She was encouraged to pursue her youthful quest to understand religious beliefs, so when a young school friend invited her to attend a Lutheran service and spend the night, she asked her father for permission. To her surprise he agreed.
The twins, Lyle and Aryia, were both in her fifth grade class. They played together at recess – two square, four square, tether ball, jacks… Friday Flip Up. She hadn’t had many over nights – mostly cousins and other relatives, so she was excited. It was going to be an adventure!
She rode her bike about a mile and a half over to their house on the other side of the wash, carrying her little satchel of night clothes and a clean dress for church in the morning. The twins’ parents met her in the drive way and invited her in.
They had set up the rumpus room off the garage for the little party. The parents brought in pizza, popcorn, and soda, but otherwise they left the trio of kids alone for the night. Kristie thought it was cool that they had a second TV in the rumpus room. Her family only had one TV in the living room.
They watched Gunsmoke and played Chinese Checkers. Then the twins exchanged a look and a nod and suggested that they do a dance to a 45 record they had just bought called “The Stripper.” The idea was to dance around and take off a piece of clothing when the music stopped. Kristie was in a bit of a panic, but she kept her cool by asking a series of questions.
“What do you mean?”
“Why don’t you show me?”
“You’ll have to go first.”
Somehow it seemed that the twins had played this game before.
Now fifth grade is a vastly different experience for each child. Some girls develop quickly and come early to womanhood. Most boys are not near the change for a year or two later. Kristie was developing faster than most. If you divided the girls into thirds, she would be in the top 33%, but she wasn’t menstruating yet. She did have some nice little B cups, her waist was thinning and her hips widening.
The twins were in the bottom 33%, a little slow, but normal. Even so, she didn’t expect the night to progress as it did. Lyle looked at his sister. She ordered him to go first. Kristie agreed, but she honestly did not know if she would go through with it or not. She was at an age to feel shy about her body. She was changing everyday. They were all changing everyday and really shouldn’t have been playing these games.
She decided to watch at any rate. Lyle went into the bathroom and waited for the music cue. Aryia dropped the needle and the record began playing. Then the girls began chanting, “Come out! Come out!”
When he did come out he was wearing his socks and a long t-shirt that didn’t show off anything. Every once in awhile he would lift up his shirt to reveal an ass cheek or a glimpse of his equipment. Then he eased the shirt up over his head, twisted it around, and flung it out into the audience. He was a real showman.
He began doing his version of a snake dance, but it should have been called a worm dance in his case. There was really nothing to see. No hair, no length, no girth… his balls hadn’t even dropped yet, but he did have a small erection… They were all whooping and laughing so much that they really didn’t focus on it anyway.
Then it was Aryia’s turn. She went into the bathroom to wait for her cue. They had flashlights to shine on the star of the show. She came out like a frightened deer. She was completely naked except for a long magenta scarf that she used both as a cover and as an enticement. She had been taking ballet since she was six and was already quite graceful. Her body was lithe and beautiful. There was nothing sexual about it. They quietly admired her without laughing or fanfare. She felt suddenly shy and ran back into the bathroom.
When it was Kristie’s turn she waited in the bathroom for quite a long time and finally came up with an idea. She tied her nightgown into a mini sleeveless dress and came out high kickin’, buckin’ wing, and singing the melody as if she was a horn player. She played it like a clown, turning her back to the audience and easing her white cotton panties down enough to show a little crack in the back, then made a farting noise and pulled her pants up. She had decided not to do more. The whole situation felt odd to her. And that’s the clue. If it feels odd, don’t do it. She didn’t sleep all night.
At the church service the next day, the ushers passed out pamphlets to each parishioner. The catechism showed drawings of how Buddhism, Christian Science, and Judaism were all equal to the devil. There was a little picture of a devil beside them as they were listed in the literature. Lutheranism was the only sure path to heaven according to the pastor.
Kristie watched as they took communion. It seemed odd to her this formal serious ritual after all the naked dancing around they did the night before. She was disgusted. Even at age eleven, she knew this was wrong.
When she got home, she wrote a letter to the pastor in her best handwriting to complain about the misrepresentation of religions. She knew first hand about it since her grandmother was a practicing Christian Scientist, her friend Lynda was Jewish, and from what she knew of Buddhism, it seemed a reasonable philosophy, not the work of the devil.
The pastor phoned her dad a couple of days later, but her father handed the phone to her. “I just don’t think it’s right to be prejudiced against someone else’s religion. That’s what this country is based on. Freedom of religion!” The pastor was properly chagrined at being lectured by an eleven year old, but her dad was proud of her as he watched her maneuver this complicated social situation.
She didn’t spend the night with the twins again. They moved soon afterwards. She continued her pursuit of religious knowledge for decades, never choosing one, but taking from each that which she loved.
(First published 2/7/12)
