Dateline Boston — Last week I took my friend Amy to a gospel concert. Last fall, Amy was stricken with (stricken with? afflicted by? fell ill via? caught?) got the H1N1 virus and almost died. When she got better, I knew I wanted to do something special for her. Because she didn’t die. And I was (and am) very happy about that.
I got my first opportunity a few weeks after Amy was released from/had permission to leave/ran out of that hospital. David Archuleta was performing at a local club. For those of you not in the know, David Archuleta was a contestant on American Idol. Amy and I thought he was dreamy/he was cute/he was young enough to be our son/had a great voice.
I wanted it to be a surprise, but I wasn’t sure if Amy’s health would be up to it. It was winter, there might be snow and ice, it would be late, etc. I had to spoil the surprise to see if she wanted to take the chance. She didn’t. She appreciated the thought, and I got her David’s CD for Christmas.
Building the Suspense
Fast forward five months. I was flipping through a local newspaper and saw an ad for a gospel concert, with special guest Melinda Doolittle. Once again, if you’re not familiar…Melinda was also on American Idol. Gorgeous voice, full of soul. At a gospel concert, how perfect!
I used the surprise angle again, and this time it worked. Mostly. By now, Amy was all the way better, ready to sing and dance, if need be. I told her to save Saturday night — I’d be taking her to dinner and somewhere special. Her first question about the night was, “Is this because I almost died?” She’s a sharp one, that Amy.
A few days later, she called me to guess what our plans were. She said that she looked through all the papers and didn’t see any concerts or special events that we might go to. Whew! I scolded her for trying to guess, and she promised not to anymore. Until a couple of days before, when she said, “I think it has something to do with American Idol, because of that concert we didn’t go to, and American Idol is something we share.” I tried to fake her out by saying, “Will you be disappointed if we don’t go see someone?” She said of course not. I was safe.
The big night came. And you’ll hear about it. Next week.
Ms. Campbell may be contacted at campbellalexandra@hotmail.com
