"Al Green Love Again" by Alecia Berman-Dry
My first true love arrived in the form of Craig . Blond,
blue-eyed Craig offered me a passionate and impulsive
sort of love--the kind that doesn't usually last long.
He was beautiful in every sense of the word and
made me feel the same about myself. We loved strong and
hot for a short time and I was quite unprepared when he
broke my heart. I swore I'd never love again, as naive
scorned lovers often do. And then came Jase. He and I
began as friends--while I was dating Craig--and that
friendship evolved into a storybook love affair. Barely
a year after Craig had tossed my love aside, my heart was
mended and the days seemed bright. The pain seemed a
distant memory after 6 months with Jase. On a snowy
winter day, I was curled up in my blue feather comforter
reading a frivolous who-dun nit. Jase was in the kitchen
toasting waffles and all seemed right with the world.
The shrill ring of my telephone interrupted the peace.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ali. It's me."
Damn his arrogance. After a year and a half, Craig
expected me to recognize his voice. And damn him, I did.
"Hey," I said back, trying my best to sound nonchalant.
"What's up?"
"Nothin' much. I'm in town for a couple of days and
thought maybe we could have lunch or somethin'?"
Damn him. Why is my heart beating so fast?
"Well, I don't know, Craig. I'm with Jase now."
He didn't say anything for a moment. "Yeah, I heard about
that. I just didn't think it was very serious. He's not
really your type is he?"
"And what is my type, Craig?" Snippiness edged into my
voice.
"Well, I guess I don't know anymore," he snipped back.
"I thought we could be friends, you know. We had some
good times. Don't throw away a friendship for no reason."
And while that sounds ridiculous in retrospect, at the
time it made perfect sense. Why couldn't we be friends?
So I agreed--we'd go to a friendly lunch.
He'd pick me up later.
The look on Jase's face when I shared our plans should
have been enough to change my mind. Instead I accused him
of being jealous. Which is, of course, the worst thing I
could have done. He left without finishing the waffles. It took me about 2 hours to get ready for Craig's arrival.
I wanted to look great, to show him what missed out on.
I wanted him to regret his choices, and want me more than
ever. I don't remember what I wore, but it was enough
to win a once-over from Craig that I can remember instead.
He ushered me into his black sports car and when I slid
into the leather bucket seats, it was like I had never
left them. He popped in a CD. We had never shared musical
tastes before, so I was prepared for eardrum-bursting
heavy metal or some such. The sound that greeted my ears
was most unexpected....
"I'm so-o in love with you. Whatever you want me to do is
alright with me. Cause you make me feel so brand new.
I want to spend my life with you."
Al Green was never on Craig's play list before.
A huge smile spread across my face and I looked at him
questioningly. "I love this song!"
Al Green interrupted my sentiment.
"Oh baby let's, let's stay together. Loving you whether,
whether times are good or bad, happy or sad."
"Me too," Craig replied. He took his eyes off the road
and stared at me for so long I thought we'd run off the
side. I knew the look in his eyes--it had been a while
since I had seen it but I recognized the "I love you so
very much" look when I saw it. It took every ounce of
self-control I had to say to him, "When the heck did YOU
start listening to decent music?"
Al Green sang on..."Why people break up, turn around and
make up--I just can't see. You'd never do that to me.
Would ya baby? Being around you is all I see. Here's what
I want to do. Let's, we ought to stay together..."
Craig smiled in return and replied, "I've changed a lot
since we broke up." Al Green continued to plead his case
for the rest of the afternoon. That night, Craig made it abundantly clear, in
not-so-subtle language that he wanted me back. It wasn't
as gratifying as I thought it would be and it
was harder to decline than I ever imagined. Craig had
broken my trust in a way that was beyond repair, but
turning down my first love was sad and difficult. Now I
feel a little bit guilty every time I hear Al sing "Let's
Stay Together." Jase never knew how close I came to
acquiescing to Al and Craig's musical plea.
"Al Green Love Again" Alecia Berman-Dry is a free-lance writer
in the Washington DC area. She is currently working on her first full-length
juvenile fiction book and teaches computers to elementary school children.
Alecia would like to thank her parents for instilling in her a love of all
music--even that loud Led Zeppelin she used to dislike as a child. Now,
she has the Led Zeppelin boxed set, among hundreds of other titles.
Berman_Dry@excite.com