crushed

Today I walked into the office with a smile on my face singing, 'Soak up the Sun' by Sheryl Crowe. There was a reason I was beaming ear to ear. I met the guy I had a crush on when I was ten, after about 14 years. I'm still a little stunned. Still a little jittery. I can't stop the smiles.

It was a boring Monday and I was sitting with my art partner thinking about some ad that we needed to do, when my phone rang. I thought it was one of those stupid BPL service provider people who constantly harass you at odd hours during the day. So I pick up the phone, sounding slightly disgruntled. And he mumbles in an accent saying he doesn't know if I would remember him, it's been about fourteen years, he was a friend from school. When he said his name I almost fell off my chair.

I never thought I would see him again. He's only down for one week and then he is back to Chicago. I had a huge crush on him. He did too. It's the stuff movies are made of. It's like if Kevin met Winnie after fourteen years, when they are 24 and talk fondly about the Wonder Years. Ok, not that dramatic, but very close.

He remembers this one picnic we went for as a class. I was holding on the railing of the bus and he was walking to the end of the bus, when it jerked forward. His hand was on my hand for about fifteen seconds. And apparently we both stared at each other and then he ran to his mum, who was a substitute teacher.

I don't ever remember talking to him. But I remember one night when my parents invited his whole family, just before they left for Chicago to our house. And we were standing in my 7th floor balcony, and he gave me a flower (he confessed yesterday that he picked it for my garden)

For a birthday of mine, he gave me a Santa Clause bag. I still have that bag, it's in the same wrapping paper. According to him, all I did at his birthday parties was come and eat his cake and leave. And he wished that I would just talk to him. I told him, that every time I tried, he ran to his mom. He said, when he is nervous he sometimes still does that.

We met yesterday. I called him and told him that I was standing at the ticket counter, he said he was walking toward there.
I can't see you. Neither can I. Where are you again? The ticket counter. Wait I see you, is that you? Yes.

Big smiles. Big hugs. Fourteen years melt away.