The bright side of Midnight.

"Brian!" I screamed across the room, he couldn't hear me dang-it. I looked around. There was a bowl of tootsie rolls, I hurled a handful at him and yelled,
"BRIAN!" At the top of my lungs...no answer, but the rest of the kids were swarming to the tootsie rolls on the ground like bees to honey.
I stomped off the dance floor. It was no use anyway, it wasn't like I was popular. He was. He had slipped me a note at lunch though...asking me to find him and dance with him tonight, at the Halloween dance.Oh well, I walked out of the gym and into the coat room. I slipped on my coat and grabbed a party favor bag. I slipped out the side door into the pouring rain..perfect, now, on the worst night of my life, my Mom is also going to kill me for ruining my dress!
I put my hood on and walked to the sidewalk. The cars were driving by me, fast. A few splashed me with the cold water that was gathering at the side of the road...curse them.1

As I was nearing Front street bridge I saw a man.. I had seen him before he  always had a sign that said
Homeless
plees
halp!
On it. Tonight he was sitting there, looking like a big rock boulder instead of an old man.
I tried to get passed him before he noticed but he stopped me and said in a sweet grandfatherly like tone,
" Pardon me miss, but I'm afraid you'll ruin your lovely gown in this weather..why don't you let me call you a cab?"
"No" I said, " that's alright, I'm almost home anyway." I tried to get away again but he stopped me again as he stood up and said,
"Well by my reckoning some young man escorted you to a dance and wasn't considerate enough to walk you home!That is just plain wrong!"

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I looked down and said without thinking,

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" Well, he actually said to meet him there and dance, he never took me TO the dance. But he didn't even do that!"

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" Do what?" Asked the man sounding confused,

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"Well you see," I said trying to sound clearer, " he asked me to meet him there and dance, but when I called to him he ignored me and wouldn't dance!"

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"Ooh! I see." He said. " Well, it is awfully wet out here, why don't we go into the diner and have a complimentary coffee?"

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" Okay." I said before I could stop myself. I don't usually drink coffee, and especially not with strange old men that I don't know; but at that point in time it sounded great.

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After we got our coffee and had picked a booth, I told him all that had happened from the time I started 7th grade to tonight, not taking out a single detail, and the man, ( who told me his name was Francis) listened and sipped while keeping a stern face the whole time.

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When I had finished, he took one last sip and said,

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"Well me dear Abbi, it was Abbi wasn't it?" I nodded.

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"All I can think to tell you in your time of despair is a story.And I can only hope you will get out of it what I intend for you to get out of it."

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I took a drink and said " Will it take a long time? It's already 9 o'clock!"

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" Do you need to be home by a certain hour?"

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" Midnight." I said.

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" I will get you home right on time." He said smiling.

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And so began the most amazing story I have ever heard. There is not NEARLY enough time or space for it here but I can tell you what it was about. He told me how he went to Vietnam,about half way through the war. And how he had to leave his new wife who was 3 months pregnant. When he finally got home , he had a broken leg.But then to top it off he found out that his wife had died in child birth, though the baby had survived.And so; hurt as he was, he raised his son Andrew until he was 14, when sadly Andrew too died in a car/bicycle accident.

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At that point he was very low on money, he couldn't find a job and eventually became homeless. But, he said, that gave him more time to think about why it happened, how could it have happened? But finally he decided that fretting wasn't getting him anywhere, And so he then started a fund, the Lost Veterans fund; to help other veterans like himself who lost everything, but started looking at the bright side of things instead.

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" And so," Said Francis " Maybe My wife and son died and I lost my house so that I would help other veterans, maybe it happened so I would meet you."

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"So your saying.." I said making the connections in my head." that maybe Brian wasn't the one that wanted me to see the note, maybe he just gave it to me for someone else.Or maybe he is a mean snob who doesn't deserve me, so he didn't hear me so that I would walk home and meet you?"

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"Precisely. " Said Francis taking his last sip of coffee." Now madame, it is about time we started home."

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" I suppose " I said. And getting up, I took his arm and we preceded to go to my house.24

It was then I noticed his white hair, his soft face, his thick wool pants, and his tattered goose feather jacket.He wasn't a very
pretty sight, but in a way, he was. He showed bravery and he made me realize that there is more to this life that me and Brian, my crush. I am not the only one hurting, ever. And no matter what is wrong, no matter how alone I feel, there is a darn good chance that someone out there feels worse.

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When we got to my house I turned and said, "Would you like to come in?"

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"Oh no," he said, " I'm afraid your parents would not approve"28

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" Okay...then what if I bring you some food every day. A snack, a game.?"31

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" If I could see you every day that would be more than enough dear." He34

said smiling and squeezing my hand.35

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I smiled and said, "Alright then, it's a date, every day after school."38

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" Alright then."He smiled and turned to walk home, when he reached the end of the street he turned and waved ; I waved back.41

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As I walked into the house; now looking forward to Monday. I looked at the clock in our entry way, it said it was Midnight.

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