Walk down memory lane - the Towel Incident

There are times when a memory will just sneak up on you and jump to the front of your brain and today I reminisced over the Towel Incident.

I was 18, getting close to graduation, and had been dating a 15 year old for about 2 weeks.  Her name was Heidi and she and I were in the midst of a relationship that lasted about a month.  Maybe it was that I was older or maybe she was just aggressive but one evening we found ourselves in my room making out, with my parents nowhere to be seen.

I am not an idiot so for anyone reading this that thinks Statutory Rape, please know that wasn't an issue and I was keeping it that way.  But we were having a good time and it was slightly more illicit in the fact that I knew I shouldn't have had her at my house.  My parents probably didn't even know I was dating anyone, much less a 15 year old.

I estimate that we had been in my room about 30 minutes when I heard the front door open and I realized I was screwed.  My bedroom was at the end of the hall and the only exits were my door and my window.  The window was out of the question the second I heard not only my parents, but my aunt, sit down in the kitchen.  My bedroom window opened right next to the kitchen window so movement would have been noticed.  Alternately, to leave meant walking right next to the kitchen.  I was trapped.

I waited a few minutes before I decided to go out and say hello to everyone.  Due to my parents smoking habit, I was known to stay shut in my room with the door closed at all times so my absences wasn't questioned, even though my pick up outside told them I was home.  I exchanged pleasantries with everyone and racked my brain for a way to figure out how to get Heidi out of my room.  We couldn't wait them out as she had a curfew and my parents can sit for hours drinking, smoking and talking.  Then I remembered "The Towel".

I exclaimed to my aunt, "Aunt Mickey, did you see my graduation present?".  You see, a family friend of ours had a tradition to give any graduate a towel with their name embroidered on it.  It was a fairly large towel, around 5 feet long, and I had gotten mine a few weeks back.  She said, "No" and I said, "Well let me show it to you".  I ran back to my room and quickly explained the plan to Heidi.

I grabbed the towel, walked back out into the hallway, and held the towel up in the doorway of the kitchen.  The towel was just big enough that when I intentionally let it touch the floor, the doorway was completely obstructed.  Heidi took the opportunity to run past the door and to the front entry way.  I waited a moment, told them I had to go meet someone or some other excuse that I no longer recall, threw the towel in my room, and left the house, taking Heidi out the door with me.

Did my parents know what was happening?  I don't think so.  I haven't thought to ask them but I still have that towel and from time to time that whole situation comes back to me and makes me laugh.

That is all,

Newt