If You Leave Me Now

"Every story needs a contrary opinion."
-Velvet Goldmine (1998 Film)
If You Leave Me Now
by CHICAGO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32GdEFADy6s&feature=related

Twenty-five years ago today:

April 26, 1985
Friday

It’s 6AM and Dale is not picking me up after all. Dee has been in labor.
“I feel like today is the day,” Dale said.
So, congrats to them and me (Mr. Godfather)…
Dale continued, “By the way, I spoke to Steff last night and she said she wouldn’t be calling you.”
“That’s funny because she called last night!”
“You’re kidding me. I spoke to Mary, too.”
I just have that gut-feeling that Dale won’t admit it but he has a strange interest in me. I will bet on it. Today it will just be Mary and I (Sue has E-time and Dale is expecting).

Mary and I had lunch together on Market Street. We shared a hot dog…or no ‘polish dogs’. I was trying to decide (with her help) whether I should go and see Dale’s baby be born or try and face Steff and go to the CHICAGO concert. Steff did call a couple of times for non-business reasons today. One time she called the main line and Karyn Kossoff answered. Steff knew that Karyn and I had gone out a few times and actually said to Karyn, “Oh…you’re the one who went to the Diana Ross concert. Could you leave this message to Michael from me?”
“Okay,” Karyn said, I assume with a very puzzled look on her face.
“Tell him I will meet him at five o’clock instead.”
How rude! Then she called the office main number again and Mary McTiernan answered the line.
When I called Steff back I arranged a 3-way call with Dale on the line.
I said, “Steff, I am thinking of going to see Dale and the baby. His wife is in labor.”
“Let me know what you decide.”
Before I could call her back again she called me to say, “My car broke down and I’m stuck at some gas station in Alameda.”
“Where in Alameda are you?”
I gave her directions to the Coliseum (where CHICAGO was to perform), then hung-up.

By 5PM Dee had still not given birth. I called Dale from my desk to get the scoop.
“Dale, I’ve decided to go ahead and go to the CHICAGO concert since we’d planned it so far in advance.”
“How could you?” Dale seemed rather upset.
“Don’t worry, I’ll call you when I get home, okay?”

I suddenly received a call from Chris Cordellos while at work.
“Michael, I’m off on Saturday, so you should stop over after your haircut from Danny in Alamo.”
“Okay, I’ll see. I have to go now though because it’s CHICAGO concert night.”

A guy named Doug called from Wilkes-Bashford who wanted to talk to Susan Bickley (in the office) about a Disconnect order of several telephone lines.
“Oh sure…by the way, do you know Bob Umland?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, well he’s a friend of mine. Where are you moving the store?”
“I really don’t know and I’m not at liberty to discuss it.”
“I understand. Let me get Susan Bickley for you.”
What a creep.

I drove home and had to lie down to recuperate from the day. The phone rang and it was Steff calling from the Harbor Bay Landing Shopping Center.
“So, just come on over,” I commanded.
Just as Steff arrived the telephone rang and it was Dale.
“Yeah, Dale, Steff is here now and we’re going to see CHICAGO.”
Dale seemed disturbed. I felt a trite bad about it but I went with Steff to see CHICAGO.

Steff suggested, “Why don’t we go to the beach?”
“Now?”
“I thought it might be walking distance from your house.”
“No, we’d have to drive a short distance to get there.”
She allowed me to drive her car. Our keys were placed into a hat to determine which car we would drive. Her car was actually an old car that belonged to Pete (one of the guy’s in the band). I drove it to the beach just so she could see.
“I love to walk,” Steff said.
And so, we walked along the beach (not holding hands, of course). There was enough distance apart. When we got to the end of the beach she “farted”. I pretended not to hear it.
That’s when she said, “Did you hear that car?”
I said, “What?”
“Did you see that car?”
“No.” How rude. She was just trying to cover up her fart. We continued our walk on the pavement and then back on through the sand. We were back at the car by 7:30PM and she was ‘pooped’.

We drove to the Oakland-Alameda County COLISEUM. I had a mini-reunion with Rita Gonzalez. I remembered her from first grade at St. Anthony’s Catholic School in Oakland, CA. She was overwhelmed by my greeting. “Oh WOW! Hi Rita!”
We had a nice talk.
Rita said, “I’m possibly getting married sometime soon but who knows for sure.”

Steff was frantically looking for two girlfriends that she’d given our FRONT seat tickets. The plan was to trade tickets once we arrived. Of course, she couldn’t find the two girlfriends and there was NO backstage. We sat in a back row and watched the show. A couple of the songs reminded me of Paloma. I wished I was with her.

Steff was “out of it”. The concert was over by 10:30PM. So we went home and Steff left for home in Fairfield. I was energized from the music and decided to go to the gym. I worked out until 12:30AM. It felt good. The gym was empty too. There was a QBL (Questionable) motorcycle rider who seemed to be staring my way at a stoplight. I just drove home, feeling happy that tomorrow was Saturday.

"It's funny how beautiful people look when they're walking out the door."
-Toni Collette
"Velvet Goldmine" (1998 Film)