Francine and Richard Racine were brother and sister. Richard was my backlane friend. He lived a few doors down in a ground floor flat. We played cowboys, a make-believe game that usually involved killing a lot of bad guys. We played before we were old enough to attend school and after we had started first grade we brought the bad guys to justice after school and every weekend. His sister usually played with us and I liked the way she did the evil-doers in . Francine was a year older and very cute. Soft brown curls surrounded her freckled face and highlighted her hazel eyes. I also knew she was cute because of the outfits she wore… Dale Evans outfits – Dale Evans, to be historically accurate but politically incorrect, was Roy Rogers’ sidekick. Roy Rogers? He was the premiere cowboy on TV in 1954. But Dale’s outfits… fringed epaulets on the powder blue cowgirl shirt and cuffs. Yes I remember most the fringed cuffs. This was a hot outfit to my 6 year old hormones, and Francine wore it well!
One Saturday morning near noon Mrs. Racine called Richard and Francine for lunch. She invited me as well, perhaps because she was just being friendly and we had been playing, or perhaps she took pity thinking that my parents underfed me, or in some dim hope~ that hope was mine I will admit~ that I might be a future son-in-law. It was of course an invitation I could not refuse, given that I would be dining with the girl in the Dale Evans outfit.
Their back door opened into a small tidy kitchen. The linoleum flooring was square-patterned, green and white. I spent a lot of time looking at the floor. We sat at a rectangular chrome-rimmed red arborite table, Francine at one end, Richard in the middle, and me at the other end gazing, when I dared, into those hazel eyes, and at those fringed cuffs.
It wasn’t long before Mrs. Racine brought our lunch – milk, a few sticks of celery, and three hamburgers – all dressed, tomato, lettuce, onion and mustard. The reader, if she/he is an adult, can be excused if thinking that I was faced with a dilemma at that moment- the dilemma of choosing between overcoming an aversion, or facing ridicule from an important person in my life.That is an adult conceit. Six year olds do not suffer from such problems. They know the right course of action ~ at least I did at that moment.
I savoured every bite and enjoyed the feel of the juice from the meat running down my chin. As I licked the last morsels from greasy yellow fingers I knew that it was the most delicious burger I had eaten. For dessert, Francine smiled at me.
After lunch with more than the usual exuberance we continued our cowboy games. Within a few hours we had killed all the bad guys. I then dashed home to tell my much-relieved parents that I loved mustard.
Dinner that evening? More hamburgers with mustard, of course.
