Last night, Long Beach High School's Class of '87 had an impromptu 38th Class Reunion. Granted, it was an out of cycle year, but some of the class officers just didn't want to wait until the 40th rolled around.
The gathering was small and, as Mike, my close friend put it, comfortable. The conversations were easy going and we all picked up from where we may have left off years before. We all caught up on where we were geographically, kids-wise, and as we continue to level up, retirement-wise and health-wise.
It was a great evening, and the hope is to continue to have these impromptu gatherings as well as the mile-marker 10-year reunions in the future.
Andrea accompanied me for the evening and found her way into conversations with strangers with an ease I could never muster. She made me look good and not at all like my high school dweeb self.
While Andrea and I didn't meet until high school was in our rear view mirrors by several years, we've often been asked by friends and family if we thought our high school selves would have hit it off.
For Andrea's part, some insight was gained at a dinner one evening with her sisters and brother. The conversation rolled around to high school crushes and romances and Andrea's brother told us a tale. Back in school, one of his buddies had a major crush on Andrea. This friend pulled her brother aside one day, his face flushed with nervousness. "Hey, man," he asked with trepidation, "do you think I have a chance with her?"
Andrea's brother, a very kind soul, paused, contemplating how to respond diplomatically. In the end, he decided honesty was the best policy. He looked his friend in the eye and said, "Look here, dude. I'm not sure you wanna go and kick that hornets' nest."
As for me, my lack of patience and shorter fuse likely wouldn't have meshed well with Andrea's predilections for sarcasm. Besides, for some reason, blue-eyed, freckle-faced redheads weren't on my radar at that time.
As we left the reunion, hand in hand, we couldn't help but smile at the irony. Two people who might not have given each other a second glance in high school are now partners for life. Sometimes, the best stories don't start in high school; they're just beginning when those final bells ring.
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