My first date was with Allan H. He had just gotten his driver’s license and had bought a used convertible for $50. He invited me to go to the local drive-in movie, and he roared up to my house with the top down (well, actually he cautiously crept down the street, as he was still gaining driving experience). I had spent an hour getting dressed in my best outfit, applying makeup, and straightening and subduing my thick curly hair, which sprung back up like 10,000 monkey’s tails at the tiniest exposure to humidity. I was not thrilled by the fact that the top was down, but I was too polite to say anything. Besides, I had never gone to a drive-in, and riding in a car, with a boy, was super-cool.
My first date was not what I'd expected.
As we settled into our parking spot to watch the movie, it started to rain. Allan pressed the button to close the top, but nothing happened. He had just bought the car that afternoon so he didn’t know a lot about what worked and what didn’t. Within seconds, the heavens had opened up, and we were being drenched. Allan jumped out of the car and manually pulled the top up. There was just one problem–it wouldn’t close all the way. There was a one-inch gap between the windshield and the top, so our knees were being soaked with a steady stream of rain. Oh, well, it was kinda cozy in our wet cocoon, and after our legs were soaked, they couldn’t get more soaked. The movie was a wet blur through the windshield, so Allan turned on the windshield wipers, only to discover that they didn’t work either. Ever the gentleman, he jumped outside once more and tried to manually move them back and forth. That proved to be impossible. Finally I urged him to come back into the car, and as the rain continued to drench our legs, and the movie was a blur of colors somewhere in the distance, Allan turned to me and did the only logical thing to do in that situation: He gave me my first kiss.
We never did see the movie, but we did have a good time. However, when I got home, my hair was sticking out in every direction, my face was streaked with multiple makeup colors, and my clothes were wrinkled and dirty. “WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?” my mother shrieked as I skipped happily up the stairs to my room to relive that wonderful night.
Joan Matthews
Oh wow, that story is priceless! I laughed so hard reading it! I totally relate to the hair battles, trying to fight the curl and being undone by the slightest bit of humidity. But once you were soaked, it didn’t really matter any more. Thanks for the wonderful story, and glad to see you back on Retrospect!
Aw, how cute and real … love how your hair reacted to the wet weather. Many of us had experiences with car trouble and drive-in movies on dates, and this was fun to relive.
What a great first date story. I could easily picture his disaster of a car, and your hair/makeup meltdown is every woman’s nightmare. Did you ever see him again? What a sweet way for a first kiss to happen. Thanks for sharing.
Laurie: Allan and I dated for about a year afterward, gradually drifting apart. Then I dated Pat E. until we graduated from high school. Allan and Pat ended up rooming together in college, and we all remained friends.
Great story that could have gone either way. With all the prep you put into your hair and make-up, you could have been quite upset when the rain came and Allan couldn’t close up the car. But you went with the flow, so to speak, obviously liked the guy a lot, had a fun night of making out and enjoyed reliving it for some time. Delicious details; thanks for sharing them with us.
So Allan contrived to have the car misbehave in so many ways just to set the stage for a kiss? Just kidding. A wonderful story and what a memory.
Tom: Hm, I never thought of that. But he was too much of a nerd to be manipulative. We both were.
Must say I particularly the part when he jumped out to try to operate the windshield wipers manually. The height of gallantry.