My Fair Maiden
It was September 1973 and I was smitten by Shelley K. She was a princess, a goddess, a fair maiden….Intelligent, beautiful and kind…and she liked me…What more could a man want. Go for it Delgado!…Right???
I was twenty years old and living with my room mates, Brian Faulkner, Lynnsey Guerrero and Mitch McKay on Landfair street in Westwood. We were undergrads at UCLA and riding the wave of youthful exuberance and confidence.
One fall day, Mitch and I were sitting in Ancient Egyptian History class when I saw Shelley…She was beyond beautiful…I remember the insightful questions she posed to our professor…I was instantly smitten.
After class, I found the courage to talk to her. She was wonderful. Over the next few weeks, we got to know each other better. She lived with her friend Wendy, who was a friend of my roommate Mitch. The perfect juxtaposition for next moves!
I heard that she had been dating this “older guy” who was in law school, but their relationship was getting rocky. I gave it little thought. I was playing soccer for UCLA and on top of the world. Our team had a heavy travel schedule and we only saw each other from time to time on campus. But I always felt I was walking on air when I was with her.
That October, we had an epic Halloween costume party at our apartment in Westwood.
Getting ready for the party, Brian and I found a couple of British sailor suits at a surplus store in Santa Monica that fit us perfectly. (LOL!!...we had size 24 waistlines back then!)
Dressed as drunken sailors…we were ready for what was to be the party of the century!
It was 9 PM when Shelley walked in the door dressed as a fairy tale princess…She was stunning….The beer was flowing and the music was rocking.
Steely Dan’s “Reelin in the years” was cranked up on the stereo. It was a warm October night under a full moon. Magic was in the air.
The next morning sitting on the deck with my room mates and nursing a major hangover with a couple of Bloody Marys….I decided I was gonna go for it with Shelley…
“Guys…I’m going to ask her out next Thursday after History class!”
“I think I’m in the love”
They laughed and said:
“Go for it bro!”
I had it all planned out...Right after class, we would walk down to the canteen on Bruin walk for coffee and I’d ask her out for dinner at La Barbara’s Italian restaurant in Westwood Village…I double checked my approach with my room mates and got the green light…Good to go!
My confidence was high.
I was ready to go.
It was late afternoon as I walked out of Royce Hall and saw Shelley standing at the top of Janss steps overlooking the campus. The sunset was breathtaking.
My heart leapt with joy as I saw her. With confidence, I began to walk toward her. She was bathed in the colors of an Indian summer sunset. It was surrealistic.
But all of a sudden…right then and there…out of nowhere….Her boyfriend, the “old guy” walks up to her and they embrace. She gives him a kiss on the cheek and they walk together across the mall toward the Law school library.
I was crushed…My hopes dashed on the rocks…I walked in the fading sunset back to my apartment on Landfair feeling like a fool.
As I walked in the door, the guys asked…”How did it go?”…All I could say was…”WTF was I thinking….Man, I was lucky I didn’t make a fool of myself by asking her out minutes before her “boyfriend” showed up!”
Later in bed that night, I thought…”Whew…what a moron….Luckily I didn’t embarrass myself!”
Yet, I still felt sad about the outcome.
Oh well…I thought…”Asi es la vida”
A couple of years later, I was on campus playing soccer with fellow alums and as I walked off the field, I ran into Wendy, Shelley’s former roommate who was in grad school then.
I asked her about Shelley.
Wendy replied: “She’s doing great…She’s in Law School at Hastings in Berkeley”
I asked Wendy to say hi to her.
As she started to walk away, Wendy looked back and said:
“Why didn’t you ever ask her out Paul?”
“She had a major crush on you!”
Noooooooooooooooooooo!
Falling off the cliff sound!!!
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Ayieeeee!! What a moron!!…How could I have been so blind!!!
I told Wendy of the encounter on Janss Steps…
”I thought Shelley had a boyfriend.”
Wendy replied...”She did…but it was over”
“That afternoon on Janss steps was their last meeting.”
Wendy gave me a hug and said,
“He wasn’t the one…but you could have been.”
As the old adage so wisely says…
Faint heart never won fair maiden
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