REWIND
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
\ldblquote I SAID, I\rquote M SO HAPPY I COULD DIE; SHE SAID DROP DEAD THEN LEFT WITH ANOTHER GUY\rdblquote
\pard JUNE 13th, 1982
\b0 Graduation Day.
We\rquote d played Win Craymore\rquote s bash the day before. It was a blast, as always. We were still riding he wave of awesomeness we\rquote d found at the prom. We blew through five sets--one more than we usually played--and everyone was dancing and having a good time. As a little nod to Deb, I asked the gang if they knew \ldblquote Do You Believe In Magic?\rdblquote They did, so we threw it into the second set. Deb couldn\rquote t stop grinning while she was banging away at her guitar.
So, all that was left to our high school careers was this, Graduation Day.
It started at 11:00 AM. We all filed in to the football stadium--luckily, the weather held. The graduating class was about 450 people, and with all the family and friends, if they\rquote d had to go inside the number of people allowed would\rquote ve been severely curtailed. That\rquote s why they used the football stadium, weather permitting; and they\rquote d gotten a tent, so the weather would have to be really horrendous for it not to be outside. This year there were no such worries--it was warm and sunny.
I sat up front since I was one of the speakers. Which wasn\rquote t my choice, believe me--I\rquote d prefer to sit with my pals. Luckily, I got to sit with one--the award-winners also sat up front, and Michelle was receiving the class award for social studies. So, we sat next to each other, making each other laugh with our usual pithy comments.
The vice principal did a few introductory comments, then they handed out the awards (I also got one myself, for biology.) Then it was time for the speakers. The valedictorian would go last. Me, the salutatorian? I got to go first. Joy. Believe me, public speaking was \b not\b0 my forte. Right before I went up, I turned to Michelle and said, \ldblquote I wonder if there\rquote s any way I can sing this speech.\rdblquote She cracked up.
Unfortunately, no, I wasn\rquote t going to get away with singing this speech. I just reminded myself that, however much I disliked public speaking, this was going to be infinitely easier than the last time I\rquote d had to do it. Plus, I just realized that the whole school knew The Narcoleptics--so I\rquote d just given myself a good opening line.
I got up there and used it. \ldblquote I hate public speaking,\rdblquote I said without preamble. \ldblquote If I\rquote m up on stage I want a guitar strapped on. Any way I can sing this?\rdblquote I said, waving my speech. It worked--big laughs. That\rquote s one for Ed.
I had a few more. I knew I was going to need them, because the speech was going to be very un-funny in spots. I started out with the funnies. \ldblquote OK, since I can\rquote t sing it, here goes. Good morning, classmates, faculty members, friends and family, honored guests, and anyone I\rquote ve forgotten. I\rquote m Ed Bovilas, and I\rquote m your salutatorian. You may ask, how does one get to be salutatorian? They ask you to spell it. If you can, you\rquote re it.\rdblquote That one went over better than I thought it would!
\ldblquote A lot of people are probably surprised to see me up here. Those are the people that\rquote ve never been in class with me, but know who The Narcoleptics are.\rdblquote \b Big\b0 cheer. That surprised me! \ldblquote Uh-huh. You guys just remember all that love when we release the first album,\rdblquote I ad-libbed, to good effect. \ldblquote Anyhow, there are some people that are surprised to see Mister Rock and Roll up here ranked second in the class. Of course, there are far, far more of you that were shocked when you saw Ed The Geek up on stage with a guitar.\rdblquote After the chuckles, I inserted, \ldblquote Of couse, not nearly as many who were surprised to see Michelle Pepper up there!\rdblquote Another good round of laughs, and a nice blush from Michelle!
\ldblquote Anyhow, I\rquote ve lived an interesting high school existence, because it\rquote s been rather schizophrenic. Good student geek by day, rock and roller by night, that sort of thing. But, you know what? It\rquote s been great, in ways I didn\rquote t anticipate.
\ldblquote Some of you have known me since elementary school, or junior high. Those who have may remember that up until seventh grade, all I was was just a good student geek. And I was picked on a lot. Even after I took steps to decrease being picked on, I was still geeky and somewhat isolated, and I\rquote m always going to be a good student. As I said, it\rquote s isolating. And it also made me somewhat wary.
\ldblquote Some of what happened with The Narcoleptics changed a lot of that. Look, I have to tell you--we did this as a lark. We all liked playing, and we knew there was some talent there, but we didn\rquote t expect it to become what it has. We\rquote re happy as clams about it, believe me--but I think it took us all by surprise. I can see at least a couple of my bandmates nodding in agreement, so it wasn\rquote t just me,\rdblquote I chuckled.
\ldblquote I think, because it took off fairly quickly, some of you were surprised. I think you suddenly saw a side of me, or Michelle, or Debbie Gomelski, or any of us, that you hadn\rquote t known existed. The cool thing is, that worked both ways. Because of the Narcoleptics, I was approached by people I might have otherwise been wary of in my isolation.
\ldblquote I\rquote ve learned a lot, about myself and about other people. I\rquote m less wary, less isolated, and a hell of a lot better adjusted. That\rquote s almost the perfect high school existence, all things considered.
\ldblquote Now. we\rquote re all headed to college. It\rquote s going to be a new thing for all of us, but I feel pretty prepared for it. And a lot of that is because of my experiences here at Cabot High. They\rquote ve prepared me very well for the road ahead.
\ldblquote So, I thank you all for cheering us on, for seeking us out, for inviting us to play your parties and dances and whatnot. It\rquote s been wonderful. I\rquote ll never, ever forget the prom. That night was something special.\rdblquote Got more cheers for that one.
I took a deep breath, because things were about to get tougher. \ldblquote In return, for those thanks, I\rquote d like you to do something for me. I\rquote d like you all to think about friendship.
\ldblquote I have a lot of them--more than I ever thought I would. At different levels, sure. The seven of us in the band are tight as can be, and I have a couple more extremely close friends. Past that, there\rquote s people I\rquote m not as close to. But I\rquote ve made a lot of friends at all different levels. I cherish all of them. I can see most of you out in the crowd tonight.
Another breath. \ldblquote However, if I\rquote m talking about friends, and if I\rquote m acknowledging all my friends that are filling up all the seats out there in front of me; well, I also have to talk about the empty seat.
\ldblquote I have to talk about the friend that isn\rquote t here. I can\rquote t let this day go by without mentioning that, in a just world, my best friend, Beth Trovini, would be out there. She\rquote d be sitting out there, waiting to get her diploma, making silly faces at me as I tried to get through this speech. And she \b should\b0 be here. But she\rquote s not.
\ldblquote So, I\rquote m going to ask you to think about friendship. We\rquote re all going different places in September. We\rquote re going to have friends that we might not see as much, might not have the connection we once did. That\rquote s understandable. It\rquote s natural. But it\rquote s also avoidable.
\ldblquote If I can give all of you any advice as we go forward into this big world, it\rquote s just that: cherish your friends. Cherish them with all your might.
\ldblquote Part of the fun of graduating with friends is watching them. I was grinning like an idiot when Michelle got her social studies award. I\rquote ll be grinning like an idiot when my other friends get their diplomas. When all those names are called--Stan Murvetsin, Debbie Gomelski, Danica Rosen, all my friends--I\rquote m going to enjoy it thoroughly. I\rquote m glad I get to share this day with my friends, hear their names called, watch them get up here.
\ldblquote But there\rquote s one name I won\rquote t hear, so I\rquote ll say it now: Elizabeth Marie Trovini.
\ldblquote Thank you.\rdblquote
I got off the stage to a fine ovation. Of course, I knew part of that is because I kept the speech relatively brief! But I also saw a few moist eyes from those who\rquote d known Beth. And Michelle gave my arm a squeeze when I got back to my seat.
After I did my bit, it got boring, of course. The only speech I was interested in was my own! And having 450 people traipse up there to get diplomas took a while. Some of that was fun, though. Stan played air guitar as he was walking across the stage!
After all the speeches, the day was finally over. A few of us, the band and a few friends, were headed over to Debbie\rquote s for a small cookout-type thing. As I was headed out of the stadium, however, I got waylaid.
By Olivia.
\ldblquote Hey,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote I\rquote d like to talk. Is that possible?\rdblquote
I\rquote ll tell the truth--part of me wanted to say no. A big part of me wanted to say no. I was still upset at her, quite a bit. I felt wronged by the whole thing. I almost told her to fuck off.
But I didn\rquote t. I couldn\rquote t. For one thing, I wasn\rquote t going to deny the feelings were still there. For another thing--I was just going on and on about friendship, wasn\rquote t I? And referencing Beth while I was at it? If I blithely blew off someone who\rquote d meant so much to me over the past two years, what did that say about the lovely speech I\rquote d just made? Not a lot.
So, I didn\rquote t turn her down. \ldblquote Sure,\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote But not now.\rdblquote
\ldblquote That\rquote s fine. You free tomorrow?\rdblquote
I told her I was, and we made plans to meet.
I wondered what she wanted.
\b JUNE 14th, 1982\b0
I picked her up at her house, and it didn\rquote t take her long to answer that very question.
\ldblquote Eddie?\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote I think we\rquote ve made a mistake.\rdblquote
\ldblquote What mistake is that?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Breaking up.\rdblquote
Well, Debbie called it, didn\rquote t she? \ldblquote You think it was a mistake?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote Look, about the prom--I was very, very wrong. I regret pushing that, and I\rquote m sorry. You belonged up there playing, and I\rquote m sorry I didn\rquote t really understand or appreciate that.\rdblquote
\ldblquote OK,\rdblquote I said, \ldblquote but that still doesn\rquote t take care of the big problem: Michigan.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I know,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote Look, I\rquote m not going to apologize for that. I think it\rquote s the best thing. Going there for college, I mean--I shouldn\rquote t have gone out in April which was my other big mistake. But going there in September? I do think it\rquote s best for me right now. However, is there any way we can work around it?\rdblquote
\ldblquote I\rquote m sorry, Livvie, I still have the same fears.\rdblquote
\ldblquote That I wouldn\rquote t be able to stick to it?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I\rquote ll be honest, I have the same fears about you--but I\rquote m willing to give it a try.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Hey, if I tried it, I \b would\b0 be able to keep it in my pants.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Probably, though I wouldn\rquote t ask you to,\rdblquote she said with a little grin. \ldblquote I\rquote d be more worried you\rquote d fall in love with someone else, you being a complete romantic and all. Sexual fidelity I don\rquote t care much about. I\rquote d ask you to make an emotional committment, not a physical one.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Excuse me?\rdblquote I said, confused.
\ldblquote I want to get back together with you, and try a long-distance relationship.\rdblquote
\ldblquote That much I got,\rdblquote I laughed.
\ldblquote Right. To me, \lquote relationship\rquote implies an emotional one. I\rquote d ask you not to become emotionally involved with anyone else. You can have sex with anyone you want, I don\rquote t care about that. When I\rquote m home, of course, I\rquote d expect sexual fidelity as well--but while I\rquote m away? Pick up a groupie after a gig. What do I care?\rdblquote
I had to shake my head, to clear out the mind-boggles. \ldblquote What on earth brought this on?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well,\rdblquote she started, \ldblquote part of it was the prom. That\rquote s when I realized how unfair I\rquote d been. I also realized that you were who I should\rquote ve been there with, even if we weren\rquote t dancing. My date was a complete dud,\rdblquote she said with a roll of her eyes. \ldblquote And by the time the night ended, any slight attraction I may have had for him was completely gone. I went home alone right after the prom, which is never fun,\rdblquote she said with a little grin. \ldblquote Which reminds me--did you sleep with Debbie prom night?\rdblquote
SHIT! I almost crashed into a telephone pole. \ldblquote WHAT?\rdblquote I managed to blurt out.
\ldblquote Well, I knew you and Deb were sharing a room after the prom. I was just wondering if you decided to go for it. I can see from your reaction that you did,\rdblquote she said with a little grin. I tried to say something--I had no idea what, frankly--when she interrupted me. \ldblquote Hey, we had broken up. I can\rquote t blame you or say anything about it. Don\rquote t you think I knew that Debbie had the hots for you? I also figured it was returned somewhat. So, I\rquote m not surprised.\rdblquote
I could just shake my head. \ldblquote Anyway,\rdblquote she continued, \ldblquote the prom was part of it, and realizing there that I\rquote d pretty much fucked up. I think I realized then that I was going to try to at least talk to you. But what really clinched it was your speech. That got to me.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah.\rdblquote I agreed. \ldblquote I can see where it would.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You were right--cherish your friends. You\rquote re the best friend I have, and possibly the best friend I\rquote ve ever had. At least the second-best.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I understand,\rdblquote I grinned.
\ldblquote Yeah. But you\rquote re right. I haven\rquote t cherished you, or us, not the way I should have.\rdblquote She sighed. \ldblquote I know me going to Michigan is going to be rough. Maybe it won\rquote t work. But I don\rquote t think we\rquote d be honoring what we have together or how we feel about one another if we didn\rquote t even \b try\b0 .\rdblquote
\ldblquote I don\rquote t know,\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote Things have been pretty rough, and the whole Michigan thing still bothers me.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Think of it this way,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote What have we got to lose? You\rquote re not dating anyone else, are you? I\rquote m assuming you and Debbie decided to remain just friends even after having sex.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Uh, yeah, we did,\rdblquote I said hesitantly. \ldblquote And, no, I\rquote m not dating anyone else.\rdblquote
\ldblquote OK, so we\rquote re both free. All I\rquote m suggesting is that we give it a try. Look, Eddie, I still love you, you know that. And I\rquote m betting you still love me. What have we got to lose?\rdblquote
\ldblquote My heart? My sanity?\rdblquote
\ldblquote You already lost the latter,\rdblquote she laughed. \ldblquote As for the former, good point. All I can do is promise to try not to dent your heart too much.\rdblquote
\pard\qc
\pard I took a breath. \ldblquote Look, Livvie. I have to be blunt. You\rquote ve already done that--dent my heart. Why should I give you a second chance?\rdblquote
She jerked in surprise, but then sighed. \ldblquote I suppose I deserved that.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I\rquote m not trying to hurt you. But you hurt me, and badly. I\rquote m also, I\rquote ll admit, angry. But I\rquote m just trying to be blunt. Why should I do this?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Because we both still love one another?\rdblquote She paused. \ldblquote Don\rquote t we?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yes, we do,\rdblquote I admitted, \ldblquote but is that enough?\rdblquote
\ldblquote I guess only you can answer that.\rdblquote She gave me a wry little grin. \ldblquote It was enough for me to swallow my pride and admit I made a mistake.\rdblquote
\ldblquote OK, true,\rdblquote I conceded with a grin. \ldblquote Let me think about this, OK?\rdblquote
\ldblquote OK.\rdblquote
\b JUNE 26th, 1982
\b0
I gave in. Was there really ever any doubt? Debbie\rquote s right--I\rquote m a sap.
But, you know, despite my hurt and anger, I really did love her. And she seemed to be hell-bent on making amends.
So, I gave it the summer--and we\rquote ll see what happens then.
However, I had other things to occupy me over the summer--number one being the band.
We were serious about attempting to play the clubs in Boston once we got to school. And that meant playing original music. Now, I\rquote d written songs for years--including the first life. Some of them I even remembered, to some point, and I could easily \lquote write\rquote them again in this life. Since my writing style was rooted in stuff that was already around in 1982 or was older, I wouldn\rquote t be violating anything by \lquote writing\rquote a song in 1982 that I originally wrote in 1993. It all sounded like The Beatles anyway!
But I wasn\rquote t the only songwriter in the band. When we\rquote d first discussed the idea of doing this, Michelle revealed that she also wrote songs.
It was just the two of us, though. I was a little surprised that Debbie didn\rquote t. \ldblquote I\rquote ve never tried,\rdblquote she confessed. Stan told us that he would write all the lead guitar lines for our songs that we wanted him to, but he wasn\rquote t going to mess with anything else. \ldblquote Like lyrics. I will gladly keep the lyrics to you two guys. Yeesh!\rdblquote
So, this was the day we\rquote d picked to start working on our own original songs.
One thing quickly became apparent--while I had arrangement ideas, Michelle did not. She presented us with songs that were very bare-bones. All the lyrics were there, plus the melody and basic chords, but that was it. Some of that had to do with how she wrote. Remember, Michelle was the bass player--and you don\rquote t write songs on bass. She played enough guitar and piano to write songs on them--but just barely. So, when she presented us with a song--like I said, we\rquote d get a fully realized melody and a lyric, but, behind that, only rudimentary guitar or piano chords.
Which was fine with not only me, but also Stan--he might not have any interest in writing, but he was a natural arranger. As for me--I\rquote d be dictating Michelle\rquote s bass lines on my songs--to the note! That\rquote s how much of an arranger I was. Though that wasn\rquote t exactly true--especially with Michelle, since she was creative and a fantastic bass player--I did tend to come up with lines for all the instruments when I wrote. I\rquote m sure I could come up with lines for all the instruments for Michelle\rquote s songs!
Anyhow, both Michelle and I traipsed into band practice on this day, a Saturday, with a clutch of songs all ready.
Michelle went first. And blew us right out of the water.
It was called \ldblquote My Body\rdblquote . And it wasn\rquote t written by the pristine straight-A student preppie Michelle. Nope, this was written by Michelle the Sexbomb.
It started like this:
\pard\li720\i Oooh, I\rquote ve come undone
Oooh, I\rquote m sixteen years old
Oooh, I wanna have my fun\rquote
Oooh, and not just do what I\rquote m told
Don\rquote t tell me what my Daddy says
He doesn\rquote t get to choose for me
Don\rquote t tell me what your preacher says
Those rules are antiquated and arbitrary
I\rquote m young, I\rquote m free and I\rquote m ready for you
Let me tell you what I want us to do
This waiting for forever is a game for fools
And don\rquote t tell me I\rquote m too young my body knows it ain\rquote t true
Don\rquote t tell me I\rquote m too young my body knows it ain\rquote t true
Oooh, I feel it deep inside
Oooh, it\rquote s a purple wave
Oooh, no time to run and hide
Oooh, cause I\rquote m feeling brave
Don\rquote t tell me you don\rquote t want me
I feel it every time we kiss
Don\rquote t tell me you don\rquote t need me
You\rquote ve been hoping all along that I wanted this
I\rquote m young, I\rquote m free and I\rquote m ready for you
Let me tell you what I want us to do
This waiting for forever is a game for fools
And don\rquote t tell me I\rquote m too young my body knows it ain\rquote t true
Don\rquote t tell me I\rquote m too young my body knows it ain\rquote t true
\pard\i0
And went on from there.
I think we were all stunned.
\ldblquote And there goes that pristine image, shattered in a million pieces,\rdblquote Debbie laughed. Michelle just gave her a Cheshire Cat grin.
\ldblquote You sure you didn\rquote t write that, Deb?\rdblquote I teased.
\ldblquote Nope, that was all Michelle,\rdblquote she said. \ldblquote I mean, come on--who else besides Michelle would use the words antiquated and arbitrary in a song about \b sex\b0 ?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Hey, I love it,\rdblquote Stan said.
\ldblquote You would,\rdblquote I retorted, \ldblquote but I do too. However, what\rquote s with this \lquote It\rquote s a purple wave\rquote stuff?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well, purple is the color of lust, after all,\rdblquote Michelle said.
\ldblquote It is?\rdblquote I laughed.
\ldblquote She\rquote s only saying that because Stan is wearing a purple shirt,\rdblquote Karen laughed.
\ldblquote Who do you think bought him the shirt?\rdblquote Michelle riposted.
We all laughed--and then, out of clear blue sky, Stan started playing.
As I\rquote d said, Michelle presented us that song with just her strumming on an acoustic guitar. The song itself was all there--including how fast it was, which was very--but bare-bones. But it triggered something in Stan, because he came up with this really twangy Duane Eddy guitar thing. I answered him with a little stutter on my guitar. And, just like that, we had an intro. And that became the basis to the arrangement, because Stan answered all of Michelle\rquote s vocal phrases in the verse with that same twangy bit. Debbie took over the acoustic part, strumming furiously--like I said, it was a \b fast\b0 song.
Twenty minutes later, we ran through the thing, from beginning to end.
After we finished, Michelle looked at me, grinned, and said, \ldblquote Your turn.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Fine, I have a song about sex, too.\rdblquote
Which I did. It was called \ldblquote Keep A Light On.\rdblquote Though it was a wee bit more subtle than hers! The lyrics were a bit inane in spots--lyrics aren\rquote t my strong suit--but the chorus made plain the meaning of the song:
\pard\li720\i Midnight prowler knocking on your door
Keep a light on for me
You know my face and you\rquote ve seen me before
Keep a light on for me
\pard\i0 And, unlike Michelle, I had the whole arrangement worked out. I\rquote m a riff-monger, so I had the whole riff worked out for Stan to play--in fact, for this song, the riff \b was\b0 the whole song! I also had this cheesy roller-rink \ldblquote Ramrod\rdblquote organ part worked out for Karen to play. I let Stan work out the guitar solo, though.
We worked that sucker out in no time at all. Afterwards, Stan laughed and said, \ldblquote So, we\rquote re gonna be the sex song band, are we?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Not hardly,\rdblquote Michelle smirked, and promptly moved over to the piano and picked out a lovely mid-tempo ballad called \ldblquote From My Head To My Toes.\rdblquote It was clearly a love song, not a lust song. Which brought up an interesting point, which Karen articulated with a huge grin: \ldblquote So, if we practice that song enough, will we get Stan to stop blushing?\rdblquote
\ldblquote I do \b not\b0 blush!\rdblquote Stan maintained.
\ldblquote Uh-huh,\rdblquote Debbie teased. \ldblquote Must\rquote ve been a momentary sunburn.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah yeah yeah,\rdblquote Stan snorted. \ldblquote Let\rquote s see if we can arrange Michelle\rquote s little ditty, shall we?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Cool, he\rquote ll blush all the way through the guitar part,\rdblquote Debbie quipped. Stan just shot her a look.
It took some work to arrange it. Michelle had the melody--which was lovely--and the words. The chorus, which was gorgeous, went like this:
\pard\li720\i From my head
To my toes
Well, the feeling comes, and it grows and grows
After so long together
We know how the story goes
It goes, I love you
From my head to my toes
\pard\i0 Michelle had that, plus the rest of the words and the basic chords and melody. But she wrote it on piano, which she doesn\rquote t play particularly well, and that\rquote s all she had. It was mid-tempo, so she didn\rquote t want it to be particularly quiet--it was piano-based, but it was supposed to be a full band piece.
The first thing we did was have Kenny work up a proper piano part. Which he quickly did, working from Michelle\rquote s chord sketch. He even added an intro, based off of a bit of a phrase Michelle was playing at the end of the chorus. What was funny was the first measure--two chords--of the intro was a \b complete \b0 pinch from the same first measure of Bob Seger\rquote s \ldblquote Still The Same\rdblquote --that da--dum-dum that opens the song. Same thing. After that it spun off into an arpeggio that had nothing to do with the Seger song, but that first measure was going to get people guessing!
Debbie picked up an acoustic, at Stan\rquote s direction, and strummed along. Then Stan and I got the electrics out. Dave figured out a good drum part, and Karen played some synth. It didn\rquote t take more than a half hour.
\ldblquote You know what? We\rquote re damn good,\rdblquote Stan asserted. \ldblquote This is gonna fly. And that song is a \b hit\b0 , I swear it.\rdblquote
\ldblquote At least he stopped blushing,\rdblquote Debbie said, keeping it up.
\ldblquote Yeah, yeah. Any more hits?\rdblquote Stan said.
\ldblquote I got one,\rdblquote I replied.
It was called \ldblquote I Saw You Dancing.\rdblquote It was another riff-o-rama--I did have a tendency to write riffs. It was a nice meaty guitar riff with a clanking cowbell moving everything along. The first verse went like this:
\pard\li720\i There you were moving cross the gym
I saw you dancing
You had your arms and your lips wrapped around him
I saw you dancing
Well I remember the day when you used to be mine
I saw you dancing
Now I\rquote m just the guy on stage keeping time
I saw you dancing
I watched you move across the floor so slow
Made me remember the day before
When I watched you go
I saw you dancing
I saw you dancing
\pard\i0\ldblquote Hm,\rdblquote Debbie said when we were done. \ldblquote Write that after watching Olivia dance with that loser at prom?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Actually, no,\rdblquote I laughed. \ldblquote That one\rquote s a couple years old.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Who\rquote d you write it about?\rdblquote Michelle asked.
\ldblquote Nobody in particular,\rdblquote I said.
\ldblquote Whatever,\rdblquote Stan said. \ldblquote Whoever it was written about, that\rquote s a hit too.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Look, we\rquote ve got our own Casey Kasem in the band!\rdblquote Michelle teased.
\ldblquote Well, hey,\rdblquote Stan said. \ldblquote These are good songs. You two can really write.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Damn straight,\rdblquote Debbie agreed. \ldblquote Any more?\rdblquote
We did. Michelle had this lovely thing called \ldblquote Hold Me Down.\rdblquote She also had a cool little rocker called \ldblquote Sure Enough,\rdblquote which had a neat guitar part that drove the rhythm, plus great harmonies for Debbie and me to sing on the chorus. She had another rocker called \ldblquote Accidents Can Happen Here.\rdblquote
I had a mid-tempo thing with a nice sustaining riff called \ldblquote No Place To Hide.\rdblquote There was an acoustic ballad with a complicated and great-sounding guitar part called \ldblquote My Blue Highway.\rdblquote
And then there was \ldblquote Summer\rquote s Gone\rdblquote . One of the goofiest things I ever wrote--lyrically and musically. It had this mock-swing beat with droning organ chords and a honking guitar thing. And the lyrics--which were about how much I hate hot weather--were just silly. It made the whole band crack up. But they all also loved it. We worked it up in a hurry.
\ldblquote That\rquote s a nice days work, isn\rquote t it?\rdblquote Stan said, satisfied. We all were.
\b JUNE 30th, 1982\b0
Michelle, Stan and Debbie proposed we go out to lunch. I accepted. Little did I know that the three of them had an agenda.
We went to the Golden Arches. The minute we got our food and settled in at a table, they started in on me.
\ldblquote So,\rdblquote Michelle began, \ldblquote Eddie, tell us: have you gone completely nuts, or what?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Excuse me?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Olivia,\rdblquote Stan said. \ldblquote You\rquote re actually going to go out with her again?\rdblquote
\ldblquote You really are a complete sap,\rdblquote Debbie added.
\ldblquote Jeez, guys, I thought I was going to lunch, not an ambush,\rdblquote I said, bemused.
\ldblquote Hey, you\rquote re our friend. We worry about you,\rdblquote Michelle said.
\ldblquote I know. But it\rquote s fine, really.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well, maybe you could try to explain to us exactly why you decided to go back out with her,\rdblquote Stan said, reasonably enough. \ldblquote Because we don\rquote t understand it.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You guys know I still love her.\rdblquote
\ldblquote God only knows \b why\b0 ,\rdblquote Debbie snorted.
\ldblquote Well, I do. And, hey, at least I\rquote m not gonna spend the summer alone.\rdblquote
Michelle blinked. \ldblquote You don\rquote t think this is going to last much past that, do you?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Actually, I plan to play it by ear. She says she plans to be faithful--well, emotionally faithful.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Uhm, what does that mean?\rdblquote Debbie asked.
I grinned. \ldblquote It means, after we get to school, she doesn\rquote t care who I fuck, as long as I don\rquote t fall in love with anyone else.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well, that\rquote s handy,\rdblquote Debbie chuckled. \ldblquote Though I don\rquote t know how interested you\rquote ll be in that.\rdblquote
\ldblquote More than you\rquote d guess,\rdblquote I laughed. \ldblquote Heck, I\rquote ll admit it--one of the reasons for staying with Livvie is so I don\rquote t have to go the whole summer without pussy.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You wouldn\rquote t have to in any case, and you know it,\rdblquote Debbie smirked, \ldblquote so that isn\rquote t the reason.\rdblquote
\ldblquote OK, good point,\rdblquote I agreed with a grin.
\ldblquote We just don\rquote t want to see you getting hurt. Again,\rdblquote Michelle interjected.
\ldblquote Well, you can\rquote t really prevent that,\rdblquote I said cheerfully. \ldblquote It\rquote s happened before and it\rquote ll probably happen again. You guys will just have to pick up the pieces,\rdblquote I teased.
\ldblquote Well, that\rquote s what we\rquote re trying to prevent, you big galoot,\rdblquote Stan laughed. \ldblquote That\rquote s all we need is you gettin\rquote all emotional.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Ah, that\rquote d be fine,\rdblquote Debbie countered, \ldblquote as he\rquote d probably get some great songs out of it!\rdblquote
\ldblquote Nah, I plan to write all my songs about you, Deb,\rdblquote I teased.
That immediately set Stan off. \ldblquote Da-na-na-na-na, my baby\rquote s got tits! Da-na-na-na-na, big big big tits!\rdblquote
We all cracked up. \ldblquote You writing that about her or me?\rdblquote Michelle asked him.
\ldblquote Four for the price of two?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Nice try, but I don\rquote t share,\rdblquote Michelle said.
\ldblquote I do believe I knew that,\rdblquote Stan smirked.
\ldblquote Good. Now back to the topic at hand,\rdblquote Michelle said, turning back to me.
\ldblquote Damn. I liked that topic better.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Of course you did. The topic was tits, and you\rquote re a guy,\rdblquote Debbie giggled.
\ldblquote Exactly.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Anyhow,\rdblquote Michelle said firmly, \ldblquote Eddie, are you sure?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well, who\rquote s ever sure? I think it\rquote s the right thing, at least for now. When she\rquote s in Michigan? We\rquote ll see.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well, it\rquote s your life,\rdblquote Debbie said.
\ldblquote His life, but our band,\rdblquote Michelle mock-grumbled.
\ldblquote Don\rquote t worry, I won\rquote t let the band down. I\rquote ll either be writing happy songs or sad songs, so who cares?\rdblquote
\b AUGUST 27th, 1982\b0
The rest of the summer went fine. Olivia and I seemingly recovered everything that was good about our relationship. The love, the sex, the easy way we had with each other--all of it. It was like we\rquote d never had a problem.
She left Wednesday the 25th. She actually had to check into the dorm that Friday, which was today, the 27th. I wouldn\rquote t be checking into my dorm until Sunday the 29th. I was glad it was shortly afterwards, though. Because, by the time she left, I really didn\rquote t want her to go. It almost would\rquote ve been easier to have broken up at the beginning of the summer.
With that in mind, the day after she left, I sat down and wrote a song, called \ldblquote Only A Phone Call Away\rdblquote .
\pard\li720\i She\rquote s not here
She\rquote s gone to where she needs to be
And I fear
That it\rquote s all gonna drive me crazy
And I understand
And I wait for another day
And I keep telling myself
She\rquote s only a phone call away
There\rquote s no touch
There\rquote s no way to kiss her and hold her
It\rquote s too much
Makes me want to forget what I told her
But I sympathize
So I hold back what I want to say
And keep telling myself
She\rquote s only a phone call away
Comes a time you gotta read the tea leaves
Comes a time you gotta hedge your bets
But I\rquote d bet every penny I own, girl
That you\rquote re not done with me yet
I can\rquote t see
Can\rquote t see past tomorrow, can\rquote t see what\rquote s there
It\rquote s not me
To live in the present without much of a care
But I\rquote m all right
If I can stay forever in today
For when tomorrow comes
She\rquote s only a phone call away
Comes a time you must ignore the future
Comes a time you must forget the past
Comes a time you just rejoice in the moment
For as long as you can make it last
She\rquote s so far
Far away in distance, away in time
But I see stars
Every time I hear her voice on the line
So I hold on tight
To the smile that can last all day
Maybe for now it\rquote s enough
That she\rquote s only a phone call away
Yeah, just for now it\rquote s enough
That she\rquote s only a phone call away
I will see you again
If only in my dreams......\i0 .
\pard
On this day, the 27th, I taught it to the band. We learned it quickly. And Stan cracked me up by calling me \ldblquote Genius\rdblquote for the rest of the practice!
\b AUGUST 29th, 1982\b0
My first day on the lovely campus of Boston College.
Boston College isn\rquote t actually in Boston. It\rquote s in Chestnut Hill. Which isn\rquote t a municipality of its own, it\rquote s a village. But still not in Boston. It\rquote s in the neighboring city of Newton. It\rquote s real \b close\b0 to Boston, mind you. But unlike Boston University--which is actually \b in\b0 Boston and has an urban campus--Boston College is suburban. Even bucolic in spots. It\rquote s compact and leafy and pretty.
We pulled up to the dorm. They had folks with tables out in front, registering arriving students and doling out room keys. I was in a six-story dorm, co-ed by floors. The even numbered floors had girls, the odd numbered boys. I was on the third floor.
I had some stuff with me, of course, and Mom and Dad were there. Dad had rented a truck to get all my stuff in--I\rquote d go back for a weekend later on to grab my car--and Mom and Dad helped me lug the stuff up to the third floor. We walked in with a load of stuff--and I met my roommate.
His name was Max Goldberg. He was a tall, very skinny guy with enormous glasses. He was from somewhere on Long Island, and was majoring in Computer Science. And it became quickly apparent that my new roomie was a first-class Grade A nerd. I mean, he was straight out of Revenge Of The Nerds...or would be when it was released! Of course, I sympathized, being a closet nerd myself (and in the first life, it wasn\rquote t so closet!)
After we got my stuff up--and I hugged Mom and Dad goodbye--my roomie and I went to the dining hall to get some grub and to get to know one another a bit. And my suspicion about Max proved to be true--he\rquote d had a rough time of it in high school.
\ldblquote Mine was in junior high. I wised up some after that.\rdblquote
He looked at me, surprised. \ldblquote You had problems? But you just told me you were in a popular rock band! And you\rquote re big!\rdblquote
I laughed. \ldblquote I wasn\rquote t always big, and I wasn\rquote t always in a rock band. The rock band disguises how much of a nerd I am, but before that, yeah. I got beat up a lot.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You? A nerd?\rdblquote he snorted.
\ldblquote Yeah. Hey, I was salutatorian of my class. Straight-A student. That got me picked on.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I see that,\rdblquote he agreed.
Of course, if he was skeptical about my status as a closeted nerd, he became even more skeptical after we got back to the room. We were chatting, and there was a knock on the door. I opened it to find Debbie and Michelle.
\ldblquote There you are!\rdblquote Debbie said. \ldblquote We couldn\rquote t find the damn dorm!\rdblquote
\ldblquote Did you find each others\rquote easier?\rdblquote I laughed.
\ldblquote We\rquote re in the same one, two floors apart,\rdblquote Michelle laughed. \ldblquote Ours is all female, though. I think I like this one better!\rdblquote
\ldblquote Don\rquote t let Stan hear that,\rdblquote I teased. \ldblquote Anyhow, get your asses in here.\rdblquote
I led them into the room, where Max was sitting in a chair at his desk. He looked up, saw the girls, and his eyes just about popped out of his head!
\ldblquote This is my roomie, Max. Max, these are my friends Debbie and Michelle.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Nice to meet you, Max,\rdblquote Michelle said enthusiastically. Debbie followed suit. They moved over to shake his hand--and poor Max was practically shaking!
Just to make him even more incredulous, Michelle plopped down on my bed next to me. Debbie commandeered the chair by my desk. \ldblquote Did you get here today as well, Max?\rdblquote Debbie asked.
\ldblquote Here on campus, yes,\rdblquote he managed to get out. \ldblquote My parents and I stayed in a hotel last night.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Where are you from?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Long Island, New York, a town called Huntington. It\rquote s about in the middle of Long Island, on the north shore. Are you guys from the same city as Ed?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yep,\rdblquote Michelle confirmed. \ldblquote I\rquote ve known this putz since eight grade.\rdblquote
\ldblquote A couple years after for me,\rdblquote Debbie said. \ldblquote When I auditioned for the band. Little did I know what I was getting into.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Ah, shaddap,\rdblquote I said.
\ldblquote Oh, you\rquote re in his band?\rdblquote Max asked.
\ldblquote We are,\rdblquote Michelle confirmed. \ldblquote I play bass. Debbie plays a little bit of everything.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Sax and guitar, mostly,\rdblquote Debbie laughed. \ldblquote And Michelle shares the lead vocals with Ed.\rdblquote
\ldblquote And, now, the songwriting,\rdblquote I pointed out. \ldblquote We\rquote ve been a cover band.\rdblquote I told Max, \ldblquote you know, playing dances and parties and stuff. But Michelle and I write songs and so we\rquote re trying to get an original set list so we can play the clubs here in town.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Where do you guys practice?\rdblquote Max asked.
\ldblquote Well, when we\rquote re back in Cabot, usually at Stan\rquote s house,\rdblquote Michelle grinned.
\ldblquote Stan is our lead guitarist, and Michelle\rquote s boyfriend,\rdblquote I told Max. \ldblquote Here--well, we have a rehearsal space. It\rquote s down near BU, not too far from here. The parents pitched in and rented it for us for the year.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Dave, our drummer, goes to BU, he found it,\rdblquote Debbie told him.
\ldblquote So the whole band doesn\rquote t go here?\rdblquote Max asked.
\ldblquote Nope.\rdblquote I explained to him where we were all going. \ldblquote But that makes four of us here, which is cool.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah, we have to keep an eye on him, you know,\rdblquote Debbie teased.
We chatted for a while into the night. Max even loosened up some. But he kept staring at Debbie! Debbie, of course, was amused.
After they left, Max shot me an amused look. \ldblquote Yeah, a nerd. Sure you are. With girls like that hanging around? Yeah, you\rquote re such a nerd.\rdblquote
\ldblquote They\rquote re just friends.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah, fine, so what does your girlfriend look like?\rdblquote
\ldblquote That,\rdblquote I said, pointing to the picture of Livvie I had on my desk.
\ldblquote See? You even have a girlfriend! And you\rquote re a nerd. Yep.\rdblquote I just had to laugh. I couldn\rquote t actually explain it to him, could I? He got up and looked closer at the picture. \ldblquote Cute. Does she go here as well?\rdblquote
\ldblquote No, she goes to Eastern Michigan University.\rdblquote He looked at me. \ldblquote Long story,\rdblquote I sighed.
\ldblquote Long distance,\rdblquote he said. \ldblquote That\rquote s rough.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Is it going to work?\rdblquote
\ldblquote We\rquote ll see.\rdblquote
\b SEPTEMBER 1st, 1982\b0
The first week of school for us incoming freshmen was orientation.
Part of it was useful--the tours and whatnot. But, of course, there was a lot of boring meetings and seminars and all that. I\rquote d already declared my major and had registered for classes, so I didn\rquote t have to do any of that. And, because I\rquote d declared my major, I was assigned an advisor from the Psychology department, and met with her. That sort of thing.
Max and I had spent a lot of the first couple of days of orientation together, but of course we had different majors and different advisors. So, while walking back from the meeting with my advisor on this day, I was alone. I headed towards the dorm to roust Max to get some supper. I got into the dorm and stepped into the elevator.
And got quite a surprise.
\ldblquote Eddie? Do you live here?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Kelly! How are you?\rdblquote
\ldblquote I\rquote m good,\rdblquote she smiled. \ldblquote Yourself?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Great. And, yes, I live here. On the third.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I\rquote m up on the sixth, the top floor,\rdblquote she laughed.
\ldblquote Stay away from the windows,\rdblquote I joked.
\ldblquote Oh, God. My roommate is afraid of heights. She\rquote s mortified she got the top floor. Guess who got the bed near the windows? Not her!\rdblquote
That made me laugh to myself. In the first life, when I\rquote d gone to St. Louis University, I\rquote d lived on the fourteenth floor! \ldblquote What are you majoring in?\rdblquote I asked.
\ldblquote English, with an education minor.\rdblquote
\ldblquote High school English teacher?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yep. How about you?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Psychology and pre-med.\rdblquote
\ldblquote That and the band? You\rquote re gonna have no time to party!\rdblquote
\ldblquote Since when have I been a party animal anyhow?\rdblquote I laughed. \ldblquote We play music while other people party.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Good point,\rdblquote she grinned. The elevator stopped. \ldblquote Here\rquote s your floor.\rdblquote
I looked at her for a second, and played a hunch. \ldblquote You busy? Want to come chat for a bit?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah, I\rquote d like to catch up,\rdblquote she said easily. \ldblquote I\rquote ve got nothing to do except supper, and that can keep.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Cool,\rdblquote I said. \ldblquote Me too, but I was gonna look for my roomie first, and I don\rquote t think he\rquote s back yet.\rdblquote
We headed for my room. I plopped down on the bed and beckoned her to my desk chair. She sat down on it.
I took a good look at her. I hadn\rquote t really looked at her in...well, in a long time. She looked good. She\rquote d always been thin, but she\rquote d filled out some. She\rquote d also changed her hair--she had that horrible eighties short feathered thing in high school. That was gone. Her hair had grown out and was more natural. I liked it a lot better--whoever invented the feathered bob should be shot.
\ldblquote So, where\rquote s Patrick?\rdblquote I asked.
\ldblquote Here,\rdblquote she laughed. \ldblquote Yup, we\rquote re back in the same school again. He\rquote s doing history and pre-law.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Good for him.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yep. I\rquote ve seen Michelle in the dining hall. Is the whole band here?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Nope. Michelle, Debbie, Kenny and I. Dave\rquote s at BU, Karen at Northeastern, and Stan\rquote s at Framingham State.\rdblquote
\ldblquote But you\rquote re staying together?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yep.\rdblquote I explained to her the original songs idea.
\ldblquote That sounds great!\rdblquote she enthused. \ldblquote What\rquote s your roommate like?\rdblquote
I laughed. \ldblquote He\rquote s a really nice guy named Max, from Long Island. A computer science major, and a complete nerd.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Good, you guys should get along well,\rdblquote she teased.
\ldblquote Try and tell \b him\b0 that!\rdblquote I laughed. \ldblquote Because I\rquote m in a band--and because Michelle and Debbie stopped by the first night--he won\rquote t believe I\rquote m a nerd at heart.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Good thing he doesn\rquote t know how good you are in bed, he\rquote d really never believe it,\rdblquote she giggled--then caught herself short. \ldblquote Oh, I shouldn\rquote t have said that.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Why not?\rdblquote I said easily. \ldblquote Like I don\rquote t want to hear how good I am in bed?\rdblquote
She let out a snort of laughter, then sobered. \ldblquote Didn\rquote t want to bring up bad memories.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Only one memory is bad, Kel. The rest are good.\rdblquote
She smiled. \ldblquote OK. For me too.\rdblquote She took a breath. \ldblquote I know it\rquote s way too late, but I really am sorry. I handled things as bad as they could\rquote ve been handled.\rdblquote
\ldblquote It\rquote s not too late, but it\rquote s water under the bridge, Kel. I\rquote d like to think we can be friends, though. We were friends for a very long time.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yes, we can,\rdblquote she said, with a big smile and visibly relieved. Then she giggled. \ldblquote I guess we\rquote d better, since we\rquote re practically living together.\rdblquote
Now that was the Kelly I knew! \ldblquote Yep, with you on top,\rdblquote I teased. She started, then cracked up. \ldblquote Anyhow, what\rquote s your roomie like, besides being acrophobic?\rdblquote
\ldblquote She\rquote s ok. She\rquote s nice and all. A bit too much of the \lquote ohmygod!\rquote Valley Girl type for my taste, but she\rquote s ok. She\rquote s even from California!\rdblquote
\ldblquote Bet you can\rquote t wait for the first snowstorm.\rdblquote
\ldblquote It will be amusing, for sure!\rdblquote
She looked at my desk, at the picture on it. \ldblquote Livvie. You guys still together?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I heard she went away to school.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah, Eastern Michigan.\rdblquote
\ldblquote How\rquote s that working out?\rdblquote
\ldblquote We\rquote ll see,\rdblquote I said.
She laughed. \ldblquote It\rquote s probably a good thing. Between your band and your major, you won\rquote t have time for a girlfriend.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Oh, I can always make time for a girlfriend,\rdblquote I smirked.
\ldblquote I said a girlfriend, not sex,\rdblquote she laughed.
\ldblquote Uh-huh.\rdblquote
Just then the door opened. In walked Max.
Not to my surprise, I got A Look from him. I smirked, and introduced them.
Kelly and I chatted for a bit, then she went to find her roommate to get some supper. Max and I headed off to the dining hall ourselves.
I waited for it. Didn\rquote t have long to wait, either. \ldblquote So, how many other gorgeous girls are going to be coming to our room?\rdblquote
\ldblquote I think that\rquote s probably about it,\rdblquote I said, bemused. \ldblquote Well, Kara will probably stop by eventually.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Kara?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah. She goes to Wellesley, but I\rquote m sure she\rquote ll end up here for hanging out at some point. Her boyfriend goes to Harvard, so she\rquote ll be there most often, but we\rquote re the best of friends, so I\rquote m sure she\rquote ll visit sooner or later.\rdblquote
\ldblquote How is it your friends with all these girls who you\rquote ve never dated?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Who said I never dated any of them?\rdblquote I said with a smirk.
\ldblquote These are all ex-girlfriends?\rdblquote he said, amazed.
\ldblquote Some of them. I never dated Michelle. Never dated Debbie, either, if you want to get technical about it, though we did go to the prom together. And the hotel room after the prom, as well.\rdblquote
\ldblquote You don\rquote t have to paint me a picture,\rdblquote he smirked.
\ldblquote Didn\rquote t think I did,\rdblquote I smirked. \ldblquote But Debbie and I are still just friends. But I did date Kara, in fact she was my first. We broke up because of distance, mostly, and now she has a very serious boyfriend.\rdblquote
\ldblquote And the one I met today, Kelly?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah. Ninth grade. Let\rquote s just say it ended badly.\rdblquote
\ldblquote But you\rquote re still friends?\rdblquote
\ldblquote We haven\rquote t been, actually. This is a welcome development. We\rquote ve known each other since first grade. We were friends long before we started dating. I\rquote d like to be friends again.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Well, that\rquote s cool,\rdblquote Max said.
\b SEPTEMBER 8th, 1982\b0
Considering that I was a friggin\rquote time traveller, I\rquote d become fairly well immune to being shocked.
Now, I did say fairly well immune--not completely. Because I got a shock on this day.
It was a Wednesday. Classes had started the day before. I had a couple of classes on Tuesdays--a history class and an English comp class--but my three biggies were on Monday, Wednesday and Friday: Biology, Chemistry, and my intro to Psychology class. Biology was first for me, at 9 AM.
The shock was who was sitting there when I walked into Bio: Jerry Shelkow. My high school best friend. In the \b first\b0 life!
I\rquote d met Jerry--aka Crash, because of a car accident senior year--freshman year at the Prep. We quickly became fast friends. Since I didn\rquote t go to the Prep this time around, I didn\rquote t meet Crash, nor did I expect to. No, I didn\rquote t expect to meet him at BC--because he didn\rquote t \b go\b0 to BC the first time around. He went the same place I did, St. Louis U. He didn\rquote t finish there, either, though he made it 3 years to my 2, and he did finish college itself, at Merrimack. But BC? Nope.
I didn\rquote t figure he\rquote d gone to SLU because of my influence the first time around, but it certainly looked like a possibility. Why else would he have ended up at BC this time? \b
\b0
Anyhow, somehow I had to figure out a way to \lquote meet\rquote him. Hey, I hadn\rquote t changed my personality that much--the potential for a friendship should still be there, shouldn\rquote t it? I thought so, anyway.
Now I just had to figure out a way to meet him. I still wasn\rquote t the most outgoing person in the world!
\b SEPTEMBER 25th, 1982\b0
On the 24th, which was a Friday, I took the train home, planning to finally bring my car back to campus. I slept at home on Friday, intending to drive back to campus Saturday morning. But, first, I made a stop--I zipped up to New Hampshire and stopped in at Daddy\rquote s Junky Music. A New England institution, Daddy\rquote s was a great place to buy instruments. I\rquote d been going there since I was old enough to drive--in the first life. They\rquote d open up a store right in Cabot in a few years, but, in 1982, Salem, New Hampshire, was where I went.
I was looking for another guitar. Like I didn\rquote t have enough! Hey, I liked guitars. And one that I didn\rquote t own, but wanted, was a 12-string acoustic. I had a 12-string electric--a Rickenbacker, my prize guitar, one I\rquote d always wanted in the first life--and a couple of regular 6-string acoustics, but I didn\rquote t have an acoustic 12-string. So, I stopped into Daddy\rquote s to see what they had. I got a nice Yamaha at a reasonable price.
When you\rquote re a guitar player, and you love guitars, and you buy a new one--well, it\rquote s like a normal person buying a new car. You \b must\b0 show it off. And you must preferably show it off to someone who knows the difference between a 12-string Rickenbacker and a Ford Mustang. For me, that would be Stan, Debbie, or Michelle. Stan wasn\rquote t on campus, of course, but I called him down in Framingham, seeing if he wanted to come up, but he was out. Michelle was also out--probably the same place Stan was! Debbie, however, was in her room.
\ldblquote Bought a new 12-string Yamaha acoustic,\rdblquote I said after the barest of greeting preambles.
\ldblquote Ooooh! Get your ass over here!\rdblquote So, I packed up the guitar and headed over to Debbie\rquote s dorm.
Since this was an all-girl dorm, I had to be checked in. The front desk called up to Debbie, who confirmed that she was, indeed, expecting some guy with a guitar and that I should come on up. I got off the elevator, and she was waiting for me in the hallway. She quickly reached for the guitar. \ldblquote Gimme!\rdblquote
\ldblquote Nice to see you too, dear.\rdblquote
She just giggled and opened the case. \ldblquote Oooh, nice,\rdblquote she said, picking the guitar up.
\ldblquote You know, you could\rquote ve waited until we got to your room to break the thing out.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Why bother?\rdblquote she smirked. \ldblquote Got a pick?\rdblquote
\ldblquote In the case.\rdblquote
She grabbed one, and strummed an experimental chord. \ldblquote It\rquote s nicely in tune,\rdblquote she said.
\ldblquote Of course it is. You think I\rquote d be walking around with an out of tune guitar?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sit,\rdblquote she said, as she did just that, on the floor in the middle of the hallway. Bemused, I sat next to her. She played a few random riffs and phrases. \ldblquote Hey, this has pretty easy action for an acoustic, especially a 12-string.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Better than yours?\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah.\rdblquote Deb owned a 12-string Ovation acoustic. \ldblquote Mine\rquote s great, but this one\rquote s a wee bit better, I think. You\rquote ve played mine,\rdblquote she pointed out.
\ldblquote Not recently, though.\rdblquote
\ldblquote True.\rdblquote She ripped out a chord and grinned at me as the sound reverberated through the hallway. Then she grinned wider and strummed a riff. It was instantly recognizable: Queen\rquote s \ldblquote Crazy Little Thing Called Love.\rdblquote I grinned back and her and picked up the vocals. As she played and I sang, I noticed doors opening up and down the hall, and people peering out.
We finished up. \ldblquote Looks like we\rquote re attracting attention,\rdblquote I told her.
\ldblquote I don\rquote t think too many people on the floor know I play.\rdblquote
\ldblquote They do now!\rdblquote
One girl approached us. \ldblquote Is that your guitar?\rdblquote she asked Debbie.
\ldblquote Hi, Janet. No, it\rquote s Eddie\rquote s,\rdblquote she said, pointing to me. \ldblquote He brought it over to show it to me.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Yeah, I just bought it and now I can\rquote t get it back!\rdblquote I teased.
\ldblquote Oh, here, spoilsport,\rdblquote she said, handing me the guitar. \ldblquote Show off for my floormates, Studley,\rdblquote she giggled. \ldblquote Play \lquote Here Comes The Sun\rquote .\rdblquote
\ldblquote Can\rquote t. Don\rquote t have my capo.\rdblquote
\ldblquote Hold on.\rdblquote She got up and ran into a room a couple of doors down from where we were sitting. She quickly emerged with a capo--which she tossed to me--her own Ovation, and a small blonde.
\ldblquote This is my roomie, Caroline. This is my pal Eddie,\rdblquote she said. I greeted Caroline. She returned the greeting--barely. And very softly. And boy was she blushing! Debbie caught my eye, out of sight of Caroline, and mouthed, \ldblquote Shy.\rdblquote Seemed like it!
\ldblquote Anyhow,\rdblquote she said, \ldblquote put on the capo and play some Beatles, eh?\rdblquote So I did. She strummed some chords in the background while I did the finger picking on \ldblquote Here Comes The Sun.\rdblquote By the time we got done, I think her entire floor was out in the hall watching us.
\ldblquote Ok, what else you got?\rdblquote I said after we\rquote d gotten done. She grinned and started playing the opening chords to Springsteen\rquote s \ldblquote The River\rdblquote . I joined right in and sang the lead vocal. Deb chipped in on the harmonies. And we were getting complete, rapt attention from her floormates. When we were done, I looked at her and said, \ldblquote Crazy Love.\rdblquote She grinned and played the intro, and into the song we went, harmonizing together.
\ldblquote You guys are great,\rdblquote a tall brunette said when we were done. \ldblquote You should get a band together or something.\rdblquote
We both laughed. \ldblquote We\rquote ve been in a band together for a couple of years now, Suzy,\rdblquote Debbie told her. \ldblquote Eddie plays guitar and does some of the lead vocals. My friend Michelle--you\rquote ve met her--plays bass and does the rest of the lead vocals. I play guitar and sax.\rdblquote
\ldblquote And percussion, and backing vocals, and sometimes flute,\rdblquote I added, chuckling. \ldblquote And french horn on \lquote God Only Knows\rquote , don\rquote t forget about that.\rdblquote
\ldblquote I should learn piano,\rdblquote she laughed. \ldblquote Though we have enough keyboard players.\rdblquote
We played a few more tunes for them. And Debbie\rquote s roomie, Caroline, spent the whole time staring at me!
\b OCTOBER 20th, 1982\b0
Things had been going well.
Classes were fine. I was meeting people--including Crash. We ended up sitting next to each other one day in Biology class, and I said something to him about the lecture. He laughed, and said something back later. We ended up eating lunch a few days later. We\rquote d done that a couple of times. We seemed to be getting along well, which was nice.
The band was practicing a lot, and we got a gig to play BC\rquote s halloween dance, to be held on Saturday the 30th. That was in our old role as a cover band; however, the following Friday, we had our first gig as an original-songs band. It was at a hole in the wall in Cambridge, but you have to start somewhere.
The only problem was Livvie. The letters got more and more infrequent. The phone calls got more infrequent and shorter. And during our last one, on Sunday the 17th, she sounded distracted and uninterested.
So, yeah, I saw it coming. The Dear John letter. I got it today. \ldblquote So very sorry, was lonely, met someone else,\rdblquote blah blah blah. Nope, I wasn\rquote t surprised.
Pissed? Yeah, that I was.
Livvie was a mistake I wasn\rquote t going to make again.