Marty & Me

Two kids, Marty and Jenny, had just turned 12 and had been going through hard times. Friends since forever, their relationship took a surprising turn, maybe towards something more...Every story has its own time and place. This narrative takes place in the Tennessee River Valley in the summer of 1962 and reflects the language and 'moeurs' (that's French for 'customs and manners') of a Southern family and their New England relatives.Right off the bat, when they first met at 7 years old, Marty and Jenny became best friends. As time went on, despite seeing each other only one week a year, their friendship never wavered. Month in and month out, they wrote to each other (long distance phone calls at the time were insanely expensive, especially between Nashville and Boston). In their letters, they shared their innermost thoughts. Even things boys and girls don't usually talk about to each other. These tête-à-tête (that's French for 'intimate conversations') were fascinating to both, seeing as Marty grew up as one of three brothers (with no sisters), and Jenny, one of three sisters (with no brothers). Beyond just getting the points-of-view of the opposite sex, though, they simply loved learning things from each other. To them, that their ways of thinking were so different, was a definite bonus.Marty was a brainiac with a phenomenal memory. He was able to remember every word of every book he ever read. Unheard of at the time, he started taking college classes when he was 9 years old. However, he had Asperger's Syndrome and was socially clumsy, to say the least. Jenny, though not on Marty's scholarly level, was brilliant in her own right. More important though, was her incredible insight and empathy, unusual in one so young. Especially with Marty, she was was patient, but dogged in helping him on his social skills, teaching him figurative expressions (in his words, 'non-literal language'), explaining non-verbal communications (like facial expressions) and coaching him on 'dumbing down' his professorial vocabulary when talking to kids his own age. To cut a long story short, she was his mentor and was passionately devoted to him. He returned the favor, answering her questions from his eclectic and encyclopedic knowledge of anatomy, history, languages, mathematics, and psychology (a few among his many interests).Note from the editor: This book aimed at mature adolescents (16+) and adults. While it doesn't contain profanity (except for some mild swearwords in French) nor erotic material, the narratives do contain frank discussions of sexuality (using only correct terminology and no slang terms). If this material would be upsetting, this book is not for you.