Part 1

I, of course, knew nothing about Mr. Hot when he showed up at Hardee’s that day. All I did know was that he was cute. Oh Mah Holy Hell - so freakin’ cute.

When he pulled up that chair (I swear, I distinctly remember him pulling up a chair, but I wonder, is that even possible? Does Hardee’s have chairs that you can remove from the table????), he swung it around backwards and plopped down with his arms crossed on the table next to me. I can’t remember anything about the conversation, but I do remember that I didn’t look at the textbook OR the notes I was supposed to be studying after he opened his mouth.

We must have talked about school. About being back in school. About how strange it was to be surrounded by all of these kids. I know that at some point, I mentioned that I had a business degree and was married. That I had quit work to go back to school full-time.

He mentioned at some point that he was married. And had two children. And had quit work to go back to school full-time.

I was working towards a B.S. in Computer Science. He was going the “Management Information Systems” route; a more business- than math- oriented technology degree. We talked about the courses we were taking. The courses we would be taking the next semester.

And then, it was time to go take that final. And he had class. We said good-bye, hope to see you around…

How much later our next encounter happened, I couldn’t tell you. Summer semester was over; we were a couple of weeks into the Fall semester, so it had to be at least a month after Hardee’s.

I know where it happened though. I’ve relived it so often in my mind over the past eighteen years - I can feel the hot breeze that was blowing that day. I can smell the sun baked concrete.

If you’ve seen the movie, “We Are Marshall“, you know the story of the 1970 M.U. football team. In front of the Student Center, is The Memorial Fountain; I was just coming around that fountain to go into the Student Center when Tom and Mr. Hot appeared.

“Y’know…you’d think”, said Mr. Hot, “that if she already has one college degree, she could afford a pair of jeans that actually covered her knees.”

I was wearing my absolute favorite GAP jeans…ripped out knees and all…with a white t-shirt. (Mr. Hot claims it was the white t-shirt that he fell in love with. Thank you Fruit of the Loom!)

Tom laughed.

Being the mature woman that I was, I stuck my tongue out at them both and went on my merry way. I had to get something to eat, and then make my way over to the office of this professor I was tutoring. (Yes, shush. I actually tutored a professor in computer programming, thanks to ace-ing that course with Professor Dickhead.)

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What was going through my head? This was the second time I’d run into this guy. I thought he was cute and funny. I wanted to know more about him, but I was married. He was married. I thought we could be friends; like I was friends with Tom and my husband’s buddies. I’d always had an easier time getting along with males than females - less due to a problem with girls than because of shared interests with boys. My best friend all through High School was a boy. When I went to college the first time, I hung around with a couple of guys. Why should Mr. Hot be any different?

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A couple of days later? The next week? Who knows. I was sitting out in front of Corbly Hall between classes with my first tutoring fee in my pocket. Mr. Hot walked by - rushing into the building. He waved. I waved back. He slowed…and then walked back towards where I sat. It was about 2 o’clock.

“I’ve got 20 bucks burning a hole in my pocket, wanna go grab a beer or something? I don’t have class until 6 o’clock tonight”, I asked him.

(Yes, I made the first move. Doomed. Doomed I tell you.)

“Can’t. I have a class - but if you’re still here when I get out, I’ll take you up on the offer.”

At that point, I don’t think a tornado would have moved my ass from that bench. But as he walked away, I wondered what the fuck I was doing. Why did I have butterflies? It was only a beer with a friend.

…to be continued…

—- If you have seen “We Are Marshall”, and you’re at all interested in the ‘un-movie-ized’ story of November 14th 1970, please see “Ashes to Glory” - a documentary that was originally shown in 2000 on West Virginia Public Television. I grew to know and love this town and its people (and yes, one person in particular) . It’s my husband’s and my son’s heritage. I will always be a proud graduate and supporter of The Thundering Herd. —-

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