A Sue Memory: An American Tail

We had a standing date on Friday nights.  We agreed that if neither of us got a better offer, we would go out together.  I loved this arrangement because with me being in the 7th grade, "a better offer" usually meant a babysitting job.  She had plenty of better offers but sometimes was free on a Friday.  After all, she was a real grown up with a job, a car, and everything.

On our Friday nights she would pick me up at home.  As we walked out the door, she would say, "Ready?" and I knew I was supposed to answer, "Ready, Santa!" in my best Rudolph voice.  Sometimes we went to the mall and she would buy me a slush or maybe a new shirt. Most of the time, though, we would go to 7-11 and buy Fun Dips, the big ones with three flavors of dip and two dipping sticks, hide them in her purse and head to the movies.

In the parking lot of the movie theater she would ask me what music was popular.  She was 20 now and didn't want to lose touch with what the young people were into.  She would ask about school, but not the boring questions most adults asked (do you like school?  what's your favorite subject?).  She would ask if that mean girl was still being mean, did I still like that cute boy in Science class?  Had I ever gotten up the nerve to write him that note I was planning to write?  Did Mr. Linteau still give the hardest vocabulary tests like way back when she had him?

The night we were going to see An American Tail, we had her purse loaded up with Fun Dip and had some time to kill in the parking lot before the movie started.  I asked her if she was sure she wanted to see a little kid movie with a cartoon mouse.  She said she thought it looked like it would be a cute movie.  I felt a little relieved, because I wanted to see it too, but I didn't want to act like a kid.  I told her I had a song for her to listen to, it was a really good one.  I played her "Rock Me" by Great White.  She loved it.  We played it over and over until it was time to go into the theater.  I felt grown up.

We sat in the dark, eating Fun Dip until it made the roofs of our mouths raw.  We both cried when Fivel was reunited with his parents.  I felt like a kid.

She made it easy for me to be both at the same time.