Lee’s
high school boyfriend was twenty-six. He bought her gold watches and took her to
Cancun. He paid for expensive
hotel stays and took her out on holidays to steak houses, places with $30 entrees. I always wondered how he managed this on his
Little Caesar's manager salary.
Her mother really liked him, even approved of the relationship. I once overheard Lee discussing her upcoming Valentine's Day celebration and her mother was helping her flesh out her sex plans. Lee was going to have a theme for each room of the house, floating candles in one, whipped cream in another, finally culminating in the bedroom with some honey and a plastic sheet (which she later confessed did not work out very well.)
Her boyfriend announced his intent to propose to Lee on her sixteenth birthday, no objections from her mom. Lee was half tempted, it seemed like a good way to get out of high school. But she was also kind of freaked out. She did not really want to be engaged at sixteen, did not even want the big “sweet sixteen” party her mom was planning.
Shortly afterward, she and the rich boyfriend broke up, or they were no longer exclusively fucking each other. I will always remember him as the Albanian who looked like Alan from Sesame Street, smelled of Drakkar and wanted Lee to shit on his chest.