My First Date

Recalling a sweetheart on this Valentine’s Day

What could be more appropriate for Valentine’s Day than recalling my first date?

It was 1979, and the disco era was in full swing. We met at a classmate’s party, and instead of dancing, we spoke together all night. His name was T.J., and he was fine. Tall, dark, and handsome, a year ahead of me in school.

The late 1970s were a far more simple time than now. There were no cell phones, laptops, or social media to arrange a get-together. Arranging a party meant calling friends from a landline and passing paper, handwritten notes to classmates in between classes.

Our teenage parties were get-togethers with friends in someone’s backyard, where we’d set up a stereo on the patio. We’d toss a frisbee around, and fill a table with sodas, chips, and onion dip.

The party where we met was not a backyard party, though. It was in a beautiful house, with a grand living room.

Even though twenty of us were in the living room, I felt like T.J. was the only person there that I wanted to talk to. I felt completely infatuated for the first time.

The next day, one of my friends called, and we talked for hours as only eighth-graders do when they have a crush on a boy in school. Of course, it didn’t take T.J. long to find out I liked him, and he asked me out.

Our date was as simple as the time we met.

Since I was 14 and he was 15, we weren’t driving yet. His father dropped us off at the local movie theater, where we saw “Love at First Bite,” starring George Hamilton and Susan Saint James.

T.J. was shy, polite, and quiet, like me. He let me choose the movie, and I was so caught up in the film’s romantic element that I wasn’t nervous about sitting next to T.J. in the dark theater.

I thought T.J. was as handsome, if not more handsome, than George Hamilton. They were both tall and thin, and they each had dark brooding eyes. My favorite part of the movie was when George Hamilton took Susan Saint James onto the dance floor and spun her around in a romantic, slow dance.

I was fascinated at how two adults could be so graceful and wished that T.J. would dance with me like that.

After the movie, T.J. took me out for pizza. We sat at the counter and talked a little bit about the movie, but it was not the same as when we were at the party. We smiled at each other a lot, but the conversation was awkward and stilted, as it can be sometimes between teenagers. He escorted me home in a taxi cab, held my hand, and told me he had a nice time.

I was smitten and worked up the nerve to invite T.J. to the ninth grade prom. When I excused myself to go to the ladies’ room, the most popular girl in our class followed me in, and told me in the foyer, “Well done, Yve — he’s so handsome!”

I don’t recall much of the prom, but the compliment from my classmate is what I remember!

I’m sorry to say that the romance didn’t progress after our prom date, but having T.J. for the first date and crush is a beautiful memory to remember.

Thank you for reading.