Brad & Kate Saga- Part One

Unedited Version

February 1999

I walked up the ramp to the Institute of Religion Building just across the street from the Community College. The glass double doors were my pathway to a safe haven. I breathed a sigh of relief and threw open the door. Standing right in front of me was a tall, dark haired guy with his hand extended.

“Hi, I’m Brad,” he said. He was wearing a button down polo and pleated corduroys.

I groaned inwardly. Oh no. I knew his type- acted friendly to all the girls and then dated a different one every weekend. I wasn’t going to be fooled by his good boy image. Nope. No thank you. I preferred scroungy surfer boys.

I shook his hand. “Hey, I’m Kate,” I replied casually. I gave a courteous smile, but did nothing to further the conversation.

I spotted my friend Russ and quickly excused myself. Russ invited me to his Religion class. Why not? I thought. I didn’t have any other classes. I was sitting in the second row, when Brad came in, gave me a nod and sat in front of me. Good, I thought. Maybe I had been wrong about him. A package of Grandma’s peanut butter cookies were sticking out of his pockets.
I should take them and see if he notices, I thought. Except then he’ll think I’m flirting.

So I didn’t.

At the end of class, a few of us stood around talking, including Brad. I got out some gum and offered it around. When I got to Brad, he hesitated. “It cleans your teeth,” I tempted. He accepted it with a laugh.

A few days later at the Valentine’s Dance, I saw Brad again. We both had dates, and said Hello. Brad was chewing gum, so I joked that it was the same piece I had given him several days earlier. He was friendly and kind, but nothing more. Hmmm. I guess he wasn’t exactly like I had thought.

The more I saw of him, the more I noticed how kind he was. He always opened doors for others. And whenever he talked to anyone, he gave them his full attention, like he really cared what they had to say. He was genuinely nice to everyone.
I started to crush on him. But the strange thing was; this was the first time I had a crush because of what I saw inside. I flirted with Brad, to no avail. Normally, this would stall me, but for some reason, this only deepened my desire. I would get him to ask me out!

One day, a group of us from the Institute of Religion went to a Convalescent Home to bring some cheer to the residents. We had been going from room to room, singing and talking with each person. In one room, we started talking enthusiastically with a woman lying in bed, only to find that she couldn’t understand us. She only spoke Spanish.

“Does anyone speak Spanish?” people around were asking.

“Brad’s coming,” I heard someone say. Of course, this caught my attention. I turned towards the window, to see Brad coming up the walk. We let him into the room and explained the situation. Brad went up to the old woman, took her hand and spoke gently to her in Spanish. I watched in amazement. This was the kind of man I wanted, gentle and tender. As we left the room, my friend linked arms with Brad. I felt a twinge of jealousy, even though my friend had a boyfriend and I knew she wasn’t interested. But still. I wanted to be the one linking arms with Brad.

I continued to seek out Brad, always receiving mixed signals. At times, he seemed genuinely interested, and other times, he seemed aloof. I didn’t know what to think. This was maddening!

One day, we stood talking in the parking lot. I asked how ice skating had gone the weekend before, and he said he’d had a good time. I assumed our conversation was through, so I crossed the parking lot and went to my car to retrieve a folder.

Brad yelled something after me. I turned, a puzzled look on my face, not quite understanding what he said. I wanted to yell “What?”, but it seemed a little awkward across a parking lot.

Then my brain registered.

“We should go sometime,” he had said.

I was about to answer with a "Yes, we should,” when Brad spoke again.

“Well, maybe with a group or something,” he said.

Dang it! He probably thought I didn’t want to! But what could I do?

“Yeah,” I said sadly, knowing the ice skating idea would never happen. But I was terrified to look desperate. What was I to say? “No, I want to be alone with you.” He would probably run the other direction. I consoled myself on the drive home with the thought: If it was meant to be, it will happen.

I continued to crush so hard, it was painful. Every time I saw him, my stomach would flip flop, and hope would spring into my heart. No matter what I did or how much I flirted and hinted, Brad never made a move. I couldn't bear it, but I also didn’t want to be the pursuer. That had never worked out well for me.

Finals loomed. I was determined to get A’s in all of my classes and studied like a mad woman. I spent every spare moment, making sure all my hard work throughout the semester would not be in vain. On the day of my Math Final, I walked with my brother and a friend to class. Brad sidled up beside us, and my brother, knowing of my crush, stepped out of the way, so I could be closer to Brad. But Brad was more interested in talking to my brother. My heart dropped at this realization. He obviously wasn't interested in me and the whole ice skating thing had been a weird fluke. This would be the last time I saw him as Institute was over and after my Finals, I would be done for the summer.

This was it. What could I do? If Brad wasn’t interested, there was nothing I could do to convince him.

Finals ended and I had achieved my goal. I got A’s in all of my classes, a first for me. A blessing from heaven, truly. It felt good, but I was sad that school was over. I would miss my friends from Institute. I had heard rumor that Brad would be going up to BYU for the summer, so I would probably never see him again.

About a week after school ended, my brother and I drove down for a friends Mission Farewell. Afterwards, we all drove down to the Institute of Religion, as it was going to be rededicated. It had been remodeled a year earlier. My parents drove down to meet us, as my Dad had been the architect on the project. I stood to conduct the Opening Song, when I noticed Brad sitting a few rows back. My heart raced. I took a deep breath and smiled at him, then quickly looked away before he could respond. I couldn’t stand the thought of being rejected, yet again.

After the dedication of the building was over, we all mingled, not wanting to say goodbye for the summer. My Mom wanted me to point out Brad as I had told her all about him. I waited and waited for an opportunity, but Brad was always talking to someone! I continued to linger, hoping to talk to him one last time. Finally I caught him and introduced him to my Mom. After chatting for awhile, she asked his last name.

“Strongin,” he answered.

Mom burst into laughter.

Oh my gosh. This was completely unlike my mom.

“When Kate was little, she used to have imaginary friends called Bongin and Fongin,” she explained.

Brad smiled politely, but I was completely embarrassed. What was he thinking?

A few of his friends came up, and he excused himself. Well, that was that. He would soon walk out the door and I would never see him again. I was so bummed! Why couldn’t he be interested in me like I was in him? Why?

My friend Adrian started playing the piano, and soon a few of us were gathered around, singing songs. My eyes searched the room as I sang. I loved being with my friends, but still couldn’t help wanting to be with Brad. Where was he? I finally spotted him talking to my friend Kendra.

An idea quickly formulated in my mind. Dad had brought the camera, and I wanted to take a few pics with my friends, so I would grab the camera and take pics with Kendra, and then casually invite Brad to be in the photo. Then at least I would have a picture of my crush.
I left the piano immediately, hoping Brad would continue talking to Kendra. Everything fell into place and I got my picture! It was amazing. Brad and I talked, as I wondered why he didn’t ask me out. He did it once, why not again? I had tried to give hints and clues. But I was not about to outright ask him. My pride wouldn’t let me. But this whole ‘if it was meant to be, it will happen’ stuff was driving me crazy! I wasn’t waiting any longer.

I could at least help it along . . .

To BE Continued