With Exceptions

I'm guessing that the first kiss experience excludes the first kiss given to me by my mother, which I am sorry that I have forgotten by now. As for romantic kisses, I remember it well. I was 12 and her name was Allison. She was my first girlfriend. It was the kind of relationship begun with a note: 'Will you go out with me? Check yes or no.' It had a couple of hand-drawn, appropriately-labeled checkboxes below. She checked 'Yes.'



Our first date was delightful. I went to her house. Her parents had gotten a new car with power adjustable seats. We sat in the car for a while, making the seats go up, down, backwards, and forwards. Then we went in to watch TV for a while. Soon it was time for dinner, and her mom politely told me to go home. Allison leaned in for a kiss as we stood at the door saying our goodbyes. I got the feeling that I wasn't her first. I remember how delightfully soft her lips were against mine. I was hooked. I am not sure I have ever or ever will have a kiss as innocent or sweet as that again.



I don't think we had another date, or even another kiss. The cruel rigours of Grade 6 peer pressure soon tore us apart. The memory of that first kiss will linger on my lips as a very special one, though, even as others arrive to blanket it.