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"I Got Your Back"
by Connie Driscoll Miller

       My little brother and I used to wail on each other until blood ran or one of us could not get up.  Usually that would be him since I was two years older and he did not grow much until he was past sixteen.  I must admit he did get the better of me once or twice but only because he snuck up on me and took me out before I could get my licks in.  Despite our proclivity to engage in battle with each other, we drew the line at allowing others to enter the brawl.  We had each other's back.  Not that there was much back to either of us.  Sopping wet, we weighed no more than a hundred and fifty pounds between us the summer I was eleven and he was nine.
      Danny had a hat that he wore all the time.  He loved that hat, a worn out faded ball cap that advertised the local motorcycle shop where he did odd jobs from time to time.  Generally he would sweep the shop and feed the guard dog, Tronda, when the owners were away.  Danny had been around the dog since she was a pup, a fact that proved useful to us other kids when our baseball flew over the fence of the shop.  His friendliness with the dog insured him a spot on one tem or another when we would play a pick up game.  He was the only one who could climb the fence and get the ball without being eaten by the dog.
     It was one of those beautiful spring days that were made for being young.  We were all full of ourselves after a day of being cooped up in the classroom when we really needed to be outside.  The bus dropped us older kids off at the corner about the same time my brothers crowd was winding their way down from the lower elementary school.  Allen, who I had a major crush on, ran up ahead of us.  I had done everything short of writing his name on my forehead to get him to notice me, but he acted as if I did not exist.  He and a couple of his friends began to tease the smaller kids.  At first I did not pay much attention, as I was deep in conversation with my friend Carol about upcoming class elections for next year.  I was running for class secretary, about the only elected position a girl could hope to win in the late sixties. 
      "GIVE ME MY HAT!"
      My ears pricked up and I looked toward the area I had heard the demand from.  There stood my brother trying to get his hat back from Allen who held it just beyond his reach.  Danny rushed him only to have the older boy jump out of the way.  My brother went sprawling on the ground his books scattering.  Now this kid might have been my idea of the 1960's equivalent of today's Brad Pitt, but at the moment, all I felt was tremendous rage.  I started toward them increasing my speed as the situation escalated to the next level.
     "Want your hat, cry baby?" He began to toss it to another kid, both of them a good deal larger than their smaller prey.  Danny continued to go at them, usually only making contact with the ground.  By now blood and snot were streaming from his nose and he was crying.  "Here, come get it.” they taunted.  As my brother made another attempt to reclaim his property, Allen threw it into the nearby creek where it came to rest among the rocks, mud and debris.
     WHUMP!  I tackled him mid-section.  We went down, a hundred and twenty pounds of twelve year old adolescent male and eighty pounds of skinny girl.  The ground knocked the wind out of him for a moment giving me the opportunity to smack him good in the head.  He flipped me over on my back and I was real glad I had worn pants that day.  I grabbed at his hair and he pulled at mine.  By now he had the best of me, shoving my face into the dirt.
      "Stop it now." I heard Carol screaming.  "She's a girl.  You are fighting a girl."
      Allen held me down, shifting to glare at Carol.  "She's the one that won't stop, she's trying to kill me."  The pressure on my head released as he tried to stop my hands from clawing him.  He had me pinned in some sort of wrestler position.  All I could see was a tiny slice of green grass and the tan cloth that covered his thigh just an inch or so from his groin.  I did not come from a family of men for naught.  I stopped struggling, he released me slightly, and then I took a breath and made my move. I bit into his leg.
   
     "Get her off me!  AHH. AGGGH."  I held on until his pant leg tore, and then I shoved up on his groin with my fist as hard as I could.  I got to my feet as he lay on the ground screaming. Brushing off the dirt and grass, I gave a small sob as I looked down at him, took a deep long breath and stepped out of his reach to collect myself.  Without a word I walked down to the creek and climbed down after my brother's hat.  I washed it out a bit in the cold water, splashing some of it on my face to cool myself down.  Shakily I climbed back up the embankment and headed back toward the crowd.
     I ignored all the other kids as they stood gawking at me.  Carol handed me both my and my brother's books.  She must have gathered them up while I was down in the creek.  I put my arm around my brother and we headed home.
     "Thanks, Sis."  He wiped his nose across the sleeve of his shirt then put his wet hat on his head to dry.
     "No problem.” I replied.  My ears felt like they were on fire from them being hit so many times.  I knew I had to be a sight and the sleeve of my blouse was torn in to two pieces.  If we hurried, I could get cleaned up before parents came home from work and started asking questions.
     I was the talk of the school the next day.  That fight would keep me in good standing for the next year.  Even my teacher grinned when I came walking in the door.
     I opened my desk to get out my math book and found a package crudely wrapped with a note on it.
     'I am sorry for what I did.  Will you be my girlfriend?  , Love Allen'.   The package held a large box of sweet tarts.   Men!  Go figure.