Chapter 8: High School Class Reunion
Hank Silvers grew up on Pleasant Street and attended the local high school. He was kind of a nerd in high school and didn't have a lot of success with girls in those years. He moved away a long time ago and has become very successful since. I hear he's coming back this year for his class reunion at the local high school. Rumor is that his wife isn't coming with him, either.
Rosalie Timmons still lives on Pleasant Street. Back in high school Hank had a crush on her. He invited her to the prom once, but she turned him down for the guy she eventually married.
While Hank has become a successful businessman and is happily married, Rosalie's marriage isn't doing well. Her husband drinks too much and is abusive, and she feels stuck. She and her husband are going to the reunion, too.
Rosalie and Hank haven't seen each other in twenty years. Rosalie hasn't changed very much, but Hank's changed a lot.
What will happen when they run into each other again after all this time?
Rosalie hasn't thought about Hank since they graduated. Hank remembers her fondly from time to time. In fact, he's been hoping she'll be there.
I went to the same high school and I was in their class, so I was at the reunion. Hank got lucky. He and Rosalie wound up sitting at the same table. They danced a lot. What happened afterward is anybody's guess, but...
I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN YEARS!
Hank pulled into the parking lot of the club where the reunion banquet was being held. He wished his wife could have come along, but she had that meeting and it was important, so he decided to go without her. He hadn't been to a reunion in a long time. He made the first couple, hadn't been impressed, so he skipped the last three. As a result, he hadn't seen most of his classmates in years. He'd attended college in a far-away state and settled there after finishing his degree. Few people in his old hometown knew what he did for a living, or even remembered him, for that matter.
A few people walking into the hall looked familiar. Some of them looked at him, puzzled, not sure who he was. That didn't surprise him. He'd been a pudgy kid in school, but he'd trimmed down and was now solid and looked good in the expensive three-piece suit he wore. There weren't any other Mercedes in the parking lot, either. Hank had done well for himself.
He got out of the car and walked into the hall, drawing more puzzled looks. Spying an empty chair at a nearby table, he walked over.
"Is this seat taken?" he asked the attractive blonde sitting across the table from him.
"No, please, have a seat," the blonde said. She smiled at him and studied his face, obviously trying to figure out who he was.
"Rosalie," he said, "You're Rosalie Timmons."
"It used to be. It's Burger now," Rosalie replied. She studied him and he could see questions in her look.
"You married Ed Burger," Hank said, enjoying her puzzlement.
"Yeah, she did," the sloppy big man sitting next to the blonde said. His eyes were bloodshot, his movements sluggish. Hank surmised Ed Burger had a drinking problem. "Who the hell are you?"
"Ed..." Rosalie protested.
"Hank," Hank said. "Hank Silvers."
"I'd never have guessed," Rosalie said, giving him an appraising look. "You've changed."
"Health club membership and a busy schedule melt the pounds off in no time," Hank replied.
"Hank Silvers?" Rosalie's husband muttered and looked at Hank blankly. "Who the fuck is Hank Silvers?"
Rosalie rolled her eyes and her face reddened. She was obviously embarrassed by her husband's remark. "Don't you remember him?" she said. "He was in my class."
"Nah!" the big man said and lurched out of his chair. "I gotta get more beer." Unsteadily he lumbered toward the bar.
"Where's your wife?" Rosalie asked, "Or aren't you married?"
"She had a previous engagement," Hank explained. "I'm on my own tonight."
"That's too bad," she said.
"I'll survive," Hank told her. "You know, you've changed, too."
Rosalie smiled. "How? Have I gotten older and wrinkled?" she asked.
Hank shook his head and smiled. "No," he said. "You're more beautiful than I remembered."
His compliment brought a delightful flush to Rosalie's lovely face. He had a crush on her in high school and thought she was pretty then. If anything, she was prettier now. Life with Ed might not have been good, but it hadn't damaged her looks.
"You weren't this smooth when we were in high school," Rosalie said.
"I took lessons," Hank replied.
Ed came lurching back across the floor, a pitcher of beer in his hand. Hank was surprised that, in spite of the big man's unsteady gait, very little beer got spilled. Ed put the pitcher on the table and collapsed into his chair so hard Hank was surprised it didn't collapse. He poured himself a glass of amber liquid, drank most of it in one swallow, then he belched loudly.
"Ed!" Rosalie exclaimed. She flushed and looked exasperated.
"Hey, cool it, woman! Only came to thish damn thing 'cause you kept buggin' me," her husband grumbled. "Goddamit, let me have a good time. Ol' Hank, here, unnerstan's, doncha, Hank?"
Hank smiled wanly and nodded. "It is a wonderful night for celebration, isn't it?" he said.
"Damn straight!" Ed said and refilled his glass.
The meal was served and they ate. Ed said little, shoveled food into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in weeks and washed it down with lots of beer. By the time the tables were cleared, Ed's massive head was bobbing on his shoulders, and his eyes were glazed. Much more beer and he'd be unconscious.
While they were eating, a band set up on the stage. The class officers handed out various awards, then music began. "Ed," Hank said, "would you mind if I dance with your wife?"
"Nah!" Ed replied and made a gesture with his hand. "Go ahead. It'll keep her from buggin' me. 'Long as I've got enough beer, I'm happy." He belched again.
