The Beginnings - Part 28: BODY WAVE

What had actually begun to surface in his muddled mind was a conflict of emotions.
-Christopher Isherwood
CHRISTOPHER and HIS KIND

The Beginnings – Part 28:  BODY WAVE

May 13, 1983

I hugged Joan Brown three times today. I wanted to sincerely wish her the best and to say goodbye as she is being transferred to the Pacific Telephone Woodland Hills office. I will miss her. She was my very first ‘tub mate’ and my initial true friend and on-the-job trainer. She has invited me for visits to Southern California. That remains to be seen.

When work finally ended I cruised home and saw my MACY’s bills. I telephoned PROPER CUTS about an appointment. I asked about the process of a body wave. Someone suggested I do that—but I’m not so sure.

Well, I made it to PROPER CUTS and I did it. I got the body wave. I had Esther, some Mexican chick, who slightly cut and styled my hair. It came out surprisingly well. I was impressed. The new hairdo impressed me so much that I had the urge to hit the ‘night life’.

I planned on going to STAR GAZE in Fremont but I detoured over to THE ECLIPSE in Hayward. I didn’t like ‘the vibes’ there. I paid a six-dollar cover charge. What a waste. I also bought a two-dollar cocktail called a GREYHOUND. I left after fifteen minutes. I proceeded to go to STAR GAZE. I knew I liked the music there; however, I took another detour to the BLACK ANGUS in Fremont. There weren’t very many girls there, so I did go to STAR GAZE.

I was feeling a little loose and fancy free after my GREYHOUND cocktail from earlier.
I approached a girl and asked, “Do you want to dance?”
She looked at me with surprise and said, “Why…yes!”
Her voice was ecstatic because I had asked her to dance.
I thought, “Gee, my body wave must NOT look so bad.”
We danced and talked a bit as we shook to the groove. I learned that her name is Karen Caster.
Karen said, “I attend Castro Valley High.”
Her three girlfriends were also very good-looking. I felt lucky for once.
“Someone like you probably has a few boyfriends that you’re stringing along.”
“No,” she said, “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Well, I’m twenty-three, so I’m probably too old for you.”
“No, I don’t consider twenty-three too old.”
I asked, “Well, what are you doing tomorrow night?”
“Not really anything.”
When I gathered around her table with her friends her girlfriends gave me Karen’s phone number.
I said to Karen, “I will call you tomorrow about a FOR SURE date.”
My right ear was ringing. Could they have been talking ‘good’ about me?

I left STAR GAZE when Karen and her girlfriends started to depart. I didn’t want to appear as a praying mantis, looking for my next pick-up.
As two of Karen’s friends said they were leaving I said, “It’s just as well…I’m tired and I need to go, too.”

I guess I will take a rain check on the Doug Siu invitation to dinner in San Francisco with his friends. I’d much rather see Karen Caster’s big blue eyes again.

Oh yes, Dad seems to have noticed my body wave.
Dad said, “You look different. You look like Tom Selleck.”
I knew that was an exaggeration and I simply laughed.
The real test is when mom comes home from work tonight. Let’s see if she will notice.

“You like him, don’t you?  Watch out, things might get complicated.”
-Pierre Frei
BERLIN, a novel