Apologies to Paulette

While I'm on the topic of having caused pain I'm reminded of an incident that happened in 1963 (when I was 10 years old).

I should preface this by mentioning that I am a textbook "associative thinker". For example: Suppose you say something about "A". Then "A" will remind me of "B", which reminds me of "C", which reminds me of "D" (all of which happens in less than a second) so I respond with something about "D". This seems totally random unless you can follow my though processes (which is pretty much impossible). After 34 years of marriage my wife still has no clue what I'm talking about most of the time. But I digress... Back to 1963:

I was living on Bewley Rd. in Havertown, PA. The 'girl next door' was Paulette Devine. She was extremely pretty, but quiet, smart and serious. I was also 'friends' with the girl across the street (Georgette? Mustico) who had more of an outgoing personality and there were definite signs that there was a little jealousy between them.
One afternoon Paulette and I were hanging out on her porch and she suddenly got quiet for a few seconds and said:

"Do you like me?"

I suppose I should have sensed that it was a loaded question (but hey, I was only 10). Instead, I started thinking about things that I like and (being a bit hungry) I said:

"I'd rather have a cheeseburger".

In retrospect, that was probably the WORST response to that question uttered by a male since humans developed language skills. And predictably, Paulette started crying. I should have apologized but I was so mystified by her reaction that I just went home. I told my Mom and big sister what had happened and asked them to explain what I did wrong. They just kind of rolled their eyes at me. (And for the rest of her life my Mom told that story to pretty much anyone who would listen...)

A year later my parents separated and I ended up in a German boarding school (which is yet another long story) so I never found out what became of Paulette. So if anyone knows a Paulette Devine (maiden name) who grew up in Havertown tell her Pete truly regrets comparing her to a cheeseburger and he REALLY did like her.