I did my fair share of dating in high school but I only had one full-fledged boyfriend. We dated for three months during our junior year, then I broke up with him. I can't remember why. We got back together in our senior year and dated from November to the beginning of February. He blindsided me when he broke up with me on a day that came to be known as Black Sunday.
Melodramatic? Me? In high school? Nawwww...
A couple of months later, I was walking after school with my friend Mike. We were walking to his house so he could give me a ride home. It was a pretty, sunny late-spring day. The sun felt warm on my hair but the air was still cool. As we were walking along, Mike said, "Hey, you're not dating anyone. I'm not dating anyone. Want to go to prom together?" I had absolutely no romantic interest in Mike but he was a fun, great guy and we had spent all of our high school years together - classes, choir, theater productions, the same tight-knit group of friends. Going to prom with Mike seemed like the perfect way to end a great four years. I told Mike I would love to go to prom with him.
We ended up double-dating to prom with my sister and a guy she did NOT want to go with. The guys wore matching "silver" tuxes. I wore a lavender full-length gown from JC Penney and my sister wore a dress that she and our mom made from fabric Mom had purchased in Europe in the 1960s. The four of us had dinner at THE restaurant for prom dates, danced ourselves silly at the prom, then went to the school-sanctioned post-prom party at the bowling alley. Mike got so drunk that he threw up, which irritated the hell out of me, but I had a great time.
Even now, over 30 years later, that sweet moment when Mike asked me to the prom makes me smile and gets me a bit choked up. Mike and I have lost touch over the years but he will always have a little spot in my heart.
