May 7th – Friday evening, warm
I met Harry at Murphy’s after work. When I arrived, he was sitting with a gorgeous woman whom I had never met before. She had dirty blond curly hair, a radiant smile, and wore a tight blue sweater that distracted me for the rest of the evening.
As I approached the two of them, Harry stood up and introduced us. Her name was Anne. Anne stood up and shook my hand. She gave me a firm handshake and a very warm smile. I had the immediate and uncharacteristic urge to give her a hug, but she offered her hand before I had a chance.
I sat down to the left of Harry, and Anne sat to his right. You may be wondering why I am giving you so many details, and so I will tell you: it was the first time I met Anne, and it has remained vivid in my memory to this day. I was immediately attracted to her, quite strongly. In fact, I had a very hard time paying attention to anything Harry said while Anne was around. And it would be like that every time the three of us got together.
After a few beers, we all went back to Harry’s and spent the evening sitting on lawn chairs on top of his mound. It didn’t take long for Anne and I to make a connection, and soon it was as though we had always known each other. As the evening wore on, I tried to sense what kind of relationship the two of them had.
I could see by the way Harry looked at her and listened to her that he was very fond of Anne. He smiled when she talked, agreed with her more than he agreed with me, and I noticed that his eyes followed her whenever she moved. Of course, it was hard for me to notice that since my eyes were following her as well. But I needed to know where they stood. And if there was nothing significant going on between them, I wanted very much to get to know her better.
As nightfall arrived, the three of us were having a merry old time on the mound. I decided I needed to find out what the deal was with the two of them.
Paul: Anne, you haven’t told me how you and Harry know each other.
Anne: Well, I was his attorney a few years back. That’s how we met.
Paul: You mean for his lawsuit?
Anne: Correct.
Harry: She helped me sue God.
Anne: I helped Harry sue God.
Paul: Wow. What a way to meet!
Harry: She was the first and only lawyer I talked to who understood what I was doing. Or trying to do.
Anne: And he was the most interesting client I’ve ever had.
Paul: I would imagine so. There aren’t too many people like Harry.
Anne: No, he’s one of a kind. Aren’t you, dear?
Harry: I suppose.
Paul: So what happened afterward?
Harry: What happened with what?
Paul: With you two. (I was trying to find out if they became anything more than friends)
Harry: We stayed in contact.
Anne: For a while. And then Harry disappeared off the face of the Earth.
Paul: Really? Where’d you go, Harry?
Harry: Oh, I’ll never tell. (big smile)
Anne: He hasn’t really told me either. Come to think of it, it’s time you did. Tell me Harry, where were you? How long were gone, two years?
Paul: Two years? You disappeared for two years?
Harry: I didn’t disappear! I was somewhere.
Anne: But where? See, Paul, about six months after we gave up on the lawsuit, Harry told me he was going away for a while.
Harry: I think I told you I was doing some traveling, or something.
Anne: Right. You said you were going to visit some friends out west somewhere.
Harry: Except I didn’t really have any friends out west.
Paul: So you lied?
Harry: No, I didn’t lie. I assumed I would be making some friends out west. And those were the people I intended to visit.
Paul: So you were going to visit friends you hadn’t met yet.
Harry: Exactly.
Anne: It’s kind of a lie. Or at least, it was a bit misleading.
Harry: Call it what you will. I was in a weird place back then. And it didn’t really matter why I was going. I just had to go.
Paul: Why?
Harry: Well, I guess you could call it a soul-searching mission.
Paul: Ah. You were heading west to find yourself.
Harry: Pretty much, yeah.
Paul: And did you?
Harry: I did.
Paul: And where did you find yourself? Where were you hiding?
Harry: In Jasper.
Paul: Jasper?
Anne: That’s what I said, too. Harry, you never did tell me what Jasper was.
Harry: Jasper is a town. In Indiana.
Anne: Really? I never heard of it.
Harry: Neither had I.
Paul: And what did you find in Jasper, Indiana?
Harry: Myself. Like I told you.
Paul: And what were you doing in Jasper? What part of you was in Jasper?
Harry: Look, this is a long story. There’s not nearly enough time tonight to tell it to you, and I need to think it all through before I can describe it in a way that will make sense to you.
Anne: Oh, boy. Gee, Harry, you’re so deep and mysterious. And your life if so complicated, I don’t think Paul and I could possibly understand.
Harry: Come on, that’s not fair.
Paul: Well, why can’t you just tell us about your “lost years”? Give us the Cliff Notes version.
Harry: I’ll tell you what, the next time the three of us get together, I’ll tell you all about what happened in Jasper. Okay?
Anne: Fine.
Paul: Fine?
Harry: Fine!
