21- SO...WHAT IS LOVE? III....

Summer camp in the foothills near Fincastle, Va., in the Valley, was the best of times when a just-teenager. Camp Bethel, then, had rustic cabins, a hillside auditorium, old rec hall to play Four Square, open-sided screened dining hall near a spring and small lake, vespers were up on a high hill overlooking meadows, barns and railroad tracks in the distance, campfires around a large circle at night in the woods...and that softball field past the cabins.
My girlfiend that summer, Jen, was petite and pretty...and loyal. Scenario: The game, that afternoon, was something else. Last inning and my side was down two runs, with me coming to bat...two guys on base. Jen was yelling and cheering for us, and me, as loudly as she could. I stepped to the plate, swung and missed. And could hear some "oh no's" to the side. Strike two! More "oh no's...Ronnie was going down on a Saturday afternoon at camp, in defeat, but Jen continued to cheer her heart out...for me.
I paused and tried to remember what my Little League coach had told me earlier in the summer before coming to camp...."Watch the ball...concentrate...feel like every ounce of stength you have is going into that bat in your hands!"
I stepped up one more time...concentrated on the pitched ball and swung with all my might. BLAP!
The softball went sailing high in the air way out over leftfield. Both runners in front of me scored. I touched each base, rounding the first three and then slid into home...got up and looked around. The other team was still chasing the ball. Girls came flocking around me, the hero, and I admit, for the first time at camp, Ronnie was special! But something made me turn and glance back towards Jen.
She had left the field and was walking back down the dusty path towards the spring and mess hall. I paused, looked at the admiring girls and then back towards Jen walking away. For the first time, I guess, I understood what loyalty really was...maybe even love.
So, I took off after my pretty and petite girlfriend, catching up with her. She turned and looked up at me, with tiny tears streaming down her slightly dusty freckled face. And smiled. We shared a brief hug and a light, slightly salty kiss that tasted so good.
And that's what I am sure love is...yeah! Soon...good smells memories!