Driving back from his lifeguard job on a Saturday afternoon in mid-June, Ben thought back to a line in his favorite novel, "The Great Gatsby." "I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the Summer." He had turned 18 a few weeks before, graduated high school in the top of his class, filling out his days with his part time job, seeing his friends, and doing his required reading for college in the fall. Yes, life was beginning over again for him this Summer. Leaving his demanding parents and the regime and obligations they kept him under. Leaving suburban San Diego for all the excitement of New York. He knew that his future was going to be very different and he was eager for it to begin. He walked into the house, went to the kitchen, got a glass of water, and went for the remote control. His mother greeted him and asked how the day was. He replied that it was an incident free day and told her that he was planning on going out with Cliff and John for the evening; they were going to catch a movie. She nodded in approval but said that their neighbor, Tom Harrison, had been over earlier and asked if Ben could help him with moving some furniture.
"I'm sure he will offer to pay you but you should decline to take any money. He is a neighbor and we should be more neighborly. We've lived next to them for years and we barely talk to them. It would be good to do something nice for them."
Ben agreed to do it. And there was no way out of not doing it. But silently he thought that if Mr. Harrison slipped him some cash his mother wouldn't need to know. Besides, it was kind of weird. He had barely known Mr. Harrison. Of course they saw each other from their driveways and waved but they hadn't had much interaction at all. So for this guy to be asking for a favor was weird. Surely he would offer some money for his assistance.
"Did he say how long it would take? I really am looking forward to the movie. John and Cliff said they are supposed to pick me up in two hours."
His mother replied that no, he hadn't said, but really how much time could it be? Besides, he had the rest of the summer to see John and Cliff before they too went off to college.
Ben sighed, figured it would be best to get this over with as soon as possible, and headed for his neighbor's house.
Ben knocked on the Harrison's door and tried to put on a face that said this wasn't a problem while also wondering if he could subtly hint that he had plans for the evening so this wouldn't go on too long.
Mr. Harrison answered and Ben said, "Hi Mr. Harrison, I'm Ben from next door. My mom said you needed some help moving furniture."
Mr. Harrison reached out his hand for a shake. Ben extended his and as their hands gripped, Tom noticed that Ben gave an equally firm hand shake. Mr. Harrison smiled and said "Ben, thank you so much for coming over, this won't take long, I promise. And I'll owe you."
Mr. Harrison looked to be in his late 40s. He had short, straight black hair that was barely long enough to show the part on the side. There was a bit of grey on his temples which gave him a distinguished look. His eyes were impossibly blue and accented with long black eyelashes and black eyebrows. His features were chiseled: a strong jaw line, high cheekbones, and a cleft in his chin. Ben thought he was a little over six feet tall or so; Mr. Harrison had a few inches on him so Ben had to look up to him ever so slightly as they shook hands. This was clearly a man who had decided to relax today. He hadn't shaved and his hair was a bit messy. Not like how he usually saw him, dressed in a suit and very clean cut looking. Today he was dressed only in running shorts with splits up the outer seem that made it impossible not to notice his legs. They were muscular and hairy. Not overly hairy, but enough he could tell that Mr. Harrison hadn't ever shaved his legs like so many guys on the swim team did. The t-shirt he had on accented his traps and rounded deltoids. His shoulders were wide. The sleeves encased the upper portion of lean biceps and triceps. He could also see Mr. Harrison's pectorals which were round and slightly pronounced. A clear line divided his chest and the line ended as the muscles went up in perfect half circles.
As he shook Ben's hand, Tom took in Ben's appearance. He had really only seen him from a distance over the years. When he and his wife first moved to the neighborhood, Ben had just been a quiet kid next door. Now he looked at Ben and realized that he was much closer to being a man. His face was clean shaven and smooth. Similarly, there were no lines marring his complexion. No worry lines, smile lines, crows feet or any of the markings that come with daily stress. No, his skin was smooth and revealed the face of innocent optimism. He had rather high cheek bones and his hair was sandy brown, fairly short, and parted on the side. Ben also sported the tell tale signs of being a swimmer. His hair included light steaks from the pool's chlorine. Ben was probably about five-ten and dressed for his job. He had on a white sleeveless t-shirt and green shorts; both bore the name and logo of a local country club. Ben had a bit of a tan and what little body hair he had was bleached by the sun, chlorine, or both. His eyes were green and as Tom shook hands, he couldn't help but notice that Ben had maintained the eye contact. He thought how unusual that was. Even in meeting with business partners, they always met his eyes briefly and then looked away. They demurred out of politeness. But this young man had managed to stay looking at him. As he let Ben's hand go, he said "Call me Tom."
Tom explained that he had a few things to move, that they were not particularly heavy, just bulky and that it wouldn't take long. He added that he really appreciated his assistance to which Ben nodded and explained that he was happy to help. They went to the family room where Mr. Harrison told Ben he wanted to move the sofa from against the wall to the center of the room so it would be directly facing the other sofa. Ben and Mr. Tom lifted simultaneously and got the sofa to the right spot. Next came the end tables. Then Tom asked Ben if he could help move the bed in the master bedroom. Ben said sure and followed Mr. Harrison up the stairs. As he walked behind Mr. Harrison he thought about how odd it was that these people had lived next door to this family for a decade and had never been in their house, or really ever talked to them. Now he was entering their bedroom—the most personal of spaces. He tried not to think of it as weird but there was no denying it. It made him a bit nervous.
Tom said that they would just be moving the bed from one wall to the other. This took more time as they had to lift off the box springs, the mattress, and then move the bed. Then they had to reassemble it. It was a bit heavier than either of them had expected but they got it done and Mr. Harrison thanked him. Tom noticed Ben was clearly strong and moving the heavy bed frame revealed the contours of Ben's biceps. Mr. Harrison breathed a sigh of relief that it was over and they headed back down the stairs with Ben following behind. He was relieved to be leaving that intimate bedroom space and was wondering if that was all Mr. Harrison needed done. He wanted to relax a bit before Cliff picked him up for the movie.
They walked into the kitchen and Mr. Harrison offered Ben something to drink.
"Would you like a water, lemonade, or something that is more deserving of your hard work?"
"Um, I'm sorry, like what Mr. Harrison?"
He smiled at Ben and said, "Please, call me Tom. I just got this terrific new small batch French beer that is pretty amazing. I know you aren't 21, but if you keep it between us, I'd be glad to share some with you."
Ben blushed a bit, looked down and said "Well, I haven't ever really had alcohol." He realized this made him look like a sheltered suburban goody two shoes kid. But it was the truth.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you religious or something? Here I am being the serpent and leading you into temptation. Ignore my offer."
Ben smiled and explained that he wasn't religious but he and his friends just didn't do that. He had been focused on his grades, water polo, wrestling, life guarding, and the occasional volunteer work. His parents were dead set on him getting into a good school and that took lots of effort beyond grades. His friend's parents were the same way. Books, practice, job, volunteer. They were all trying to show admissions officers that they were not only smart, but were diligent, dedicated, and well-rounded.
Tom nodded, listened with interest, and asked "Is it paying off?"
Ben nodded, and said "I guess. I am heading off back east for college in August."
An involuntary smile crept up on Tom's face and he said "Just like Benjamin Braddock."
