15. Erin and I met in at Torrance High School, the place where they filmed Beverly Hills 90210, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, She’s All That and a bunch of other things. I moved there from south Georgia, where I’d just spent 14 months in a lockdown drug treatment center for boys. I was going through severe culture shock and she was engaged to a guy in the Navy when we met, but there was this instant connection and we got along so well. We had french class together but never really talked. We would both spend our lunches sitting in the same quad, me reading a book and being generally antisocial and her sitting with her friends, this group of lovable rejects. The whole time we were surreptitiously checking each other out, trying not to let the other one notice, and wondering what each other was like. It took a mutual acquaintance, Stephanie Defirmian, introducing us for us to finally talk to each other. I made a dead baby joke within the first 5 minutes. Since she was engaged, we hung out just as friends for the first few months, but it was obvious to both of us that there was something special between us. Eventually, she left the Navy guy, I took the next chance to ask her to be my girlfriend, and we dated for the second half of senior year. It was an amazing and exciting time for me and I have all the letters and notes she wrote me while in class. So crazy that we found each other in this way, I never would have expected it after what had been going on in my life before I ended up at Torrance High. This is her diploma and a picture of us at graduation, together.
What a beautiful way to honor Erin on her birthday. Thank you for continuing to keep her spirit alive and always sharing your love for her. Your words are genuine and thoughtful, something she always appreciated. The coffee mugs were a Christmas gift from me, with the thought you guys would each have one. She could not wait to use them, Lol. The pure vulgarity alone was enough to make that mug her favorite! Love you Aaron, I think of you, and her every day. -Jen
Thank you, Jen! I thought they were a gift and I’m happy to know they were from you. I’m keeping her vulgarity alive and still using that mug these days. I love and think about you, too, and I know that she lives on in your heart, so thank you for keeping her spirit alive, as well.