Just because people couldn’t gather together in 2020 doesn’t mean that they didn’t have stories to share. This year the Yorkton Arts Council’s Story Slam event went virtual, with five local storytellers submitting their story virtually.
This year’s judges - Michelle Goulden, Marj Dech, Calvin Daniels, Amber Harvey and Tricia Friesen Reed - each scored the submitted stories and in the end came up with one winner. That winner was C.V. Sastry with his tale Escape from Manhole.
This week we will be reprinting the submitted stories. To listen to them tell their story visit yorktonarts.ca.
I first met David while in my second year of university. He was taking an acting class with my sister, Abby and was also studying to be a pharmacist like her roommate, Tara. So to say they knew him well would be an understatement. One particular night after acting class, Abby and Tara got everyone together for a night out and I was invited along. At some point David and I struck up a conversation. We quickly bonded over being the eldest in the group and our love for classic rock music.
As the evening was wrapping up and people were getting ready to leave, he invited me to join him for a late night beverage at a nearby coffee shop. The hours flew by as we chatted away and before I knew it, night had passed and the sun was starting to peek through the clouds. Ever the gentleman, David inquired if I would be interested in going on an actual date the following day and I happily accepted. We then decided not to share the news with our friends right away, or at least not until we got to know each other a little better. Easier said than done, as that meant keeping it a secret from Abby and Tara as well. Later that morning, David visited them at their condo presenting what would eventually be known as the “guilt pastries”.
Over the next couple of weeks David and I continued to see each other, but sneaking around proved to be more difficult than anticipated. Our friends and more importantly, my sister had become suspicious.
“So...who is the guy?” Abby winked and nudged me. “We know there is one and you will have to tell us eventually.”
She wasn’t kidding and I knew it. At this point David and I were comfortable with people knowing about us but leaving them in suspense had become far too much fun. A part of me wanted to see how far she would go to find out the truth. Also, I was worried the only thing keeping our relationship going was the excitement of “the secret”. David was wonderful but I was afraid common interests were all we had, and I suspect he was starting to feel that way too. We were both invested in the outcome though and wanted to see it through to the big reveal. To see their reactions when they realized my ‘mystery boyfriend’ was someone right under their noses.
So in the spirit of fun I decided to spice things up a little bit. I purposely let Abby overhear David and I making dinner plans one evening. Just as we had hoped, she immediately talked Tara into staking out the restaurant with her that night.
According to Abby, they stealthily hid their car in the parking lot, quietly sneaking up to the window with the best view of the seating area. They had a clear view of me, but David was seated with his back to the window making him harder to recognize. By this time my dear sister was already suspicious so she was quick to figure out that it was in fact David I had been seeing all along. Tara, however, was a little slower coming to the same conclusion.
“Do you see him?” Abby whispered, quickly ducking out of view.
“Well...uh... I can see his shirt...Hey! He has the same shirt as David!” Tara said excitedly.
Trying not to choke on a giggle, Abby told her “Okay, and now look again!”
“Oh wait, he actually looks a bit like David too!”
By this time Abby was almost on the ground in tears of laughter. “And…?!” Was all she could manage to choke out.
“OH MY GOD, it IS David!!” Tara practically shouted as they stumbled over each other trying to get back to the car before being seen.
So with the cat finally out of the bag, David and I were lovingly bugged for weeks to come until we eventually came to the conclusion we had become really good friends and nothing more. And even though our romance didn’t go anywhere, he eventually did and now happily resides closer to his family.
