Dan had never been accused of being talented when it came to fidelity. In fact, he had been told repeatedly just how bad at it he was. Sometimes they would forgive and take him back. Sometimes they wouldn't. If he had a dime for every time her heard that damn cliche about a leopard never changing it's spots, he'd be rich. His first such experience would come at the tender age of twelve.
Hillary he had met through his father's business associates. Every year his father's company would throw a big Christmas party, and we're talking big. We're talking inviting clients, renting a hotel ballroom big. One problem of such a gathering was what to do with the plethora of children all the employees had. The solution was they would all gather at the home of the boss's secretary, Linda. While these titans of commerce drank and danced the night away, their bundles of joy were plied with massive quantities of sugar and video games by Linda's eldest daughter Brenda. Young Brenda couldn't have been much older than Dan, if at all, but nonetheless, she was put in charge of all them. Including Dan. This might have frustrated Dan, and even given him good cause to exercise his terrific issues with authority, but for one thing. Brenda had invited her very pretty friend, Hillary.
She was the colors of night. Hair so dark brown it was nearly black, and eyes equally dark. her skin was the color of moonlight, soft and pale. She was also timid and shy, and seemed to laugh at all of Dan's jokes, a quality Dan always looked for in a woman. He as hooked immediately. By the end of the night, Brenda had humiliated the both of them by announcing aloud that it was obvious they liked each other, and they should hold hands. So they did. By the end of the night, Dan got a kiss and a phone number, and by seventh grade standards, that meant a girlfriend!
And then there was Olivia. They had met through Dan's mother. Dan's parents were divorced, and every other weekend he went to stay at the apartment his mom shared with her roommate Tammy. This roommate had a pair of nieces, one of which was Olivia. As fate would have it, these nieces would also often stay over on weekends with their aunt. Where Hillary was softness and night, Olivia was the stark brightness of midday sun. She was brash, loud and attention-seeking. Her golden hair, blue eyes and deep tan had netted her several modeling gigs. To be fair, they were only smalltime print gigs, like Sears catalogue and the like, but still; she was a model. A real live model! What kid wouldn't love to be able to tell his buddies at school he was dating a model?
Just like with Hillary, things were decided for Dan and Olivia. Only this time, it was Olivia doing the deciding. They were an item, and when they were both over for a weekend at the apartment, they would hold hands and kiss.
This incident was nearly fifteen years in the past, so it was hard for Dan to recall which one came first, and which one was the "other woman" but in practice, it didn't really matter. By the definitions of that age, just talking to another girl on the phone all night and holding hands was more than enough to count as cheating. Fortunately, for Dan, the two girls went to different schools, and Dan himself went to yet a third different school. It was the perfect scenario, and there was no chance that the two young ladies would ever get wind of each other.
Or so Dan thought.
Jenn was two years Dan's junior, and thought herself a pretty smart girl for her ten years. She answered the phone as often, or more, than Dan. Many afternoons Dan would go straight from school and play a pick-up game of football with the guys. On just such an afternoon, Jenn proved that she wasn't as clever as she thought she was.
"Hello." Jenn said into the phone.
"Hey, is Danny there?" said the female voice on the other end of the line.
"No, Hillary, he's out playing football at the park. I'll tell him you called."
There was a long pause.
"...Hillary? Who the fuck is Hillary?!"
Jenn was under the mistaken impression that she had learned the two girls voices, and could tell them apart. Clearly this was not the case. For the next few hours the phone would ring. And ring. And ring.
Dan returned home sweaty, partially coated in mud and ready for dinner, but when he walked in the door he was greeted by his father, Paul, who wore a very strange look on his face. It was as if he couldn't decide whether to be amused or irritated. Paul opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get a word out the phone began to ring. Instead, he only smiled and sighed. After a moment he said "I think it's for you, bud."
Confused, Dan went over to the phone, never taking his eyes off his father's unnervingly strange expression.
"Hello?"
"Is Danny home yet?" Unlike his sister, Dan had known their voices well enough to tell them apart.
"...yeah, hey Liv, it's me. What's--" Paul coughed to hide a laugh as his son suddenly pulled the receiver away from his ear. The sounds that followed were screeched at such volume and pitch that they were unrecognizable as words. "What? What?! Hey, slow down, I can't understand a word you're saying. Wait Wait... what? She what?"
There's no need to recount exactly what Olivia said. We all know the kinds of things she said. Dan, was clearly horrified at the emotion and the language spewing forth from the girl on the other end of the phone. Was this Olivia? This ranting she devil? Having his first experience with a woman scorned, he did what any sensible young man who had just been caught "cheating" would do. He hung up the phone.
It rang a few seconds later, and Paul stepped in this time. "Listen, girly, I am very sorry that my son was a jerk to you, but if this doesn't stop right now, I'm calling the police. Is that clear?" He paused. "I said is that clear? Hello? She hung up."
That night Dan's father would try his best to give his son a stern talking to, but his battle to control his expression was a losing one. He would repeatedly chuckle, or grin, catch himself at it, try desperately to scowl, and fail.
Hillary was never the wiser. Things didn't work out with her either, but there was no brutal confrontation. Things didn't go bad, they just sort of stopped. They would cross paths romantically again, but that's a story for another time.
...more to come.
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