Stranded in Galveston

One time I was stranded in Galveston, abandoned by a friend at a bar when she found a guy to suit her needs. It was Memorial Day weekend, and I was just another fun-loving college student out to party. I didn’t really want to go to Galveston during such a busy weekend, but she talked me into it because I had the car, which she took with her when she left. My purse was in the trunk and my keys  in her pocket since my outfit didn’t have pockets.

At first I panicked. I went back into the club thinking she'd return soon. She didn't. Fortunately, I ran into a guy I knew from my hometown college, Lamar. I had gone there my first year and then transferred to Texas A&M. I had finished all my classes and was waiting to do my student teaching in the fall. Over the summer, I was working full-time in Dillard’s lingerie department (that’s another story for later).

What were the odds of running into a familiar face in a strange town? It seemed as if an angel had appeared, but I was still fuming mad. He was a gentleman and didn’t want to leave me alone, so we set out to find my friend. I was staying at a condo of someone she knew. When the guy and I drove there, no one was home. When we called, no one answered.

The guy and I decided to wait at the beach and then go back to the club and condo later. We talked about all the crazy things going on in our lives… because at that age everything is crazy. His parents were getting a divorce, mine were thinking about it (which is why I hadn't moved back home for the summer). We sat on the seawall, dangling our legs over the edge, feeling the cool breeze on our face. The salty air was a sobering slap, and the sound of the waves crashing calmed me down. After awhile, we decided to search for my car. When we stood, we collided; the guy’s head to my eyebrow. At the time, we laughed. Little did I know what a fuss it would cause later.

The bar was deserted and the condo was still dark with no cars in sight at four o’clock in the morning. We had no other alternative but for me to crash in the cheesy motel room he shared with his fraternity brothers. Everyone was passed out in the beds and all over the floor. There must have been a dozen snoring, stinky beer-smelling male bodies in the ratty room. The guy apologized and offered a bed, but we couldn’t wake any of them up, much less move them. I snuggled with a pillow and blanket on the floor knowing I was in danger of a roach attack by morning.

What seemed like mere minutes later, I opened my eyes because I could sense people staring at me. In that awkward moment when I remembered what had happened, I felt like Snow White. They treated me as royalty after they heard my story (I’m not real sure what they thought at first and don’t want to know). By that time, my eye was black and blue.

To be continued...