It was the holiday season 1981. I was the assistant manager of a small grocery store. Every year our manager would throw a Christmas party at his house. However, this year would be different. His wife had been diagnosed with cancer and so another employee was having the party instead. The boss's daughter had been staying with them helping take care of her Mother. A few days before the party Roxanne was in the store shopping. I saw her, and decided to say hi. I asked how her Mom was feeling, and unfortunately she wasn't good. Without thinking I asked if she would like to come to the Christmas party. "Are you asking me out?" she said smiling with her eyes sparkling.
"Yes," I stammered.
"I'd love to," she answered. "But you will have to come and meet my Dad when you pick me up," she said teasing.
"I think I can handle him all right," I said.
Roxanne was beautiful and sophisticated; I was nervous and excited the rest of the week. I didn't tell anyone at work about my date; I wanted it to be a surprise.
Saturday after work I raced home to get ready. I really didn't have any expectations of us being romantic but I was excited to spend the evening with a gorgeous lady.
I arrived at their house and rang the bell. Roxanne came to meet me at the door, a vision in a tight red sweater and black pants. She leaned in to give me a friendly hug, she smelled heavenly! "You look handsome," she said.
"Thanks" I said, "I'll be the luckiest guy at the party!" She smiled and blushed just a bit.
"Come on and say hi to Mom," she said. "She is about to turn in for the night."
We went to the kitchen where her Mom was sitting. She got up, gave me a big squeeze and whispered, "Thanks for getting Roxy out of the house. Go have fun, she doesn't have a curfew." Her eyes sparkled just like her daughter's.
"Mom, I'm a big girl. I'll decide when to come home," Roxy protested. You could tell they were really close.
"Steve is downstairs, go say hi," said her Mom.
Steve is our store manager and a great guy. I went downstairs and said hi. Steve said, "Be careful and don't be too late." I planned on taking his advice. I didn't want trouble at work.
Roxanne and I went out and climbed in my truck. It was a short drive to the party and the conversation was easy and enjoyable. She warned me not to leave her alone because she didnt know many of the store's employees.
When we walked into the party all eyes quickly found us and there were a lot of smiles. I introduced her to everyone and she seemed at home right away. I asked her if she would like a drink and she asked for a glass of wine. I was getting lots of knowing glances from the men at the party which I really enjoyed. They were jealous because I was with the prettiest girl at the party. We were having a great time and I was learning about her by listening to the conversations she was having with the other ladies. Steve was her step father and she had been married and had a son. Her son was staying in their home several hours away with 2 of her girlfriends watching over him while she cared for her Mother. We had been at the party for a couple of hours when Roxanne leaned in and whispered "I need to be getting home soon." I was disappointed but I understood.
And so we said our goodbyes and left.
As we were driving up the block to her folks house she said, "I didnt really want to go home, can we go have a drink somewhere?"
I was surprised but excited. "Absolutely," I said.
I didn't want to take her to a loud bar so I stopped at one of the local hotels. They had a quiet, classy bar inside. One of my friends worked the desk in the evenings so I knew I wouldn't need to have a room key to be served.
We sat down and ordered drinks. Roxanne began asking questions about me. How long had I worked at the store? What were my hobbies? Did I have a girlfriend? And how old was I? I was really enjoying telling her about myself and was very comfortable talking to her.