Forbidden Fruit: An Unlikely Love Story

by Michelle Fondin

  “I, and other members of the faculty, have noticed frequent visits to your classroom from one of our female students. This particular student is not, may I add, one of your students. Can you explain yourself?” Mrs. Kowalski crossed her arms and waited for a response.

  Nick took in a deep breath. He had expected something like this might happen and he had prepared himself to answer the questions. He just hadn’t expected it to come so soon. It was true that Marissa had come to visit him quite frequently in the past couple of weeks, but they had always left the door open and they’d always kept quite a physical distance between them. He wanted to answer with integrity but did not appreciate the lack of respect with which Mrs. Kowalski spoke. He calmly looked her straight in the eyes and answered, “I believe you would be speaking of Marissa Belknapp?”

  “Yes, that would be the one,” Mrs. Kowalski said impatiently.

  Nick remained calm, “Yes, I agree. Marissa does come to see me quite a bit. She likes talking with me and I’m polite to her. It seems that she may have a bit of a crush on me.”

  “So there is nothing going on that we need to know about?” Mrs. Kowalski asked suspiciously.

  “Not unless you consider talking to a student, something to know about,” said Nick annoyed.

  She narrowed her eyes at him and spoke in a menacing tone, “You better watch out Mr. Smith. That Marissa exudes sexuality. And if you don’t want to get yourself in trouble or ruin your reputation, you better stand clear of her. This is a warning. Do not give reason to this rumor. I hope I have made myself clear.”

  “I understand,” said Nick through grated teeth. He was not a violent man but after this confrontation by the principal’s wife, he felt like punching her lights out. Not only had she accused him, without hardcore proof, but also she wasn’t even concerned about the wellbeing of the student. She only appeared to be concerned with the school’s reputation. That irritated him to no end. But the unexpected visit forced him to make one decision: he had to stop communicating with Marissa inside the school building. It was too risky.

  Thus, he had to rapidly change his game plan. Instead of searching for a second job that day, Nick sought to do damage control. He searched his desk for a piece of paper and hastily wrote a note, which he stuck to her car window on his way out. The note read:

  Marissa,

  We need to talk A.S.A.P. Meet me in the park this afternoon at 3:00 p.m.

  N.

  Marissa grabbed the note on her way out of school. When she read it, she knew exactly the park he was referring to: the one where they had gone to after the art gallery. Instead of being flattered and excited at the prospect of meeting Nick in the park, she was a little worried. She had seen how irritated Mrs. Kowalski had been. What if someone had seen them together at the Folk Arts Festival? she thought. Then she quickly dismissed that idea. All of the people at the Folk Arts Festival were the artsy type, not at all the type of people who worked or went to St. Mary’s. And it had been storming so hard that night; it would have been impossible to see anything through the truck window. No, there was no way anyone would have known they had spent time together outside of school. She hadn’t told a single living soul about her experience and neither had Nick.

  At a quarter to three, Marissa arrived at the same spot in the park where she and Nick had shared pizza and conversation. She looked around briefly before spotting him on a park bench nearby. She walked over to him and smiled. His serious air concerned her even more. It gave her a knot in her stomach.

  “Let’s walk. O.K.?” Nick began.

  “Alright.”

  The trail took them around a man-made lake filled with ducks and geese. It was a peaceful, welcoming respite to their feelings of turmoil and pain.

  “So what did she say?” Marissa asked.

  Nick continued to look straight ahead. “There are rumors floating around between a couple of faculty members who’ve seen you hanging out in the art room.”

  “What did you say?” asked Marissa impatiently.

  “I said that you liked talking with me and that maybe you had a little crush on me. That’s it,” he answered seriously.

  “Oh. Then what did she say?”

  “Not much. She didn’t seem to believe me. She thought she might hear something different. She suspected some kind of sexual scandal. I don’t know,” he continued.

  “So she thinks we’re together?” asked Marissa.

  “Yeah.”

  “And we’re not,” added Marissa.

  “Yeah.”

  “So maybe we should give them a reason to blame us, instead of blaming us for nothing,” joked Marissa.

  Nick turned to face her, “Marissa, this isn’t a joke. My job is on the line. My career has been one false start after another. This is finally my chance to get it right. Do you even care about that?”

  Marissa snapped back, “I’m sorry O.K. Yes I do care about your job and I care a lot about you. But you know Nick, it takes two to play at this game and you’ve been playing right along with me. If you cared so much about your job, you would have told me to take a hike.”

  Nick stopped her, “That’s what I need to tell you now.”

  “What?” asked Marissa almost teary eyed.

  “Marissa, this is crazy. What are we doing? This can never work. You are finishing high school and I am starting a career. I’ve been through college and you haven’t even started. We are starting off on unequal footing and we have everything against us. The fact that we can’t even go where we want to together should be an indicator that this is wrong.”

  Marissa didn’t want to believe what she was hearing. The experience of someone so wonderful was difficult to let go. In a few short weeks, their friendship had developed into something exceptional. She didn’t want to see it end.

  “Well, if this is the last time we can talk, could we sit down together for a while?” she requested.

  “O.K.” he relented.

  They sat down next to each other on a bench, side-by-side, with their shoulders barely touching. They watched the ducks float by and took deep breaths in silence. Finally, Marissa spoke, “You know, you’re not that much older than me. My dad is five and a half years older than my mom.”

  “Well, we all know how that turned out,” said Nick sarcastically in reference to her parents’ divorce.

  “And if I was in the Middle East, I would have been married long ago to a man twice my age,” she continued. “My cousin, who lives here, has a husband who is ten years older than her.”

  “What point are you trying to make?” Nick asked annoyed.

  “My point is outside of St. Mary’s walls, we are not that much of an anomaly. We could have met anywhere, under any other circumstance, and had you not known my age from the start, we could have gotten to know each other regardless. And you’re going to let our friendship go out of fear?”

  “But why me Marissa, huh? Why did you choose me to get to know better? There are thousands of guys out there you could have picked. Why did it have to be me?” Nick inquired with irritation.

  “Because you are different than anyone I have ever met and I like that. Because you are receptive, you genuinely listen to me and engage in interesting conversations with me. And most of all because there is an undeniable force that is pulling us together in spite of all the odds that are against us. And what about you Nick? Why did you choose me?”

  “I didn’t choose you. You chose me. And I saw your unrelenting passion for life, your insistent drive to make things happen, and your genuine intrigue for knowledge. Ever since I met you, I can’t get you out of my mind. And that’s what is driving me crazy,” Nick confessed.

  “So what are we to do?” questioned Marissa

  “Wait,” answered Nick firmly. “Wait for the appropriate time, like after you graduate.”

  Marissa was heart-broken. “But that’s like over seven months and then I’ll be off to college. How can we put our friendship on hold for that long? I turn eight
een in a few weeks. At least we’d be legal.”

  “Marissa, the fact of the matter is, you are still a student in the school where I teach. And that fact won’t change until May,” Nick insisted.

  Disappointment filled the air. They both left with sadness in their hearts. Finding a friend, who awakens the spirit, is like a candle finding its flame. Its light burns so brightly and is so warm, that snuffing it out brings cold and darkness. That is how Marissa and Nick felt that afternoon leaving the park. Nick had done the right thing, but in his heart it felt wrong.

  For the next two weeks, they went about their lives as usual. Nick worked hard at his teaching job and found a second job in a local art gallery. Marissa concentrated on her studies, college applications and bi-weekly telephone conversations with Dan. Occasionally they would cross in the school hallways and of course Nick monitored the cafeteria twice a week during Marissa’s lunch period. He would casually glance in her direction, when he could, to try and catch her eye for a moment, a brief connection, to feel again what he had felt before. Sometimes he would be reading a book and want to share it with her, only to realize he couldn’t. Marissa longed to gaze into his eyes and reveal her deepest thoughts to him.

  One night Nick lay awake thinking about her as he stared at the white ceiling in his room. To him Marissa was like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, so beautiful, so present and tempting yet so unattainable. He had to risk it for all it was worth. The bliss, so powerful and inebriating, annihilated all negativity their relationship might bring. Any consequence could not be greater than the emptiness he now felt in his life without her.

  The next day he left a small envelope on her windshield. Inside the envelope was a note that read:

  M-

  Would you like to meet me here on Friday night around 10pm?

  N.

  Marissa was delighted to receive the note but had no idea what was going on. She had no idea how to answer him in an inconspicuous way so she gave him a “thumbs up” sign when she crossed him in the hallway.

  Luckily for her, Friday nights were an easy out. She and Pamela stayed the night with their father who didn’t mind if they went out. As long as they were home at half past midnight, he was cool.

  Marissa parked in the lot across from the school. Nick’s truck was in the school parking lot. The light was on in the art room. She hesitated before heading toward the side door of the room. Then she knocked lightly.

  She saw Nick come toward the door. He was wearing white jeans covered in paint splotches and a loose-fitting white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Marissa thought he looked incredibly sexy that way. Nick opened the door slightly. Marissa stood there not knowing what to do.

  “Would you like to come in?” he asked smiling.

  Marissa glanced around the room. “Are you sure it’s O.K.?”

  “Perfectly safe,” Nick said confidently. “I often come here to work at night. It’s peaceful. I can get a lot done when nobody’s around.”

  Unsure, Marissa walked in cautiously. “So why did you want to see me?”

  “Because I wanted to see you,” Nick answered matter-of-factly.

  “But I thought…” she began but Nick cut her off.

  “We’re testing the waters.”

  No need to say more, she understood. “But why are we here? In the school?”

  “It’s a safe place for the time being. Nobody is around. No one can see us. And I have all of these Christmas cards the art students made for the Christmas Bazaar. They need folding. Do you want to help?”

  She shrugged her shoulders, “O.K.”

  They stood across from one another with stacks of card stock piled up on the long art tables. “They need to be folded, then put in stacks of ten,” Nick explained.

  They worked for a few minutes. Marissa spoke first. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, why do you have a pick-up truck? It just doesn’t seem to go with the artsy, vegetarian image.”

  “Well, remember I said that for the past two years I’ve been traveling and in transit? I’ve moved so much I was tired of renting U-hauls. With a pick-up, I can box my stuff up, throw it in the back and go.”

  “So where’s your next move?” Marissa asked quietly.

  “Out of my parent’s house. I’m moving in with this guy who’s buying a townhouse. He needs someone to help him pay the mortgage. Hopefully I’ll be in there by January.”

  “So where’s your next move?” asked Nick amused.

  “Hopefully California. But right now, anywhere away from my mom would do.”

  “That bad huh?”

  “Horrible. She is such a control freak,” Marissa said with disgust.

  “If she’s such a control freak, how is it that you are able to be with me here, now?”

  “Oh, that’s because Pamela and I stay at our dad’s on Friday night. He trusts us to do what we want.”

  “Maybe he shouldn’t.” Nick snickered.

  “Hey!” huffed Marissa.

  “No seriously, why don’t you go live with your dad then?”

  “My mom would freak. She would spread on the guilt so thick we wouldn’t be able to handle it. Pamela and I are her whole life. She might go into a deep depression or something.” Marissa said with repugnance.

  Nick looked at her seriously. “Marissa, that would be her problem. You have to think of yourself too.”

  “You’re right but I don’t know if I could handle the guilt right now. Besides, I’ll be eighteen in a few days and I’m graduating in seven months. I guess a little while longer won’t kill me,” Marissa reasoned.

  “That’s right. You’re turning eighteen in a few days. May I request time with you on your eighteenth birthday?”

  Marissa beamed, “Yes, of course.” Then her spirit faded a little. “How?”

  “There’s a little vegetarian restaurant, a hole in the wall really, but with great food. It’s about thirty minutes from here. We could meet there,” Nick suggested.

  “O.K.” she said smiling.

  “And, I have another surprise for you.” he smiled, “A little pre-birthday present.”

  Marissa smiled almost blushing in anticipation.

  “I’m prepared to give you a proper back massage if you want,” he said shyly.

  “You felt you had to ask?” she said coyly.

  “I didn’t want to assume you’d accept. After all, you’re not eighteen yet,” Nick answered with composure but inside he was trembling uncontrollably.

  Her smile widened. “You’re just giving me a back massage right? So why does it matter if I’m eighteen?” she asked flirtatiously.

  “Maybe I’m just being cautious given our current situation,” Nick said tenderly.

  Marissa leaned over the table looking straight into his eyes and in a seductive tone asked, “Do you want to give me a back massage Nick?”

  Both tempted and frightened by her boldness he answered, “Yes. I want to.”

  As she continued to seduce him with her eyes she whispered, “Well, where do you want me then?”

  And had he not mastered the art of self-control, he would not have been able to resist her display of sensuality. But a good upbringing layered with a descent dose of shyness and dashed with a little fear, helped him keep his desires in check.

  “If we just clear off these papers, I think you could lay down right here,” he suggested serenely pointing to one of the art tables.

  “O.K.” she agreed as she helped him moves stacks of papers from one table to another.

  Marissa’s insides were shaking. She let out a slight giggle. Without hesitation, she lay down on the table face down. She put her hands under her face and tried to relax.

  Nick dimmed the lights. The only light coming in was from the streetlamps. He put on some music, Peter Gabriel. He hummed along to the music as he began to massage her. “In your eyes, the light, the heat. In your eyes, I am complete…” sang Peter Gabriel.

  Marissa felt herself sinking deeper and deep
er into the table and into a trance. Every part of her was awakened and aware of his presence. It took all she could to not turn around and pull him close to her.

  To her dismay he was behaving like a total gentleman. He massaged her back with expert hands but not once did he overstep the boundaries into other territory.

  The day of her birthday Marissa had to invent a story to get out of the house for a few hours. She mentioned to Barbara that some friends were taking her out to a restaurant. Since Barbara had planned a birthday celebration for the following weekend, She let Marissa go.

  Nick was waiting in the restaurant parking lot when Marissa arrived. She stepped out of the car and there he stood in front of her. He took her face in between his hands and kissed her fully but gently on the lips. “Happy Birthday Marissa,” he whispered.

  Over dinner he gave her a card, which read:

  Happy 18th Birthday Marissa!

  Oftentimes, it is when we are not looking that a miracle appears.

  We are busy living our seemingly ordinary lives when something extraordinary is there in front of us all the while.

  Thank you for being the extraordinary one in my life.

  Nick

  Marissa leaned over to kiss him once again. Their relationship had officially begun.

  Chapter Nine

  Later that evening, Marissa returned home to Barbara’s rage. “Where were you young lady and who were you with?”

  The reality of her life dropped like a bomb as she crossed the doorway into her house. “I told you, I was out to dinner with my friends.” Marissa lied.

  “Well, Brogan called wondering where you were. What friends were you with if Brogan wasn’t included?” Barbara interrogated.

  “I was with my new friend Meg and her friends.”

  “Who are these people and how come I haven’t met them?” Barbara continued.

  “Why the third degree mom? I turned eighteen today, I went out with friends, and I came home. Big deal.” Marissa said exasperated. Barbara was seriously beginning to ruin her great night.