August 2003: I drive my battered red Geo Prizm down Divide to Sleepy Hollow. The parking lot is packed, people in all states of formal dress wandering along the pavement toward the bridge. I follow a few friends and take a seat in the grass tiers overlooking the outdoor stage. A cute brother-sister duo harmonizes beautifully as Nicole walks out in her bridal dress. I've known Nicole a long time, listened to her complain about the inner workings of the Bismarck High School yearbook, laughed during speech meets at her highly recognized rendition of Christopher Durang's "Laughing Wild" alongside Johnny B. After the ceremony, we all gab over a buffet dinner in the park. All in all a wonderful wedding.
September 20, 2009, sometime around one a.m.: I'm drinking gin and tonics with Melissa, Bret and their friend Julie at the Old Post. We hoped to catch some music, but all the worthwhile shows are charging grotesque covers. The waitress makes a reference to Charles Xavier from X-Men, something I wish happened far more often. Julie asks where I'm from and I respond North Dakota.
"Really? Where in North Dakota?" Julie asks.
"Bismarck."
"No kidding. I bet I could rattle off a few names that you might recognize."
"Hit me."
She names a handful of families, none ringing more than a faint bell. Then she mentions Nicole's name. I light up.
"Yea, I know Nicole. I went to high school with her. We were huge speech geeks."
"You know, she's my cousin."
"No shit?" Heavy emphasis on the -it.
"I went out to Bismarck for her wedding."
"Um, I was there too..."
Small world. Crazy small.
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1 comment:
I was there too.
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