Chapter 4: Kids
Facebook is a crazy thing. Though she had been out of my life for nearly three years, the daily comings and goings of the ghost of girlfriend past were omnipresent through social media.
I always knew I had made a mistake when I let Michaela out of my life the first time, but the pain was dulled by the new life I had made for myself in college. However, three years of seeing the girl of my dreams grow up apart from me was enough and the pain killer that was UCSB could not dull feelings that I still had for my first love.
After much time had passed, channels of communication eventually started to open. Old hurts and points of contention were discussed, and new terms of friendship were put on the table. Time heals some wounds, however real trust is harder to earn back. It began with phone calls – hi, how are you doing – tell me your troubles – I’m bored walking to class. They felt extremely natural, like reconnecting with an old friend, and it felt good. Once I got a little taste of what I had lost I knew I needed to get it back, for the long haul.
Fall was in full swing, the end of October was approaching, and I lived in a fraternity house at UCSB. Halloween at UCSB is notorious, and what better way to entice an old friend to meet up that inviting them to fun weekend down in Santa Barbara. Michaela was lucky enough to catch a ride down with a friend of a friend and boy was I nervous. By this time my friends had learned about “the Berkeley girl” and they knew I was smitten.
The weekend was approaching and I got the call, “hi – I am outside”. I had butterflies in my stomach for the first time in I could not remember how long. I walked outside and there she was. My first love, perfect in every way, smiling her beautiful smile, standing right in front of me. Of course an awkward first hug in 3 years followed, but most importantly the second chapter of our lives together began.
-Erik
PS: These photos are from a year after we rekindled our friendship. That year Erik's computer was stolen and mine crashed...
PSS: Read Chapters 1 2 and 3 here!
I always knew I had made a mistake when I let Michaela out of my life the first time, but the pain was dulled by the new life I had made for myself in college. However, three years of seeing the girl of my dreams grow up apart from me was enough and the pain killer that was UCSB could not dull feelings that I still had for my first love.
After much time had passed, channels of communication eventually started to open. Old hurts and points of contention were discussed, and new terms of friendship were put on the table. Time heals some wounds, however real trust is harder to earn back. It began with phone calls – hi, how are you doing – tell me your troubles – I’m bored walking to class. They felt extremely natural, like reconnecting with an old friend, and it felt good. Once I got a little taste of what I had lost I knew I needed to get it back, for the long haul.
Fall was in full swing, the end of October was approaching, and I lived in a fraternity house at UCSB. Halloween at UCSB is notorious, and what better way to entice an old friend to meet up that inviting them to fun weekend down in Santa Barbara. Michaela was lucky enough to catch a ride down with a friend of a friend and boy was I nervous. By this time my friends had learned about “the Berkeley girl” and they knew I was smitten.
The weekend was approaching and I got the call, “hi – I am outside”. I had butterflies in my stomach for the first time in I could not remember how long. I walked outside and there she was. My first love, perfect in every way, smiling her beautiful smile, standing right in front of me. Of course an awkward first hug in 3 years followed, but most importantly the second chapter of our lives together began.
-Erik
PS: These photos are from a year after we rekindled our friendship. That year Erik's computer was stolen and mine crashed...
PSS: Read Chapters 1 2 and 3 here!
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