berry and chocolate flavor from the ice-cream, Her cedar-red dress clung to her slight curves and buldged stomach. As she walked she could hear the purring of the traffic and the rustling of the leaves around her. Trails of sunlight seeped through the leaves of large English maple trees. The day was hot, and the dog felt too warm against her body. She gently put the dog down. It wobbled ahead of her. The dog looked back once in awhile, as though making sure that Elizabeth was still following. Both Elizabeth and the dog walked at a quick pace. The dog’s ears flopped as it wobbled along. Elizabeth's pony-tail bobbed up an down as she walked. She pulled a twig of leaves from her neighbor’s hedge. It had a minty smell. She pulled one leaf off the twig at a time, saying, “They love me--; they love me not.” When she came to the end of the hedge, she saw a moving van parked on the driveway of the neighboring house. She stood and watched the men moving furniture into the house. “Well, moved it’s into about that time empty somebody house,” she thought. Bootsie ran ahead without Elizabeth and wobbled up her front porch. Elizabeth started to walk again, but she heard a husky voice and someone whistling, “Oh, Suzanna.” She quickly tucked in her stomach and _ turned swiftly toward the whistle. But when she faced the person who was whistling, she stood as if in a trance. She felt her eyes bug and her jaw come ajar.. She felt her knee caps leap, and she dropped her book. “He's the young prince of all my romantic stories,” she thought. then turned away and began ordering the moving men around. Elizabeth thought, “He’s so tall, broad-shouldered. He must be nineteen or even older.” She closed her eyes and slightly slumped her body. Her stomach buldged. “M-m-m, and those dark eyes and dark hair.” She tried to compose herself, but her eyelashes blinked rapidly at him. She shook her head, stood erect, tucked in her stomach and smoothed the creases of her dress with her hand. Still looking at the boy, she bent down and picked up her book. She stood up again and slowly walked toward him, smiling. “Hi.” She cleared her throat and reached for a lower tone. “Are you just moving in?” “Yes,” the boy answered in a husky voice. Then he continued, “I’m sorry, but you'll have to excuse me. I’m quite busy.” He turned around and started to whistle, “Oh, Suzanna.” When the boy smiled, his squinted. His nose was thin and ved, and his olive skin looked against his black hair and brown eyes. “Oh,” Elizabeth said quietly. then raised her voice and eyes curwhite large She said, “Oh, well, my name’s Liz. I’m your new neighbor.” He stopped whistling, turned around and said in his husky voice, “Oh, that’s nice. Maybe I'll see ya later, huh?” He squinted his eyes and smiled, turned around and started to or- der the men around. Quietly Elizabeth said, “Yea. Bye.” She turned and walked slowly, swinging her hips. She swiveled her head and faced the boy; her pony-tail flung around to her slender shoulder. She smiled and said, “Bye. She walked slowly toward her home, The boy looked at her and smiled, (10) scuffing her feet with each step. She pushed her front gate open. It squeeked. Bootsie jumped off the porch swing and jumped up and barked. When Elizabeth reached the top of the porch, she threw her book swing. She still held the last leaf still it off and then twig clung said stairs, she pushed her love magazines under the cushion of the swing and sat on the hump. “A... , She swallowed hard, and her eyebrows squinted toward the on the realized that she in her hand. One to it. She pulled triumphantly ‘He bridge of her nose. She stuttered in a squeeky tone, “I-l-l. What... ,” She cleared and shifted her voice to a lower tone. “What are you doing here? | mean, how are you?” She tried to force a smile on her quivering lips. The boy squinted and grinned. loves me!” Her smile widened, and her teeth showed white. With the bare twig in one hand and the leaf in the other, she flung her arms back and threw the leaf and twig away. She opened the screen door and yelled to her mother. “Mother! Mother! guess what! A new neighbor’s moving in. And guess what. There’s a boy! Thursday passed by, and Elizabeth had no news from her new neighbor. “Hello, neighbor.” With his hands in his pockets he stared at Elizabeth. He rocked backwards and forwards from his heels to the balls of his feet. He looked Elizabeth over, starting at the top of her head, then slowly working down to her feet. Elizabeth slid her feet under the no swing. She tried to tuck her wrinkled news of either Dick or her neighbor. Saturday afternoon Elizabeth sat lazily on her front porch swing reading love magazines and drinking lemonade. She had her working clothes on because her father had told her to water and mow the back yard. The day was hot from the summer sun rays as it beat down. She licked the top of her upper lip and could taste a mixture of salt and lemonade. Her clothes clung damply to her body from her sweat. shirt-tail in her levis. With an unnerved smile she said, “Sit down, won’t cha?” Friday She story. “Oh, passed, sighed She as and she she read heard someone Suzanna.” She looked had her love whistling, up from her magazine as she heard the rusty hinges on the front gate squeek. She saw the new boy walking up her front walk, Her mouth fell ajar. Elizabeth thought to herself, “My neighbor!” She fumbled for her peagreen shoes under the swing. She had no make-up on. Her hair was in curlers. She wore her dad’s oid shirt and her brother’s levis. As the boy walked up the porch He sat down the on the far edge of swing. She could smell the nicotine and smoke smeared in his clothes. The swing jiggled and bounced as he made himself comfortable. It tilted slightly lower at his end. Elizabeth tilted toward him for balance. In a shaking voice, Elizabeth said, “Would you like some lemonade?” She fumbled for a glass and a pitcher on the wooded floor next to the swing. She clumsily tipped over her own half-filled glass. Almost shouting, the boy said, “No, no. . .” He didn’t finish his sentence because Bootsie, the over-warmheart- ed dog bounded up the stairs, her ears flopping, and jumped on his lap. She pawed the boy with her muddy paws and licked his face. Elizabeth and the boy jumped up swiftly. Bootsie barked with delight when Elizabeth pulled her away. “Oh-h-h-h, (11) n-n-o-o.” she said, slurr-