2007-02-02 - 8:06 p.m.
I fucked up bad a few days ago. Nya�s furious at me and I can�t really blame her. On Sunday we got a ride from a friend to Bed, Bath & Beyond. We continued the process of turning our house into a home by loading up on hundreds of dollars of stuff. Nya was very happy with our purchases (so was I) as well as with the fact that our friend offered to stay and help assemble (which I was also very glad of, since I�m no longer very useful at putting things together).
Afterwards, our friend stayed for dinner and we ordered out for barbecue. Over pulled pork sandwiches, he and I were talking about how great it is to have friends who can get you cool stuff. His girlfriend works in management at a bookstore and he was recounting some of the nifty perks. One time she had used the speedy corporate ordering system to get him this obscure book he really wanted. To which I said I had an ex who managed a bookstore and had gotten me a first edition book I really wanted.
I don�t really know why I said this untruth. I was a bit tired, but that�s no excuse. Maybe I was trying to keep the conversation flowing and we were on the topic of cool stuff friends who work in bookstores can get us, so I just made it up that the girl who saved me had gotten me The Death and Life of Great American Cities instead of who actually got it for me. But Nya was sitting right there and a look of bitterness swept over her. Doh, indeed.
Of course I know that she got the book for me; it�s not like it just slipped my mind. I remember getting it quite well because it was definitely the nicest gift I�ve ever received. A lot of people knew how important it is to me and I even explicitly asked several for a first edition copy. But no one ever came through for me until Nya did. I have no idea where she got it and it must have cost her a bundle. But receiving it unquestionably meant more to me than getting anything else ever.
When we moved into our new apartment, I couldn�t find it and thought it might have been lost in the move. I tried to rationalize to avoid panicking. Well, thought, I know I got it and that�s what really counts. At least I preserved on this blog the text of the note I got from her son when she signed it. And I�ve never fetishized the object, just the content (although a music snob, I�ve never been a vintage vinyl collector � while many would prefer an original pressing, I�d far rather do without the warble and scratchiness and have a CD or MP3).
Nya just dug through some boxes and found it. Not that I�m going to make a shrine to it, but I�m so so happy to know where it is. The fact that she got me the most special thing I�ve ever owned makes me feel so good. I mean that I am apparently worth getting something for. Thank you so much. This is only one more reason I love her.
� 2007 Geoff Gladstone
Sign My Guestbook!
powered by SignMyGuestbook.com
�
