Sometimes a few words can get the ball rolling...

A suburban backyard in 1981. Nothing out of the ordinary; hedges neatly trimmed, shed door opened, the smell of roses in full bloom nuzzling the edible smell of coconut tanning oil. It was summer and “the living was easy”. Two girlfriends in bathing suits that were much more forgiving on teenaged bodies. Old school beach chairs that left indelible red marks and sagged with every turn of the body. A coke in an orange Tupperware cup, melting the ice under the hot August sun. Springsteen on the boom box vying for air time with the traffic on the busy street…

She turned to me and asked me about a certain friend of mine. A ‘boy’ friend that had pretty much occupied my every strain of thought for close to a year. Why, she wondered, weren’t we dating? I didn’t have an answer to that but I stumbled to try and find one. Truth was, I wasn’t sure myself. She wanted to tell me why it was a good idea for this boy and I to get together. And to be honest, I wanted to listen to her reasoning. This wasn’t an ordinary girl, she was one of those amazing girls that other young women look up to. She had it together. Beautiful, smart and special. Where she walked, magic followed. When she spoke that day, I hung on every word and it all made sense to me. And then, between the street sounds and the music she said the words that truly changed my life: “I wish someone would look at me the way that he looks at you…”

Two weeks later under a crescent moon on a beach overlooking the Boston horizon this ‘boy’ who had been my best friend for so long leaned forward to kiss me. And me, the shy girl who had been given a dose of courage on that earlier summer day kissed him back.

Almost thirty summers have come and gone. Summer roses have died and been born again. Coconut oil replaced by sunscreen for the kids. Yet there are times when I look at him when he doesn’t know and I still see what my friend saw all those many years ago. And I am young again...

3/15/09
For: Maureen (the cool friend) and Ken (the best friend/husband)