This very night, in 1993, I was staying with my father following the death of my mother the week before. I was grieving, yet relieved her suffering was over, and rather thin. I guess my thin state was due to genes (my dad's a toothpick), and from the stress, and an illness I was then suffering which turned out to be a mild form of pluresy. It was this night a very kind-hearted, straight-talking, pleasant natured man a few months my senior took me out to dinner. We ate Chinese at a local restaurant in my home town, and caught up with one of my oldest friends who suggested I spend the night at her house. So we sojourned back to her house. Like tonight, it was a warm January evening, and because we were all in a silly mood, we decided to strip off and jump into the backyard pool. As you do.
All of a sudden we were bathed in a light so garish, I imagined the theme music to 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. Turns out it was my friend's older brother shining a dolphin torch on us. A few months later he said had he known my 'date' back then, he would have grabbed a few beers and jumped in the pool, too.
Rumours abounded after this night, about the shenanigans in my friend's pool. The young man heard he had been skinny dipping with (INSERT NAME OF TOWN SKANK HERE) and (INSERT NAME OF TOWN SKANK'S SISTER HERE).
No matter, twenty-two years on and that young man and I are now an established middle-aged couple. We have been through a wedding, various illnesses, and are raising two children. I shouted at my oldest tonight because this heat wave has made me fractious and tired, and I get sick of him monopolising what is supposed to be MY computer. I shouted at my youngest to brush his teeth and go to bed.
We had Chinese for dinner tonight. We did not strip off and jump into the pool. We don't have one.
I play 'Still the One' by Orleans: '...After all these years/You're still the one I want whispering in my ear...'
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