Flashback Friday: Confusing 4th and World's Fair!

July 1982:
I met one of my best male friends on the 'beach', a tiny strip of sand beside the Wabash River, and talked while we listened to the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra played its annual concert.  I was bemoaning the fact all efforts to win K back weren't working; he was moaning about a recent breakup with his girlfriend.  We stood by the cannons and plugged our ears during the appropriate times during the 1812 Overture, then I walked with him to his parents' car to grab a lawn chair for the fireworks.

D pulled me onto his lap while we waited for the fireworks.  I thought nothing of it; he and I had often sat on each other's laps in the past four years.  Somehow, a game of 'Sorry' was started...the kind where you clasp hands and bend each other's fingers back?  Yeah, that childish game of 'endurance'.  Well, gradually, we stopped torturing our fingers, then we swung our hands back and forth.  By the time the show began, I was snuggled against his chest while we held hands.  I did NOT want that fireworks show to end; I was both thrilled and a little scared of the new shift in our friendship, and was a little unsure about the whole thing, since I'd 'dated' his twin brother from age twelve to sixteen.  What was the 'code' for dating twin brothers?  Would S be upset?  And what about my efforts to win K back?

Anyway, at the end of the show, D let go of my hand as I stood up.  He collapsed the chair, then reached down and grabbed my hand again.  My inner turmoil increased when S spotted us, then moved away.  Would he and I still be friends?  I was in agony for the five minutes it took to walk back to the car.

My memory's a little fuzzy at this point.  I don't know if D kissed me goodbye at that point, or if we simply dropped hands and said, 'See ya.'  I was leaving the next day for Knoxville, TN, and then for Florida with my family for three weeks.  It would be nearly a month before I would see him again.

All I do remember is deciding to enjoy the moment and see what would happen in the next month.  I had to concentrate on my parade routine.

The next day, I received a shock.  My BFF, R, had been in charge of making sure our group of six friends were all signed up on the same bus.  We were....but she'd placed she and I right in front of K and her brother.  I would now be spending a six or eight hour bus trip in front of my ex.  What had she done?

But the minute he saw me, he grinned.  And to R's chagrin, he had me switch seats with R's brother for the entire trip.  We talked, and joked about finding 'honeymoon' spots along the way.

The parade was awesome.  And the next day, since our group had all paired up (except R), we split into two groups and enjoyed the fair.  My group decided to forego going through the exhibits and instead, we wandered around the food tents.  We enjoyed Belgium waffles; Chinese food; Greek baklava; and other items.  And hit the Midway in full force, riding the double carousel three times (rocking horse on top level; up and down horse on bottom) and getting extremely dizzy the third time (there was a spinning thing on the bottom level).  K had opted out the 3rd ride, and rolled his eyes at our clumsiness as we staggered from the exit gate.

And when we returned home, K squeezed my hand and told me he'd see me in three weeks.  I was ecstatic; surely this meant he wanted me back after all?

Next Month:  Why You Should Never Get Your Hopes Up or Why Didn't I See The Writing On The Wall?