Once Upon a Time in My Life

Broken Leg

Broken Leg

Her name was Marilyn. She wasn’t a bad looking girl. 

The guys made fun at her because she was overweight and her family was poor so she didn’t dress that great, but I didn’t mind. I liked talking to her.

I was in Jr. High, probably grade 8.

Enough said about that. I was no different than anyone else, just simply trying to fit in, but I didn’t.

I was tall, skinny, long hair, terrible acne and glasses.

And a bit of a nerd and even worst than all that….

Chronic shyness.

I was a winner.

Marilyn didn’t care. We didn’t date or anything, just chatted in the hallways and sometimes after school.

I could feel she was taking an interest in me beyond being friends and it made me a little uncomfortable. I never had a girlfriend before and didn’t have a clue what to do.

One day it all fell apart. Marilyn and I were talking while waiting for the bus. It was Friday afternoon and the busses were usually about 15 minutes late.

These jocks and their bitch girlfriends saw us talking so they decided to have some fun.

They started making fun at Marilyn and at me for hanging with her.

They called us geeks and freaks and fatty and skinny…

Well you know the routine.

I wanted to do something but I couldn’t.

I was no fighter and these guys were twice my size and they bullied me all the time as it was.

I remember one of them, Gary, saying to me..

“You aren’t dating this fat cow are you?”

He grabbed me by the arm and started shaking me.

“Well are you and Flossie dating?”

Everyone was laughing and quite honestly I felt like crying. I didn’t know what to do.

Suddenly I blurted out…

“No. I wouldn’t date a cow like that.”

I felt immediately like shit.

Marilyn took one look at me and ran on the bus that had just arrived.

She was in tears.

Gary pushed me to the ground and walked away laughing.

Everyone was laughing.

I got up and left, walking the two miles home.

I felt bad for what I did and I knew I would have to make it up to Marilyn.

I decided over the weekend that no matter what, I was going to apologize and tell her that I liked her.

I never got the chance.

She fell down stairs in her home that weekend and badly broke her leg.

Her family didn’t have a phone and I had no idea where she lived.

I felt like shit for a long time.

The year ended and Marilyn never did return. Her leg was so badly broken; it took a long time to heal.

How would I know that?

I was working at Kmart.

I was married and my baby was born.

I was having a coffee in the cafeteria when this woman asked if she could sit with me.

I didn’t know why, but she was gorgeous so what the heck.

I introduced myself and she smiled.

“I know who you are. We went to school together.”

I looked at her for a long time. I didn’t recognize her until she took off her sunglasses.

It was her eyes.

It was Marilyn.

It took almost two years and several operations to repair the damage to her leg. 

In that time she lost over 70 pounds and took up daily exercise.

She dyed her hair cherry blonde.

She went back to school and then to university and she was now studying to be a teacher.

In all honesty…

She was absolutely beautiful.

We talked for about an hour.

As she left she told me she had the greatest crush on me.

“Too bad things worked out the way they did.”

I hugged her and said goodbye.

I never saw her again.