Chapter Forty-One: Boyish Crush:

Wallace had always been awkward when it came to Julia. Talking to girls was never his strong suit. His mother was partly to blame for this. She was a bit too overprotective of him. Ever since he had that allergic reaction to that strawberry at the farmer’s market, she couldn’t be too careful. Up until graduation high school, he went along without complaining.

He wanted Julia more into his world. As a child, he didn’t know how to get there. At first, he didn’t know much about her. The only thing he had at the time was her name. He didn’t know how to get more information. Social media wasn’t a thing back then. (Not that his mother would let him use it anyway.) Wallace didn’t have many friends back then either. So, the boy thought that he would never see that little girl again.

On Monday, that all changed.

Imagine young Wallace’s shock when he learned that Julia went to the same school. His heart danced in his chest. He didn’t know how to approach her. Keep in mind, he was just a kid at the time. They don’t make the best decisions. It didn’t help that Wallace didn’t have any one to sit him down and talk to him. So, the boy decided to just go and talk to her. It should be fine, right?

Well…

The trouble was that he didn’t have the right words to say. In fact, he didn’t have anything to say to her. Wallace found her with her friends on the playground. He just walked over to her without a single thought in his head. The boy just thought he was going to go for it. When Julia and her friends looked up to see him, he froze. Wallace didn’t know what to do after he walked over to her. He managed a little wave.

“Uh… hi…” he said. Julia blinked for a moment.

“Who are you?” she asked. The boy looked like he had been hit by a train.

“It’s me!” he said.

“I don’t know you,” she said, shaking her head.

“It’s me!” the boy said. “I’m Wallace! You know? I was the boy who ate a strawberry. You got my mommy.” Wallace and the group stood silent.

“What is he talking about?” one of the other little girls asked. Julia shrugged and shook her head. Wallace felt crushed as the teacher called them inside. You would think that would be the time to call it quits.

But Wallace just had to have her in his world. Too bad, he had to try and figure that one out on his own. Love had a strange power over sanity. Wallace didn’t get to see that in his elementary years. His mother didn’t really help in that department either.

“Don’t be silly,” she said. “You’re only six years old. You don’t know anything about love.” She might as well have kicked him in the stomach. This was one of those times that he had his dad around. But he was… well… elsewhere. (The less said about that the better.) There was an uncle and a grandpa in the boy’s life, but they weren’t much help either. So Wallace had to do this on his own.

Since then, Wallace danced an awkward dance around his object of affection. They didn’t run in the same circles. Why would they? Julia was the princess of the school even back then. He was still a nobody. What chance did he have with her? It didn’t matter to him. Julia would fit in just fine in his world. His mother never took his crush seriously. She thought that he would get over it. She had no idea that this would go on into college.

Meanwhile, Wallace now had his chance. No mother to keep a close eye on him. He was his own person now. However, being your own person required making up your mind and figuring out what you are going to do with your life. Wallace had neither. But he’s learning. All for her. All for Julia. But now, he’s starting to wonder if it’s worth it. Julia was so different now. She was too wild now. Too wild for his taste. Was she always like this?

Wallace shook his head.

No, that can’t be right. Something went horribly wrong. He didn’t know what to do at first. She did seem to be interested in him too. Did she really mean it or was he just the flavor of the month? Wallace looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and took a breath.

Wallace shook his head.

There was going to be only one way to find out. He cut off the water and walked out of the bathroom.