My best friend’s name was Eddy Sparks and he was the type of guy that everybody liked. After a detention one day after school, I was at my locker throwing my schoolbooks that I needed for that nights homework in my bag, when this young girl approached me.
The girl was younger then me and I had recognized her face but I had never talked to her before.
“Hi, my name is Delia. Can I talk to you for a second?” She asked. I could tell from her voice tone that she seemed very polite and sincere.
“How are you?” I responded as I stood up.
“I know that you are friends with Eddy Sparks aren’t you?” I nodded my head in response. “I was wondering if you could help me?”
“Sure what can I do?” Now I wasn’t as popular as good old Eddy Sparks, but I did hang out with him and I knew that I had to be as polite as possible. After all Eddy had ambitions to run for school president for the upcoming year.
“Do you think Eddy would go out with somebody like me? I know that he has broken up with his girlfriend and I was wondering if he would want to go out with someone like me? Do you think he would?” Delia asked very nervously.
“Well I don’t.”
“--No I know what you’re going to say and forget I even brought it up.” And she quickly turned away from me. I grabbed her shoulder preventing her from leaving so quickly.
“Well Eddy just got out of a relationship and I don’t think he wants to see anybody right now.” As I said this I noticed the enthusiasm from her face suddenly leave. “But, Eddy is one of the nicest guys that I know. If you asked him to a movie, he would find it difficult to turn you down.” I then noticed her face seem to suddenly brighten up.
“But, he would never go out with someone like me. Not in a million years! I would never have the chutzpah to ask him out anyway.”
Wow, this girl Delia had a real head on her shoulders as I had never ever heard of a girl using a word like chutzpah in my life! “We have baseball practice tomorrow after school. There will be nobody around so if you want to ask him out I can stall him by his locker and you can approach him and do your stuff.”
“Why don’t you ask him out for me?” She asked.
“Come on! I think if you ask him out, there is no way he would turn you down. I guarantee it!”
“Alright, so tomorrow after school at 5:30? Should I ask him to a movie?”
“Sure, why don’t you ask him to go see that new Billy Wilder film. I know he wants to see that.” I suggested.
“OK, I will. What the hell you only live once! See you tomorrow.” Delia then quickly walked away.
Delia was your typical sixteen-year-old girl. She was tall and skinny and wasn’t very graceful, but she did have a certain way about her that was genuine and very pleasant and she had the darkest eyes I had ever seen. But, in reality she wasn’t in Eddy’s league. After all Eddy just broke off a three-month relationship with one of the school’s best looking cheerleaders! And a three-month relationship when you are seventeen is a long time!
As I walked home I tried to look into the future to try and figure out what Eddy’s response would be. I had guaranteed a positive response, but I didn’t have a clue how he would react. It certainly takes a lot of courage to ask a guy out that you don’t even know. I had a lot of respect for Delia and was excited for the upcoming day, as I would have a first row ticket to this “Asking-out-Eddy-on-a-date-scenario!”
The following day at school I did see Delia once. We met in the hall in the morning and she asked me if we were still on for the tonight and she also asked if Eddy was in a good mood. I told her that we were definitely on and I also said that Eddy was his usual happy self.
After baseball practice I went to my locker and packed up my schoolbooks and then I quickly went to hold up Eddy at his locker long enough for Delia to approach him. The timing was perfect as I neared Eddy’s locker. He was kneeled down on the floor picking up his books at the bottom of his locker, when in the distance I could see Delia. She was quickly walking towards us down the long school hallway. As she approached, Eddy suddenly stood up and turned around. Delia locked eyes with him for a quick second and then tripped wiping out face first sprawling herself all over the hard floor right in front of Eddy. The books she was carrying in her hands went everywhere and she cut her chin on the hard floor when she landed.
“Walk much, Girly!” Eddy quickly snapped at her, and then he began to laugh. Delia abandoned her books on the floor and quickly ran away down the hall in complete embarrassment. She was headed to the girl’s bathroom down the long hallway.
I could tell from her face that her world suddenly just blew up right in front of her. Can you imagine the bravery it takes to approach a popular guy like Eddy and then suddenly crash and burn? The poor girl must have been devastated. Without saying anything to Eddy, I ran after her.
I reached the outside of the girl’s bathroom as I could hear Delia crying inside. To go into the girl’s bathroom would surely leave me with a school suspension, but I wasn’t thinking about that; I was thinking about Delia who was devastated. So I went in to see what I could do to help.
“I guess it wasn’t meant to be.” I smiled to her. My thought in saying that was to do anything to cheer her up. She looked at me, still crying, and let out a cute smirk in between her flowing tears.
“I am such an idiot, what was I thinking? I will never ever do that again!” she said in anger. I then gave her a friendly hug, and then suggested to her that we leave the bathroom as soon as possible. “There is no way I am leaving, if he’s still out there.” Delia told me.
“Did you want me to talk to him?” I offered.
“No, there’s no point, he’ll never go out with me now. I blew my chance.” She said as her tears slowly began to fad away. She washed her face off and cleaned her small cut with some water and turned to me. “Check to see if he is still out there.”
I then quickly looked out to see if Eddy was still in the hallway. “Delia, he’s not there. Can I walk you home?”
“No that’s all right.” She said to me.
“If it’s any consolation, I’ll go to a movie with you. But first, I’d like to get out of this bathroom, before I get myself in a mess by being in the bathroom again. Last year I got caught in here with three girls and got a week’s detention.” She let out a soft smile as we slowly walked out together.
“Well thank you for everything, but I better be off. My folks will be wondering why I’m at school so late. Thanks again,” Delia said.
“You never answered my question. Would you like to go see a movie with me?”
“You’re just saying that cause you feel sorry for me,” She responded.
“Why would you think that, cause you got a little blood on your chin. I don’t feel sorry for anybody, especially you!” I insisted. “ I think you’ve got a lot of chutzpah and I want to treat you to a movie on me!”
“Well all right.” Delia then walked away to go pick up her schoolbooks and then go head off for home.
If she‘d been successful in asking Eddy out in the first place, I never would have fallen in love with Delia. I was seventeen years old when that story happened. Delia and I dated for the next four years and then we got married in 1963. It is forty-four years later now and I have lost touch with good old Eddy Sparks. I’m glad my Delia did wipe out in front of him and cut her chin. To this day, she remains a little clumsy, but that’s one of the many things about Delia that I adore so much.
