I am back in my room at Lees-McRae College.
My first ever college spring break is over.
Let’s talk about Saturday first. I worked from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. I had never worked a Saturday morning before. It was rough. I ran the front counter and served every kind of person imaginable, including a person who complained because I accidentally touched the top of her cup, a guy who couldn’t speak and could only point and mumble inarticulate words that I couldn’t understand to save my life, and one of the prettiest girls I have ever seen.
The whole time I looked forward to going over to Jenna and Tenielle’s. After I got off work, I took a shower and then arrived at their house around 3:30 p.m. The little sleep-over party was continuing. The guys didn’t sleep over though. One guy named Moises had come over earlier that morning. He is a Hispanic guy, really dark and handsome. Tenielle likes him. I can tell.
Other girls left and it was just myself, Jenna, Tenielle, Sunny, and a friend of their’s named Brandy. Brandy is a beautiful 14-year-old girl. We both got along with each other. Hopefully I will see her again in the future.
We messed around for a while, then we decided to go to the skating ranch.
I had called Christi while I was there, just to see if she was going to be home that day. She was, so I told her I was going to come and see her later in the evening. I also wanted to borrow the roller blades. So, I took the four girls to Wal-Mart because they didn’t want to go with me. Then I drove over to Christi’s and she was out on the porch with her mom and dad. They were scraping old paint off of the front door so they could repaint it.
A few minutes after I arrived, Hank and Patti went in and it was just Christi and I. We talked for 30 minutes. I can’t remember exactly what we talked about, but we generally talked about the past, the future, her brothers, our friends, and ourselves. I got the roller blades and told her that I would be back tonight to drop them off.
So, I picked up the girls; they were happy to see me. We soon learned, once we got to the skating ranch, that each of us was a dollar short, so we went back to Jenna and Tenielle’s house. We ate ice cream, played Nintendo, and talked. Some boy kept calling Jenna, so I got on the phone and said, “This is the operator, deposit 50 cents or hang up in three minutes!”
He hung up. We all got a good laugh. Sunny had to leave, so for the last hour, it was just myself, plus Jenna and Tenielle and Brandy.
They are so wonderful! We always have the greatest time together. Nothing can separate us. Not even a three and a half hour drive.
At 9:45 p.m., I gave them all hugs and said a short goodbye, thinking I would see them again in the morning.
When I got to Christi’s, they were watching The Client. Two older guys were in the living room with Christi and Hank. Christi introduced me to them and I took a seat. Once the movie was over, the guys said goodbye and left. I was 11 o’clock, so I figured I would do the same. I stood up and Hank said, “Where are you going?” and he pushed me back down in the chair. And then he left!
Christi asked if I had fun skating and I told her we didn’t go and why. She asked about how I know Jenna and Tenielle and also how old they were. She had known them two years ago, but I had never met them then. I told her about how wonderful our friendship is. Then we started talking about movies and college. She talked about her brothers some more. I told her about myself and the way I thought. She told me that I was scaring her because she thought and did things the exact same way I did. She told me about some of her views. We talked about the past and the churches we attend now. I told her that her dad had once encouraged me to ask her out. She was shocked. We then talked about the jobs we had had in the past. I told her about Charlie and she told me about how her and Ryan used to be and how they are now; not as close it seems.
All in all, we talked about change. That one constant element that floods our lives: change.
After what felt like only a few brief moments, I asked her what time it was. She said, “1:20 a.m.”
I got home at 2:00 in the morning. In fact it was this morning.
Earlier today at church, I talked to Marcus and Cheryl a little bit. I said a few words to Pastor Steve. And I waited patiently for Jenna and Tenielle to show up, but they never did. When I got back to the house I called them and they said they simply didn’t wake up in time. So I said my goodbyes, but with Jenna and Tenielle, I am always certain that I will see them again.
Henry, Mom, and Nate brought me here and we all went to church together at Heaton tonight. It was nice to see Charlie and Dan and Clifton and Molly and Crystal and everybody else.
After my parents left, Charlie and Dan and I watched an old Andy Griffith movie called, No Time for Sergeants.
And now I am in my room.
Saturday, March 18th, 1995 was a wonderful day!
Christi and I are so much alike, but as I talked to her for over two hours last night I didn’t think of her as someone I liked, but instead I thought of her as a friend I needed.
But all of this I know I will appreciate more in two years.
March 18th, 1995 will do what all the days do. It will fade away out of my reality and into my memory.
Everything fades away.
Fades away….
20yearsagoblog 