The Other Woman

R and I ended our romance, if that's what it can be called, July in that magical year, 1987.  The way I remember it was, on 4th of July the whole lot of us were at the fireworks at Edgewater Park in Cleveland.  He disappeared and was found later with the other woman, A.  That was the devastating end.   I was beyond shattered.  I was so in love with him.  He had that bad boy thing going for him and he was super hot.  Chicks always dig the bad boy, especially when they're young and stupid.  And possibly when they're old and stupid too.  Anyway, it wasn't long after that we talked and I asked him if he would still be my date for my brother B's wedding, which was July 18.  He promised me he would and gave me the "I still want to be friends" speech.  And he did, still want to be friends that is.   We still hung out together and went places together.  The big difference was, at the end of the night we didn't spend an hour in my driveway making out.  He just dropped me off and left.  It sucked!

July 18 arrived.  B's wedding (his first of three, but that's a different story).  It was a pretty big fancy affair at the place to have a wedding in the Cleveland area.   At least one of them anyway.  It was elegant and classy and my mohawked dude was supposed to meet me there.  Being in the wedding party, I had agreed to clean up for the occasion and dyed my hair black, solid, all one color.  The one and only time I ever agreed to such a thing.   Anyway, the reception got underway and my brothers friend D, who was also in the wedding party but not my partner, kept coming around by me.  I wasn't really noticing at the time it was happening because my eyes never left the door to see if/when R would walk in.   As the night went on and I got more and more drunk, it became very clear that he wasn't going to show up.  I went out into the lobby to call him at a payphone and he wasn't home.  It was official, I had been stood up.  And I was devastated all over again by him, cried and drank some more.

D swooped in.   He didn't leave my side all night.  He was sweet and understanding and in retrospect, had an agenda.  But I was drunk.  I was young.  And I was stupid.  D was someone I knew and trusted.  His sister was one of my best friends.  His parents and my parents are best of friends.  We were lifelong friends.  I'd known him for as long as I have had memory.  Having him there to lean on helped, a lot.  It was such a long night.   After the wedding, we went to a bar at a nearby Holiday Inn and partied some more.  And then after that, we headed back to my parents house and partied some more.  And that's when things between D and I shifted from concerned friend to something entirely different.

Back on my home turf and still in my hideous cream colored bridesmaid dress... seriously the thing was a monstrosity of tulle and embroidery... my drunkenness went from happy partying to sad and angry and I ran outside to cry and "woe is me" myself to death.   But, there was D.  He followed me outside and comforted me.  He told me all the right things.... "the guy is a jerk,"  "how could he walk out on you?  Look at how gorgeous you are!"  "he doesn't deserve you"  He hugged me and held me close while I cried and before I knew it we were making out leaning against a car in my driveway.  He took my hand and lead me to the backyard.  And then we were on the lawn and he was doing things to me that up until then no one had done to me!  He was making me forget being dumped, at least for that night.  And before I knew it we were fucking on my parents back lawn, with that hideous dress bunched up around my waist.  And it was great.  It was exactly what I needed.  People went in and out of the house, and I have no idea if anyone saw us or heard us.  I'm not exactly quiet when I'm having sex and that fucking ugly cream colored dress wasn't exactly camouflage!

And all the while, I knew... I knew D was involved with someone and had been for a long time.  I knew it and I didn't care.  Some other woman stole my man so it was only fair.  At least in my drunk addled brain it was.  So there it was, I was the other woman.  And he knew he would have me that night.  It's the only reason he didn't bring his girlfriend to the wedding.  While he was consoling me, he was probably thanking R for standing me up.  Ahh the best laid plans, literally!