Unc and the Girl Next Door

"Wally nudged me, so I put up my hand, and she pointed to me and had me stand. She told me to have a five-dollar bill in my hand. Wally gave it to me, and the cockatoo swooped around and landed on my arm and took the bill in his beak, and flew back to her. She put something in his beak, and he flew back to me and put it in my hand. She said I should open it and read it." Jen looked at Ali.

"It had four words ... will you marry me? Wally was on one knee, a ring in his hand. I nearly died. Everyone in the grandstand was clapping. It was a special moment."

The Donellan's house's side door opened once again, and Amelia emerged, smiling at Lorenzo. The two daughters were nearly clones of their mother, a very attractive forty-something.

"We're going out to dinner, so you girls need to get dressed."

"Mom," Ali said. "As of today, I am a woman."

"What?"

"Unc called me a girl, and I told him I was a woman. He said that when I beat him in a B-ball game, then I'd be a woman. So I did." She sent a smile toward Lorenzo.

"Well, how about that? Maybe you'd like to join us, Lorenzo."

"Amelia, thanks so much, but I'm not going to barge in on your family reunion."

"It'd be fine, wouldn't it, Mom?" Ali asked anxiously.

"Sure."

"No, no," Lorenzo said emphatically. "I'm going to take a shower, relax a little after the beating Ali gave me, then watch Sixty Minutes.

Ali laughed and hugged Lorenzo, perhaps a little longer than the usual neighborly hug. Despite Jen and Amelia watching, Lorenzo wasn't anxious to end the hug. They were both still sweaty, but strangely, it only enhanced his enjoyment. Their bodies parted, but their eyes didn't.

"Come on, Ali," Jen said, interrupting the mood. "You need to get your shower. I'm staying away because you probably stink." She giggled.

"Have a great family dinner," Leroy called over his shoulder as he headed home.

"So, what's going on, Ali?"

"What?" Ali said, stripping off her wet clothes.

"You know why I'm talking about. That hug with Unc, and then the look. I'm not blind."

Ali took a deep breath. "Unc's a neat guy. I enjoy being around him ... and talking to him."

"Right. I watched that game. You sure were a 'banger.' You must have banged your butt into his crotch a hundred times."

"Just good basketball," Ali said, heading for the shower. " I won, didn't I?"

"Sure," Jen mumbled as she went across the hall to her room.

Lorenzo finished Sixty Minutes and then turned to the Science channel, hoping to find something interesting. He was having trouble concentrating, though, as his mind kept replaying the basketball game. Actually, not so much the game as ... all the contact with Ali. At first, it was just basketball, but the more it went on, the more he relished just the contact, the feel of her body against his, her hands on his waist, his back, wherever they were. At first, his basketball instincts were at play as they jockeyed for rebound position, and he found his hands on her butt as he struggled to move her. Later, he wondered if it was instinct or ...

His thoughts went to her skin, rubbing against his, and he began to wonder what was wrong with him. It was Ali, the little girl next door who called him Uncle. His thoughts were not very "uncle-ish at the moment. Still, it wasn't his fault that she'd grown up and become a very delectable lady and that it was causing him to have these thoughts.

He shook his head, turned off the TV, and headed for bed. In his darkened room, he took a deep breath and headed to his window. He liked fresh air rather than the AC and had just opened the window when he saw a glowing light in the house next door. His heart pounded just a mite as he knew it was Alie's window. Before he could have another thought, a figure passed the window—it had to be Ali. He hadn't been able to see anything except a quick flash of body ... but he sat down on the edge of the bed where he could continue to watch.

Lorenzo was surprised that Ali hadn't drawn her blinds. She'd always been good about that in the past. She passed the window once again, just a quick blur of movement, the distance between the windows making a clear picture impossible. Then she was there a third time, back to the window he could tell, and then she was gone once more. He debated with himself.

Up quickly, he ran to the stairs and down, then to the front closet. He grabbed the leather container and raced back up the steps, sure he'd be too late. But he wasn't.

He focused the binoculars quickly on the lighted window, but there was nothing there to be seen. He signed as he continued to spy and was rewarded as that butt that had banged him mercilessly in the afternoon was clearly visible, but only for seconds as Ali slipped on the bottoms of her pajamas. The window was vacant again ... and the light was extinguished.

Feeling somewhat guilty but unwilling to relent, he lay the binoculars on the table beside his bed. He knew this wasn't the last time he'd be looking.

Monday was a work day, and Lorenzo was busy till late in the evening serving dinner for the homeless at a local church. Tuesday found the Donellans going out-of-town with the girls to visit relatives. On Wednesday, when Lorenzo came home from the shelter, Ali met him, a big smile on her face.

"Mom and Dad are taking Jen out to look at things for the wedding, and I don't want to go. It will be sooo boring." She laughed.

Lorenzo smiled back as his brain ground away. "Tell your mom I've invited you over for dinner and to talk to you about health and safety issues for the shelter. I need the knowledgeable input of a nurse."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She ran home, was gone for several minutes, and then ran back.

"Mom said that since it's for the shelter, okay." She was smiling, biting her lower lip.

Lorenzo's brain was grinding again but with very different thoughts this time as he stared at Ali. He wondered if she could see his heart pounding through his shirt.

"Pizza okay?"

"Whatever you want," she said, "since I'm inflicting myself on you."

"Inflicting" was certainly not the word Lorenzo would have chosen. There was nothing unpleasant about spending an evening with Ali.

"Listen, if you were still a girl, it would be whatever I wanted. But I now bow to you as a woman and allow you to make the choice."

Ali stared at him as a smile crept across her face, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Did you say that to tease me, or do you really think I'm a woman?" Her look had gotten very intense.

Ali ... Ali, you're so much a woman that I ..." He stopped before he said something he'd regret.

"That you? Go on," she prompted.

"That I couldn't have imagined two days ago." That was true, but not at all what he had been thinking.

She chuckled. "Pizza is good with me if you're okay with it."

Lorenzo wondered what had happened in the last several days. He'd be happy with Brussels Sprouts, which he hated if he could share them with Ali. He wasn't a nineteen-year-old with raging hormones any longer. He was wondering about the hormones, though, the way he was feeling at the moment. It had been a long time.

"I'll pay my share," she volunteered.

"Ali, please."

"Hey Unc, I'm an employed nurse, earning a good salary, and not the little girl next door any longer."

All of what she said was true. "So, you're the woman next door then?"

"I am," she said, eyeing him intently once more.

If she kept looking at him like that, he wasn't sure what might happen. He took a deep breath, struggling to deal with feelings that were totally foreign.

"You certainly are," he assured her, "but I really do have some health questions regarding the shelter that I hope you can help with."

"Cool," she said, grabbing his arm. "Let's get started."

Loreno smiled internally as Ali held his arm all the way to the side door. Once inside, he ordered the pizza, and Ali helped him get Cokes and napkins ready. They bumped into each other several times, and he received a warming smile each time.

When they headed to the family room to wait for the pizza, Ali grabbed his arm once more and pulled him around to face her.

"This may sound silly," she began, "but you telling me I'm a woman is important to me. I know I'll always be a little girl to Mom and Dad, no matter what they say, but for you to notice I'm not a little girl means a lot."

As she stood there chewing her lower lip, those blue eyes gazing at him, the blond hair no longer in a ponytail, he decided she was about the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. There was no way he could continue looking into that face without something happening that he wasn't sure would be appropriate. The doorbell rescued him.

He broke away and went to the front door, taking the pizza, paying with a generous tip for the delivery boy. Ali had brought the Cokes and napkins to the coffee table and was perched expectantly on the edge of the couch. Lorenzo set the box on the table, opened it, and they dug in.

The pizza seemed extra good, and eating it gave Lorenzo time to recover ... and think, not that his mind was operating rationally.

"I've always loved the pepperoni. My weird sister hated it and would give me hers."

"I didn't know anyone doesn't like pepperoni," he said, laughing as he plucked a round slice from the box and made a show of carefully chewing and swallowing it.

"Uh oh," she said with a wide-eyed look at Lorenzo. "Unc, now you owe me one." The suggestive look on her face could be taken several ways.

He tried to read her eyes, and what he saw frightened him. He took another slice of pepperoni and offered it to Alison. She closed her lips around it and his fingers, holding on for long seconds before releasing him.

"Ali, what are you doing?" he said, having trouble catching his breath.

"What do you mean?" she asked, a totally innocent sound to her voice.

Lorenzo took a deep breath, unsure how to answer her. He wanted to step away and try to figure out what was happening, both with his brain and with Ali's very different behavior. He needed to answer, though.

"I'm just confused," he said, getting a big smile from Ali.

"No, you're not," she said confidently. "But, that's okay." She winked at him.

Every time Ali reached for a piece of pizza, she managed to slide an inch or two closer to Lorenzo. Not that he didn't enjoy that as he was able to catch the scent of her perfume, even over the aroma of the pizza. Each time she moved, it assaulted his nose, and he was unsure of how much of that he could withstand before his will crumpled. He'd smelled her perfume before, he was sure, and it hadn't affected him this way.

They finished the pizza, Ali's leg snug against his, and did the minimal cleanup, and were ready for whatever the rest of the evening might hold. Lorenzo was getting extremely nervous about what that might be.

"So, you have health questions about the Shelter?" she said, sitting down beside him on the couch, not snuggled against him now.

He shared his questions, most about first aid and sudden emergencies, and she was very helpful with her cautions and suggestions. He tried to meet her eyes but was finding it more difficult with each passing minute. Those pure blue eyes seemed to be looking back at him in a new and different but very appealing way. And the way she often bit her lower lip when she was looking at him was causing his heart to pound dangerously. Not dangerous health-wise, but very dangerous emotionally.

They both started at the sound of the doorbell. As Lorenzo approached the front door, he could see that it was his mother with something in her hands.

"Hey, Mom. Come in," he said as he opened the door for her.

"I'm on my way to a meeting close by, and I brought you a dish of lasagna I made for you." She stopped, and a surprised look swept across her face, followed quickly by a big smile. "Is that Alison?"

Alison was already on her way to greet Karen Oakes and ran the last few steps. They hugged.

"My goodness, I have seen you in a coon's age." She took a step backward. "You certainly have grown into a beautiful young woman, hasn't she, Lorenzo?"

"More than you know, Mom."

"What's that?" Karen gave him a puzzled look.

"She has, Mom. She certainly has." He was afraid to look at Ali as he said that.

"Thanks, Mrs. Oakes. I beat him in a game of basketball the other day, and he had to admit I'd grown up."

"Oh my goodness, are you two still keeping up that foolishness. I thought you'd outgrow it."

"Once you've got it, you never lose that competitiveness. You want to win every time. Right, Unc?"

He was sure her reply had little to do with basketball. "Right, Ali," unable to keep from looking at her this time. The look he got in return confirmed his thought about basketball.

"It's so nice that you and Lorenzo are getting to share some time together. I know he always thought the world of you," Karen said, smiling first at Ali and then Lorenzo.

"I hope he still does," Ali said, a little too quietly.

"I have to run now. So, so good to see you again, Alison. How long will you be here?"

"Another week and a half or so, I think."

"Oh, good. Hopefully, I can get back over here again, and we can spend a few minutes catching up."

"That would be wonderful, Mrs. Oakes. I'll look forward to it."

Karen left, Lorenzo put the lasagna in the refrigerator, and they were back on the couch once more. When he looked at Ali, she reached out and took hold of his hand.

"Do you really still think the world of me?" she asked, an intensely hopeful look on her face.

The answer was an emphatic yes, but it was an entirely different world now, and he wasn't sure yet how, or even if he should, convey that to her. He hesitated, those blue eyes holding his.

"Hard to answer that one, right?" she said with perception beyond her years. She squeezed his hand and released it. "What shall we do, now that the "nurse" questions have been taken care of?"

"What don't you tell me about college," he said feebly, wary of the thoughts that were filling his head. "Or, better yet, seeing Mom reminded me that I need to edge the sidewalk and driveway. I'm surprised she didn't remind me when she was here."

"You think it's light enough?" she asked, glancing at the window.

"Eh, you're probably right," he answered reluctantly. Going outside would have given him a chance to "cool down."

"I guess you're stuck with hearing about my college years," she said, chuckling.

They both sat on the couch but, this time, Ali sat at the far end, feet up and leaning on the arm, better able to look at Lorenzo. She had kicked her sandals off and extended her feet just inches from his leg.

She talked for many minutes about her freshman year, the studies, and all the activities she'd been involved in. Lorenzo listened carefully as he found himself becoming more and more interested in Alison's life, particularly the life he had missed. As he watched and listened, he saw her expression change.

"Freshman year wasn't all good," she finally said, looking away from Lorenzo. "I had an asshole boyfriend and, asshole is way too kind for what he was.

Lorenzo tensed as Ali paused, turning her eyes back toward him.

"He took my virginity ... and laughed about it. 'No big deal,' he said. 'You're not the first and won't be the last.'" A deep breath. "'I won a bet too. Might buy you a burger with some of the winnings.'"

Lorenzo could see the tears beginning to form. He extended both arms toward her and quickly wrapped her in a tight hug, her head on his shoulder, her tears wetting his shirt.

"I've never told anyone, not even Jen," she said softly through her sniffles.

Lorenzo had never felt quite like he did at this very moment. He'd had girlfriends, even one he thought he loved. But never anything like this moment with Ali. Her body pressed against his, the sound of her quiet sobs in his ear, her arms squeezing him in return, had his heart racing. Without thinking, he kissed her head, then wondered if she was aware of it. He wasn't in the dark for long as she lifted her head and kissed his cheek.

She pulled back and looked at him from six inches away. The feel of her breath again his face was overwhelming, and it was all he could do to keep from pressing his lips against hers.

"Thanks for listening and being here with me ... and for me." One last sniffle, and she released him.

He was thankful for that as he wasn't sure he could have done the same. Now what, he wondered? He was curious if there was more about the boyfriend, but he let it rest.

"I better head home," she said, reluctance in her voice.

Although he didn't want it to happen, the way he felt, he thought it might be the best option. They both stood and started for the door. Once there, she turned and kissed him on the cheek.

"You're more than I could ever ask for or hope for," she said and was out the door.

Lorenzo watched her cross the shared driveway and disappear through the side door of her house. As he watched, he knew that two things had to happen. The first was, he had to decide what was happening, and second, how to deal with whatever it was. Figuring what was happening was more about admitting what was happening rather than anything else. Ali had become, very quickly, the most fascinating creature he had ever been around.

It had happened far too quickly and was almost out of the question, yet it was true. He wanted to be with Ali every second he could, but she'd only be here another ten days or so. Far too short a time for the way he was feeling if, indeed, she was feeling the same way. It seemed apparent that she was feeling something. But, what?

He was very aware that he was thirty-nine years old and she was twenty-four. Was that a hump, a hill, or a mountain? It was no issue for him, except in how it might affect her. It was frustrating not knowing. No way to resolve it now, so he headed to his bedroom. Some mindless TV would allow his thoughts to torment him.

Next door, Ali had barely gotten home when the rest of the family returned. She temporarily set aside what was happening in her life to share in Jen's excitement with what they had gotten for the wedding. Weddings were wonderful, and she hoped to have one of her own before long. Despite a certain natural reluctance, she was beginning to admit to herself who and what she wanted. It was frightening, and she was uncertain about how to proceed. If she could only read minds.

More family sharing about wedding plans, and it was time for bed. In her room, Ali switched on the small lamp on the bedside table and took a deep breath. Standing in front of the uncovered window, she slowly undressed. She could feel her body heating as she did it, fighting the urge to pull the shade. Lorenzo's windows were dark, which could mean anything. A few more seconds, and she moved away from the window and switched off the light.

Next door, Lorenzo stood by his window holding the unused binoculars. He'd seen the light in Alison's room, picked up the binoculars, but hadn't been able to bring them to his eyes. He wondered if she wanted him to look. He did look, but the picture he saw was fuzzy. Perhaps if the light had stayed on longer, his will would have broken, and he'd have gotten the clear view. This was twice she'd done it, so ... it was hard for him to accept that she wanted to be seen. And he was the only one that could see. If it happened again ... he eyed the binoculars.

Friday was the dreaded quarterly board meeting at the Shelter. It was better than monthly meetings, except it could last until midnight. Therefore, no time with Ali. She had mentioned that family was visiting them on both Saturday and Sunday.