Jay Thomas Willis

Chance Meeting


I was strolling across the campus about nine o'clock on a Saturday morning. It was two weeks after school had started, a cool morning near the beginning of September in 1966, just cool enough for a light-weight jacket; but the sun was still shinning brightly. It was about 60 degrees; the wind was blowing slightly. The pine and oak trees were dancing to the autumn wind.
The assortment of flowers and azalea bushes were beginning their decline for the season, but still in full bloom. The tall pine and oak trees were magnificent and picturesque; at this point their leaves hadn't begun to change colors. It was a large spacious campus with modern magnificently tall buildings. The students and teachers had recently returned from summer
vacation. I had spent the summer working in an ammunitions factory in Longview, Texas, where my parents lived. Registration was over and everyone was about to buckle down to some serious studying, but having difficulty because of the readjustment after being away from school for the
summer. This was the beginning of my sophomore year. Lewis, my roommate, had wanted to go to Houston and have a last hurrah before finally settling down to studying, but I wanted to stay around the campus. He was a well-conditioned senior who could intellectually afford such a fling much more than I. Many of his friends were doing just that. I didn't have anything in particular on my mind, except that I was going to walk around the campus for a while and then go back to the dorm to clean up my room, wash my clothes, and probably study later that evening. I had just had a mediocre breakfast at the school cafeteria, and was trying to let it settle on my stomach. I was ready to get down to business as usual.

As I came around the corner by the Student Center, I noticed a young lady sitting on a bench directly in back of the Center. She caught me by surprise, and kind of startled me. She was sitting there among an assortment of beautiful flowers. The flowers seem to enhance her beauty. She immediately caught my eye. From what I could see she had a healthy country-girl look. She had blonde hair that came to her shoulders, and it was curly as if she had recently gotten a permanent. Her skin was smooth. She had kind of an aristocratic look, as if she hadn't toiled or struggled a day in her life, and had always taken good care of herself. She was siting there with a seemingly inviting look to anyone who might be interested. She was staring off into the distance as if she had something on her mind that was perplexing. She gave the appearance of a beautiful bird basking in the sun on a warm spring day, unaware of weary predators who might lurk nearby. She was certainly tempting prey.

I wanted to approach her but I was kind of leery of doing so. It was 1966, and Black males had to be careful about approaching a white girl. Not only was it 1966, but this was a small town in East Texas. I sat on another bench not too far from her, wondering if I should approach her. I didn't want to alarm her or cause her to be suspicious. She certainly seemed like the type
of girl I would like to know. For some reason she had a profound look as if she had something deep and troubling on her mind. She also looked like the type who may not have many friends, as if she was kind of private and discrete. I watched her for at least thirty minutes, as she sat there looking into the distance. I pretended I wasn't watching, but kept looking out of the corner of my eye. I could tell she was beginning to notice that I was paying attention to
her. I knew I had to make a move quickly, or she would get anxious about my watching her and leave the area. I decided to make a move. It was a chance of a lifetime, and a chance I should take. I had no idea about how she would respond, not knowing where she was from or what her background or attitude was. She did seem to smile at me several times as our eyes met at a
glance. She seemed to be inviting me to come over and sit with her. I got up and walked over to where she was sitting. I approached her very cautiously. It was about twenty feet from where I had been sitting. She noticed I was coming her way, and began to smile, as if giving me the okay. She didn't act as if she was disturbed or bothered that I was coming her way. I felt much
more comfortable. She reinforced me that I was doing the right thing. I stopped a little ways before getting to the bench where she was sitting, because even then I wanted to be clear that I had picked up the right signals. Just as I stopped at the bench where she was sitting, her smile began to glow.

"Hello," she said, "how're you doing," approvingly.

"I'm doing great, how're you," delighted at her kindness.

"I'm just sitting here taking in some sun before the summer completely gets away from us," all the while smiling.

"That's a nice thing to do on a day like today. My name is Steffon, what's yours?" a little nervous.

"Angelica," reassuringly.

"What year is it for you?"

"This is my second year, I have more credits than necessary to be a sophomore, because I went to a junior college for a semester before I came here in the fall of my freshman year. I thought I had enough school and dropped out for a semester but my parents persuaded me to come here."

I had always been nervous about talking to white girls, but found talking to Angelica as normal and natural as taking a drink of water or breathing. In fact, it almost seemed easier than that. She seemed to feel comfortable talking to me as well. She made me feel self-confident, and as I talked to her I got kind of a second wind, as they say runners get after going so far.

"What's your major?"

I was trying to make small talk just to keep the conversation flowing smoothly. I hated to be sitting there in silence just staring at her. Silence is fine in a relationship once you get to know the person well, but at the beginning of a relationship it is definitely not good.