Bittersweet Buttercup
The First Time I Saw The Princess Bride
The day my parents finally decided that I could actually go out on dates with Hubby is the day I broke up with him. Of course he was still just “boyfriend” at that point. I was sitting in my father’s recliner in the den. I could see the church lights through the windows on the back door from where I sat. Mom and Dad were at the church for some sort of meeting. I know that it was a meeting instead of a service because if it had been worship or Bible study, I would have been required to be there too.
Later I learned that while I was on the telephone with Hubby explaining to him that I thought we should break up, my youth minister was at a table with my parents convincing them that even though I was only 15 — not yet the required age of 16 — that Hubby had proven his trustworthiness and I had proven my maturity. She went to bat for me and told my parents that they weren’t doing anyone any favors by trying to keep me from going to the movies with the boy I had been talking to on the phone for two years.
They all knew him very well by then. He came to as many youth programs as he could because that is how he got to see me. He sometimes sat in that same den with my parents and me while we all watched TV. When my father yawned and called out, “Well, the ole clock on the wall says, ‘It’s time for bed,’” Hubby politely said his “Goodnights” and went home.
I had no way of knowing that this conversation was happening at the church while I was breaking his heart over the phone. How was I supposed to know that they were about to come in the back door and tell me that they were releasing me to date sooner than expected? I was in high school and someone else was actually paying attention to me, so naturally I had to break up with my boyfriend.
If you are one of those girls who have always had boys flirt with you, you won’t understand this. IF a boy did flirt with me, I didn’t notice. It was beyond anything I could believe. I never imagined that anyone was interested in dating me. Hubby and I had met at church camp. He was a rare find. (In fact, he is a rare find!) I didn’t think anyone else would ever LIKE like me. So, when one of the football players at school started flirting with me, I got real confused real fast.
He was the least popular of all the football players. I’m serious. He was a kicker. He was short and stocky. He was a little odd. But, he was friends with the BFF’s boyfriend, so when he started flirting with me at school, she made sure I noticed.
When my parents came in from the church meeting, Mom informed me that Youth Minister had really given them a hard time about not allowing me to go on dates. Mom had been telling me that I was too young to be so serious about one boy for months, maybe years. When I told her that I had just broken up with Hubby over the phone, she was flabberghasted.
“Why did you do that? Poor Hubby! He has been waiting on you for two years and you broke up with him? He must be heart-broken!”
I ran to my room, threw myself on the bed and cried. She came in, sat down next to me, rubbed my back and asked why I was so upset.
“I thought I was doing the right thing. You have been telling me that I’m too serious about him. Now you are saying I’ve broken his heart. I don’t know what the right thing to do is!”
Mom hugged me. She let me cry. I don’t remember what she said to me, but I know it was a comfort. She assured me that regardless of what happened, it would all be okay.
I asked if could go on a date with the football player.
After she and Dad had a conversation about the football player, they decided that I could go on my first official date (that wasn’t to a church event) as long as it was a double-date with BFF. If it had been Hubby, I could have gone alone because they knew him and his parents. They didn’t know this new guy, so there were additional rules. That was okay with me. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alone with him either.
Here is the saddest of all the details in this story. For that double-date we went to the movies. Football Player and I sat in the backseat while BFF sat in the front and her boyfriend drove. We took his Jeep CJ-7 with the soft top and removable doors. It was tan. I’m pretty sure that Jeep is why he was her boyfriend. That isn’t the saddest part. The saddest part is that we went to see The Princess Bride.
Football Player held my hand for a bit during the movie, but at some point during the romantic story of Princess Buttercup and Wesley, I had to take my hand away to wipe the tears that were streaming down my face. I watched Wesley tumble down the hill when Buttercup pushed him and saw the look of shock and relief on her face as he called out “Aasss yooouuuu wiiiiiiiisssssshhhhhh.” She lept after him, tumbling down the hill too. I was seeing one of the best romantic movies of all time and all I could think was, “I should be watching this with Hubby!” I was so sad.
It took exactly two weeks. Two weeks after making that phone call and breaking Hubby’s heart, two weeks after my parents decided I could actually go OUT on dates, two weeks of misery on both our ends and I called him again.
This, by the way, was horrifying to my mother. She couldn’t believe that I would call a boy — that time or any time. Most of the time, I waited for him to call me, but sometimes after two years, I would just call him if something was on my mind. “Girls don’t call boys” was actually a rule we lived by. Different times.
I called him and before I could even get “hello” out, I started crying. I think he did too, though he isn’t likely to admit it and I’m certain he hid it well over the phone. I told him that I had made a terrible mistake. I told him that I missed him so very much. I told him that I was deeply sorry. I told him I would never do it again. He agreed to come to my house so we could talk about it. He forgave me. Though, he still likes to point out that I broke his heart that one time.
Watching The Princess Bride is still bittersweet. We have watched it many times together in all those years since. We were sure to share it with our kids. It is indeed one of the best movies of all time. I love it so much. But, I can’t watch it without being sad that the first time I saw it in the movie theatre I was sitting next to Football Player instead of Hubby. I can’t help but be a little sad that it was the first time my parents had let me go to the movies on a date and it wasn’t with him. It kind of ruins the perfect story, you know?
Hubby and I went on a date recently. We went to see Black Widow at the movie theatre. We shared popcorn and Peanut M&M’s. He held my hand. It is still a pretty good story.