Days of Uncle Ernest - Chesapeake City and the World – Maggie, Chapter 5

Days of Uncle Ernest -

Chesapeake City and the World – Maggie, Chapter 5

With a far-away, misty look in his eyes, Uncle Ernest continued his romantic adventure. “Maggie then tugged at my hand and whispered, ‘Come on; let’s get some fresh air.’ Following her, in tow, I watched the ripple of her hair as it bounced and fluttered with her gait. Outside it was drizzling, which surprised Maggie, for she said that in that country rain was rare; its freshness delighted her. ‘Wait, Maggie, wait!’ I said in mock excitement; ‘Let’s go back in. I don’t want you to melt out here.’ Now, Moose, you wouldn’t believe Maggie’s response. I don’t think she’d ever heard that commonplace expression before. Take it from me, Moose; never be afraid to pay a compliment—even a hokey one like that—if you’re alone with a girl you like. With others around, forget it, but alone, well, it’s magical.”

“I could care less about that baloney, Unk. What’s the point? What did she do, anyway, when you said that?”

“Someday you’ll care; take it from me, but, anyhow, Maggie was quiet for a minute, letting it sink in, and then her face brightened and she put her arms around me, pulled me close, and said softly and seriously, ‘I knew the second I saw you that we would be alone together like this. Whatever it is, Ernie, it’s powerful, a charming force that’s as natural as these rain drops spattering my cheeks, uniting with my tears.’

“Geez, Moose,” Uncle Ernest said, with a little tremor in his voice, “It sure was one of the great moments in my life, standing there stroking her damp hair that dropped below her waist, seeing her lips pout the kind of expression that comes only from a woman in love, and watching as the fluid gathered in her eyes, until, filled and glistening, they overflowed their barriers and formed large drops that migrated one after another, slowly at first, down her cheek until they plopped from her chin and moistened my hand.

“I whispered in her ear, ‘Maggie, you’re my beauty, my Maggie.’ After placing my finger on her cheek, letting one of the teardrops flow onto it, I then placed the finger on my own cheek. Well, that caused Maggie to sigh and moan a little just before she pulled me close for a nice, long kiss.”

“Unk, for crap sake, knock it off! Will ya? I thought she was going to show you around and get some air. You sure can’t get much air smooching with each other like that.”

“That’s true enough, Moose, but there are times when the importance of air is overrated; that was one of those times, and from that time on Maggie and I were girlfriend and boyfriend, practically inseparable. We spent all night exploring that old fashioned town, that walled city of Daveston.

“It sure was uncivilized though: no radio, no telephone, no electricity, no plumbing, no airplanes, no cars, no trains, no nothing. When I told Maggie that where I came from you could turn a button on a box in your living room and hear music that was playing 2,000 miles away, she put her hand over my mouth and said, ‘Hush! That’s nonsense—devil’s talk.’

“After that I didn’t mention it anymore, but that reminds me. Some guy in yesterday’s paper wrote that someday we’ll be able to turn on a box with a screen in it and actually see ball games, people acting, and all kinds of stuff. He said that they’ll be able to send moving pictures through the air just as they do sound.”

“Now that is nonsense, Unk—science fiction garbage, imagination only. It’s just common sense that pictures would never go through the air like that. Where do people get such farfetched baloney?”

“Beats me, but I’m not imagining that old city and my beautiful Maggie. Later that night we finally fell asleep, cuddled together on a cushion in a corner alcove next to a white, marble statue of a naked guy with a beard. We awoke the next morning when José joggled our heads and said fondly, ‘Arise brother and sister and follow me; we have things to do and people to see.’ ”

[To be continued Tuesday, 10/02/2012]