Between Friends. Debbie Macomber
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The concrete was poured while we were in Hawaii this summer.
I had a good time at the party, and I’m glad Mom and Dad finally realized that I’m old enough to participate. I’m not a child, although Mom treats me like one. Jerry Lee Lewis married his cousin and she’s younger than I am!
Lesley told me about her New Year’s Eve. We talked for half an hour, but she’s on a party line and we kept getting interrupted. She spent New Year’s Eve babysitting for the Randalls. She said it was the easiest $3.00 she ever earned.
Lesley hasn’t been kissed for real, either. I don’t understand why because she’s super pretty and smart, too. She’s pretty enough to be a high school cheerleader if she wanted. I told her she should try out next year but she can’t because her mother needs her to help at home. She has five brothers and sisters now. I wish Lesley was my sister. Her mother hasn’t been feeling very well since Bruce was born and her father doesn’t always have a job. But Lesley never complains. In all the years we’ve been best friends, I’ve only stayed the night at her house once and then we camped outside. I don’t mind, though. I think Mom and Dad prefer that she comes here, and they don’t need to tell me why, either. (Mr. Adamski drinks too much. Sometimes when I call Lesley, I can hear him yelling in the background.)
Larry Martin phoned after dinner and asked if I’d be at the boys’ basketball game next Saturday. I told him I would.
Mom and Dad have already told me they want me to attend Holy Name Academy next year. I don’t think I’m going to like attending an all-girls school, but it’ll be all right as long as Lesley is there, too.
No one else phoned and I lay on my bed and listened to music for the rest of the afternoon. I like Roy Orbison and the Supremes the best. Mostly I thought about next year and high school and wondered if I’d ever be kissed for real and by whom. Lesley says I probably will be soon. Maybe Larry will kiss me. I wonder if it’s possible for Lesley and me to be kissed on the very same night. That way we won’t have to worry about who was first.
I don’t care what Mom says, I’m not going into that bomb shelter without Lesley. We’ve been friends our entire lives and I refuse to let her die because her family can’t afford to build a bomb shelter.
Pine Ridge Herald
May 29, 1962
Top Ten Students From St. Mary Junior High Named
The Sisters of Providence have named the top ten students from the eighth-grade graduating class. They are listed in order of ranking: Jillian Lawton, Lesley Adamski, Jerry Englehardt, Marilyn Andrews, Bonnie Gamache, Bernard Simmons, Yvette Dwight, David Thoma, Steve Bounds and Diane Kerry. Each student received a twenty-five dollar scholarship toward tuition at either Holy Name Academy or Marquette High School.
July 10, 1962
220 Railroad Avenue
Pine Ridge, Washington
Dear Judge and Mrs. Lawton,
Thank you so much for inviting me to the Seattle World’s Fair with you and Jillian. I had a wonderful time, even if we didn’t get to see Elvis. I especially loved taking the elevator to the top of the Space Needle and riding on the monorail. I’m sorry I can’t go to Hawaii with Jillian, but my mom and dad need me at home. It was very nice of you to include me. Perhaps someday I’ll see the islands.
Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Lesley Adamski
August 8, 1962
Dear Jillian,
Summer is so boring without you. I wish I could be with you in Hawaii, but I need the babysitting money for my school uniform. Did you hear that Marilyn Monroe died? Mom didn’t like her because she was too sexy.
Susan and I went to the movies last Saturday and saw John Wayne in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. It was good, but I would’ve had more fun with you than my little sister. Dad said spending 25¢ to see a movie is a waste. I didn’t tell him popcorn went up to 10¢ a bag.
Call me over at Mrs. Johnson’s house the minute you get home. I have a lot to tell you.
Your Best Friend Forever,
Lesley
September 4th
English Class
Lesley,
Here we are, the first day of HIGH SCHOOL. Don’t you just want to die with happiness? I was disappointed we aren’t in the same homeroom, though. Someone must have told Sister Anna Marie that you and I are best friends. They want to keep us apart, but nothing ever will. At least, we’ve got English and algebra together.
Can you meet me after school? We need to practice the watusi. I can do the bossa nova but this new dance is more complicated. Thank you for saying I can twist better than Chubby Checker. Now all we need is for a couple of boys to invite us to a dance so we can show everyone how good we are.
I heard Sister Bernice grades easy in English.
Jillian
October 22nd
Algebra Class
Jillian,
Do you think we’re going to war? This is so scary. Even my dad was talking about it. I can’t concentrate on algebra, can you? Mom went to Mass this morning to pray for peace. Cuba wouldn’t really bomb us, would they?
Lesley
Algebra Class
Lesley,
I don’t know if there will be a war or not, but if there is you can come in the bomb shelter with me. I’ve already told my parents that I refuse to go inside without you. Do you want to sleep over tonight? We can camp out in the shelter. In case something does happen, we’ll be safe.
Jillian
P.S. If the politicians listened to the music of Joan Baez and the New Christy Minstrels, I bet this wouldn’t be happening.
Holy Name Academy
230 First Street Pine Ridge, Washington 98005
November 1, 1962
Dear Judge and Mrs. Lawton,
Thank you for your generous financial contribution to Holy Name Academy. It is because of benefactors such as yourselves that the Sisters of Providence are able to offer high-quality education to the young Catholic women of Pine Ridge.
You can trust that the matter of the scholarships for Lesley and Susan Adamski will be handled in the most discreet manner possible. Neither the girls nor their parents need ever know that you have paid their tuition in advance. I have discussed the matter with Mother Superior; she felt it would be best if the girls were awarded scholarships and nothing more was said. I’m confident, however, that if Lesley and Susan Adamski were aware of your generosity, they would express their gratitude personally.
Again, your generous check is appreciated.
In Christ’s Service
Sister Martin de Porres
Lesley’s Diary
December 4, 1962
Scott kissed Jillian and she said it was the most romantic, wonderful event of her entire life. She asked Scott McDougal to the Sadie Hawkins dance and I asked Roy Kloster. Jillian’s dad picked us all up in his new Cadillac. It was my first official date and Roy brought me a corsage. My mother pinned it on my dress—and then embarrassed me by saying in front of Roy how pretty I was.
Jillian and I spent all afternoon with our hair in pink rollers, the hard plastic ones. Her mother said we used enough hair spray for our hairdos to survive hurricane-force winds.