THE CHOICES WE MAKE
It was Saturday night, 1958, at Teen Town in a small Southern town. Johnny was always there every Saturday because he liked to dance. He was good at it — Swing, Jitterbug, Cha-Cha-Cha.
He danced with Sarah. She was pretty, svelte and a good dancer also. She was a good kisser too. They often made out at the drive in. But neither of them had romantic intentions, like going steady or official dating. Sarah didn’t date much, maybe because she was of a different religion than most of the students at Robert E. Lee High. Johnny would meet Sarah at Teen Town and they would leave together. Sometimes they left with Johnny’s buddy, Franklin. At the drive-in Frank and Johnny took turns making out with Sarah. Johnny knew she liked it.
One night, as Johnny and Sarah were in a tight embrace, swirling in front of the jukebox, Sarah blurted, “James and Robert raped me last night.” She was clearly distressed. Johnny said “Oh, really,” and continued their swirling. Nothing more was said. Not ever. Johnny never danced with Sarah again because he never saw her again. He never told anyone what she had confided either.
Johnny had forgotten about these tiny few seconds of his life, an event he buried deep in his psyche. Until the Me-too Movement. In the beginning of the movement Johnny felt good that so many…
