This Was Funny?
After my encounter(s) with Todd, it became obvious that I didn’t care at all about the sanctity of marriage. I felt very guilty for going out with Todd behind Bonnie’s back, but I thought almost nothing about Todd’s wife. In fact, I didn’t even ask if he was still married because I didn’t care.
I cared that I was bored that night, and that someone offered to spend time drinking with me. I sure wasn’t studying. Drinking was everything.
Going out with Todd to get drunk for free seemed like a no-brainer.
But when Larry showed up one weekend with his colleague and band member, Leo, in tow, marriage was suddenly the most important thing.
Larry pulled up on his bike outside the dorm, but this time there was Leo, the bassist, standing there, too. I couldn’t figure it out.
“Hey Baby,” Larry beamed. “I brought somebody for Bonnie!” He waved his arm at Leo, who smiled coyly under his thick black mustache.
“You really didn’t need to bring someone for Bonnie,” I said.
“Yeah,” Larry laughed. “But I told Leo about them fuckin’ tits!” He laughed again.
I giggled along. My job, as sub-human female, was to giggle along.
This was funny? Did Leo really ride 100 miles on a motorcycle to see some young girl’s breasts?
Leo wasn’t laughing. I got the feeling that Leo wasn’t planning to ogle anyone’s tits, and that he actually showed up because he enjoyed riding his motorcycle.
I went inside without the guys and told Bonnie that Larry’d brought his friend, Leo, “for” her.
“I don’t want someone for me!” she said. Then, realizing she was stuck: “What’s he like?”
I said, “He’s really nice, and he’s funny, but he’s old. And he’s married with two kids.”
“Kids?!?” Bonnie nearly shrieked. “I don’t want anything to do with him!”
Bonnie was planning to become a teacher; we both adored kids. We weren’t going to do anything that might hurt a child.
“Let’s just go out and get drunk,” I said. “Larry can hang with Leo and we can do whatever we want.”
“Fine,” Bonnie said. “What choice do I have?”
We had lots of choices, but neither of us realized that. We just went out and got drunk.
Fortunately, Leo wasn’t the slightest bit interested in cheating on his wife, wrecking his marriage, losing his children, or even flirting with Bonnie. He was a forty-something man who’d matured lightyears beyond Larry, possibly because he’d found a reason to grow up and chosen a reasonable life partner.
Larry had chosen me.
And for some reason I was already beginning to forget, I’d chosen Larry.
Years later, Bonnie and I went to a Marriott to drink. We guessed that we’d find more interesting clientele at a hotel than at a shot-and-beer joint. Probably we were also looking for cocaine.
Not coincidentally, there were men with money at the Marriott. And we quickly found two guys who wanted us to go to their rooms with them. As usual, Bonnie and I chose to stay together in one room to be “safe.”
Both men were married, but “my” guy insisted upfront that we would not have sex. We could fool around, he said, but he didn’t want to cheat on his wife. Then he laughed.
By then, I knew this wasn’t funny at all.
But I was very happy about not being forced to have sex in order to drink. In fact, I suggested that playing drinking games might be a better use of our time.
I was only in it for the alcohol.
Always.