Love part 2

I’m almost certain I started counting the days to the next dance where I thought I might run into this boy? Young man? Love of my life?  I’d learned that he set aside Saturday night for bowling with a friend. Ridiculous! Who bowls on Saturday night? In my opinion, Saturday was for dancing. Of course, so were Thursday, Friday, and Wednesday if possible. College classes were a necessary evil. So, a week until I would see David again. I’m sure I planned my outfit with more care the next week, but a GAP girl with modish tendencies and a passion for Converse really finds herself limited when trying to attract the opposite sex.

I was not disappointed. He was as adorable as I remembered! Those eyes, under those eyebrows! Smitten was an understatement. Also, a very attractive mouth; kissable would be a good description. We discussed a Halloween party coming up that we all intended to attend. My heart fluttered at the idea of seeing him again, knowing the time and place. A friendship began to develop, chatting with our common friends. He was hiding behind the DJ tables, and I wasn’t afraid to join him there to drag him out onto the dance floor. (Those two years in Alaska had been as a missionary and girls were a no-no.) He was nervous after this hiatus. I was safe. However, a safe friend was not who I wanted to be, but if it meant I was the one dancing with him, it was a means to an end.

Thanks to my dad, I had a job at Radio Shack. He required me to get a job. He got me the job. It paid for my entertainment expenses and filled my days. I probably spent more time at Radio Shack daydreaming to the music than selling personal computers, which were still somewhat of a novelty. Between school and the Shack, I thought I was pretty busy, but I was definitely glad that I had money for gas, movies, dancing, and eating out with my friends.

I was going through an interesting stage. I would only eat meat at home (my parents’ house). I decided restaurant meat was gross, and I wouldn’t eat it. Desserts were also off limits. I tended toward the plump, and desserts made that worse. Not eating dessert meant I could sometimes share clothes with my 5’2” best friend. This came up one night after a dance when a bunch of us piled into Paul’s dad’s big old whale of a car and headed over to Denny’s, one of the few places open at one in the morning. I ordered a Pepsi (What in the world made me think that soda was better for me than meat or desserts? But, such is the mind of a 19 yr old.) and Mary ordered a brownie sundae. So did David. I sipped at the pepsi as Mary tried to tempt me with the gooey chocolateyness of her sundae. I really wasn’t tempted at all. One, I don’t really care for chocolate ice cream (which her stirred up concoction had become) and two, I had honestly talked myself into thinking desserts didn’t really taste all that good. David joined in the fray. He couldn’t believe that I wouldn’t want a bite of chocolatey goodness. While I hated to disappoint him, it did at least draw his attention my way. Silly, teenage antics.

The night of the Halloween party arrived and Mary and I dressed up as who knows what. I had one thing on my mind, seeing David. The party was at a house out in the country with a haunted house in the barn. Trying to be subtle, I scanned the crowd. No sign of my mind-altering crush. I tried to look cheerful and enjoy myself, but I really was consumed by the idea of seeing this boy-man. (What is a 22 year old?) I wandered the yard, scanning the mummies, cowboys, and silliness that a bunch of college-age kids engage in o(n the 31^st of October. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to look into the deep-set (blue/green?) eyes of the best looking zombie I had ever seen! My heart leapt! He had been asked (because of the great makeup/costume job his sister had done) to join the haunted house crew and had been inside. We talked and laughed and I’m sure he had no idea that my heart was pounding in my throat. He asked Mary and I if we wanted to come see the Blazer that his parents had bought for him to start his new job as a runner (errand boy) for the law firm that his uncle worked for. Of course we headed out to the dirt road where he had parked and I managed, as I had for the past couple of weeks, to sit beside him in the car. We admired and fussed over his new to him vehicle; he was obviously excited by the purchase. The flirting had begun, but I wondered if this sweet, adorable boy was directing this attention toward me, or my ever adorable friend Mary. I went home, elated but nervous with a stomach full of butterflies and a surely a wistful look in my eye.