"Brenda is too occupied with Brenda to even notice," she replied. "And you're not Brenda. You're you. C'mon, finish dressing. We have to get started and pick up your date,"
I gazed at myself again and then finished dressing. If my nerves were on edge before, they were over the edge now. I thought.
"I just hate it when men claim a woman is too sexy or too provocative as an excuse for their own overt and obnoxious behavior. If you don't look like someone's granny, they are justified in groping and even raping you. The best to me is when these husbands criticize their wives for being too obvious but just drool over someone else's wife or some other sexy- looking woman," Celia lectured.
"Don't some women drool over men?" I asked.
"Sure, but nowhere in proportion. Gawking, leering, and lustful eves are mainly male
characteristics."
Thinking about some of the girls I knew at Hickory. I wasn't prepared to agree with her. but I said nothing. After all, she was the one with experience, not me.
Peter came out of the house the moment we turned into his driveway.
"Anxious boy." Celia said. "He must have been waiting at the window. That's positive."
I quickly introduced the two of them when Peter got into the car. In the shadows, he didn't quite see how I was made up or what I was wearing. Celia moved into the backseat. I was so nervous I accelerated without putting the car into reverse and almost drove into the garage door.
"Hey, relax!" Celia cried. laughing. "Do you always have that effect on women, Peter?"
"I don't know as I have any effect at all." he said. He kept his face forward,
"Oh. I'm sure a good-looking young man like you has an effect on the opposite sex."
He turned and looked at me rather than reply to her. I saw his eyes narrow as he drank me in. Then he turned away quickly, and this time. I backed out well and started away.
"April tells me you transferred here recently, too," Celia said.
"I've been here nearly a year," he told her.
"Do you like it here?"
"Yes," he said. "but I'm at home wherever I am."
"Really? What's that mean?"
"It means I see the earth as my home. Anywhere you go, you're under the same sky," he said.
Celia laughed. "You haven't been to some of the places I've been, or you wouldn't be so quick to say that,"
"Maybe not," he said. "We travel different roads, but we usually end up in the same place."
"Very provocative." Celia continued. "I see why you're a chess expert."
"I'm not an expert.'
"That's not what April tells me."
"It's all relative. She's just starting. A mediocre player looks like Mikhail Botvinnik."
"Who?"
"A Russian chess champion I admire," he said.
I gazed into the rearview mirror at Celia. She was shaking her head and laughing.
"Do you go to basketball games often?" Celia asked.