drove them straight back to his apartment. “How do you know where I live?”
“Remember you said you lived over the post office? Well, this is the only post office in town.”
“I can see why they made you a teacher. You sure don’t kiss like a teacher, though.”
“And how does a teacher kiss?”
“I’m sorry I brought it up!”
“Good answer.”
“Miss Peggy, do you know I don’t even know your last name?”
“Do you always kiss women you don’t know?”
“Honey, be serious. I’m embarrassed that I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Taylor.”
“Glad to meet you, Peggy Taylor. You kiss good, too.”
“Just good?”
“Okay, maybe great. When are you coming to the big city of Blue Ridge again?”
“When do you want me?” — she said.
“Tomorrow.”
“I can’t tomorrow, but how about next Friday? I could pick you up here.”
“It’s a date.”
Jim pulled her into his arms and sighed: “Tell me you feel the same magic I feel.”
“Magic, that’s it exactly. Magic. Oh, yes, did I ever?”
After she left he couldn’t sleep. Sitting at the kitchen table he was surprised to see the sun break over the mountains and all he had thought about for hours was Peggy Taylor.
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