A couple months ago, I lamented being disconnected from old friends. Even with the pandemic and the Delta variant making my willingness waver, I've been easing back into my often elusive yet perpetual goal to reconnect. I've largely played this aspect safe; I've been to two get-togethers with fellow improvisers, but most of the attendees were people I last saw just before quarantine. Still, I had one experience this summer that validated my hesitation.
I was first acquainted with "Daisy" in high school. We were on the homecoming committee together, though I don't recall ever interacting with her. Sometime in Spring 2004, less than a year after I graduated high school, Daisy reached out to my sister via AIM. My sister told me Daisy wanted to chat with me on messenger, so we exchanged screen names. During our convo, Daisy said she had a crush on me, but never worked up the nerve to say anything. I was flattered --I didn't date in high school much-- and found some common ground. Soon after, we agreed to meet up for lunch the next week.
I arrived 10 minutes early at the Subway in downtown Downers Grove. I waited nearly a half-hour for Daisy to arrive before deciding to buy lunch without her. I tried to reach out on AIM and ask what happened, but she didn't log in for several weeks. About a month later, she messaged me to explain what happened: she had a falling out with her mom, and was now living in a trailer park with a guy she was dating. I didn't know how to process this, as I was under the impression that we were supposed to be on a date five weeks prior. We had another long conversation, but out of fear of alienating my "crush," at no point did I clarify the intent of that lunch meet-up.
Communication remained sporadic throughout 2004 and 2005. Her father, a college professor in North Carolina, arranged to have her live at a Ronald McDonald House for a spell, for reasons unclear. Daisy got engaged to the trailer park guy, but soon broke it off, citing his perceived anger problem. (If you're wondering, this all happened between her 19th and 20th birthdays.)
There was another stretch of radio silence until December 2005, when Daisy reached out again on AIM. She said she was back in Illinois, living with a recent divorcee that she meet two months prior. I'm not sure what happened, and my best guess is that I misinterpreted something I said or some awkward turn of phrase. After 20 minutes of small talk, she suddenly flipped on me. I couldn't tell what was going on, but I apologized profusely. It wasn't I was apologizing for either, but I was taken aback by how livid she was. Not long after, she messaged "W/E" (whatever) and logged out. Either way, I was disappointed that I might never hear from Daisy again. I did... but that's a story for another time.
(682)
