A Boy Like Bryan

Being dumped hurts.  Being dumped a few minutes before your prom is just devastating.   But sometimes, when you dejectedly go to the local hamburger joint in your prom dress, a boy named Bryan happens.

I first heard this story this morning on the radio as I drove back to my office. Bryan Hayes is a server at Jim’s Hamburgers & Hotdogs near Greensboro, NC.   He heard about the 15-year old being dumped before her prom, and came out from behind the counter and asked her to dance.  At first there was no music, than a customer appeared with their iPod and “Kiss Me” by Faith Hill was playing.

Bryan, a senior, said it was “cheesy” but he hoped it made the girl’s night a little better.  When the gushing dj asked if Bryan thought they might start dating, Bryan politely said he didn’t think so.  He pointed out that he was a senior in high school and going off to college next year, and this girl was only a freshman in high school.  And, as he noted, “15-year old girls are emotionally fragile and it wouldn’t do.”

This doesn’t have to be a love story, although I’m sure some moviemaker will try to make it in to one. All that matters is that this boy, at 17, understood that sometimes, even when you can’t fix everything, you can still ask the girl to dance.