Amanda Carlson met Duff McKagan when she was 17. She fell in love with the tall blonde bassist from Guns N Roses at a concert GNR performed at the Troubadour. She felt that she found true love in Duff. He was not like any guy she had ever dated befo...
That was a date that Amanda Carlson and Sandra Carlson would never forget. That was the day Robert Carlson walked out of their lives. If you were to ask either of them if they saw this coming, they would reply that they never saw it coming. Sandra thought she found her better half in Robert Carlson the moment she met him at Greg's party. She never could have imagined that he would leave her for another woman after he apparently fell out of love with her.
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Flashback (1967)
"Sandra, come on, let's go to Greg's party." Susan begged.
"Susan, I don't want to go. I'm just going to be surrounded by a bunch of drunken guys who will be after only one thing." Sandra replied.
"Sandra, don't be a party pooper. This could be the night you find prince charming. He's out there waiting for you. Even if you don't want to admit it out loud, I know you're feeling lonely. Just because your last relationship with Scott turned out bad, it doesn't mean you should give up on guys." Meet prince charming, Sandra scoffed at that. Sandra did not believe in these three words. After being in so many failed relationships, meeting prince charming was the last thing on her mind. There is no way that she would find the guy that would sweep her off her feet. That kind of guy exists only in romance novels and in romantic movies. That guy doesn't exist. Period. Sandra doesn't want to be so pessimistic, but what can she do after every guy she dated left her as soon as they got what they wanted from her. Guys were not looking for a steady relationship. This was college. Everyone was away from home and everyone was just looking for fun.
"Sandra, you're going to that party. I don't care if I have to drag you to the party myself, I'll do it. Live a little. You can't live in a bubble your whole life. You have to live in the moment. Since we've been roommates, you've never been to one party. You always stay in our room and you go to bed at 10:00 pm. This is college. We should be having the time of our lives. You'll thank me for taking you this party later. If you go with me tonight, I'll never ask you for anything ever again." Susan provided very convincing evidence. What reasonable person could say no to Susan's philosophy? It would be absurd. Sandra secretly envied Susan's carefree view on college life. Sandra wished she could be like that too. It's not her fault. Sandra's parents were not the kind of parents you could talk about what college life was really like. Before Sandra went to college, the only thing her parents told her was that she should have good grades and boys should be the least of her worries. She has no recollection of them ever telling her that she should enjoy her college experience.
The more she thought about what Susan was saying; the more she started to feel encouraged to go to the party. "All right, we're going. But what am I going to wear?" Sandra wondered. "Don't worry, I got you covered. I have a few dresses in my closet that would be just perfect for you. Let me find them." Susan was so happy that she finally got through to Sandra's doubts. Susan opened her closet and it was full with such a variety of clothes. Sandra wondered how it was possible for Susan to find what she would wear. "There it is. This dress would look so great on you. You have to wear it." Sandra hates to admit it, but when it comes to fashion Susan has an eye for what is trendy. The dress was so beautiful.
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"Sandra, this is the dress that will help you find your Prince Charming." Susan said. Tonight she was going to be Sandra's personal cheerleader. Somehow she would get her out of her funk. "Susan, I agreed to go to the party. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here." Sandra replied. "Like I said earlier, you'll be thanking me later for making you go to the party."
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By the time they arrived at the party, it was obvious that everyone has been partying for quite a while. People were dancing, some were sitting down and drinking beer, and others were making out. Sandra was starting to think maybe it was a mistake to come here. She started to turn around, but Susan grabbed her forearm. "What are you doing?" Susan asked. "I'm leaving, what does it look like? I shouldn't be here." Sandra said. Susan started to become frustrated. "After all the progress we did and you're giving up now? Sandra, I finally got you out of your shell. The reason why I'm pushing you to come to this party is because I don't want you to be lonely. You deserve to meet someone. Don't let your relationship with Scott dictate your future. Call me crazy, but I have this premonition that you'll meet 'the one' tonight." Sandra pleaded with her.
Sandra and Susan entered Greg's house. If Sandra thought there were too many people parting outside the house, inside was even more crowded. The music was loud and everyone was dancing. The song Love Her Madly by the Doors was heard through the speakers.
It was total chaos, but the partiers were having a great time. Greg and another guy were serving beer to everyone. They approached the two girls that they just witnessed entering the house.
"Hello, ladies. How's it going?" Greg smiled while he was talking. "Pretty good. That's some party you've got going on Greg." Susan said. "It's the end of the semester. We're finally done with finals. We deserve our fun." Greg pointed out the fact. "So, Susan who's your friend?" The other guy asked. "This is Sandra. She's my best friend and roommate." Susan replied. "I don't believe we have ever met. I'm Robert." Robert stuck his hand out for Sandra to shake. Sandra shook his hand and she smiled at him. "Nice to meet you Robert. I'm Sandra." Robert smiled too. She was definitely pretty. How he had never noticed her before is such a shock to him. "I know we just met, but would you like to dance?" Robert asked. "Sure. I would love to." Sandra replied. They walked away from Susan and Greg and onto the dance floor that was in the living room. The song Unchained Melody started playing.
This was Sandra's favorite love song. She couldn't believe it was playing. What a strange coincidence or was it something else? Robert put his arms around Sandra's waist and she put her arms around his neck. It was amazing feeling being in Robert's arms. She has never felt so happy in her life. This was a moment she would never forget. She can't believe this is what she was missing all these months after she broke up with Scott. Robert pulled her closer to him. She didn't think it was possible for them to get any closer, but apparently it was possible.
Susan and Greg were watching them dance from around the corner of the living room. "They look great together, don't you think?" Susan asked Greg. "Yeah, they do. He was always hoping that sooner or later she would show up here. He has liked her for quite a while. He even picked out this song just so he could dance with her." Greg explained.
The song finished and Sandra didn't want this moment to end. How did this person awaken such feelings in her? Could this be what it feels like to be in love? She didn't know what to make of this, but one thing she was sure of was that she wanted to get to know Robert even more.
"Thank you for the dance." Robert said. Sandra was speechless.
"Did I say something wrong?" Robert asked.
"No, it's just that I was very surprised that you asked me to dance. Out of all the girls in this party, how come you chose me?" Sandra wondered.
"Because I go after what I want and I only want you. The other girls don't interest me." Robert smiled when he admitted this declaration.
That was the moment that Sandra would never forget as long as she lived. The day she met Robert Carlson.
Author's Note: Here's my first chapter. Thank you for your patience. I hope you liked the first chapter. I will write about Amanda a little bit later. I thought it would be interesting if you got a glimpse of how her parents met. In the photo that's Sandra when she was in college. Again, thank you for reading my story.
