“Two Adult Friends Reminiscing” ("True Love" in a Child's Heart, Circa 1960's)

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NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

 

            “Two Adult Friends Reminiscing”, is a short piece I’ve written focusing on two “old” friends finding “True Love” in youthful fantasy, in real life - and then, perhaps, back to fantasy. “Reminiscing” is a gift that can bring us great joy no matter what age we are. It can be a pleasant escape to a place of shared memories and beautiful, timeless friendships. 

 

                                                                       (Pinterest Photo)

“Two Adult Friends Reminiscing”

("True Love" in a Child's Heart, Circa 1960's)

 

            I laughed at you when you asked me if I thought “True Love” existed. I thought it did when I was reading teen magazines and falling in love with actors and musicians through my television screen. Even my Mom played along. I think she enjoyed the concept of “True Love” in a child’s heart.

 

            I remember asking you, my very best friend, to make up stories about you and I double dating with two of our favorite musicians / TV stars, from the “Monkees”. Remember them? We were only twelve years old; but we both loved that group, and I enjoyed your stories. We’d be walking to and from school, and you would continue from where you left off as the storyline got pretty interesting. You were a great storyteller and I was a great listener. You had my emotions on fire and I wanted to hear more and more. You never complained. You just kept telling me more and more. It was all a fantasy; a make-believe world; but we lived in it. We almost believed we were actually out on those double dates. How we yearned for it to be true…The walks on the beach with our two handsome dates from “The Monkees”; the fun in the amusement park riding the roller coaster and ferris wheel, while hiding our faces against their masculine shoulders; the first kiss under the moonlight; and the front row seats at each “Monkees” concert. We would imagine that every girl in America wished they were us. We were THE girlfriends of two handsome “Monkees”, just sitting in the spotlight like VIPs. Our photographs would be plastered on the front page of every teen magazine…Then reality set in and “True Love” in our young, innocent hearts, disappeared just as quickly as it came.

 

            Then we grew up a bit and dated “real” boys. This time there were no stories of handsome actors or sexy musicians. You couldn’t even spin a great story around these “real” boys, even if you wanted to. We were living teenage lives with young boys we met in our classrooms or in the neighborhood who, like us, had no money and no jobs. There was just no more sparkle. The fantasy was so much more fun than the reality. Were we disappointed because a little while back we were on double dates in “Fantasy Land” with older men – actors and musicians from television, stage and teen magazines? Probably. However, there were still some good laughs with these neighborhood school boys.  There were basketball games in the school gym as we giggled, cheered and held hands. There were school dances at the local Catholic School gyms, where we danced the night away and fantasized, once again, over the band members as they competed in the “Battle of the Bands”. What about those fun Saturday night pizza dates, and endless backyard birthday parties, where spin the bottle was the game of choice? Many kisses were stolen from that game. We even snuck in sips of beer and wine when the parents weren’t paying attention. More kisses were stolen as a result.

 

            Now we have become mature adult women laughing over our childhood fantasies and teenage lives... and we did end up marrying regular good ol’ boys from the neighborhood…Maybe not that good, however, because we divorced them somewhere along the road of life…Yes, two children for each of us – Two girls for you and two boys for me. They were the same ages and they grew up together. We always hoped your two girls would marry my two boys so we would be connected forever. Was that selfish on our part? I doubt it, because it happened. Those unions we prayed for brought us six grandchildren; three girls and three boys. We loved them, spoiled them and guided them - together. Now they are ready to take on the world.

 

            We are still strongly connected to our ex-husbands through our children and grandchildren. Those good ol’ neighborhood boys, still single like us, proved to be great parents and grandparents. We all got along great too in this unique family dynamic. But you and me – well, we remained friends throughout the years and shared it all, every day. We shared the happy times, the sad times, our family times; and always looked back with a smile and sometimes a tear.

 

            What do you say dear friend? Why don’t we grab two glasses of wine and sit on the sofa, while you make up great stories about us double dating our two handsome “Monkees”. You were always a great story teller and I was always a  great listener. We established that early on. So I think we need some of “that” again. We deserve to reminisce in “Fantasy Land”. We’ve earned that right since we’ve been around the block a few times, so to speak…Now that our kids and grandchildren are doing their own thing, and our single “exes” are hiding behind newspapers while drinking beer and growing old, we can go back to the days of young love and innocent hearts…So tell me those great stories again, my friend. However, you must make these stories very, very, very interesting. Adult-interesting, if you know what I mean... Cheers dear friend. “True Love” is back!