It's been said that age is only a number, although I'm not so sure that's true. I heard this story about a friend of a friend last week. Carol had been divorced for more than five years. She had dated a variety of men with little success.
My girlfriend Linda invited Carol to join she and her son for dinner at Pirandello's in Roslyn. Brandon was home for the weekend from his senior year at college. Carol had two teenage children in high school, and spent much of the dinner conversation asking Brandon about SAT scores and school selections. Linda was happy to see her son so willing to give advice and be helpful to her friend. The next day, during a phone call, Carol asked Linda if she could speak to Brandon; she had another question for him. He took the call in his bedroom, but Linda thought little of it.
Brandon spent the rest of the weekend mostly absent from the house. When Linda asked him where he was going he was evasive. He returned to school that Monday and she didn't give it much more thought until he started making excuses to come home. This was his last semester at college, and Linda was concerned that something was wrong. He should be enjoying weekends with his classmates at school events and parties. Instead he came home and barely spoke to his parents; acting aloof and secretive of his whereabouts.
Linda spoke to her friend Carol about the changes in Brandon. Incredibly, Carol admitted that she and Brandon had been seeing one another. Linda was appalled and called Carol a "cradle- robbing whore". When she told Brandon what she had been told he admitted everything. He told his mom he was already going to break it off anyway, because he met a girl at school he had been dating. He said it had been just a sexual fling, and they had nothing at all in common after the initial novelty had worn off. Linda was relieved, but knew her friendship with Carol was over. Carol kept on calling and texting Brandon, but he just ignored her. When she persisted he told her "to find someone her own age".
Age may only be a number, but Carol was old enough to know better!
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