First Date

My first date normally is in the top of “worst date ever” category. Sure, it started out pleasant enough. I was in a performing group in High School and was able to participate in the Winter Olympics. One of the perks for being a performer was the free stuff. We got jackets and crystal obelisks as well as a really neat bronze medal, thingy. (Not a real bronze medal but made by the same company.) All of those perks came after we played at dozens of venues and missed a lot of school. (Not really a perk. There was a lot of makeup homework. And some of the other teachers weren’t pleased. If I remember correctly, I missed fourteen days of school in a three week period. Granted sometimes it was only part of a day. Something like that anyway.)

One of the first perks was every member of the group got two tickets to the pre-dress rehearsal of the opening ceremonies. I was sixteen, the family approved age to begin dating, and really excited. There was a fellow I knew from another school that I wanted to take. It worked out well that he drove to my school and we carpooled to the city with the rest of the group. We used a park and ride, took the train in to a food court where we had dinner and then rode up to the stadium.

I won’t explain everything that happened that night at the event; I’ll save that for another post.

The first problem arose when we realized that not everyone in the group sat together. The tickets were for two different sections of the stadium. We weren’t too worried because we were still with other members of our group. Trying to use the public transportation to get back to the park and ride was awful. We were separated from most of our group. The train was so crowded that we couldn’t get off at the right station and had to get off at a later station then ride back.

When we finally got back to the park and ride, everyone thought the person who initially gave us a ride would be there waiting. They weren’t. We were left in a dark parking lot while everyone else went home thinking we were with someone else.

We decided to head back to the city and hang out at the mall while we figured out a ride home. Since I asked him, I called my parents. The phone was busy. (My dad was hooking up a new computer and didn’t realize he was connected to the internet, which at that time tied up the phone line.) I knew there was a bus we could take that would drop us off at the high school where my date’s truck was parked.

When I went looking for a bus schedule, my date called his family for a ride home. I had no luck and came back. My date, solemn faced, explained that his aunt would pick us up. He then went on to explain that his mother was currently in the hospital. She had a brain tumor and was undergoing an operation. He had no idea before then.

I didn’t know what to say. I mean, what could I say? His aunt gave me a ride home and I never saw him again.

So, I started my new job last week. (By the way, it’s totally awesome.) My first day included attending the weekly meeting. As I was looking around at all the new faces in my department, I paused. Sitting across the room from me was a very familiar face.

My first date.

Part of me really wants to know how his mother is doing but I just don’t know how to bring it up. I haven’t seen him in nearly a decade. What if the surgery didn’t go well? I’ve been told to snoop around his desk to see if he has a family photo, or to casually ask “How’s your family?” But, I just can’t bring myself to do it. We talked a few days later and explained to some of our co-workers how we knew each other. (We were in marching band together yet attended different schools.)

The date was never mentioned.