Questions, questions No. 1

So y’all remember this book that I delve into from time to time to do a blog post. I advised Marika to get a copy for her blog, because it could provide material for-almost-ever.

She tried to find it to no avail, and she found THIS one to use in its place.

That cover is prettier than mine!

The last time I did an errand, I spied this one. Okay, sure, there are a thousand more questions, but her cover is still prettier than mine. I will deal. I can admire beauty wherever it is.

I randomly selected a question, and it is: 1571: Have you ever been stood up for a date?

One occasion comes to mind. My parents had already made me transfer high schools, and I was utterly miserable. On one fall Friday night, I was given permission to go back to Town 1 (site of first high school) to spend the night with Lynne. However, I also was supposed to meet The Boyfriend at their school’s football game. The plan was, my girlfriends wouldn’t go to the game and would do something else, and I’d go to the game and meet The Boyfriend, and after our date ended, he’d drop me at Lynne’s house to spend the night.

It was cold, and I sat in the stands alone, and he never showed up. I was fifteen. No driver’s license, no car. No friends at home to call to come get me. (And I would NEVER have called my parents; they’d have never let me leave the house again.)

I thought I’d have to walk the few blocks to Lynne’s house on a cold, dark night alone. Except…

Don’t forget Riley was a drummer in the school band. He saw me and knew what had happened. He and his girlfriend Carol swooped me up and put me in the back of his warm car, and we headed for Lynne’s, even though only her parents were home.

Was Carol mad because he came to my rescue? You be the judge.

Carole King’s song “It’s Too Late” came on the radio, and I began to sob in the back seat.

“No, Riley, DO something!” she begged. “This is so sad.”

So we rode around and talked and as always, Riley made me laugh. Carol was generous to share him with me that night, and by the time they dropped me at Lynne’s, though my heart was still broken, I wasn’t crying anymore.

Decades later, it was Carol who called me to talk about Riley after he died, even though we were never friends (they were older than me, and I was no longer at their school) and she hadn’t seen me for years. She married one of Riley’s best friends, and she remained a good friend to Riley through the years.

She is still one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.

Though I wish she would, Carol will never see this, nor will The Boyfriend, but I forgave him (I don’t even remember his reason for not showing up) and I still think of him with nothing but affection.