The Man Who Built His House Upon a Rock CH 9 pt 1

CH. 9

Cut and Polished Rock

Back

During the summer of her 16^th year, Virginia’s body suddenly caught up with her brain. The baby round face thinned into smooth angles; her braces came off; but most telling of all, her pencil thin figure began to swell in amazing ways. Girls who had once shamed her with their 32 inch b-cups were now gawking almost as much as the boys at Virginia’s 36C’s.

One admirer described her as having “stormy-grey eyes” set wide on a shapely oval face. Her mouth was lush and full, flashing a set of perfectly white teeth. Dark auburn hair reached to the middle of her back, soft and glimmering in the sun. Men young and old were struck dumb by her chameleon-like ability to remind them of their favorite celebrity. Some thought she was a young Victoria Beckham while others swore she could be Katy Perry’s little sister. Her own grandfather called her Audrey after the gorgeous Ms. Hepburn.

Possessing an athletic body, slim in all the right places, she also had curves to make Marilyn Monroe jealous. Perhaps the only faux pas to be seen was a set of overly-plucked, arching eyebrows that rose high on her forehead, giving her a perpetual look of surprise. Still, over-all, she was simple perfection and it was too much for most people to handle.

The girls who had mocked her so viciously in school now hated her with the jealousy which comes from being surpassed by your worst enemy. Ginni was smarter, prettier and nicer than any of them and they loathed her for it.

Amy Willingham had become Mrs. Swartz immediately after graduation and the ex-Mrs. Swartz a year later. Now she spent her days working as a cashier at the supermarket and part time doing the books for her father’s gas station. Virginia felt nothing but pity for her. Somehow Amy never could let go of the past even though Ginni tried making nice on several occasions.

Guys were another problem entirely. Once upon a time she had been able to amaze the adults with her intelligence. More than one businessman had come to discuss how they might improve their products or services. The mayor had even appointed her to the Planning Commission which made decisions about how the city would grow over time.

When she burst into full womanhood however the men began to treat her quite differently. Businessmen still wanted to talk to her, but now it was always over dinner or drinks. The mayor loved to have her on his arm at official functions, his wife glaring in the background. To make things worse, all the guys her own age were too intimidated and wouldn’t approach her at all. Ginni felt like a freak in her own home town and it made for a very lonely three years before she could escape to college.

By coincidence September 4th, the day Virginia was to check into her dorm and take orientation, also happened to be her 18^th birthday. Early that morning she raked through her room one last time, just to be sure that she had packed all the essentials. Mr. and Mrs. Shelton had told her time and again that there was nothing here in Vinton that she couldn’t buy on campus or in Charlottesville. They weren’t rich but with her full scholarship including room and board, they felt comfortable about her living standards.

“Mom!” she yelled, “Have you seen my red tap shoes?”

“What?” her mother called back. “I doubt if you are going to need them.”

“Ya never know. A variety show could spontaneously break out in the cafeteria.”

Hannah Shelton walked into the room and fixed her little girl with a ‘you’ve-got-to-be-kidding’ look.

“Oh fine”, she answered petulantly. “But if I miss my chance to star in a remake of A Chorus Line then it’ll be entirely your fault.”

Hannah shook her head and laughed. Ginni smirked and laughed with her.

“Sweetheart, relax. You’ve already done most of the work for your degree. You only need to take three classes. Go to school, have fun, meet people and experience new things.”

“Thanks Mom.” The relief on Ginni’s face was impossible to miss. Smart as she was, sometimes it was nice to get advice from your parents. Her lip began to quiver and then a tear ran down her cheek. “I’m gonna miss you guys.”

“I know baby. We’re going to miss you too. That’s why we kept you home for so long. But you’re ready now. Go and show the world how great you are.”

Her mother left closing the door quietly. Virginia sat down on the bed to think. Then she reached over to the metal bed post and unscrewed one of the ornamental caps. With two fingers she fished out of the pipe a rolled-up piece of binder paper. It was a list of goals she had written on her first day in Kindergarten. Their teacher had made such a list regarding how the students were to treat each other and what they wanted to learn. Her's was a bit more ambitious. It unfurled in her hands and Ginni began to examine the scribbles.

THINGS TO DO BEFORE COLLEGE

1. Get a cat.                                                              Mr. Tickles August 9, 1995

2. Convince Mrs. Simpson I do not need a nap.      September 21, 1995

3. Understand Shakespeare.                                     March 4, 1996/1998/2004

4. Become a ballerina.                                              Lessons 1996-1999

5. Find a unicorn and meet Santa.                            They don’t exist. 12/1995

6. Discover why boys are dumb.                              They are boys. 1997

7. Learn Latin                                                           MCMXCIX  

8. Learn Greek                                                          ,β

9. Master Algebra                                                     1998

10. Learn to roller skate                                           September 4, 1999

11. Teach my dad about Plank’s Constant               June 16, 2001

12. Meet Prince Charming                                        Still lives with his mother.

13. Get a cell phone                                                  After I get a job.

14. Study in Europe.                                                 Sept. 2005-June 2006

15. Do some good in the world.                               Everyday.

16. Find a best friend.

 She smiled at number 5 for a moment before the thought came to her, “I could take a molecular biology class. A little genetic manipulation might get me that unicorn. Millions of little girls would thank me.”

Prince Charming, number 12, had been one of the younger firemen in town named Derek. The seven-year-old Ginni had fallen head over heels in love with him until she found out that he lived with his mother. That didn’t bother her so much as the fact they had a mobile home instead of a castle.

It was during her trip to Europe that Ginni really began to bloom emotionally. She went on a Study Abroad program to England and visited Italy, Spain, France and Germany. Her class load was very heavy for the first time in her life and it was a bit of a shock. Never before had she been forced to actually study. She tried to enjoy that new experience more by sitting under the red canopy of the Brasserie de l'Île St-Louis café behind Notre Dame.

“Pardon moi, Mademoiselle.”

Ginni looked up from her History of the French Republics and saw the deep brown eyes of a young man. He was tall and just a bit scruffy in the easy way of guys who are completely comfortable with themselves.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t learned French yet”, she replied. For Virginia, there was no sense of things she did not know; only things she had not yet learned.

“Oh good”, he said, “Perhaps I may have a chance to practice my English.”

His English was very very good.

“My name is Aime Benoit Denis LeRoy. I could not help but see that you are reading about our French history. Might you be an American student?”

She nodded her head warily. He was several years older than her and this wasn’t the first time that an over anxious man had approached her unbidden. Some German guys old enough to be her father had pressed great huge mugs of beer into her hand during last fall’s Oktoberfest. Guys were the same everywhere

“I graduated last year with a degree in history. Perhaps I may offer my knowledge to you?”

Ginni squinted in an odd sort of way, like she was trying to tell the difference between a pet dog and a hungry coyote from across the meadow. Aime didn’t seem quite as dangerous as the last guys to hit on her. And he was cute.

“Hello Monsieur LeRoy. My name is Virginia. Some people call me Ginni.”

He smiled warmly and inclined his head.

“Ginni, may I sit down?”

“Of course”, she replied in a slightly too inviting tone. ‘Slow down girl’, she thought. ‘No reason to trust this guy just because he has the sweetest puppy-dog eyes!!’