It was 1983. I was 9 years old, attending Crownton Elementary School. Mrs. Enton was my 3rd grade teacher. She was a tall, young, attractive, red-haired woman, but I wouldn't have known it at the time. Geez, c'mon, I was 9 years old! Girls had 'cooties' and were avoided, lest your best friends think you liked them.
So, as my 'homeroom' teacher, I attended her class and did school work as I should, not ever doing anything that would induce anything negative at the parent-teacher conference. Despite the fact that she couldn't have been much older than 24 or 25 when I was in grade school, the only difference I recognized between her and any other adult was the fact that she was my teacher.
I never noticed what a beautiful woman she was until many, many years later.
It was one of those things that you could have never imagined. I moved away to a distant city for a job many years later, after college. But, my younger sister stayed in my hometown, getting married and having a son. That son eventually attended my same grade school. Ironically enough, Mrs. Enton was still a teacher there. But, in the interim, after a divorce she became
Ms.
Enton. I'm not really sure, maybe Enton was her maiden name, or maybe she just retained her former husband's name at school to avoid explaining divorce to her very young students.
So, a few years after I had graduated from college and moved away for a job, I returned to my hometown to visit my family for the holidays. Since I wasn't married or attached, I normally did that every year. My nephew's 'career day' at school happened to occur during this particular visit. My sister asked me to attend, since her husband's job was a less-than-glamorous manager of the local office supply store. I happily agreed, since I enjoyed my career as a automotive crash-test engineer. I figured a bunch of 3rd graders would like hearing about a job where you crash cars at work.
I showed up on Career Day, somewhat nervous. I was accustomed to dealing with adults and professionals. Were these 3rd graders going to chew me up and spit me out?
I arrived, ready to explain in the simplest terms what my career entailed.
Ms.
Enton greeted me, more beautiful than I had ever realized. She was still very petite, but with relatively full breasts. I would have never noticed
that
as a kid! She hadn't done anything to change her hair color, as it was the reddish-copper color I remembered. But, it was considerably shorter now, cut just longer than chin-length. It made her look much younger than what I could only guess was her real age. Wow, it didn't even occur to me that she was more than 20 years my senior. I'm told that she has a
daughter
more my age. That made me wonder if she was as beautiful as her mother. I had to shake the idea from my head when I reasoned that her daughter was probably in high school.
So, I 'met' Ms. Enton for the first time as an adult. It took me completely off-guard how friendly she was with me. I hadn't talked to this woman since I was a "youngster". She greeted me with a hug, which for some reason felt a little odd to me. It kind of felt like some weird combination of hug you might get from your aunt, but yet also like a former girlfriend whom you were still on good terms with.
Shortly later, I described as simply as I could my job and responsibilities to her class. I answered all sorts of asinine inquiries, such as, "Do you have to ask your boss to go to the bathroom?" and "Do you ever do crashes with real people in the cars?" with as much humor and candor as I was able. It suprised me how often Ms. Enton would laugh at my humorous responses, but yet look at me with a look that didn't exactly seem appropriate for a elementary school classroom. At the end of the school day, I was ready to get out of the classroom and act like an adult again. I was nearly appalled when Ms. Enton approached me as an adult.
I grew up respecting my elders. I couldn't even address this woman as anything other than "Ms. Enton". It just felt weird thinking of her otherwise!
"Ms. Enton, I thoroughly enjoyed being a participant in your Career Day."
"Christopher, please, you can just call me Joan. Its not like you're still a 3rd grader!" she flirted.
I was floored. I had never thought of this woman as anything other than a mentor or educator. Now she wanted me to address her by her
first
name!
"Uhm, ok,
Joan
...but I have to admit, its still odd that I can think of you as anything other than my grade-school teacher," I replied.
"Christopher, I'm kind of embarrased, but I can honestly say that I'm old enough to have known you when you were still in diapers!"
I uneasily joked with her along that topic. But, as I accostumed myself to the fact that she was woman unlike any other I know or perhaps even am attracted to, I conversed with her as such.
We talked about random things for about a half hour or so after the students were dismissed. I was just about thinking of her as any other adult when she asked me to join her for coctails.
"I know this may seem odd since I was your teacher way back when, but many of us faculty members go to TT's after work. Would you like to join us?"
"TT" was 'Todd's Tavern', the tiny, local bar where I had always passed by wondering what was so great about a 'bar' as a youth. My mother never answered that question directly, merely saying "That's where older people go to relax and talk." I wondered why they didn't just go to the back yard or a swing set to talk, but never asked any further.
Now my 3rd grade teacher invited me there. As an adult familiar with going to Happy Hour after work, I graciously accepted.
I met Ms. Enton - I mean Joan - at TT's. Again, I was astonished when she ordered a martini. I'm not sure why, but I still felt like I was a very young pupil and she was the instructor.
Amidst my former educators, we drank and reminisced and laughed. Along the way, Joan and I had several drinks and began to be on the verge of intoxication. As the other teachers began to filter out, Joan leaned close to me.
"I've had a great time talking with you. Would you like to come over to my place for something to eat?" The way she leaned towards me made me finally realize she was
hitting
on me. I couldn't believe it. This was
crazy
.
I looked at her and recognized that she was a beautiful woman. I mean, I guess I had known that all along, but it was odd to think of her as anything other than my grade school teacher.