The Dinner

I usually don't post late at night but there were several (seriously!) requests for information about the Big Reunion with the HSB (high school boyfriend) and his wife.

I got my nails done early on Friday and spent most of the day just doing stuff around the house. They called late in the afternoon and said they were in traffic. In a case of the truly weird- HSB ends up getting directions to the hotel from Mr. Taffy. Strange.

Anyway, they get to the hotel and ask if I can take them to the restaurant. They say just come on up when I get there and I am given the room number.

I thought that I had allowed myself plenty of time to get ready- ok, so maybe in my view I needed another 3 months of dieting, some lipo, and a Valentino dress. I was wearing black dress pants, heels, pink v-neck with a burgundy cardigan. Daughter Dear (who thought all of this was really cool) helped me pick out the right earrings and told me to stop fussing with my hair-it was fine. Put on the fab new coat and off I went.

The 40 minute drive to the hotel was not fun-Chicago got pounded with rain and the streets were flooding because the gutters were clogged with leaves. I had on the radio and the local station was playing the old stuff-was I going to enter a time warp?

I get to the hotel and at 6:30 get out of the car and am pelted with sideways rain and 45 mile an hour wind gusts. Ah, fall in Chicago. Get in the elevator and check the makeup for the last time. As I am walking to the door I am thinking about that A&E show "Intervention"----"She is just moments away.."

I knock on the door and there he is. Not the skinny boy I dissed one June day in 1979 but a 43(?) year old man- still tall, but not so skinny, same golden hair-maybe slightly less. We say big hellos and give each other a hug. Then I see his wife- a very pretty woman-and give her a hug, too.

We went to dinner and had a great time. The food was fantastic. Very few "memory lane" stories. Talked about our families, some mutual friends, films, music. HSB's wife is a wonderful woman- smart, funny, and to be honest, as I told her, "cool" for letting this happen.

As I sat there across the table from him, I realized that the old Taffy and HSB really don't exist any more. They were a moment in time-the bassist and the actress- the bemused guy and the head case girl. They aren't there any more. I sat there enjoying the middle aged man and woman we had become.

I was truly sad that the evening had to end-but they were tired from their long drive and had a busy day ahead. So at 10:30 I took them back to the hotel. Oh, I did get a picture of them. No pictures of him and I together- that's appropriate since there were never any taken of the two of us when were dating anyway.

So, on Monday, it will be back to e-mailing each other. I hope to be able to see them when I travel to their area next summer.

Time for sleep here.

Taffy