Good Sense

Lorraine sits in the dark, unable to move, unable to will herself into bed. The tv doesn't work anymore and she can't tell if that's a good thing or bad. She hears children playing ball in the street and her thoughts drift to her own childhood, so long ago it seems like something she saw in a movie.

She hasn't kept in touch with one single person from those days. She went once to a reunion, the kind that tries to gather folks from a whole decade. It was just a haze of unfamiliar faces. Thank goodness her sister and brother-in-law came with her. She made them dance with her--not the slow dances of course, but the twist and the hully-gully and the stroll.

It could have been worse. She could have been the one that wore a dress that was too tight and too short and drank too much and threw up behind the bathroom door.

What had she expected? A romantic encounter with an old boyfriend? A reunion of the girls she hung out with? Misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. Kids that other parents warned their sons and daughters to stay away from. They all had the good sense to stay away.