by Phil Wohl
THIRTEEN
Life was moving fast for Sarah and Dave. They went from co-workers to admirers, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to future home owners. Dave was convinced that he would propose to Sarah before they moved into their house. That kind of financial commitment deserved an equal life commitment in order to be fully effective. Besides, Melanie Abraham was working on her son “to do the right thing” when it came to the Sarah/house situation.
Although they were already living together, Sarah and Dave were still innocent days of the relationship. Tony and Bianca had moved to the number 40 unit and were free to yell and scream nauseating nicknames during sex. Not that it would have stopped her from expressing herself in the throes of passion.
Tony and Bianca’s move also gave Sarah a chance to settle in and create her own space. The second bedroom was converted from a bedroom to a full-fledged office, complete with file cabinets and two large tables that were used as desks. There was also a small flat screen TV and a DVD player that was used to break down footage. Sarah and Dave took turns using the two TVs although Dave usually like to huddle in the second bedroom and pour over both school and sport like a mad scientist.
It was approaching year-end, and Dave and Sarah were walking around the mall one day. It was the first time that Dave was in a mall since he stormed Spencer’s Gifts when he was in college. Life in the suburbs moved from the malls to the strip centers, and city life had always been a more storefront experience.
The couple passed by a jewelry store and Sarah came to an abrupt halt at a display window featuring engagement rings. Dave didn’t even realize that his girlfriend was frozen by diamonds, so he kept walking. Although he thought Sarah was as feminine as any woman, she wasn’t exactly a girly-girl by any stretch of the conversation. There must be some mystical power inside the engagement ring that makes women go completely gaga—it’s like the Beatles without the shrieking, crying, and yelling.
She studied the rings as if she had to memorize top secret information. Dave started talking to Sarah, and then realized she wasn’t there. He walked back to her, a little red-faced, and wondering what she was looking at.
He peered over her shoulder, “I was wondering where you sped off to. So, what are we looking at here?”
She waited until she was sure, “I like that one.”
Dave looked around and pulled out his camera phone. He snapped a couple of pictures so he could make sure that his cousin Ari would have a clear view of the ring.
“Why don’t you go inside and have them size your finger, while I go to the bathroom,” he said as the pressure of the moment caused his stomach to collapse. Dave thought back to the day Haley made a bee-line to Tiffany’s on 57th Street and 5th Avenue. She wanted to buy the ring on the spot, but Dave knew his cousin would charge him half as much for twice as much ring. Size was definitely an important variable for Haley and her mother. The ring had to be big enough to get TV reception from a satellite, but small enough to get through security checkpoints in the airport.
This time around, beauty would definitely win the day. Haley’s thin, long fingers required something substantial in the engagement ring department. Once Dave endured the life-changing trauma, accompanied by the stomach-churning flashback, he was back on the mall trail. Haley was still in the jewelry store, as an elder female employee has maintained a firm grip on her ankles to keep her from leaving the store empty-handed.
Dave motioned to Sarah that he had emerged from purgatory, and then she walked out of the store with the woman’s card and her ring size.
“Everything all right?” Sarah asked as she handed him the card.
“Thanks. Yeah, I’m fine. I must have had a bad reaction to the plastic pizza at the food court.”
He put the card in the front pocket of his jeans and then reached out with his right hand and took hold of her left hand. She was slightly concerned that his feet were a little cold, but feeling his touch only served to bury those thoughts.
Sarah had a much smoother transition in the classroom than her boyfriend. She spent four years and countless classroom hours preparing to teach health education. The fact was that she took a slight detour between graduation and actually teaching her own classes. Within a few weeks, however, all of the knowledge and experience she had stored up was released with grace of a flock of mourning doves.
She started about when she first noticed Dave. She was a freshman in her first month of school at Bailey Woods High School. At the time, Sarah was only 14 years old and stood about 5’4”. She walked into the boy’s door of the gym, as a result of miscalculating the various entrances and exits. She crashed into a senior leaving the gym, who said, “Fuckin’ freshman.” Her books went flying and then looked like random puzzle pieces sprawled across the floor.
“I’m sorry!” Sarah exclaimed as the guy kept walking into the hallway.
“What are you apologizing about?” a soft voice said from behind her.
A much thinner, 16 year-old version of Dave bent down and helped Sarah pick up her books. She looked into his big, brown eyes and was an instant goner.
“That guy is a jerk anyway. Freakin’ football players on ‘roids,” he said as he handed her a few books.
“You might want to try the other entrance down there,” he said, pointing toward the other end of the gym.
Sarah nodded while she put her books back in her backpack, making sure that she fully zipped it shut this time. She turned back around to say, “Hi, I’m Sarah,” but he had already walked into the locker room.
It was possible that the seeds of love were planted that day, as Dave was the first person in the school to be nice and notice that Sarah was alive. She remained “the girl with the books on the floor” until Coach Doherty paved the way for them to pair up down the road.
Even though Dave initially remembered Sarah’s older brother Tim, he nonetheless knew who he was. He took a real interest in her varsity career, and he took special pride in her amazing accomplishments. Life had changed so much over the years that no one could ever anticipate the couple of these two giants. Dave was only a few months away from getting married to Haley, while Sarah was running around getting lean corned beef sandwich at the Stage Deli for George Steinbrenner. Although their lives appeared to be moving in opposite directions, their hearts never left the Dolphins Gymnasium.
Dave knew the minute they shook hands that his future would connect with his past. His only reservation came in the professional code – he never got involved with people at work – although his best friend at work was sleeping with his fiancée. Teachers had instantly hooked up with each other as Spring Break participants, but discretion was always the better part of sneaking around. Teachers also had been airing their dirty laundry in the news, professing their love for ex-students. Neither Dave nor Sarah were going to fall in love with any student, at least not that kind of disgusting, incestuous, creepy, completely wrong kind of love.
