Old Girlfriends

Old Girlfriends and Pretty Sisters

I was on the phone last night visiting with an old friend. We have been able to lift one another up when life has us down. There I was listening and sharing, she was listening and sharing. It is good to catch up with a friend and feel accepted, never judged. To cry and laugh until you cry again. That is how this friend makes me feel. She happens to be an old girlfriend from College days at BYU. I never did actually attend BYU but I did enjoy the benefits of a college environment. I was a working boy and didn’t have any bills. I worked full time and played the rest of the time. I fished and camped and dated and had great fun. I had my truck and my motorcycle and enjoyed each with a zest for adventure. I kept my motorcycle in the back of my truck. It was a 1950 ford with a 3 speed on the column. It was older than me but I didn’t care. When the truck broke down, I would put that 2 x 6 board on the end of the truck and roll my bike down. It was a great life.

This old friend from commented to me that I had never kissed her during our dates. I had forgotten that detail. Never kissed the girl? Boy, what was I thinking back then? She was real pretty, still is. She told me that she had done every thing to prime the pump and allow me to kiss her. I kind of forgot that part too. She said that she had never had this problem with any other boys and wondered what was wrong with me. I had to think about this memory for a few weeks. There! There it is, my memory. Sometimes my hard drive gets overwhelmed with overload and it takes me a little while to access the information. I remember now. She was cute and curvy, way pretty, and had a great personality. But, she felt more like my sister than my date, it wouldn’t have been proper for me to kiss my sister.

Years have passed, 30 plus years ago. I like the internet. You can find answers for all of life’s questions. You can even find an old girlfriend. That’s what I did, with the little bit of information I could dredge from my ancient files. I did it. I found her. She was married and doing well in her work. Had kids and grandkids. That was 8 months ago. We are good friends now and we laugh and cry and help each other in hard times. 

Then there was Lori, I was fresh back from a 2 year assignment to the East coast. I was now working full time and playing. I lived in a student apartment and there was always something going on. Sometimes I would get hungry and knock on a door, knowing it was a girls apartment, and take them all out for a hamburger. It was great fun. Then there was Lori. I met Lori on a job. I had gone to her house to do some remodeling work. Blond hair, cute, curvy, a little dingy, but she was cute. I asked her out. Boy was she fast. A little to fast, but I was young and dumb and inexperienced in romance. About our second date, she gave me a present. All wrapped up nice and neat. This is great, I thought. This girl is giving me presents, I will have to send her a flower tomorrow when I get a chance. I unwrapped that gift ... I didn’t know what to do. I was a little embarrassed, and so I thanked her. Then I took her home. I didn’t call for a couple of weeks. I am a little bit of a joker and so when I called her I played a joke on her. I told her that the past 2 weeks had been filled with prayer and fasting. I needed to get some answers about life and the direction I wanted to go. I told her that I really needed to talk to her. I wanted to ask her a question. A really important question.

My joke really hurt her. I felt bad when I saw her reaction, but I couldn’t take it back. It was already out. She started crying, there were a lot of tears. I apologized and left feeling pretty bad about my poor joke. Two more weeks passed and I called her on the phone. I announced my name when her brother answered the phone. 

She can’t come to the phone. 

Why not? 

She just can’t. 

It will only take a minute, I need to apologize to her again. 

She is getting married next week. Don’t call again.  

I was stunned. Huh? What had just happened? I put down the phone on the floor. In those days, it was connected to the wall, and you had to walk over to the wall and hang up the handset. Soon, the operator was telling me to hang up and check the number again, and then that terrible beep, beep, beep. Somewhere in all those annoying beeps, everything went silent. It hit me like a ton of bricks on the head. It unfolded like the plot of a Perry Mason mystery ... Now I know... 

I threw away that bottle of sensual body massage oil. It had a note attached. I didn’t read it. I got her message. It was plain and clear. Lori was pregnant and looking for a husband. Little did I know that I was in her sights. It was hunting season and the season was almost over and she needed to bag her game. I was her game.

Looking back and reflecting, I do a lot of that now. My life has been perfect for me. I am beginning to see that. Unseen guardians watching over me. 85 miles an hour on the freeway on my off road bike with knobby off road tires. Two semi’s. Two lane freeway. Yep. Right between them at 85. Speed was 55 back then. Angels watching over me. My angels have been busy with me. I know I have challenged their patience. My nine lives? I lost count some years ago. And Lori? So glad for dumb, poor jokes. I guess we are even, She was playing a bad joke on me and I was trying to do the same to her. You get what you put out. My good friend now? I did finally kiss her, nothing passionate, but right out in the parking lot. Yep, you guessed it. Felt like my sister again....