You Are My Sunshine

PART 1

Once in a great long while- you'll meet someone who just completes you. Sometimes romantically, sometimes platonically. For Abigail,  finding that person was harder than expected. Antisocial wasn't exactly the term she would have used to describe her feelings about interaction with others. She would have described it as socially awkward.

Music was what she used as an escape. School and work got pretty stressful. There wasn't a lot of time in between. She used what little time she had, however, browsing the shelves of the local record shops. That was something she and her grandfather would do when she was little.

Her grandfather was her best friend. Pappy Joe practically raised Abigail. He called her his sunshine. He introduced her into the world of music, opening her eyes to the wonders of composition. Pappy Joe played the guitar. Abigail's most precious memories centered around the old, beaten up acoustic playing the same tunes manipulated by his frail, calloused hands.

Abigail smiled as she recollected her childhood with her Pappy walking into the record store. She waved to the young man at the counter, whose face was vaguely familiar after numerous greetings. The boy waved back, smiling politely. Nobody in the store talked very much. It was possibly due to Abigail not talking much herself, or they didn't like speaking. Either way, it made her feel comfortable.

Browsing the shelves, she saw a lot of familiar titles. AC/DC's High Voltage, Queen's A Night at the Opera, tons of albums she loved. Her fingers flipped through the titles. She tucked a few under her arm, moving on. She traveled to a different section, next to a boy she'd never seen before. He seemed to be minding his own business, so she didn't mind looking beside him.

She flipped through the 'S' section. Most of them were unfamiliar names. She came across an album that she could only assume was a self-titled album. They always intrigued her. Stephen Stills. She paused.

"That's a good one." The guy said.

Abigail was taken aback. The silence of the store was broken by the guy's voice and her vibe was broken. "What genre?" She asked.

"You could say rock and roll." The boy said.

"Thanks." Abigail replied, tucking the album under her arm. She continued browsing in silence. Her fingers moving across the plastic and cardboard quickly, pausing often to look at artwork.

"Have any recommendations for me?" The silence was broken again.

Abigail turned her head. She took a good look at the boy asking. He was pretty. Long brown hair, downward pointing nose, cleft chin. He was attractive. Nobody she'd ever seen before.

"What do you like to listen to?" She asked.

"Anything." He answered.

Abigail thought for a moment. She walked over to her favorite section. She browsed for a moment and found the album she was looking for. She took it off of the rack and carried it back to the boy. "King Crimson." She said.

"I haven't heard this one. Thanks. I'm Jake by the way." He said.

"Abigail." She smiled, handing him the record. "Catch you later."

She walked to the counter, the cashier already pushing buttons on the ancient cash register to ring her out. "53.61" he said. Abigail handed him money, and took her change.

"Thanks Tony." She said.

"Any time Abs." He smiled.

As she headed to the door, she saw Tony pushing buttons again out of the corner of her eye. "76.84".

"Keep the change." The boy named Jake said.

"Have a great day."

Abigail headed out the door, the little silver bell, that was probably a reused Christmas decoration, clinging against the glass from the sudden movement.

"Hey. Abigail." The boy said. "Would you like to grab a coffee or something?"

"I'm sorry. I have to go to work in thirty minutes." She apologized.

"Maybe another day?" He asked.

"Well, I'm off tomorrow, but I have class until 3. I can after then." She suggested.

"Oh you're in school?" He asked.

"Environmental Studies and Ecology." She nodded. "I'm a junior. Just a couple more years to go."

"Do you like it?" He asked.

"I love it. Mother Nature needs to be saved and I'm learning how I can help the world help her." She smiled.

"That's amazing." He grinned. "Tomorrow at 4 sound good?"

"Sure." She agreed. "Here's my number." She said, pulling a pen and sticky note out of her bag. "Talk to you soon."