bob marley came on the radio and i thought of him

we worked at a music store together. emptying boxes of cds and alphabetizing them in their bins, ringing up customers on the register, and mostly just hanging around listening to music. it was a fun job. i worked there for two years i think and then i quit senior year of high school, to start a job in an office answering phones or something.

when he found out i was leaving the store, he finally built up the guts to ask me out. i don’t remember at all how he asked me out. i just know that we went out for 6 months, which was a big deal in high school. he lived in another town from me. he was tall, dirty blonde hair, and played the guitar – classical guitar. he really liked bob marley. i bought my second bob marley album while i was with him. we used to listen to “sun is shining” over and over.

valentine’s day was two weeks after we started “going out.” he said he had something planned for the day and i guess i freaked out because i broke up with him over the phone a day before valentine’s day. i later found out he had bought me flowers and was going to bring me out for dinner. i think he was pretty upset over the break up because about a week later he called me. i listened to what he had to say and we got back together.

i can’t remember what we did on our dates. did we go to the movies or dinner? the only “date” i remember was one time when we were watching tv at his house. he turned on the movie the wizard of oz. at the third roar of the lion before the movie started, he turned on pink floyd’s “dark side of the moon.” have you ever done that? some of the lyrics and the sounds of the album match up with what happens in the movie. coincidence? that’s what we were trying to figure out.

i went to his prom. i wore a powder blue cinderella dress. i curled my hair for some reason and i remember his mom said i looked like scarlet o’hara. after the prom, we went back to his house so i could change out of my dress before we went to his friend’s party. we ended up having a major make out session in his room and by the time we got to the party, everyone was already drunk and passed out.

he came to my high school graduation party. it was really hot that day and i had friends and family over. he didn’t really know many people at the party since he lived in another town. i don’t think he stayed long.

i broke up with him just before we went off to college. he was going away to a school in another state and i didn’t want a boyfriend going into college. i think he was upset. not long after i started college, i got an email from him. it didn’t say anything. it just contained an mp3 attachment of “redemption song” by bob marley. i didn’t respond.

while i was in college, maybe during sophomore year, i was visiting my parents and wanted to buy a cd. i went to the music store i/we used to work at. no way did i think he would be there. he went to school in another state. well, he was there. we caught up a little. he was taking a break from school cause “he was partying too much.” that was it. i bought my cd and didn’t see him again.

he was a nice guy. i just didn’t have too much interest in the relationship. i think i was more interested in having a boyfriend and someone to talk to than being with him, as bad as that is. i googled him the other day. he’s around. last month, he played guitar at an event in the town he grew up in. hm.