It was a warm Saturday in July and I had a full day planned. After running the usual weekend errands, I would meet my sister at the park district's soccer field to watch my 9 year old nephew, and his team, play in a regional finals game. In the evening I was going downtown with a couple of my friends. We had concert tickets to see Garth Brooks. I personally have never been a fan of country music, but my friends convinced my come along. He was playing at a large outdoor venue right near the lakefront. I agreed, thinking the experience would be fun.
After the soccer game ended (his team won!) my nephew and I were kicking the ball back and forth on the field. I made a quick move to block a shot and somehow managed to twist my left knee. I guess that at the age of 26 I was already getting too old to goof around like a kid. I was embarrassed by my injury and pretended like it didn't happen.
Anyway, it was about time that my friends would be picking me up. Brad, Matt and I had been friends since college. I was the only one of three of us who was gay, but that was never an issue in our friendship. We had many similar interests...sports teams, movies, music, etc. We have remained good friends beyond college.
Brad had gotten tonight's concert tickets through his company. He had 4 tickets but since none of the three of us were seriously seeing anyone right now, the forth ticket was going to go unused. My knee was messed up. I decided not to call and beg off of the concert because I discovered that when I kept my knee straight, I was fine. It only hurt when bent. Once the concert began, I knew we would be standing the whole time. I'd be fine. In the car I could take the back and stretch leg straight across the seat. No problem.
Heading into the city on a Saturday night we would face heavy traffic and parking would be tricky. We decided it would be best to take just one car and they would pick me up around 5:00 after my nephew's game. It was approaching 5:00 now so I said my goodbyes to my sister and her kid and I hobbled over to the parking lot.
Brad was driving his Honda Civic. Not a ton of room, but again, stretched out across the backseat I should be fine. As I approached I could see that as expected, Matt was already occupying the shotgun seat up front. So far, so good. Maybe I could get through the evening without having to tell the embarrassing story of my injury. The two of them were deep in conversation and not watching as hobbled closer. I finally made it and was surprised to see that the passenger side of the backseat was already occupied by a guy I'd never met. He looked to be about our age, but who was he? I opened the driver's side rear door and painfully folded myself into the only empty seat. I appraised the stranger next to me. Even though he was sitting I could tell he was a little over 6 feet tall. He was good looking with dark hair, a well-trimmed beard, piercing blue eyes and a well-muscled physique.
After hellos all around, Brad introduced me to his cousin, Jack, who was unexpectedly in town with nothing to do so Brad offered him the forth ticket. Great. How would my injured knee survive the car trip in a bent, painful position. With summer weekend traffic, getting into the city was bound to take at least 90 minutes, maybe more.
Brad pulled out and we were on our way. It wasn't long before Jack noticed me fidgeting and grimacing next to him. He asked me if I was okay. Brad had music on pretty loud in the car and it seemed to be balanced more toward the front speakers. I didn't think he and Matt would be able to hear us in the back. I told Jack about my knee injury and how stretching it out straight was the only tolerable position. But here in the cramped backseat, what could I do?
Jack said, "Why don't you turn sideways, straighten your leg and put your foot in my lap?"
Surprised by this I cocked an eyebrow and said, "Really? Are you sure? That's a big imposition."
Jack replied, "It's not ideal but it's a long drive into the city. If you don't get a chance to straighten your leg, you'll never make it. It's okay, I really don't mind."
I thanked him, removed my seatbelt, turned 90 degrees and cautiously rested my left foot in his lap. I bent my right knee and placed my right foot flat on the seat in between us. I sighed in relief and thanked him again as the pain dissipated.
After a few minutes Jack said, "You know, I've had a few sports injuries myself and I've had to have physical therapy a few times. I've learned a few things from those experiences. Would you like me to try to massage your knee a little and see if it helps?"