She had called at a bad time. Nothing had gone right that day. I had been left out of the loop by someone, forgotten by someone else , and was ready to call it a day when the phone rang. I answered it because she's my best friend; she might need something. And besides, she always makes me feel better.
The call was to let me know she was having a difficult time obtaining U2 tickets. For both of us. While searching online for tickets, Joelle had gotten a call. A co-worker of her husbands had surprised her with ONE top-of-the-line ticket to the concert. The co-worker had no idea I was headed to Vegas to attend the concert with Joelle. While feeling indebted and grateful to the woman, Joelle was now holding a golden ticket for herself and had nothing for me. Awkward.
"Great, " I mumbled sarcastically. "Just the kind of day I'm having." Once the words exited my mouth I sought to pull them back. Darn it. Joelle was going to internalize this, and I hadn't meant to play the guilt card. This situation was putting Joelle in a delicate position. For her, it was a problem of obligation to her spouse's co-worker vs. letting down her best friend. There was no way I could buy a ticket that cost that much, and I didn't want Joelle to have tomake make an uncomfortable decision.
" The concert doesn't matter. I'll come see you another weekend," I said. " And after I had a good sleep, I meant it. I forgot about the concert. I had already started looking at the calendar for another time to head to Vegas.
My cell phone rang on Saturday morning. "You're coming. I got you a U2 ticket," Joelle said. I'm not sure what kind of hoops she had to jump through, but she got me an adjoining ticket. A cheerful yelp came out of my mouth in the middle of Wendy's. I was in shock. I never expected it. But I should have known - Joelle is always there. She has been on the other end of the phone for me for 30 years.
It will be my third U2 concert, Joelle's umpteenth. It will be the first time we will see the band together.
"Stories For Boys", U2, 1979.
3 comments:
That Joelle is such a friend.....you are so lucky to have each other. Keep it going!
Ooooh! Lucky!
Really, it is Toni that is the rockstar. After almost 37 years of friendship, scoring a concert ticket is the very least I could do.
Post a Comment