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Thursday, September 22, 2011

I will remember you.

Just about eleven years ago I worked at this tiny thrift store around the corner from my house.

I pretty much hated it.

I hated the weird creepy guys that came in just to stare at me, they would stand behind the racks of clothing pretending to browse all the while their eyes would burn holes through me. I hated the way it smelt, of old clothes and stale cigarettes. Sometimes of death. And lets not mention the guy, an officer in the military-though which one I can't recall- who always flirted with me, he would often come in with his wife to begin with, then slowly just by himself. Using his kids as an excuse then he would not so shameful make passes at me. I babysat for them a few times, and his daughter point blank told me her mommy hated me because her daddy wanted me. Whatever that meant. They would get in these huge fights about me. But she agreed with daddy, she wanted me to be her mommy. That whole situation always brought an odd weird feeling to me.

I didn't babysit them anymore after that. Last I heard he was shipped off to Afghanistan shortly after 9/11...I always wonder what happened to him.

Yes, working there wasn't the thrill in my life. But what I did love was Sherri....Sherri who was just your all around lovely lady. Old enough to be my mom she took me under her wing. We worked together in that little shop around the corner for over a year. In that time she grew to be like a mother to me. I would often tell her things that I was scared to even admit to my own parents, and she would tell me about her family. And her son, the oldest one who always came to visit. Oh what I crush I developed on that boy. We laughed about the officer from time to time, and she was the first person to make his little 'love' for me known. Oh what laughs we had. What good times we had.  There was never a moment she was telling me I was ugly, or that my disability was an issue. She was just there for me. She made the six hours a day I worked there worth while. And when she wasn't working with me, I found my day not to be the same.

And then came the day when she told me she was moving. And not just to around the way, but rather to WV. To start a new life with her and the family. Her sons needed a change. The crush worthy boy was in a little trouble-whats that saying about falling for the bad boys?-and so it would be good for them.

My heart broke.

And in less than two weeks I said goodbye to my friend who I loved dearly. Her last words of advice were to watch out for Mr. Officer....because he told her 'if he could, he would leave his wife for me. And he wanted to have an affair with me.'

We laughed all the way out to the parking lot, she then gave me a ride home gave me a hug and drove off.

This would be the last time I would see her.

We kept in touch for awhile. Wrote and called often. But as the years flew by it became less and less. I sent her an invitation to the wedding and was bummed to get a response of no back.  Since then there hadn't been much contact. A few things here and there. Emails. But even those had stopped.

By now it was more of a passing thought I would give her every now and then. Though I always wondered and never stopped caring.

Until two days ago, when a message from her husband popped up on Facebook. Weird..her husband. Her husband, who I had met just a handful of times asks for me to call him. Oh No! Please, tell me...no I knew right then and there what it was about. Or at least I had my suspisions. And so I waited a whole day before making that call, which confirmed my fear.

Sherri had passed, of pneumonia .

And for the second time in regards to her. My heart broke.

My world, just grew a little darker.

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