I don’t know Dick, but I remember meeting Kelly. I was terrified, not only because she was everything I’d ever known about Dick, and as close as I would ever get to him, but because she was so much younger than I expected, and I didn’t feel it was my place to say “I’m sorry about your father.”
We have talked several times and each time I am honored. She called me on September 11th to check if I got home ok. She didn’t know if I worked in Manhattan, but she called across the country anyway.
I don’t know Dick, but if she’s anything like him, I can understand the love his friends had felt.
I don’t know Dick, but I have seen pictures of him on everyone’s website, and heard the weird, fun-filled stories.
I don’t know Dick, but everyone has a story, and I learn a little more each time. I still feel intrusive when someone shares a memory. It’s not mine to listen to. I am not worthy. “I don’t know Dick,” I have to say when they ask for mine.
I don’t know Dick, but I wish I had that story to share. I wish I’d been part of that. I wish I had that experience. I wish I had known Dick.
Gina Osnovich
TEVEN STOOD NEXT to Monica in the St. Xavier High School yard while Cindy bent down to tie her shoelaces. Cindy’s plaid Catholic-school skirt, stiff by the nature of the fabric, didn’t wrap around her ass but stood out to salute the entire street. She would fold her skirt up at the hips as soon as the final bell rang so that her bellybutton peeked from her shirt. Her thighs were visible enough to make the entire enrollment at St. John’s School for Boys stop to stare.
The two schools were across the street from one another. Both were tough, but when 3 o’clock rolled around, the nuns couldn’t do much to stop what happened in the street that divided them. Cindy wasn’t the only girl hiking up her skirt and there weren’t enough nuns to put out all the cigarettes and break up all the kids making out against the parked cars.
Steven was allowed into the schoolyard at St. Xavier because his junior high let out at 2:45 and the nuns let him meet his sister so she could walk him home. This was one of his mother’s rules he never complained about. He usually arrived huffing and puffing at 2:55, fixing his hair and ready before the first girl came out of the doors and into the schoolyard.
He got there in time to watch all the skirts hike up, to watch the girls pull out their little mirrors and rub the glossy lipstick all over their mouths, to see them before the dicks across the street got their hands on them. He wasn’t stupid. He knew he was too young to ever approach them, but his sister was an in. They thought he was cute or they acted like he wasn’t there, and as a result, he got to see more glimpses of tiny pink thongs than any other junior-high kid.
Damn, that’s a fine ass, he thought, watching his sister’s best friend come back up and flip her blonde hair.
He dropped his pencil, using the chance to bend over and fix the hard-on jutting out of his Hanes and take a good look at Cindy’s legs on the way up.
“Hey, Mon?”
“What do you want?” she said, looking frantically around for Danny, the newest love of her life.
“Are we gonna go?”
“In a second, I want to see if...” There was nothing left to say. Her latest crush walked out the back door of St. John’s, eyes darting, looking for someone. Monica ran into the middle of the street, pretending to be looking for someone else, but hoping he would look in her direction. Then he did.
She smiled. He smiled back and started walking over. She threw her hair over her shoulder, grabbing a strand to play with while she looked over at him seductively. He got closer. She could feel herself sweating under her button-down shirt.
Oh my God, she thought.
Her brother was cracking up.
Cindy looked on in horror.
Danny’s smile widened and he walked right past Monica, to the girl behind her. Their tongues were out even before their faces met and then it was over.
Steven was hysterical laughing. Monica, mortified, headed for her brother to kick the shit out of him.
Whap!
She cracked him across the skull. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he glanced quickly at Cindy to make sure she didn’t see. He sucked it up, but Cindy didn’t care anyway. She walked quickly over to Monica and put an arm around her shoulder. They walked away whispering. Steven followed a few feet behind.
“It’s okay. He’s a jerk anyway.”
“You have to say that cause you’re my best friend.”
“I know.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“He is still a jerk.”
Cindy never had these problems, Monica thought. She was perfect and she never even looked for a boyfriend. Every guy flocked to her and she could pick and choose. You didn’t need a boyfriend when every guy on earth wanted you.
“What are you doing tonight?” Monica asked.
“Nothing. Why, you need company?”
“It can’t hurt.”
“Sure.”
“Hey, I have an idea,” the unwanted voice from three feet back said. He had been listening. He felt bad for his sister, but he would never let her know that. Besides, he really did have an idea. This would get me in with Cindy for sure, he thought.
“Hey guys, I said I have an idea.”
“What do you want, Steve?”
“There’s a really cool story I heard and mom would never let me go by myself.” Well, that sounded stupid.
“What the hell are you talking about Steve?”
“Be nice to him, Mon. He’s a kid.”
Oh great, he thought.
Cindy slowed, putting an arm around Steven and ruffling his hair.
I’ll take what I can get, thank you very much, he thought, a small smile finding his lips.
“There’s this cool house at the end of Corban Place, where Bill told me a guy killed his wife and kids and then cracked himself in the head with a hammer.”
“That’s not true and you know it,” said Monica.
“Is too. Bill said when the cops found them, the family was all cut up in pieces and the dog was eating the guy. He said the cops couldn’t even go in right away cause it smelled so bad.”
“Shut up. I am not in the mood.”
“Let him talk,” said Cindy.
“Yeah, let me talk,” Steven said through a huge smile, and worked his way closer into Cindy’s armpit so that his cheek was touching her breast.
“I think we should go there. Mom gets all weird when I go out at night, but if we go together, she won’t say anything.”
“I think we should do it.”
“Easy for you to say. You would do anyone...I mean anything.” Monica smiled.
“Ha, ha.” Cindy punched her in the arm.
Cindy’s perfect, thought Monica. She is adventurous and beautiful and popular and it’s fucking annoying. I wish I were more like her.
“Let’s go. I’m serious. It’ll be fun.”
“What? A dirty house where a psycho killed his family? Yeah, right.”
“Yeah! Right!”
“Are you serious?”
“Come on, Mon. Can we?” said Steven.
“Whatever. Fine. We have to find something to tell Mom, though.” Hey, maybe if I were a little more like Cindy, I would be happier with myself. I’ll do it.
Cindy lived three blocks down so they said their goodbyes at the corner. Two guys were right behind them as they walked away. Steven looked casually over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t following. They weren’t wearing uniforms, but they were wearing their colors. He wondered if they heard.