This is a slow build, until about half way. So, if you’re looking for a quickie, I’m afraid that you’ll be disappointed. But, after that…
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Dan Folgelberg, ‘Same Old Lang Syne’, played on the radio a few days ago. I closed my eyes and went back almost 50 years.
Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling Christmas Eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods
And I touched her on the sleeve…
…She didn’t recognize the face at first….
…She said she’d married her an architect
Who kept her warm and safe and dry
She would’ve liked to say she loved the man
But she didn’t like to lie…
Ok. It wasn’t my old lover. It wasn’t Christmas Eve. And it wasn’t in a grocery store.
It was my first real high school girlfriend, in the middle of summer, and it was in the health food and vitamin store that her sister and husband had opened six months earlier.
And this one random afternoon will live with me forever.
1973
Hi, my name is Bill. I’m back in my small hometown in the Midwest. I had finished my college, majoring in Mechanical Engineering and was working in a Chicago suburb, about 45 minutes away.
The company I worked for, designed components for the Military and Aerospace industries. It was the type of work that I couldn’t discuss with my parents. I had to undergo a security background check. Fortunately, me getting busted with alcohol in my college dorm four years ago, didn’t show up. Currently, I was classified as ‘Secret’ due to my newness to the company. After a year, or so, I was expecting to be upgraded to ‘Top Secret’.
I lived alone in my own apartment. About every other week, I would drive back and spend the weekend with my parents. I know that they both enjoyed having me home for the weekend, like the ‘good ole days’. It was relaxing to spend some time in the small town that I grew up in. I had lost touch with my high school classmates while I was away at college. Never reconnecting, even I was home for the summers, or breaks.
No girlfriend and none on the horizon. Well, maybe a ‘possibility’. It’s kind of difficult to develop a relationship with any of my female coworkers, given the nature of my position, besides the fact that the company strictly forbid any interoffice relationships.
I had tried the bar scene; but, it wasn’t my thing. I wasn’t a social butterfly. Besides, most of the women there were there looking for a future mate… I was not. To be blunt… casual sex would have been wonderful. It was something that I had never experienced, the ‘casual’ or the ‘sex’ part.
Yes, I had a few pleasant experiences in college. All casual and fun, which usually ended up with the girl being topless and me ravaging her nipples. Or, on a rare occasion, a completely naked girl, as she would guide my fingers to where, and how, she wanted. I got pretty good, if I must say. Most of those occurrences ended in a satisfying hand-job, which added to the whole college experience.
But, I left college with my official ‘V Card’ intact… Unfortunately.
In today’s terms I was ‘semi nerd’. I wasn’t the whole ‘pocket protector’ nerd. Along with the usual Engineering classes, I had taken a couple of Fortran programing classes in school. Wasn’t proficient in it, just knew my way around the code. It was enough, that I could talk, somewhat intelligently with my co-workers.
Living alone, I was finding myself bored during the week and was looking for something to constructively occupy my time.
A random occurrence occurred one day at the local grocery store. I noticed a flyer announcing the beginning of a coed karate class with the local park district in a few weeks. So, for reasons unbeknown to me, I got into martial arts. It was something that had always fascinated me, but, never had the opportunity to follow through on.
It was the mental discipline that attracted me to the sport. I was never a ‘jock’ in high school. Physically fit? Yes. In college, I would run a few miles in the evenings after finishing my studying, just to unwind and to rid myself of the stress of classes. With karate, I was expecting to achieve some discipline, body strength, and confidence.
The fact that it was coed made the whole class more inviting. It sounded like a better place to meet girls than the local bars.
There were a variety of ages. Out of a class of twenty, about half were around my age. And of those ten, there were surprisingly six women, which I have to confess were cute. Plus… and a big plus… none wore wedding bands.
The class was run by a no-nonsense black belt Sensei. Discipline was strictly adhered to, which made ‘open flirting’ difficult and next to impossible. Still, there were flirting looks and inviting grins.
A few weeks into the class, the four of us guys banded together and asked the women if they wanted to meet up at the local bar, just to get to know each other a bit better. Since socializing during class was not allowed. The invitation was met with bright and eager smiles.
The women had changed into their street clothes. Man, what a transformation. While the classic Gi was loose. Their street clothes left no doubt that they were all petite, fit, and athletic.
I was drawn to a cute blonde, Sam, who had been giving me a constant stream of flirting smiles in the few weeks of classes. She always seemed to be, either next to me, or close by.
Her blonde hair was pulled back into a casual ponytail. She was dressed in loose shorts that came mid-thigh. The V-neck pullover top hugged her small perky breasts. Compared to the rest of the girls, at the table, she wore very little makeup. But then, she really didn’t need any. Her personality, and easy laid-back nature, hinted that she may have been a bit of a tomboy growing up, and perhaps, still was, to a point. But, sitting there. Watching her. Listening to her laugh… there was no doubt, that she was a 100% sexy and confident woman, who enjoyed hanging out with a bunch of guys.
During the class, I could see her concentration and determination to perfect her form. She was very coordinated with fluid and graceful movements. Even though we were all barefoot, Sam looked exceptionally cute standing there in her bare feet.
Sam was maybe five foot four and around 100 pounds. Tiny waist. As I mentioned, perky breasts, that looked two small half apples sitting high on her chest. Her legs were smooth and had the shape and muscle firmness of a runner.
Over a couple rounds of drinks, we talked as a group. Where we lived. Why we started the class. If it was something that we thought we might pursue. Stuff like that. All very casual. As always, the topic of Vietnam came up, briefly. We all agreed that it was a huge mistake.
An hour, or so, after the second after-class get together, it was just Sam and me. The other girls had dragged the guys to some other bar for some live music and dancing. Sam said that she had an early morning the next day, and that she was just going to finish her drink and head home.