linda

WOMEN 27
The summer after my college senior year, i did a play called THE STAR-SPANGLED GIRL, regarded as the worst play Neil Simon ever wrote. Our production was incredible, it was wonderful…a testament to having the right people in the right place at the right time. The show starred me as Andy, Charlie Leeder as Norman, and Linda as Sophie, the object of his obsession. Sophie and Andy go from extreme antipathy to extreme attraction. I hadn't known Linda before. She'd recently graduated with an acting degree, and was dating a wild child musician who took her for granted. I spent two months falling in love. The subject of our stage kisses came up in the parking lot one night, and we agreed we should practice. We did so for a few minutes, laughing and kissing very well. But i believed in not getting involved with someone you're doing a show with (not that i had any reason to think that she was attracted to me), so i basically spent two months of sweet, torturous heaven, kissing her every night. The intensity of her kisses, i attributed to her professionalism. In rehearsal, there had even been one erection (unnoticed, or did i make a joke about it?) and a minor mouth injury for her. But she never broke eye contact with me, and said to keep on working the scene. I drove to her darkened house late one night, and sat there watching. Then i remembered that she had inspired stalking behavior in college (she had been regarded as a "white whale"), so i came to my senses and left. The closing night cast party was a sleepover, and i slept near her, with a note on me saying "wake him with a kiss". The morning passed uneventfully, but the next night she came back wanting to know what the note had meant. I told her. She was silent for a long while, and finally said "don't you think you ought to kiss me?" I did, and i did. I remember being happy that she had a tiny touch of bad breath for once. It made her more human, and i didn't care, i was getting to kiss her...no play, no pretend, just her and i. A couple days later, she told me that her boyfriend wanted to patch things up, and she was going to give it a try. Only once in a long lonely while do i wonder what might have happened if i had said "No! The best thing you're going to find is right here. I'm here. You've found me". But i was growing into a person dedicated to never telling another how to live their life, so i gave her my blessing, and trudged on with my wearied spirit.