how old are you? how young am i?

i was driving home from a night on the bluffs. it’s a bit chilly, and i had ruby’s driver-side window all the way down. i was doing 65 in a 45 on 35E just past 7th, and i heard that jangly opening bit of “I Will Dare” that i love so goddamn much float out through the speakers and i nearly wept with the perfectness of Zone 105’s timing.

tonight 14-year-old jodi who i still carry around with me, had her dream come true. you see, 14-year-old jodi spent a lot of time reading bad, bad romance novels. 14-year-old jodi was about 6’3″ and had come to conclusion, all on her own, that she was much too tall to ever experience the kind of things she read in those books that she loved so much.

but, tonight she stood up and a man put his arms around her and he pulled her close and she had to lift her head a bit to rest her chin on his shoulder. she even got to rest her forehead against his chest and have him whisper things in her ear she only read about in books.

and even 31-year-old jodi could not control the sigh that escaped. the sigh that had been waiting to escape for some 17 years. and because i still love that young, naive girl, i said, “this is something i’ve dreamed about my whole life.”
“i know,” the TTHM said, “i could tell you needed this.”

then i just stood there and looked up, yes, up, into his eyes and said nothing. because it’s hard to say anything when your head is racing and your heart is pounding and the 14-year-old girl buried deep inside of you is swooning and yelling, “ITOLDYOUSOITOLDYOUSO.”

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15 Comments

  1. Kevin 11.Jul.03 at 6:06 am

    I’m so happy for you. Congratulations on a dream come true.

  2. Thomas 11.Jul.03 at 7:09 am

    I can’t begin to describe the smile I have on my face for you. You deserve nothing less.

  3. Natalie 11.Jul.03 at 8:12 am

    Hooray! 🙂

  4. ketut 11.Jul.03 at 8:31 am

    Let’s count the rings around my eyes.
    How smart are you?
    How dumb am I?

    Don’t count any of my advice.

    I’m smiling Jod.

  5. heather 11.Jul.03 at 9:19 am

    i’m so happy for you, jodi chromey. =)

  6. andrea 11.Jul.03 at 9:56 am

    you almost made me cry, jodi.

    i’m happy for you!

  7. jodi 11.Jul.03 at 10:00 am

    there will be no crying ms. andrea.

    darling ones, you are crazy! i am giddy, you are crazy, and he’s out in the pond somewhere not so far from here looking at bugs or something.

    it was only a second undate, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves (though it’s terribly hard not to).

  8. Jeff 11.Jul.03 at 10:04 am

    It’s now a cliche’, but…
    I’m really happy for you too.

  9. ScottMcG 11.Jul.03 at 10:17 am

    yay! 🙂

  10. Dick 11.Jul.03 at 11:55 am

    just feel!…

  11. MJ 11.Jul.03 at 1:07 pm

    simply wonderful… enjoy the giddyness!

  12. dainec 11.Jul.03 at 1:49 pm

    We know it was only a second undate, but we’re still so happy and tearful because we all had 14-year-old dreams too.

    Savor every moment. 🙂

  13. darksyde 11.Jul.03 at 7:42 pm

    “Happiness” is a good thing. You do deserve it! Sugarplum.

  14. UH 13.Jul.03 at 12:27 am

    OUT-FRICKIN’-STANDING!

    *applauds, whistles, stamps feet, applauds some more*

  15. Cbo 06.Aug.04 at 4:29 pm

    YAY FOR JODI!!!