The Second Kiss

Neither Trixie nor Bobby had an opportunity to discuss his frog until late the next morning. Moms sent her to Lytell’s store with instructions to return with a large jar of mayonnaise so she could finish the potato salad she was making. Bobby accompanied her and they decided they would bike to the store. They had no sooner left their driveway than Bobby asked the question. “Did you kiss the frog?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” she replied giving her brother an evil eye. “After I washed him, since he looked … dirty. Nothing happened, so there you go.”

“Nothing happened?” Bobby echoed.

“Nothing happened,” she assured him. “Now do you want to tell me what this nonsense is about frogs talking to you?”

Bobby shook his head and pursed his lips. He didn’t speak again until they were cycling back home. “What did you do with Kingsley after you kissed him?”

“I put him out in the yard, by the garden, just like I promised Moms.”

The answer seemed to relieve her brother somewhat, and once they were back home and they had stowed their bicycles in the garage he made a dash towards the brook. Her eyes followed him as she realized he was searching for the frog.

 

 

The Belden’s Fourth of July celebration was everything a back-yard party should be. From the grill to the games, it was a long day of celebration that ended with a fireworks display over the Wheelers’ Lake. Only one incident had given Trixie pause. It had happened during a game of corn hole where the playoffs had come down to her and Bobby facing off against each other.

“Care to make a wager?” he asked.

She laughed. “A wager?” she teased. “You sound quite grown-up Robert Belden. Since when do you make wagers?”

He scowled. “The Bob-Whites make bets all the time, Trixie. You have since high school. You don’t have to be a grown-up to make a bet for fun.”

“No, you don’t,” she said. “But you do have to be able to honor your bets. What did you have in mind?” She tossed him a red bean bag.

“If you win, I’ll do the dishes for the rest of the summer,” he said tossing the bean bag from one hand to another.

“That’s a major undertaking,” she pointed out. “What do I have to do if you win?”

He stepped closer to her, wanting to make sure no one else overheard them talking. “If I win, you agree that you’ll kiss Kingsley again.”

Trixie groaned. She knew she never should have accommodated his first request to kiss that stupid frog. “Bobby! Are you trying to kill me, or give me warts, or what, exactly? Why is it so important for me to kiss your frog?”

“It just is, Trixie! Please, it’s just a bet. Or are you afraid that I’m going to win? A few minutes ago, you were boasting that you had this game in the bag.”

He had her there. The trash talk had been going on all day over the various back yard games. Corn hole had been no exception, and while all the Beldens were decent players, more often than not, Trixie was able to beat her younger brother at the sport.

“Okay, on one condition,” she said. “The bet is just between us. No one else can find out that wagered on our game, much less what we bet. If they find out, the deal is off.” She extended her hand to him. “Deal?”

“Deal!” he replied with a grin. “Let the game begin.”

The Belden siblings were each very different, but in some areas of their personalities they were cut from the same cloth. All of them were competitive when it came to games and sports. To grain bragging rights as the winner of any game carried significant weight amongst the four of them. Today’s game was no exception and it was cut-throat competition from the first toss. Both Bobby and Trixie had a lot on the line. And it wasn’t until the score was tied, 18 to 18, that Trixie lost her poise. She managed to get all four of her bags on the board, but none through the hole. Bobby’s first throw missed the board, after a hit that managed to shake one of hers off. That meant she could still win if he missed all his throws. He took a deep breath and then one right after the other, all three bags landed in the hole. The stinker had beaten her fair and square.

“You win,” she said grudgingly.

“Yep!” He grinned. “I’m not sure where Kingsley is right now. We’ll have fireworks later, so it’s okay if you wait until tomorrow. I’m pretty sure he said we had a few more days.”

She grabbed his arm as he turned to strut away, ready to take on the next contender. “What did you mean he said we had a few more days?”

“Before you go back to work, right?” He turned back to look at her, his eyes wide and innocent. “You don’t go back to work until Monday, right?”

“Right,” she agreed.

“So, I’ll find him tomorrow sometime. Like I said, it can wait.”

“Great,” she replied. “Can’t wait.”

All in all, she thought later, it really didn’t matter. She’d already kissed the stupid frog once, and while it hadn’t been pleasant, it hadn’t really been as gross as she’d expected either. She’d just have to make sure the frog was clean before she kissed it.

The rest of the afternoon and evening she laughed and joked with her friends. They still hadn’t had many opportunities to all be together that summer, but it did seem like her friends were enjoying the break the holiday afforded them all. Between Dan and Mart starting new jobs, Brian’s school, and even her own summer internship, the times they were all together were becoming scarcer and scarcer. It scared her when she realized that after this summer, all of the Bobwhites would be at least 21 years old. All of them of legal age and adults in the eyes of many. Adulting, she’d decided, was not everything she’d expected it to be. Sure, she could stay out as late as she wanted, but she rarely had anyone she could stay out with.

It wasn’t until late in the afternoon the next day, that Bobby reappeared with the frog. “I finally found Kingsley,” he told Trixie. “You can kiss him whenever you’re ready.”

“I might never be ready,” she mumbled.

“Hey!” He was clearly offended. “You said you have to be able to honor bets. You said –”

“I know, I know,” she interrupted. “Don’t worry, I’ll honor my part of the bet. That doesn’t mean I’m excited about it. Where did you find Kingsley?”

“Down by the mud slide at the brook,” he answered. “Do you want me to wash him off?”

“That would be nice,” she replied. “And make sure no one else is around. The last person I want to know is that I’m going around kissing frogs is Mart.”

“You know he isn’t home,” Bobby retorted. “He’s at work and he never gets home before Dad.”

Trixie nodded. She did know this. Mart had graduated in May and after a brief break to move his things out of his college apartment and back to Sleepyside, he’d started to work in the city as a translator for a large publishing company. It was shaping up to be a job he was really enjoying, and Trixie knew the only reason he was living at home and commuting to work was to save money to buy Honey an engagement ring.

“Christmas,” she muttered to herself. “He’ll do it at Christmas.” She and Diana were still haggling over the latest bet. They were trying to agree on specifics and terms on which one of the three of them would be engaged first.

Bobby returned shortly with the frog partially wrapped in an old handkerchief. He handed the frog to Trixie and looked at her expectantly. “This time I want to actually see you kiss him,” he told her, not backing down.

She nodded and took a deep breath. She studied the frog and frowned. The last time she would have sworn that the frog was completely hairless, but this time she noticed the very fine red hair along what she would refer to as the frog’s neck. She pointed. “Has that always been there?”

Bobby nodded. “I told you Kingsley had red hair and you laughed at me, remember.”

She remembered the conversation very well. There was no point in admitting she was wrong so she decided the best thing to do was to get it over with. She brought the frog up towards her mouth and brushed her lips along the top of its head.

She blinked as the frog let out a husky croak. “Trriiibbbixie!”

She shook her head. Her mind was playing tricks on her. The frog’s croak sounded almost exactly like her name.

“Did you hear that?” Bobby said excitedly. “Kingsley said your name. Kiss him again, Trixie, please!”

But now, Trixie was well and truly done with kissing frogs. “No way, Bobby Belden. The bet was one kiss, and you got it! Now I have to go brush my teeth!”

She leaped to her feet and stalked away, rubbing her mouth with her hand furiously.

He watched as she disappeared into the house and looked sadly down at the frog. “I’m sorry, Kingsley, I tried. How many more days did you say you had?”

“Riiibbbitwo,” the frog croaked.

“That’s what I thought. Maybe tomorrow I can think of a reason. Maybe I can convince her to make another bet? Don’t go far, okay? I need to be able to find you easy.”

“Robbbiiitt,” the frog croaked again. “Ribbbittyou.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome,” Bobby replied. “Stay close.”

He followed his sister into the house.