One morning, I am jolted by an e mail that pops up in my inbox. It is from him – my first love.
“Iris, I have something I think you would like which I would like to send you. I need your address so I can have UPS ship it down. If you doubt the validity of this e mail, you can call me at…..”
My first thought is twofold: What in the world could he be sending me and is he on the brink of death and ridding himself of his worldly possessions?
With my chest pounding, I grab my cell phone and punch in his number.
Now here is a little disclaimer:
After I marry my second husband, Steven and I end up living in the same area as my first love and his wife. And, soon after, his wife and I start – out of sheer convenience – carpooling together. And the more time I spend with his wife, the more I like her.
She is kind, caring, an amazingly talented artist and has a show-stopping head of wild curly hair which I have never stopped envying.
And as the decades slide by, her friendship becomes more central to my life than the previous one I had had with her husband. It is a friendship that I treasure and it is a friendship that continues today.
So, in a circumferential way, I kept in-the-know about my first love, but had little direct contact with him – except at our high school reunions. There we would huddle together – sharing memories. And, always, I would mention to him my regret at not having bound the issues of our school newspaper into a permanent book – like he did.
Two bits of information immediately emerge in our phone chat:
He isn’t at death’s door.
And he is gifting me his bound copies of The Bulldog Barks
My throat constricts. Tears stream down my cheeks. The thought of having the written record of our senior year in my possession is simply overwhelming. And the realization that he is parting with something so special – I can’t even begin to convey my thankfulness and gratitude to him.
“Fifty-eight years is long enough,” he tells me. “I know you of all people will cherish this book as much as I do. I did look through it one last time and it reminded me of how well we worked together. I am proud of that collection.
“You are the keeper now. I think as you read through the pages, old memories, not only of us, but the entire high school experience will be dislodged and bubble into your consciousness, as if they happened yesterday. Have fun with it.”
Two days later my UPS package lands on my front porch. I have been holding it close ever since.
Keep Preserving Your Bloom,
Iris Ruth Pastor
PS: The strength of a first love’s bond? Pretty damn strong.
On a more serious note, I have the privilege of being part of a panel discussion on eating disorders, presented by Hadassah.
It’s a zoom event on Thursday, February 23 at 7pm EST. There will also be additional time devoted to individual questions. More details to follow.
