What could be the perfect Christmas gift for anyone? It is when you sit in the back of the chapel in a funeral home and watching the speaker addressing her friends how much she misses her dad. She said everything about her dad but left her brother speechless, and he did know what to say, he said that he lost his dad too.
When she was giving her speech, I was reminiscing about her. It was 1985, we were in high school together, and we met in homeroom, I was silly. I was the class clown, being funny in a good way with a heart, the best way to get attention and make friends too. I was giving gifts to girls, that I made, with a little help from my mom. (My mom passed away in 2016.) I had a crush on her, but unfortunately, she had a boyfriend, it was okay for me. She was pretty.
I remember in drama class that I did a comedic monologue of
The Three Little Pigs by using voice impressions of the animals, I was funny and the audience like me, and she was watching me. I caught her attention. I was funny and being creative. Her boyfriend wasn’t in the class. I was safe. If he had known about it, I would be in the lockers.
Sometime I would take a peek at the gym, she and her friends were exercising bending their waist, some yoga moves. Nothing perverted, they were exercising. Then the coach would see me between the crack of the door and yell at me. He did not know who was behind the door I just ran.
They could hear my footsteps in the lobby; she didn’t know, that I was there. Then I bump into her boyfriend.
“What are you doing here?” Boyfriend said.
“I am late for – Calculus class.” I was scared and nervous. I didn’t want to tell him that I was stalking his girlfriend. I panic.
“Okay, go.” Boyfriend said. I ran, it was not Calculus class, it was my driving class.
It’s 33 years later. I woke up from my daydream. The coffin of her dad was being escorted to the hertz and waiting to be bury in West Lawn Cemetery.
He was a firefighter and the city honored with firefighters and firetrucks. He was a great father.
It was a long line. I was standing in line waiting to see the family and her. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. However, her parents live in Elizabeth City.
A few of the classmates came to see her. I knew some of them; probably the came early a day ago for the church service.
I came around the bend of the hallway, but when she saw me. It’s like her sad day became a happy day. She didn’t know that I was coming. It was a total surprise for her, my memories of her faded. Still beautiful. Some people recognize me, but I didn’t know them. I am getting old. She’s happily married for 25 years, and she has teenagers now.
She was happy to see me in line. It looked like she wanted to make the line go even faster, by giving quick hugs and shaking their hands. And say bye to each one.
When I came up to her, she was happy to see. We talk for a while. It was like having a class reunion at a funeral, how ironic. She told her family about me about the crazy antics I did in high school. She remembered me. I was surprised that she kept the gift. It made her day and my day too.