Her name was Melinda. Last name unknown. But we talked, laughed, played charades and provided outrageous answers to the pantomimes of others. I found out many things about her in the few hours we spent together but alas a phone number was not among them.
Someone called to her, she said “good bye” and she was gone.
People left until Dennis, Dave and I were all that remained. We told each other stories of antics, triumphs and tragedies during our 1st semesters at college. Around 2 am we ran out of interesting tales of Wild Women, Crazy Professors, and Wealthy students.
We made the earnest commitment to keep in touch. But only Dennis and I would be attending Purdue Calumet come February, while Dave would be back at St Joes consumed by Basektball, Baseball and his collegiate athletic celebrity.
2 months later, I would drive onto a snow covered Purdue Calumet Campus. Parking in a space close to the main entrance. I got out of the car and walked, instead, down a longer, snow-drifted, path to a door I seemed destined to open. Warm air rushed to welcome me into a long corridor of classrooms. Left or straight? I chose straight. The third door on the right was open, all others closed. My rubber soled imitation seal skin boots made nary a sound as I approached the opening. I glanced in. All but one student’s eyes were focused on the Lecturer. Her eyes, were looking directly at me. Oh yes. How could it have been anyone else, but Melinda?