Brush with a Crush

I was working as a kimono-wearing cocktail waitress at the New Otani Hotel in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. It was a slow night, so I had time to observe people. Two youngish white men meeting together were a couple of my few customers. One of them was good-looking with a gentle smile, and a calm personality – the other was more grumpy, seemed annoyed, and not attractive. The better looking man looked so familiar. When it was time to give them the bill, I told the better-looking one that he looked familiar, and asked if he ever lived in Guam, where I grew up. There were a lot of white families that were stationed there, so I assumed that must be where I recognized him from. He politely said no, but he gets that a lot. The other one rolled his eyes. The cute one paid, and left his credit card receipt on the plastic tray. It was David Cassidy from the Partridge Family, who was one of my idols as a teen, probably ten years before. The other customer, I realized then, was Danny Bonaduce, who played his little brother. David’s sweet personality on the show seemed genuine in real life. I kept that receipt for a long time as a reminder of my brush with that crush.