The Hills That Divide by Robert T. Cohen

Author:Robert T. Cohen [Cohen, Robert T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: -
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2020-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

Sarah’s Cloud

In 1913, Sarah was fourteen years old when her uniquely formed cloud rolled over the Kahn family.

When children reach their teenage years, parents expect changes in their bodies. A boy will start to grow hair almost everywhere except on the palms of his hands and feet. Hair becomes an early warning signal for ravenous appetite, deepening of the voice, growth, and increased muscle mass. It’s the physical transformation from a little boy to a young man.

When a girl reaches puberty, there are also very distinguishable changes in her body, including a menstrual cycle; pubic, leg, and underarm hair; and development of breasts and shapely hips. Like a caterpillar that transforms into a butterfly, a young girl morphs into a young lady. Most parents, including Jack and Rose, are reasonably prepared for these physiological changes. Most often, however, they are blindsided by changes in personality and temperament. Sarah Kahn unexpectedly appeared to have declared war on her parents. The first of many opening salvos was discharged on the otherwise tranquil shores at Salisbury Beach.

For the ten-week summer season at Salisbury Beach, the Kahns were able to afford to rent a small, but comfortable summer bungalow on the newly-developed North End Boulevard in Salisbury Beach. Its tiny, but adequate, kitchen, two bedrooms, one bath, and family room with a view of the ocean were all they needed to enjoy the pleasures of having the sand and surf right outside their front door.

While Jack worked during the day at Merrimack Shoe, Rose was in charge of Nathan, Sarah, and Ben. A typical summer day started at 8:00 a.m., when Nathan and Sarah reluctantly got out of bed. Ben, with boundless energy and passion, was usually up and running around the cottage hours before his siblings opened their eyes. Once awake, Nathan and Sarah would throw on their bathing suits, fight for the bathroom, brush their teeth, inhale their breakfast of cereal and milk, and then run out of the house to meet their respective friends. They would not be seen again until dinner, assuming a friend’s parent provided lunch. Brother Ben, being only six years old, spent most of his day by his mother’s side.

Sarah’s routine was not filled with play, but rather with the drama of teenage relationships. Teenage boys were turning some of their attention away from sports and towards the shapely and errotic bodies of teenage girls. Teenage girls, including Sarah, dedicated almost all of their free time talking about teenage boys and, of course, about other girls. Most of the boy/girl interactions took place sitting on beach blankets or on a friend’s front porch.

“You are not going to the beach looking like a woman of the street,” barked an indignant Rose while pointing the accusatory finger at Sarah’s face and staring at her altered bathing suit. Bathing suits in the 1910’s were very conservative. Reflecting the Puritan values of the Victorian era, they looked like a sailor’s uniform for a woman, covering almost the whole body from head to toe.

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