Let that sink in.
I didn’t actually like him all that much. I definitely wasn’t attracted to him. Okay, to be fair, he wasn’t exactly gross but he also wasn’t at all someone I found romantically attractive.
I dated him for a year and a half.
That’s so sad, isn’t it?
I thought I was such a badass feminist in high school and there I was, dating a guy I didn’t even really like but he liked me so…
We finally broke up after he kissed another girl. I was so relieved to finally have an excuse to break up with him. The REASON I wanted to break up with him was because I didn’t want to be in a relationship with him anymore.
And that’s reason enough. But when you’re eighteen, you think you have to have a REAL reason and just wanting someone to go away didn’t seem like real enough.
Obviously, I know better now.
My best friend (R) in high school hated JLC. She thought he was a tool and a loser.
She wasn’t wrong.
JLC wasn’t R’s biggest fan either but his ambivalence toward her turned to a white hot hatred the summer before our (R’s and my) senior year. JLC was a year behind us.
I worked at the Dairy Treat in our town. It was a tiny little establishment with both table inside people could use and be served by waitresses as well as a window at which people could place their orders and wait to pick them up.
One day that summer, R had shown up as my shift at work ended. I don’t know what we were going to do but as we waited at a picnic table outside the Dairy Treat, JC pulled up in his new-to-him car.
This car was ridiculous.
It was a Ranchero, which was the Ford version of the El Camino.
Here’s what Wikipedia says about the Ranchero:
The Ford Ranchero is a coupe utility that was produced by Ford between 1957 and 1979. Unlike a pickup truck, the Ranchero was adapted from a two-door station wagon platform that integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body. A total of 508,355 units were produced during the model's production run.
JC’s Ranchero looked very much like this:
Except his was in much worse shape. In fact, it was hideous. As he drove up the road toward the dairy treat, where RO and I were sitting, the hood on his car came unlatched and flew up, obstructing his view of the road.
Smoke and dust billowed from the engine and JC was hanging his head out the window trying to see where he was going.
Obviously, this was hysterically funny and while I tried to contain my mirth, R did nothing to stifle her laughter. She laughed until she cried.
JLC was pissed.
He loved that stupid, horrible car and her laughter at the awfulness of that car just fueled his anger.
Our senior year was rife with JC’s distain for R and her ‘haughty’ attitude. For her part, R thought JLC was a schmuck and didn’t care even a little that he didn’t like her. She also didn’t understand why I was dating him. She was never mean to me about it but she didn’t hide the fact that she thought I was WAY too good for him.
I don’t know why I’m telling this story, except maybe to remind everyone out there that sometimes (most times even) we should listen to our friends. They are a little removed from romantic relationships and they see things we don’t always see or that we ignore.
RO was so right about JLC. He’s been married three times, divorced twice, has five kids and has been arrested for domestic violence.
I was lucky to get away when I did.
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