My first crush has to be my childhood playmate, Molly. This was in primary school. This was in Michigan, a small town about an hour north of Detroit. She lived across the street from my, and we would play once a week perhaps more, and we usually played a game pretending to be animals. She was always a monkey, and I was always a tiger.

Every time I came to visit her, her mother would say, “Michael, Michael motorcycle is here!” For a brief period, we also played a game with no name, but involved our different anatomies–we might call it doctor, just two first or second graders learning about the differences between boys and girls. One day her mother overheard us speaking about this game, and she was called into the house for the day. The next day she announced, “I know where babies come from.” She was forbidden to play that game anymore.

Funny the things one can remember and forget. I remember Molly and I were once walking home from school and it was beginning to rain, so we took shelter under a tree about halfway home. I just remember it being fun and exciting, running for shelter together, laughing, being happy children. I also remember once writing a note to her, a love note. We were still in primary school. It wrote in red ink and drew check boxes to mark yes or no. It said something like, Molly, I love you–do you love me? I knocked on her door, and her mother said, “Molly, Michael, Michael motorcycle is here!” She ran to the door as usual, and I gave her the note and ran back across the street. I remember being scared and excited at the same time, nervous about her reply. It never came.

Years later, in high school, just after I got my driver’s license, I took her out for coffee. It was a kind of a date, but not officially so. It dawned on me that we were different people by then. That was one of the last times I saw her as her family moved shortly after. Funny thing though, I have never forgotten her.