I had been dating Jessica a little over a year when she broke up with me the day she graduated from high school. I had driven down from working in Michigan to see her graduate and on the way to her friend’s house she told me it was over.
That night we went to a party and I ended up sleeping on the floor before driving back to Michigan the next day. When I got back I called Kristin from a phone booth in Niles. I hadn’t talked to her in years, but we were childhood friends.
I knew Jessica always went to King’s Island each year on Labor Day and if Jessica had one thing it was consistency. I asked Kristin if she’d like to go with me to King’s Island and she said she would so I arranged a time for us to meet in Indiana.
Our parents are friends so when they found out we were meeting, they wanted to meet to so Kristin and her whole family came out to my parent’s house for a meal and Kristin stayed the night. The next day I drove her back to her house before going to King’s Island.
When we arrived she asked if she could bring a friend, then proceeded to beg a series of friends until one of them agreed to go. I should have stopped the trip there, but I really wanted Jessica to see me with Kristin. I was pretty stupid then.
Kristin drove to King’s Island and when we got there I quickly realized that she would not be riding any rides with me. She did not ride any rides with me that day. The time spent waiting in line was mostly spent in silence or with her talking to her friend.
When we went to the water park I offered to buy her a locker, but she said no. While she was in the water, her bag was stolen and later found in the women’s restroom. Luckily her car keys were still in it, but her wallet and clothes were gone.
I had bought a locker for my things (I was pretty smart then) and so I used my ATM card to get cash to buy her new clothes to wear back into the park. It was getting towards the end of the day, but not yet dark, and we were walking towards the park exit.
Just then I saw Jessica up ahead, left Kristin, and ran ahead to meet her. Jessica was both surprised to see me and guarded against me. When Kristin caught up I introduced her and we walked off. Kristin now knew why we came. I had won the battle, but lost the war.
On the car ride back, Kristin’s oil pressure spiked so she threw it in neutral while traveling down the highway. She would continually have to do this on the way home. This was back when cars were not made well and did good to make it to 100,000 miles.
When Jessica arrived at school that August I didn’t invite her to meet my parents. She later asked why. I don’t remember what I told her, but we didn’t talk much that year. I was over her by that point and had started a new friendship, but that’s another story.