OK. OK. I've heard it loud and clear....you want me to finish my novel. Well its been difficult as my new work life and personal life has interfered with my writing. So... here is another snap-shot from Olivia's senior year in high school.
“Livvy, you should marry a doctor someday,” said mom the morning of my high school graduation.
“Why’s that?” I asked back annoyingly as any teenager would.
“Your spending habits are out of control. Look at all of these clothes,” she screamed while waving the new blouse I just purchased.
“Why a doctor? Can’t I just marry a rich man,” I responded to her cleverly.
“A doctor is rich, intelligent and doesn’t have time to cheat,” she uttered snidely.
“Don’t worry mom, I’m not going to marry a cheater.”
“You won’t have those looks and that body, forever honey,” she went on.
“So what are you really getting at mom?” I finally confronted her about this ridiculous conversation.
“Just be careful with boys. Don’t get too serious too fast. Go to college and make something of yourself. Be independently wealthy and don’t rely on someone else to take care of you,” she warned.
“What the hell is she talking about? Is this her way of approaching the ‘sex’ talk with me?” I thought. I grabbed the new blouse from her hands and stormed off to my room.
Pondering the conversation that I had with my Mom twenty-two years ago, I began to think about my life and the quest for how important being an independent woman was to me all those years ago. Although I wouldn’t admit it then, my mother’s words did have a profound effect on many of the decisions I made in my young adulthood.
At the time, little did mom know that I was currently semi-dating a pre-med student from the University of Minnesota. She had encouraged me for months to date boys other than my boyfriend, Ben, who had been away on an exchange trip to Europe during my entire senior year of high school. As a typical teenager, I wouldn’t give my mother the satisfaction of knowing I’d been dating other guys the entire year Ben had been away.
I met Christopher, Dr. Chris, as Amanda called him, the night of the contest. Amanda stayed overnight at my house to console me after I didn’t receive the star rating from the asshole judge that made a pass at me that terrible day during my senior year of high school.
“We need to party tonight,” said Amanda as she went through my closet to pick out a sexy outfit for me.
“Tonight, we’re in search of mature men. College men,” said Amanda.
Amanda worked at Target which was a frequent stop for many U of M students. She received an invitation the night prior to attend a party at Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) from a guy named Tom. Unlike my job at the boutique, Amanda’s job at Target was a goldmine in providing us with an endless stream of dates and party invites. Tom told Amanda to meet him at the fraternity house at 9:00 pm. We told my parents that we were going to hang out at our friend Jackie’s house that evening to watch movies. We begged my mom to let us stay out until 1:00 am. Thank goodness, she consented.
Amanda drove us to the fraternity house. Like other parties at the U of M, it was easy to find the house, but not as easy to park. After looking for a spot for about twenty minutes, we parked about five blocks away from the house which made it a very long and cold walk for a March night. Once we reached the house, we opened the front door and went inside. The fraternity house was dark and crowded with college students. The music extremely loud. The bass rumbled from the stereo located in the basement where the bar was setup. Amanda said, “How are we ever going to find Tom?” Just then we were immediately greeted by two guys.
“Hello ladies how are you this evening?” one asked.
“Are you looking for someone?”
“Yes,” said Amanda.
“We are meeting Tom Johnson tonight. Have you seen him?”
“Sure, I’ll go get him for you,” said a tall, thin blonde guy. Before the blonde could come back to us, we were greeted by a few other guys. They were armed with cold beers for the two of us.
The two guys were very cute, but I knew that Amanda did not want to irritate Tom by flirting with them. I noticed one of the guys staring at me. He was tall with dark wavy hair and striking blue eyes. When I looked at him, he smiled. I smiled back and looked away in my typical shy manner. Then, Tom came over to greet us.
“Amanda, I‘m so glad that you made it,” said Tom. Very politely, he introduced himself to me.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Olivia. I’m glad that you could come tonight.” Tom turned to his friends and introduced us to them.
“This is my younger brother, Christopher,” he said.
“Fraternity brother or biological brother?” I asked as I smiled Christopher. He was the young man that was staring at me.
“Both,” said Christopher.
After the introductions, Tom asked us, “Would you like a tour of the house?”
“Sure,” said Amanda quickly. Tom took her by the hand and led her through the crowded living room.
Christopher placed his hand on my back and said, “After you?”
*****
That's all for now. Comment if you want more....I need a push to keep writing.
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