Enchanted Evening
Sue Andrews, Inland Empire Branch
“Some Enchanted Evening,” the song from the musical South Pacific, always makes me cry.
In the late summer of 1986, I went to my twentieth high school reunion in Chicago. I was living in Florida and wanted to see my old friends. I had no intention of looking for Mr. Right. I had married two Mr. Wrongs, had just divorced my second husband, and met too many others who had broken my heart.
More than three hundred graduates filled the big room. As I danced with some of my classmates, I found out another reason why I didn’t have many dates in high school. One of my ex-boyfriends explained it. The rumor spread that my father was very strict. The strength of his handshake brought boys to their knees, and his threat about bringing me home on time made my dates never want to return.
“Sue,” Paul said, “many of us were afraid of your father. We even had a nickname for him.” He paused. “The Bear.”
Well, that explains some things, I thought. Later on in the evening, someone read answers to the reunion questionnaire out loud, and one classmate’s answers stood out; in fact, he won “The Funniest” award. His responses were self-effacing, yet hilarious.
“Do you know the guy who won for ‘funniest’?” I asked my friend Mike, as we danced. “You know, the one who described himself as ‘bald, bearded, and beer-bellied’?”
“Oh, Ken” Mike laughed. “He lives in LA now. He’s staying with us for the weekend. He’s dancing with my wife.” Mike nodded toward the other side of the ballroom.
“Let’s go to them.” I danced Mike over in their direction.
After introductions, I told Mike, “Dance with your wife,” and we made the switch.
As soon as Ken and I started dancing, we hit it off. We talked the night away and at the end of the night exchanged phone numbers. I lived in Florida, and he in California, so I wasn’t expecting much; still, I was disappointed to be parting ways.
A week later back in Jacksonville, I went to the post office to pick up my mail. One letter from California stood out from the rest and had been waiting for me.
That letter began our bicoastal relationship….
To find out what happened next, read Sue Andrews’ book
To Live and Love Again (2015) from which we excerpted this passage.
For more about her, see the December 2017 interview on Showcase.