Ann and her friend, Laura, were bored. It was Saturday night, and they’d been at their all-girls’ college, Holy Names, for a whole week. It was time to find some guys, to find a party. They pulled into Berkeley and headed for Fraternity Row. Laura spotted someone she had dated before and rolled down the… Continue reading Parking Lot Pick-up
He Wouldn’t Take Non for an Answer
Harry was an American soldier. He had survived D-Day. The war had just ended in Europe. He helped free the town of Reims, France, where she lived. She was so beautiful that when he met her on the street, he asked to/walked her/followed her home. She thanked him but wasn’t interested. “What is your name?”… Continue reading He Wouldn’t Take Non for an Answer
Drive-in Movie Blues
Linda would start high school in the fall. She was doing summer stock at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa. The play was Bye Bye Birdie, and she was playing the part of a show girl. Jeff, one of the good-looking stage hands, drove a blue ’66 Cadillac convertible with a white top. Thinking she… Continue reading Drive-in Movie Blues
Asparagus, Anyone?
The farmhouse was next to the highway, close enough for me to hear the train come by every night, and far enough away from the tracks to get used to sleeping through it. No houses could be seen from any window — just trees, sky, and lots of cornfields. It was a peaceful place, sometimes… Continue reading Asparagus, Anyone?
Love of her Life
Connie was only fourteen when she went to her first dinner dance at the country club. Brad was two years older, already driving, and as handsome as could be. Connie had been smitten since the day they met at school. She had been at her locker. He had come by and said hello. She’d looked… Continue reading Love of her Life
Having His Cake
We sat at the bar at Il Vecchio’s next to the guy with the shaved head. My girlfriend chatted him up while we waited for a table. We decided to have dinner at the bar. Adam was cute enough but not too tall. He seemed interested in my petite girlfriend, so I was surprised when… Continue reading Having His Cake
Six – Love
Alan was in a dark disco bar in San Jose on a November night. He asked Donna, the woman with an amazing tan, to dance. Had she been to Hawaii? Mexico? The Bahamas? Alan didn’t ask her but admired her bronzed skin. The topic of tennis came up. Alan loved to play. So did Donna.… Continue reading Six – Love
Me Too
He was one of five professors in the tiny Spanish department at Iowa State. I had him for both semesters of Spanish Two, and I’d just landed a summer job, selling books door to door in a mystery state after a week’s training in Nashville. The bus for me and the other recruits was leaving… Continue reading Me Too
False Alarm
Donnie, a firefighter, had a date with a woman from Match.com. The date was just okay, but he knew there were only two kinds of women, those he would sleep with and those he wouldn’t. Lisa was in the first category. According to Donnie, men never had a wait-and-see attitude about a woman. Women could… Continue reading False Alarm
Worst Quake Ever
1989 — We’d been in California for almost four years, two Midwestern transplants with a split-level house and two babies. It was our daughter’s third birthday, so Hubby took the day off, and we went to the Oakland zoo. The birthday party with playmates would be the next day. After as much fun as anyone… Continue reading Worst Quake Ever
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 