Rod Stewart
Maggie May, Jack & Diane:
The Last Good-bye
“Good-bye,” she said half turned away from him.
He leaned toward her to give her a kiss.
“No.” “No,” she repeated as she turned fully away and walked to her car.
He said nothing.
Their story is, in some ways, the final verse of “Jack and Diane”, but for some reason “Maggie May” always brings them to mind. Over the years, their friends had come to know just about everything about their relationship. I’d known the guy all my life. We were close, so I heard a lot in short order. But even I didn’t know about this part of their story. None of us did. Yet, anyway. It was over. Fully and finally over.
Their story had started years before when they were both sophomores – or was it freshmen – in college. Lots of small-town friends end up attending the same colleges, and there were lots of small towns in the PA, NY, NJ region we were from. There were some big city guys and girls, too. That added color to the mix. And small bands of friends, both of guys and of girls, mixed and mingled. Circles grew. A few contracted. But when all was said and done, most groups expanded.
As they did so, couples moved and flexed as well. Cool guys and hot girls changed partners. Guys who had not been so cool found themselves with new partner possibilities while late blooming girls now had to fend off would-be Casanovas. Some paired up for the short term, others longer term. Others just kept playing the ever-changing field.
That’s what happened with Diane, the girl, and Jack, the guy in this story. She was from a small town, fairly close to our university. She’d been a cheerleader; her high school steady was the football captain. Jack was from a different small town, farther away. His high school girlfriend was still in high school. He was moving on.
They’d seen one another at a mixer or something not long after school had started. They never officially met, but they were aware of each other. Because Diane was still officially linked to the football star, her friends didn’t try to fix her up with anyone, initially. Because Jack was not exactly still with his old high school girl friend, his friends had no problem trying to hook him up with someone among their new and expanding groups. It’d been fun, but nothing serious came from any of it.
That is, not until Diane finally broke up with the football star. (She would later tell Jack that the star had actually been pretty abusive in some ways.) Now she was free. Jack was free, as well. And there was a keg party planned for the weekend. They were both there. Both available. Both in the mix of conversation, beer, and dancing. They met for real. They drank. They danced. They ate. They talked and laughed. They enjoyed themselves. Then they went back to their dorms with the groups they’d come with. But they did plan to meet again. The girls heard all about it in their dorm; the guys heard all about it over smuggled-in beers.
Before long, Jack and Diane were more or less recognized as a couple. I say more-or-less because none of the girls had set it up. None of the guys had suggested that he snatch her up before they did. They just fell together organically. Nor were they lovey-kissy-tied-at-the-hip coupled. They called each other “Buddy”. They had just become good friends who happened to be dating, and they liked it that way.
They did make a cute couple, too. Diane was a healthy cheerleader type. She wasn’t drop dead gorgeous, but she was hot. She was the kind of girl who got stared at – for all the right reasons, and some of the wrong. Jack was tall, with thick wavy hair, blue eyes, and a great smile. He also got stared at – mostly by other guys thinking, “What’s he doing with a babe like her?!”
They had fun together. And as they were now a couple, they often double dated with other new couples. Since neither had a car, it was also fun to go out with couples who either did have a car, or with others who loved to walk.
Because her small town was close to college, Jack got to meet Diane’s family before she got to meet his. Her family was happy to meet him; her parents were especially happy that she was away from the damn football player. She also had a couple younger brothers who seemed cool. They all got along well.
Although they didn’t get to go to his home town, the network of friends and friends of friends spread word that he was seeing someone who was not his old high school girlfriend. Truth be told, I was probably part of that network.
None of this went through either of their minds as she said good-bye.
They planned to go to the annual, big formal ball later that winter. Everybody went. This was the time when all girls did their best to connect their non-committed friends to one of the non-committed boys. Boys and girls work together to ensure workable combinations, couples who may never be getting married, but who would have a good time and not ruin things for all their friends. Even the least likely girls and most solitary guys got paired up. This was senior prom on steroids – and everybody went.
One of the more popular parts of this formal event was the pre-post party at a local hotel. This had been going on for years. The university was in Pennsylvania. The drinking age was 21 at the time. Many of the students were from New York where, at the time, the drinking age was 18. Students frequently rented a room or a set of rooms at the hotel – preferably away from the lobby area – and partied. Everyone knew; no one knew. Motivated fun; motivated blindness.
The group planning this season’s function knew the rules. They got a group of three rooms in a quiet corner conveniently near the rear of the 3rd floor of the hotel. Eight to ten couples planned to party, dance and safely stay the night. Diane and Jack were among them.
Diane was especially proud of her formal dress for evening. Her mom, an excellent seamstress, had found a very high fashion Vogue pattern and sewn a really beautiful gown. Diane was a knock-out, turning heads throughout the evening. Jack, in his rented tux, was handsome, proud and happy. After the dance, the whole group went back to the hotel. Although they were exhausted, they stayed up a little longer for a post-prom function and a final drink or two. Then they all found places on the various beds in one of the three rooms to crash.
Diane was very careful to make sure that her beautiful gown was not thrown into a pile or crumpled in a corner. She and Jack found the edge of one of the beds in one of the rooms and curled up. Beside them in the same bed were two other couples also curling and crashing.
That night, Jack and Diane made love for the first time. Very quietly and without a lot of rolling around, they fully became lovers. The others in the bed slept through it all. As the two of them told the story to their closest friends later, the hardest part was not laughing so hard that they woke up their bed mates. Of course, their closest friends told their next closest friends, and the story spread. To be honest, when Jack told me, I kept this one pretty close to the vest. “I am sure glad that I wasn’t one of those people in bed with you two,” I told him.
Time passed. Their love life continued. From all reports, it was frequent and satisfying. However, Diane would often tell her friends that, close as the two had become, and as good friends as they were, Jack had never told her that he loved her. “Oh, sure,” she’d say. “he smiles and nods or says something like ‘me, too’ when I say that to him. But he never just says it to me,” It was obviously painful for her.
Jack, on the other hand, would tell his closest friends that Diane was probably his closest friend. Almost closer than they were to him. He didn’t tell me that, but I also knew that Jack was not preparing to settle down anytime in the near future. He had always wanted to leave the small-town life he’d grown up in and to experience more of the world.
Over time, everybody got to meet and to know everybody else’s family. Diane’s mother took on a special role among all the guys. She was young as mothers go, and pretty; and she became known as their Mrs. Robinson. Not that she’d ever play that role with Jack – or any of the other guys. However, even as she found out – as other Jacks talked to other Dianes, and word spread – she took it as more complimentary than an insulting.
Time moved on. The undergraduate years were moving toward their close. Many of the couples who had developed over time were making plans for their futures. There were talks of jobs, graduate school, and of weddings. Diane and Jack were also talking about their futures. Note the plural. Although great friends and lovers, they were not talking love and marriage. Among the girls, Diane again shared that this really bothered her. Among the young men, it wasn’t much of a conversation. “We’ll see what happens,” he’d tell us. “I like her a lot, but I’m not ready to settle down.”
Graduation approached. With all the graduation announcements, there were a few wedding invitations. Jack, though, had made other plans. After graduation, he headed back to Jersey. He also planned to travel for a while, look at a few grad school options he had in mind, and likely find a job. As always, he had no intention of moving back to his small hometown. There was that world to explore and experience. As for his relationship with Diane, he told us that she knew what he wanted to do. She understood. They’d wait and see when the future brought.
And so, as they graduated, they separated. Each had a plan for the near future; each left the longer term open. They would stay in contact, see each other, grow personally – and perhaps professionally – and let the future take its course. Jack was happy. Diane was resigned.
They went their separate ways. Jack traveled, worked, experienced a wider portion of life. Diane studied, got her Master’s degree, and landed a good job not in, but not too far from, her home and their college town. Diane and Jack kept in touch. Letters. Pictures. An occasional phone call. She went to several of the weddings of friends; being away, he missed them. As usual, the girls talked frequently. The guys less so. But news did spread.
One day, Jack came back home to visit his family. It so happened that while he was home, one of the many pairs of old couple-friends was getting married. The bride of the couple was from Jack’s own home town, so the wedding would also take place there. Much of their old group would be coming to the wedding. Like old times!
To make it even more like old times, the group got a place for a pre- and post-wedding party. Not at a local hotel this time, but a cottage on the shore of a nearby lake. Not everyone would be there, of course, but there would be several couples and some stags. There was now even a baby. Times had changed things.
People arrived at the cottage a day or two before the wedding. Time to reconnect. Diane was there, but Jack was not. They met at the wedding. It was a beautiful day; the weather was perfect. Their reunion was slightly strained, but warm and happy. “Hey, Buddy,” Jack said. “Hey Bud,” Diane tossed back.
After the reception, several of the old friends drove off to the cottage by the lake. They’d brought burgers and hotdogs to barbecue, other goodies to eat, and, of course, beer and wine to drink. Somebody brought a 5th of rum and some soft drinks. They were going to try to recreate the famous-infamous concoction they’d drunk at the hotel during their college years.
The lake was warm and inviting. Richie Havens sang “Here Comes the Sun” on the radio. The old friends bonded as if the years had not changed their lives at all. Jack and Diane seemed to fall back into their close relationship once again. Good times, as they say, were had by all.
That night, with all the people and the baby, there was less concern about being quiet. But Jack never said I love you. And Diane noticed.
After the full weekend, Diane had a long drive back to her home, so Jack suggested that she spend a night at his house. His mother would be there; she’d be happy to see her again. She agreed.
They drove the not-too-many miles to Jack’s home. As he had said, his mother was happy to see Diane after the intervening years. They had a light dinner and relaxed for a while before going to sleep. The next day would be busy with yet more travel.
Jack’s mother said good night and went off to bed. Diane and Jack watched some TV. She later told her friends that she was hoping and praying to get some kind of a commitment from him for the future. She also had a story to tell him – a confession, as it were. When they’d both gone their separate ways after college, there had been no commitment between them. They’d been free to date anyone they chose to see. He agreed. Over time, he’d gone out with different girls, and he expected that she had as well. “Yes,” she said. “but I have to tell you something, something I’m not proud of.” She hesitated for a moment. “I got pregnant. I had an abortion.”
She was looking for some kind of reaction but got very little. Did she expect anger? Did she expect pity? Did she expect him to kick her out of the house? She didn’t know what to expect. What she got was a quiet, stolid non-reaction. She later told her friends that it was like he hadn’t really heard her, or, if he had, he hadn’t grasped the magnitude of what she’s shared. He took her hand and said, “That’s ok. You did what you had to do.” She later told her friends that she wanted to add that it had been his baby, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit that.
He held her. That, at least, was comforting.
They hugged. Hugging led to foreplay. Foreplay led to more. Before long, they were back in the hotel room being as quite as possible.
Then they heard the footsteps as Jacks mother came down the stairs. She’d forgotten something in the kitchen. Jack and Diane scrambled to re-dress and cover up, but it was too late. Unlike those other couples in the hotel all those years ago, Jacks mother walked in on them.
The scene did not play out well. Embarrassment and tears. Hiding and prayers. Hellfire and damnation. Diane was told to leave the house immediately. She later confided to her friends that she was hoping against hope that Jack would say or do something, come to her defense, leave with her. But that was not the case. So she quickly packed up what little she had to pack and left in the middle of the night. When Jack and I talked some time later, the story going around among the girls was basically the story I heard from him.
That night, he carried her bag to her car.
“Good-bye,” she said half turned away from him.
He leaned toward her to give her a kiss. “Buddy.”
“No.” She repeated, “No,” as she turned fully away and walked to her car.
Jack said nothing.
Diane drove away into the night.
