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I’ll never forget that day, heading off to a Chris Isaak concert with a man who could buy his own alcohol. “Sometimes I drive too fast,” he said, as we rounded the corner of my street. “Let me know if I scare you.”
I smiled and chuckled assuredly. “That’s
okay,” I said, “I don’t get scared that easily.”
He smiled back and I noticed the stubble on his chin. We chatted about music and Chris Isaak as we drove along and, not really paying attention to anything in particular, I glanced out the window. Suddenly, the car turned sharply and squealed into the parking lot I had just been studying. The jolt started my heart pounding and I thought, “Yeah, Cory, that was a little scary.” I turned to ask him what the hell was he doing and he looked at me as if he had just seen a ghost. “We don’t have any brakes!” (My hooptie rollin', tailpipe draggin' heat don't work an' my girl keeps naggin' ~Mix-A-Lot) With my trademark composure I replied, “Oh.” Panicked, he turned the car around and pumped the brake, when nothing happened he shifted into park again and we both jerked forward and then back. “I can do this,” he laughed. I admired his determination but we decided to call it a night after he lost control again and had to turn down a side street. Unbeknownst to us, it was a very steep hill and as he swung the car around to stop us from rolling off the cliff we were happy just to get away with our lives. On the way home I was disappointed but appreciated his efforts tremendously. The outcome of my evening really was not a surprise to me after all I know I cannot have nice things. He was most worried I would tell his sister that he let me down and she would be angry with him. “Let me tell her…” he persuaded, “I’ll tell her to call you when I get home.” I agreed and then laughed because I knew how impossible she could be. He made it up to me a few weeks later by taking me to see The Silence of the Lambs. Ironically, Chris Isaak made a cameo appearance as one of the SWAT team who go after Hannibal Lector. Go figure. |
