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Holy shit! Totally caught me off guard! If I could, I would have turned around and kissed him, headgear, braces and all, shouted from the rooftops..damnit!! Hell, I would have nailed his ass right on the formica desk! Oh wait. I'M 12!!!!!
Instead, I panicked and said, "ONLY AS A FRIEND." BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER!!!!!!!!!!
A couple of days (maybe sooner) later, I found out he and his family were moving to San Diego (we are in VA). Dear G-d no. I was so depressed. Every girl in class I despised (Jennifer, who claimed 'to go' with "him" and Kathy "the slut") claimed she liked him.
I never got to say goodbye to him or to be honest with him. I have regretted that for 23 years. How pathetic.
I finally got that chance.
Flash forward 2005.
The Internet is an amazing thing. You can find out about things as they happen. You can also find people.
On early August evening, I was reminiscing about my childhood...not that it was that great (home life was fine; school sucked). I decided to do a search on his name. A few things came up. Then BINGO!
I found a website for a university, announcing advanced degree candidates. His name and picture came up. "It kinda looks lke how I remember him," I thought to myself. I emailed my best friend, who has known me since before elementary school. She said she was almost positive it was him. The website mentioned where he worked. I did a search and found the website for his employer (a non-profit).
The next day, for the hell of it, I got the balls to email the non-profit to see if it was him. No answer. The following morning, I turned on my computer and checked my email. Sure enough, it was him.
He said yes he lived in _______, went to my school and moved to San Diego. He asked if I lived in his neighborhood or was in his "academic program." I thought to myself, "Academic program?" Come off the high-horse, dude? He was actually very nice in the email, but said something to the effect of "seventh grade is pretty far back in the memory banks." He hoped I was doing well.
I emailed him back and assured him not to worry, that I wasn't a stalker; in fact, I'm happily married to my college sweetheart.
I told him he was my first crush. I told him my last memory of him was him asking me if I liked him, and how I wished I'd been honest with him. I told him what I'd been up to in the past 23(!) years, and asked him what he'd been up to.
Haven't heard back (this was yesterday). ____________________________________________________
I felt kind of guilty for emailing the guy. After all, I'm happily married; I told my husband about it, and he seemed OK. He said, "I trust you." I think I just needed closure on this.
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