When watching "Christine" tonight,(the sitcom, not the demonic car movie) I had a moment. A bittersweet memory of love. In the television show, Christine has a serious crush on one of her son's teachers,a very attractive Mr. Harris, and when ever she comes in sight of him, she is incapable of putting together an articulate sentence. All she can do is stare at him,stutter, and ended up looking and sounding like a complete buffoon.Well, in this episode, it comes out that the school has a rule against teachers dating parents,and yet,Mr. Harris would date her if he could. After an awkward situation, the show ends on a very sweet moment, and I was reminded of a past flame of mine.
It began strangely enough,on a Friday night.One of those nights where people just started dropping in,and before you know it, you have a party going on.Before I knew it, Sherry and Patty showed up.Both good friends,and as such parties grow, they'd brought a new friend. Or,to be more precise, Patty's new friend. She introduced us. Or at least, tried to. She only got out,"I'd like you to meet....." and he walked in,thrust an ice-cold can of beer in my hand, kissed me on the mouth, and said "Hello B****! I'm Barry!" Well! I was immediately insulted, but it did not escape my notice that he was very good looking,with blond hair and piercing blue eyes, and tall with a nice build. Since he was a guest in my home, I did not respond in kind to his insult, but neither did I fall all over myself to be hospitable. I offered him a place to sit,and went about the business of seeing to my other guests,knowing that he would have no problem in finding someone to talk to, or introducing himself to others. I recall the evening as being most amusing. We ordered out pizza, and had Blue come out to play and everyone was charmed and fascinated by Blue....even Barry. (see photo album for picture of blue) And why not? Blue could swear and cuss with the best of them,for everyone who came to see us taught him a new word or phrase,and he was like a little sponge. Once out of someone's mouth, he had it,and repeated it...forever! He would drink beer out of a bottle cap, and one whiff of pizza would send him soaring to chase anyone down to land on their piece of pie,no matter how hot it was, and steal a bite of anything,crust, cheese, pepperoni, green pepper,and then fly off to a more comfortable perch to eat it. Once he had all he wanted of that, he would walk up your arm,and talk in your ear, kiss,kiss, kiss, pretty boo! But a parakeet's ability to entertain is limited,and once he got full, and had enough exercise,wowing the crowd with his silliness and mimicry, he would choose the time to go back to his cage,and stridently demand that the lights be lowered,and his cage covered. Throughout this time,Barry had glanced at me from time to time in puzzlement,for I never spoke to him. And though others found his off-beat sense of humor uproariously funny,and hung around him in ever-widening circles,guffawing until tears streamed down their cheeks, I took every chance I could to avoid being anywhere near him, and certainly gave him no opening to speak to me,and most assuredly,never to kiss me again. I got the impression that she who had brought this creature to my house was involved with him,and so when it came time to "give the house another round" of drinks, It is she to whom I spoke, asking if they needed another drink,and when he searched out the bathroom, she gave him the nickle tour. But as the evening wore on, and my guests began to make their excuses and leave, two things occurred. Yon son and I were cleaning up, and my friend offered to give me a hand, and Barry announced that we were in need of a beer-run. To his addled brain, these things must be done in pairs,and since my pal, his girl , was otherwise occupied, he asked another girl to go along ...since it had begun to storm, and he knew she didn't want to spoil her hair by going out in the rain,and after all, they were only going six blocks to the bar,and would be back before the dishes were dry. As we did things up, we talked,and all she could talk about was Barry. He was so sharp, clever and cool. She was impressed with how smart and witty he was, all of which I had gathered over the course of the evening. I couldn't help but overhear his lucid conversation. He was a fast,erudite talker, like a cross between Dennis Miller,and George Carlin, with a dash of Jeff Goldbloom thrown in for good measure,and he delighted in toying with people's minds, throwing words and concepts at them that he perceived they hadn't the mental ability to understand, and confusing them. Obviously, I didn't like that about him, but if Patty noticed this trait, she made no mention of it. Barry was wonderful and could do no wrong. She was completely smitten. But things went from bad to worse. Once we had cleaned up from the party, and Barry and the other girl had not returned, we went to the porch/balcony and watched for him to return.By that time Yon son had long been in bed,and the rain had turned into a downpour. We watched it rain for two hours before Patty said, " I don't guess he's coming back." She had kept up a smiling facade until she came out with that,and there was no smile on her face anymore. I felt so sorry for her, but I didn't know what to do. Sherry had left hours ago, she had a date with the race-track,and I had no way to reach her when she was there. I was too tired,and had had too many drinks to drive Patty home,and she had left her car at the bar.The bar which was now closing. She was in no shape to drive...she had expected that Barry would be taking her home,and there was no question as to whether she would be content to spend the night with me. Patty always made it home every night. This night would be no different. In the end, she called a taxi,and I thought, that was the end of Barry and Patty. But I was wrong. What began as an off-the-cuff- party, turned into a round of parties that never seemed to end. The next day, just as Yon son and I returned home from doing laundry, ,Sherry and her daughter, Patty and Barry showed up, bearing gifts and goodies,and asked if we wouldn't like to come to Barry's for dinner. A resounding "No" trembled on my lips, but I caught Yon son's eyes,knowing it was slim pickings in our larder, and a whole week before payday,and here was an offer of another night of fun, and food and time spent with friends, with the exception of only one person. Could I deny my child a decent dinner, because I didn't like one person? And so we went. And this beast whom had insulted me with the first words out of his mouth to me, spent the evening being charming, and fun,cooking mouthwatering food and setting a beautiful table, only to destroy that illusion by tossing dinner rolls from one end of the table to the other, to the hilarity of the children, and Sherry, Patty,and Sherry's future husband Scotty. And after dinner was over we snuggled together in leather couches and chairs and watched movies,and ate bowls of buttered popcorn and drank ice cold soft drinks until the children were asleep,and could be put in the guest room, and then broke out the beer.Then we sat around the big kitchen table and talked,and drank, and friends from the night before drifted in and out of the house,and every once in a while someone would say, "there's a party in the basement," and some would get up and go downstairs...all but Sherry and I, for we didn't know what they were talking about...we figured we were already having a fine party right where we were. We played some board games,and then a little cards, but mostly we talked, and sometimes it was silly and we laughed, and then our conversation turned serious and profound, and we were awed by what deep thinkers some had become all of a sudden, but then the mood would change, and those that were couples would pair off,and go into other rooms, and often I would be the only one sitting in the kitchen,but not for long. Barry would come in, and look at me, and instead of getting two more beers as he had intended, he would go back to his room,and call Patty to come out, and they would return to the kitchen. Before long Sherry and Scotty would join us, and it would be decided that we should take the children and go home,but that we should get together all the earlier the next day, and grill out,and so it went. All through spring and into summer,and then on to fall we spent together. When I was working, Barry and Patty and Sherry spent looking for jobs. But Friday nights through Sunday evenings we would all go to Sherry's or Barry's, or my house,eating sumptuously, drinking and talking and laughing,and although we didn't know it, getting to know each other, really well. Somewhere along the line, one day would slip into another, to the point where we didn't really pay much attention where one ended and another began. Until I left my office job,and went to work at the florists. That is when my life changed. Vividly I remember the day, when to save a huge floral arrangement, I fell, twisting,and broke my back. I tried to continue working, but I couldn't. The pain got in the way of everything I tried. Sitting got to hurt too bad. Standing, my legs went numb.There was no such thing as a comfortable position. Finally, I had to stop working. That winter was the most miserable time of my life, until I realized that everything else was messed up, but my hands still worked. So, I taught myself to type. I got an old Royal manual typewriter,and started writing that book I had always threatened to write. And, I wrote it. Hours and hours sitting at the desk, pounding away on that old machine, while my legs and feet got so cold I had to have help to get up and walk. Sherry and Barry came over and checked on me day after day. they brought me ribbon,typing paper and carbon paper,helped me keep my telephone on,and called me often.And then one day I got an answer back from a publisher. They accepted my book,and sent me a contract to publish it. I was so elated, I cried. I called Barry and Sherry,and they came over, with champagne and all sorts of wonderful stuff. Barry was so surprised he couldn't keep the shocked look off his face,and he told me how proud he was of me,and he held me in his arms, and shivered and shook while he expressed his feelings for me. Sherry was gone to the race-track,and Yon son was sound asleep in his bed,and it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't heard from or about Patty for a very long time. I felt emotions surging through me that were so unexpected,I pushed him away.
"What about Patty?"I said." I know she loves you."
We did a lot of talking that night. About love,and about friends and family. About loyalty,and betrayal.About my vow never to do to another woman what had been done to me.And, when he left that night, I went to the balcony,and said," Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
And from his car, he stopped in the middle of the street, leaned out his car window, and called up to me, so loudly that all my neighbors could hear" It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!!"Both arms outstretched, with a crack in his voice.
Then I watched as he slowly drove away.
We never kissed,beyond that first hateful time,even though he knew I loved him, and I knew that he loved me. We shall always love each other.
But I kept my vow.
OUI?
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