I eased my head above the fence to peer into the backyard. The early morning sun tinged everything with a reddish-gold hue, but revealed the yard to be empty. So far, so good.
I found the hidden latch and let myself inside as I'd done a thousand times before. Julie Richmond and I had been friends and neighbors since we were both in kindergarten. In the decade plus of our friendship, we'd grown used to treating each other's house as our own.
But today I hadn't risen with the dawn to see Julie. In fact, I knew Julie wasn't even at home this morning. I was actually here to see Julie's mom and perhaps confirm a suspicion that I'd developed months back.
For most of my life, I hadn't really paid Julie's mom any real notice. All parents were pretty much the same. As I matured into my teens, I did note that Mrs. Richmond was prettier than most. But she always dressed just like the other moms, so I never really paid her much mind . They ut not too long ago, I heard Julie grousing about she wished she had a body more like her mom. When I'd pressed Julie for an explanation, she opened up an old photo album. Would you believe that Mrs. Richmond had been an honest-to-God swimsuit model? I had to conceal a burgeoning stiffness in my pants; Julie's mom had been a stone cold fox back in the day.
"You know, she still looks almost the same," continued Julie. "She's got jeans older than I am that she can still fit into."
I found that hard to believe. Julie's mom had never worn anything even slightly revealing in all the years I'd known her. I'd always assumed she'd been a bit plump given her clothes. If she still had a killer body, why not show it?
"Oh, she's a little self-conscious," explained Julie. "See her in these photos? She's actually a cup size smaller than me. But after she got pregnant with me, Mom's chest kind of exploded. Her breasts are so big now that she has to special order all her bras. They flatten her down a lot - you wouldn't believe how huge she is when she's not trying to hide it." Julie held her hands several inches beyond her own impressive chest as illustration. I had to cross my legs to conceal my reaction.
"Anywise, she doesn't like all the attention she got from guys, so she hides them in her frumpy mom clothes. The only time she even puts on a swimsuit these days is when she swims laps in the mornings."
That last tidbit was what had me sneaking into the Richmond backyard this morning. In the weeks since my conversation with Julie, the thought of seeing Mrs. Richmond in a swimsuit had never been far from my mind. So I'd finally picked a morning when I knew she would be home alone. Perhaps today I could see what she'd been hiding under those mom outfits all these years.