Young Love Was Such Dumb Love

It started with a tree, a tree between two yards that was decided to be shared between neighbors. This was of little matter to John O'Callaghan who had spent the majority of his youth climbing this tree with Jimmy, his neighbor. It was a tree to climb, a tree to hide things in and a tree that interrupted the fence running between two houses. It wasn't until Jimmy moved away and John claimed the tree all to himself that tree became an escape, a place to play and pretend. Whether it was a Pirate's Crow's nest or a rocket ship headed towards the moon. It was a perfect escape and it was all his.

Or at least until his mother fetched him from playing one day calling him into the house. She scolded him for dirtying up his clothes, despite the fact he did it everyday and she wiped some dirt from his face roughly with a washcloth then passed him a plate of cookies he looked at hungrily and raised the thin celophane until his mother snatched the plate back.

"John, this is for the new neighbors, not you," She scolded placing the plate on the counter as she searched for her pearl earrings to complete her outfit. You only got one first impression and Leanne O'Callaghan was planning on taking full advantage of that.

"But momma," John pouted sticking his bottom lip out, envious of his neighbors that were going to eat his cookies. John stomped his foot down, his tiny white sneaker barely making any noise much to his disappointment.

"John, no complaining, besides they have a kid your age, I think Mrs. Fallon said his name was Benny? Now you have someone new to play with," Mrs. O'Callaghan said as she put in her newly found earrings and grabbed the cookies. John crossed his arms stubbornly not wanting to meet some stupid kid who was eating his cookies and would probably be a doodie-head anyways. He remained silent the entire walk across the yard and to the doorway of the neighboring house.

"Hi! Oh, hello, you must be John!" A tall older woman with a short brown bob, said looking down at John, who suddenly felt threatened and ducked behind his mother holding her skirt fabric tightly in his hands. "Aw, Leanne he's adorable come on in," She said waving them both in. John nervously followed his mother into the strange new house, feeling like an explorer in a cave.

"John was excited when he found out there was another boy his age to play with," Mrs. O'Callaghan gushed holding John's hand to prevent her skirt from getting yanked down. John rolled his eyes looking up at his mother wondering where that had come from, because he definitely wasn't excited to meet some dumb kid.

"Oh, no, Benny's a girl. Short for Bennett," Mrs. Fallon said after a burst of laughter, Mrs. O'Callaghan felt a light blush go to her cheeks for the minor embarrassment. "She's a tomboy though, chases after her brothers constantly, so it's almost like having a boy playmate," She rambled on, John smelt the cookies and yearned for them.

"Oh, I'm sorry I just remembered Benny and I assumed," Mrs. O'Callaghan genuinely apologized. John had already grown bored with the grown ups and began looking around at the towering boxes that looked like mountains waiting to be climbed. John looked at his mother's hand tightly gripped to his now like a chain as opposed to a comfort. "John just turned six," Mrs. O'Callaghan pressed on with the small talk.

"Really? Benny's only four, but her older brother Max just turned six as well," Mrs. Fallon said before leading them to a kitchen table. She stood up on her toes, craning her neck looking for her children and only was able to spot them by little snickers coming from the empty cabinets. "They are trouble, let me tell you. I wished we had waited longer between them because I swear they are always up to no good. Bennett and Maxwell Fallon, you get your little booties out here right now," Mrs. Fallon ordered, letting a little southern accent trace her words. John tilted his head as the maple door swung open and two brown-haired children pushed each other out.

"Ow Max, stop it," The little girl's voice matched her small frame. She had big brown eyes and her brown hair was cropped into a bob and across the face bangs, her hair curled wildly it seemed. John reverted back to his shyness, clutching to his mother and hiding behind her slightly.

"Benny, I barely touched you, you cootie monster," Max retorted, his voice slightly lower, but just as juvenile, you could tell they were siblings when he looked over with the same brown eyes.

"I don't have cooties! Momma! Tell him!" Benny pleaded desperately with her mother. John was now intrigued, he only had his little brother Ross, who was still just a baby and therefore boring.

"Maxwell, you be nice to your sister we have guests. This is Mrs. O'Callaghan and her son, John, y'all place nicely while we make some tea alright," Mrs. Fallon sorted before John stepped out from behind his mother.

"I'll show you my trucks, I just got a new bulldozer," Max said a confident smile on his face. John agreed and they hastily ran off together, leaving Benny behind staring dumbly at where her playmates had vanished too. She chased after them tugging the summer dress her mother had forced her into and ran up the beige carpeted stairs, falling a couple times, but always getting up resilient to the carpet burns and bruises.

"You guys! Wait for me! I wanna play!" Benny yelled after them, but John and Max had reached Max's room and shut the door. Benny knocked politely, like a lady should, and waited patiently. After loosing patient thirty seconds later she began banging on the door, "Guys let me in, I wanna play, please?" She said using the magic word. The door opened a crack ands he saw two pairs of eyes viciously staring at her.

"Go away, you're a girl and you have cooties!" Max yelled at her, he looked at John and this was the sign that John knew that if he wanted Max's friendship he would have to prove himself here and now, and although he hadn't exactly convinced of cooties he turned to the brown haired girl on the brim of tears and took a sharp breath.

"Yeah, No girls allowed!" Was all John could think of, they slammed the door in Benny's face and continued to play with trucks despite the semi-muffled tears of a girl on the other side of the door. John felt bad, but he was having fun and she was just a baby while they were kids. She would make her own friends.

"Fine! I hate you both! I hope y'all both catch cooties for all I care!" She shouted through the door, her nose clogged from messy sobs. John titled his head curious of where these people came from that they talked so weird. John shrugged it off and continued to play with Max ignoring Benny's knocks ever so often as she tried to play with them. Benny and John consequently couldn't become friends due to Max.

This became a problem when Benny fell in love with the tree between their two yards. John considered it his property and she was intruding. After John's mother scolded him for not sharing it became theirs. They begun secretly playing together, venturing off to space or pretending it was a castle they had to climb to save a village, all of course behind Max's back. Both of them were careful not mention it and did not play with each other except for the tree. So you see, it started with a tree.