Mrs Kirk raised an eyebrow. “Who with?” she asked, once she had been told which movie.
Graham told her. She nodded and said, “Thelma was the girl in the nice yellow frock at your party wasn’t she?”
Graham swallowed and nodded. “Yes mum,” he replied. He was sweating now, worried she would say no. His heart beat faster with anxiety and he clenched his hands, bracing himself for bad news.
“Yes, I suppose so,” she said. Graham’s spirits leapt. Yes!
Milo and bed; and wonderful fantasies. And a dilemma. He became hot and horny but could not imagine a nice girl like Thelma doing crude things like that. He found himself in the grip of lust and was torn between keeping his love for Thelma pure or gaining satisfaction by fantasizing about some other girl, like Cindy.
Thursday was a good day too. As soon as he got to school Graham told Thelma he was allowed to go to the movies.
Her face broke into a smile. “That’s great Graham. You will really like it,” she replied. To his delight Thelma talked to him during the breaks and even sat next to him at lunch time, to the amusement of his mates. After school he walked her all the way home.
As they strolled along Thelma turned to him. “Are you playing Battleship games with Peter again?” she asked.
“No. I just wanted to be with you,” Graham blurted out.
“Oh, that’s sweet!” Thelma replied. Her eyes crinkled into a grin and her mouth dimpled. She touched his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. As before the touch was like an electric shock.
After seeing Thelma home, Graham returned to his house and set to work on the model of the battleship HMS Nelson. To make the three main armament turrets he cut out blocks of balsa 8cm x 5cm x 6mm thick. The nine 16” gun barrels he made from 5mm balsa. He sliced a very long strip of it, shaved it and sandpapered it into a long cylinder, then cut it into nine equal lengths. To make them look bigger than the 12” guns on the Iron Duke he measured the length of those guns and made the new ones longer, 8cm instead of 6cm. Each barrel was then shaved and sanded to make it as close to perfectly round as he could manage, and tapered towards the muzzle. Using a black biro Graham pushed a small black hole in the end to represent the bore. Graham was almost finished when Max bounded up the stairs. There was no time to hide the ship. Max looked at it with admiring interest but to Graham’s surprise he did not ask about it.
Instead he said, “Who was that girl you were with this afternoon?”
At that moment Kylie came through from the lounge room. Instantly she was all interest. “What girl?” she asked.
“Never you mind,” Graham replied, going red.
Kylie lifted her nose. “Doesn’t matter if you don’t tell me. I’ll find out, you two-timing toad!” she retorted.
That stung! “I am not!” Graham cried.
“You are too! There was that Joany girl a few weeks ago. And what about Cindy? You two were all over each other last week; you fickle cad! And what about poor Margaret?”
Graham blushed even more. Cindy! What did Kylie know? And Max? He broke into a guilty sweat. “Margaret doesn’t own me. I can do as I like,” he replied, hoping to take the subject off Cindy.
Kylie pursed her lips. “She loves you, though I sometimes wonder why,” she replied angrily.
“She’s only a kid,” Graham replied hotly.
“Oh yeah? And you are all grown up?”
“But she’s only in primary school,” Graham replied defensively.
Kylie bristled. “Oh, a shame job to the big boy is it?” she retorted sarcastically. “She’s a wonderful person, much nicer than you deserve!”
Luckily the arrival of their mother ended the argument, but it made Graham feel very uncomfortable. He and Max discussed their game and Max showed Graham some buildings he wanted to place in one of his countries. They went down to the Ship Room and Graham showed Max the Foreign Legion fort. It was obvious he was impressed, but also annoyed and jealous.
That evening Graham finished the main armament of the Nelson and positioned it on the model. Only some minor details to add, he thought. Now, what will I build next? It occurred to him that he had no merchant ships to group into convoys. That sent him to the plan book to draw one; a simple Three Island steamship typical of that era.
In bed that night he was again aroused and torn by emotions. Only one more day and he would be at the pictures with Thelma! But what Kylie had said about Margaret and Cindy gnawed at him. Damn! It is Thelma I love. I will decide, he told himself.
But guilt over Cindy would not go away so easily. He could not rid himself of the idea that his attempts to get her to misbehave had contributed to her downfall. The idea made him feel awful and he wondered what he could do to repair the damage. But how? he agonized.
Very unhappy and mixed-up, he finally drifted into a restless sleep.
Chapter 28
FIRST DATE
For the whole of Friday Graham was a-tingle with anticipation. All he could think about was Thelma and the coming date. Pleasant and exciting fantasies floated through his imagination, fuelled by her smiling at him and talking to him during the breaks. The only fly in the ointment was his body which seemed to be out of his control. He became continually aroused and became deeply worried that Thelma would somehow become aware of this and be disgusted.
After school he rushed home. By then he was actually trembling with nervous tension and barely suppressed excitement. Tonight! I will be with Thelma tonight! he thought. Then time seemed to drag. He worked on the final details of the Nelson, adding breakwaters, bollards, capstans and other small details to the focsle.
The best touch was to use tiny chains, bought from a shop which sold jewellery for young girls, as the anchor chains. These were cut to the correct length and glued on so that they led from a hole in the foredeck, around a small balsa capstan and then forward to another hole which represented the hawse hole. The finished product looked very good and he felt particularly pleased.
When Alex had finished reading the Phantom comic their mother had bought (big brother’s prerogative to read it first!) Graham lay and read that. Then he fidgeted and fretted.
During tea Kylie pretended to ignore him and let him know she did not approve. Graham did not care. He was about to achieve a long cherished dream. To ensure he did not smell he took special care over his shower and used some of the aftershave he had been given. He even used some of his mum’s antiseptic mouth wash to ensure he did not have bad breath. Then he dressed with particular care, wearing the new long trousers, new shirt and his black leather shoes which he polished specially.
At last it was time to go. Alex took no apparent interest but Kylie scowled when his mother checked that he was suitably dressed. By then Graham was a bundle of nerves. Should he have a little gift? Or flowers? He dimly knew that men sometimes gave ladies flowers when they took them out but wasn’t sure of the etiquette of it all. He felt uncomfortable and worried about his appearance (that pimple on his cheek that he had only noticed after his shower!).
His mother drove him to the theatre, dropping him off with strict instructions to wait there for her to pick him up. “Cairns isn’t the nice little safe town it was when I was your age,” she said. “Now it is full of riff-raff from the south.” It was one of her constant themes: how tourism had done little for the locals other than destroy their lifestyle and the environment.
Graham stood on the footpath outside the theatre feeling very self-conscious and nervous. He read the adverts for coming attractions and tried to pretend he was relaxed. Every few seconds he looked around, hoping to see the girls, prey to the deep fear that it was all some sort of a joke or misunderstanding and they weren’t coming. For a while he agonized over being left standing there like a fool; ‘stood up’ was the term he had heard used to describe the situation. Glance after glance at his watch showed him that it was almost 7pm; time for the movie to start.
He chewed another fingernail and began to pace up and down. His stomach felt u
nsettled and he had a sudden urge to go to the toilet. He rushed in and emptied his bladder, then raced back outside to find the girls arriving in the foyer. Relief coursed through him.
There were five people: Thelma, Janet and Jerry, Danelle and Pinky. Thelma saw him and waved. “There he is. Hi Graham! Have you got your ticket?”
Graham shuddered with relief. He had not bought his ticket for fear they might not turn up. Smiling he shook his head and joined them in the queue at the ticket office. Pinky was introduced and shook hands perfunctorily. Obviously Graham was too unimportant for him to worry about. Graham smiled nervously at Thelma and she gave him a worried smile back.
She is nervous too! he realized. That thought made him feel better. He tried to think of things to talk about but was tongue-tied. Luckily Danelle did enough talking for all of them. Graham studied her covertly. She looked very grown up and sophisticated. About seventeen or eighteen, he decided. To Graham she looked very attractive, her hair shining in the lamplight. But something about her attitude and poise scared him.
They made their way inside just as the lights dimmed and had to bump and jostle to find their seats. Luckily the theatre was only half full so they had a choice of where they sat. All Graham wanted to do was sit beside Thelma but in the confusion she went into the row of seats first and Janet followed her. Only when the others began sitting was it realized that Graham was still standing in the aisle.
Danelle noticed this. “Move along one,” she called.
“No,” Pinky replied. “You don’t want him sitting beside you. You never know what sailors pick up down the waterfront. Move past kid and sit with Thelma.”
Graham blushed furiously, glad it was dark so it would not be noticed. He climbed past over their knees and feet feeling very embarrassed. There were several spare seats past Thelma and he slumped thankfully into the one next to her. In the light from the screen he saw her eyes watching him nervously.
He tried to make a joke to ease the tension but Jerry said, “Ssh! Shut up! I want to follow the story.”
Graham lapsed into flustered silence. Through his shirt sleeve he could just feel Thelma’s elbow on the arm rest. He moved away and leaned on the other side, fearful she might think him too pushy or forward. Later he could barely remember the movie but every detail of what followed was clear in his mind.
Thelma’s proximity dominated everything. Graham could hear her breathing, could feel her move in her seat. Out of the corner of his eye he noted every tiny movement of her hands. She crossed her legs, then uncrossed them. She gripped her hands together, then placed them in her lap, then to her mouth as the movie moved into high drama. By this time Graham was in a lather over what to do. When Thelma spoke to him he turned his head and noted that Jerry had his arm around Janet’s shoulders.
That was what he dearly longed to do, or at least to hold Thelma’s hand, but he did not know how to go about it. He decided that the slow approach was the one to use, where he could pretend the contact was accidental and could withdraw with some semblance of pride if she hinted his advance wasn’t what she wanted. Very slowly he moved in his seat until he was leaning on the same armrest as her. After about 10 minutes he eased across to actually touch her arm.
To his enormous relief she did not move away. Instead she seemed to lean against him so that their upper arms were in contact. It felt wonderful and Graham felt his pulses race with excitement and delight. This turned to consternation when he discovered he was getting aroused. Not now! he thought in horror. He tried to will his body to subside but the more he thought about it the worse it seemed to get.
Interval arrived, throwing Graham into a flap. Will she expect me to buy her a drink or something? he wondered. He had brought money for this but was scared to ask; and did not want to stand up lest she notice he was aroused. So he sat up and pretended to stretch, then smiled at her. Jerry stood up and asked Janet what she wanted.
Graham took that as his cue. “Would you like a drink or some chocolates Thelma?” he asked. His palms were so sweaty he wiped them on his trousers.
She smiled and nodded. “An orange drink would be nice. I need to go out anyway. Come on Janet.”
Both Thelma and Janet both stood up. To his relief his body relaxed. He followed the girls along the row. As he passed Pinky and Danelle he got a shock. Pinky had his arm over Danelle’s shoulder and his left hand was resting firmly on her front.
Graham tried to pretend he had not seen. I wonder if Thelma noticed? he thought. That set his mind racing. Girl’s bosoms fascinated him and now played a major role in his thoughts and fantasies and he had a fervent desire to touch them. Hot memories of fondling Cindy surged in his mind, making him both guilty and excited. But Thelma’s? He recoiled from that. She is a nice girl. She wouldn’t approve of me trying to do anything like that, he thought.
Out in the foyer he joined the queue at the refreshment counter while the girls went to the toilet. By the time they reappeared, giggling and chattering, he had purchased two orange drinks and some chocolate Smarties. He offered a packet to Thelma. “I didn’t know if you liked them or not,” he explained apologetically.
Thelma smiled. “Thanks, I do,” she replied. She smiled again and took them and the drink. They walked around looking at the ‘Coming Attractions’ posters and Graham found he could not think of anything to say. The girls chattered to each other and he followed them, feeling a bit like a spare wheel. It was a relief when they went back inside and sat down.
The problem of whether to make any physical advance to Thelma then re-asserted itself as his number one priority. The lights dimmed and the main movie began. Graham fidgeted and kept glancing sideways. He saw Jerry casually place his arm around Janet. She snuggled up against him. Graham sighed. If only! It looked so easy, but he was terrified of making a mistake. He sat almost rigid and watched the movie, trying to summon up the courage to make a move.
Thelma laughed at a scene in the movie and turned to him. “That was good,” she whispered, her arm nudging his.
Graham nodded and found difficulty answering. His throat seemed to be constricted. He felt very tense. Cautiously he put his arm up on the arm rest. It bumped against hers, which was already there.
“Oh sorry!” he said, pulling it away.
“It’s all right,” she said. She turned and he met her eyes. For a moment hers searched his face. “Relax Graham. I don’t bite.”
He flushed with embarrassment and could only mumble a reply. For the next 10 minutes he sat in a state of growing turmoil. Time was slipping away and he was doing nothing! She asked me. She must like me, he told himself. But that wasn’t much help. All sorts of old sayings he had heard over the years flitted through his brain: ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’; ‘Faint heart never won fair lady’; ‘It is better to try your luck early to save wasting time and money.’
He took a deep breath and reached over to take her hand. For a moment he thought she was going to snatch it away. Then she let him hold it and leaned against his shoulder. He trembled with released tension and delight. Her hand felt very warm and slightly moist, not at all like he had expected. Not like Margaret’s, he thought. Hers were warm but smooth and dry. And Cindy’s were cool and smooth.
Movement further along the row caught his eye. When he looked his eyes opened wide in surprise. Janet and Jerry were in a passionate embrace and were stroking each other. I wonder if Thelma can see them? he worried. Then he decided she could. She must be able to, she is closer.
That was an exciting shock to him. The thought of it, added to the touch and smell of Thelma, soon had him aroused again. Then he realized he was being ridiculous. I did far more with Cindy, and even with little Margaret, and all without this stress! he told himself. But thinking of them just made him feel very guilty and increased his arousal. Then he was torn. Would Thelma ever do anything like that to him? He knew he did not dare ask or even suggest it. Nor did he want to. In his mind his love for Thelma was something noble and pure.
She is too perfect for anything sordid like that, he thought.
But her touch was arousing and so was the situation. Jerry was obviously fondling Janet. This made Graham feel indignant. She is only in Year 8! he thought. But he knew he was a hypocrite and felt saddened by the knowledge.
The movie came to an end before Graham could nerve himself to make another advance. Thelma released his hand when they stood up but once outside she remained close beside him. While they stood talking and her hand brushed his. Greatly daring he took hers again, noting that Jerry was holding Janet’s, and that Pinky had his arm around Danelle’s waist. To his relief Thelma let him hold it. That made him feel very proud and happy.
Thelma had obviously enjoyed the movie. This saved Graham from having to make conversation as she talked about it to the others. Graham saw his mother drive past and waved, hoping she would wait while he said goodnight. That raised a whole host of new problems: How to say goodnight; how to ask if he could take her out again. Should I try to kiss her? he worried. Not on a first date, he decided. I don’t want to rush her and frighten her off.
All his problems were solved in a few minutes. Thelma waved to a car and said, “There’s mum. Come on you kids.” She led them along the footpath into the darkness, still holding Graham’s hand. When they reached the parked car, Thelma opened the door and said, “Mum, this is Graham.”
Graham looked at her with interest, remembering his father’s advice about looking at the mother because that was what the daughter was going to end up like. He saw that Mrs Severin was an older version of Thelma all right; same eyes, hair and colouring; just a crinkling of numerous small wrinkles around her eyes and mouth.
She smiled and nodded. “Hello. Now hop in you girls.”
Janet moved to get into the car. As she did she gave Thelma a look and gestured towards Graham with her head. Thelma then turned to him and said, “Graham that was nice. Look, we are having a games night at Janet’s tomorrow night. Would you like to come? That’s all right isn’t it Janet?”
The Boy and the Battleship Page 33