Susan plonked the ice cream firmly on
Michael Cartwright’s head. It was the
first occasion the two of them had met,
or that was what Michael’s best
... [Show More] man
claimed when Susan and Michael were
married twenty-one years later.
Both of them were three years
old at the time, and when Michael burst
into tears, Susan’s mother rushed over to
find out what the problem was. All
Susan was willing to say on the subject,
and she repeated it several times, was,
“Well, he asked for it, didn’t he?” Susan
ended up with a spanking. Not the ideal
start for any romance.
The next recorded meeting,
according to the best man, was when
they both arrived at their elementary
school.
Susan declared with a knowing
air that Michael was a cry-baby, and
what’s more, a sneak. Michael told the
other boys that he would share his
graham crackers with anyone who was
willing to pull Susan Illingworth’s
pigtails. Few boys tried a second time.
At the end of their first year,
Susan and Michael were jointly
awarded the class prize. Their teacher
considered it the best course of action if
she hoped to prevent another ice-cream
incident. Susan told her friends that
Michael’s mother did his homework for
him, to which Michael responded that at
least it was in his own handwriting.
The rivalry continued unabated
through junior and senior high Until they
departed for different universities,
Michael to Connecticut State and Susan
to Georgetown. For the next four years,
they both worked hard at avoiding each
other.
In fact the next occasion their
paths crossed was, ironically, at Susan’s
home, when her parents threw a surprise
graduation party for their daughter. The
biggest surprise was not that Michael
accepted the invitation, but that he turned
up.
Susan didn’t recognize her old
rival immediately, partly because he had
grown four inches and was, for the first
time, taller than her. It wasn’t until she
offered him a glass of wine and Michael
remarked, “At least this time you didn’t
pour it all over me,” that she realized
who the tall handsome man was.
“God, I behaved dreadfully,
didn’t I,” said Susan, wanting him to
deny it.
“Yes, you did,” he said, “but then
I expect I deserved it.”
“You did,” she said, biting her
tongue.
They chatted like old friends, and
Susan was surprised at how
disappointed she felt when a classmate
from Georgetown joined them and
started flirting with Michael. They didn’t
speak to each other again that evening.
Michael phoned the following
day and invited her to see Spencer Tracy
and Katharine Hepburn in Adam’s Rib.
Susan had already seen the
movie, but still heard herself accepting,
and couldn’t believe how long she spent
trying on different dresses before he
arrived for that first date.
Susan enjoyed the film, even
though it was her second time, and
wondered if Michael would put an arm
around her shoulder when Spencer
Tracey kissed Katharine Hepburn. He
didn’t. But when they left the movie
house, he took her hand as they crossed
the road, and didn’t let it go until they
reached the coffee shop. That was when
they had their first row, well,
disagreement. Michael admitted that he
was going to vote for Thomas Dewey in
November, while Susan made it clear
that she wanted the incumbent Democrat,
Harry Truman, to remain in the White
House. The waiter placed the ice cream
in front of Susan. She stared down at it.
“Don’t even think about it,” [Show Less]