HOW TO BEAD A ROGUE ELEPHANT The Musings Of A Jewelry Designer: Inward

I could see through the panes in the door this tall man heading towards me. I waited anxiously, obviously her father, to greet me and let me in to wait for his daughter and our date. Excited. Nervous. Eager to see her and lead her to our transportation, some dinner, a movie, perhaps something else. I had prepared for this moment. Though one can never fully prepare. And I heard him turn the knob and begin to open the door.

He opened the door violently. Violently. As if it were very heavy. Or difficult to open, you know, when you add that extra pull or push. His face was stern. Angry. Full of frustration. He was winding up. Something I wasn’t prepared for, and hoped would never happen.

“Get out of here!” “Stay away from my daughter!”

And the door slammed in my face.

This had happened too many times before with other planned-for dates that never materialized. In junior high. In high school.

Arlene, that was her name, had accepted my invitation for a date, I thought, because she wanted to go out with me. I liked her. I thought she liked me. We shared high school classes. We talked often. I felt an attraction. But Arlene, like Anne, and Sue, and Mary, and Ginny before her, had one objective. To get back at her parents by…