"If you're that in love, age doesn't mean a thing. Even though my mind was young and my heart was young -- somewhere inside my head I was mentally old enough."
–Bill Ott
“You know that scene in 'Dirty Dancing' where Baby meets Johnny for the first time? It was kind of like that."
–Shelley Belgard
***
BILL OTT WILL always remember the moment he met Shelley Belgard. It was in spring 1988. He was 12 and sometimes shy. Into music, sports and, suddenly, girls.
Shelley was three years older, chatty and outgoing. They'd both shown up at a Montgomery County social club looking for friends, fun and the kind of acceptance that seems so elusive during teen life.
Shelley smiled. Bill introduced himself. And that was it. "I didn't know what love was," he says. "Until I met her."
He was sure it was the real thing, but nobody ever believes that coming from a 12-year-old.
Certainly not one with Down syndrome.
But Bill knew. "If you're that in love, age doesn’t mean a thing," he says. "Even though my mind was young and my heart was young -- somewhere inside my head I was mentally old enough."
And the feeling was mutual. "You know that scene in 'Dirty Dancing' where Baby meets Johnny for the first time? It was kind of like that," remembers Shelley, a petite brunette who was also born with a mental disability. "You're looking at this awesome-looking guy, and you really don't want to blow it. You kind of want to play it safe and not play it safe at the same moment."
He lived in Silver Spring and she was in Potomac, so they exchanged phone numbers. Their parents would drive them to movies and one another's houses. They frequently met at the social club. Throughout high school, they stayed close.
Bill took Shelley to both his junior and senior proms. Each time he rented a tux, and she picked out a fancy new dress. They wrapped their arms around each other to pose for photos and danced all night long. Bill, who grew up going to Catholic Mass every Sunday, told Shelley's mother he would convert to Judaism if that's what it took to be with her.
But after high school, it became more difficult to remain in each other's lives. They moved into assisted-living programs in different parts of the county. There weren't as many social activities to bring them together and, eventually, they lost contact.
But Bill never forgot. He had known true love -- her name was Shelley.
