High School Heartache - Part 10

Our relationship continued to escalate and with each passing day, I really began to realize just how much I cared about this guy. Was it possible that those 3 little words that can make or break couples would ever pass my lips? Circumstances were certainly heading in that direction. It wasn't too long before we were throwing around "I love you" as often as "How are you?" Things were starting to get really serious.

Something that really touched me deeply was his interest in my family. He was a sweetheart to my little brother and he loved coming to my grandparents house and spending time with us all. He especially took an interest in my mom. Actually communicating with my mom. See, my mom is completely deaf and has been since birth. She lip reads really well, but sign language is her first language. Eric was very interested in learning sign language so that he could communicate with my mom. How sweet is that?! We ended up taking classes together, so I could brush up on my skills and he could learn from scratch. It was a real bonding experience and, of course, it made my mom fall in love with him.

Valentine's Day of 1992 came and I was so excited. I was actually going to have a boyfriend on this horrible holiday! He showed up at my grandparents house that afternoon and my heart skipped a beat. He gave me a rose and then handed me a small box. Oh my, I think I'm going to pass out. I opened it to reveal this beautiful ring. It had a simple gold band and a beautiful blue stone. (Blue was my favorite color back then) It wasn't fancy or expensive, but it was priceless to me. Now, it wasn't a promise ring or anything like that, it was just something that he saw and thought I would love...and he was right. I wore it ALL the time.

We began spending a lot of time at the movie theater. That was my first "real" job in high school and I'll tell you now, my kids will NOT be allowed to work in a movie theater until they're 18. I say this because the ability to see movies for free is not a good thing for a very impressionable teen. A movie that we saw TOO MANY times in the theater was Basic Instinct. If you've never seen this movie, well, it certainly leaves a lasting impression. Suffice it to say, there's a reason it was rated "R". Check it out on IMDB if you need more details. Anyway, this is where another song comes into my repertoire. There's a particularly memorable club scene in the movie where rave music is playing in the background. The song is called "Rave the Rhythm" and it's by a British band called Channel X. I love that song and so did Eric.

As you can see, music really began to play an integral part in our relationship. Eric's birthday was about to happen and that event would produce a moment with a song that haunts me to this day.