So. Guess who doesn’t know what they’ve got till it’s gone?
Yeah, that’s right. My sweetheart isn’t a high school crush, or my best friend, or my mom, or my cat or something. GROSS. I guess I’m like the Scrooge of Valentine’s Day…cutesy love stories and sappy romances just make me gag. This February, I’ll be pining for the leather jacket I bought last Christmas and tragically lost earlier this month. I was stupid enough to leave it at school without realizing until it was too late – and so, in honor of my former sweetheart, I figured I’d write a little sappy romance of my very own.
It was love at first sight – just before Christmas, it was snowing like a scene from every cheesy movie ever, and H&M was packed with pushy holiday shoppers. I wandered aimlessly through the store until I saw a lone leather jacket, shining like a beacon from the Young Trend section. We hit it off right away, and before I knew it we were inseparable. People commented on how cute we looked together, and I knew I had found the One. The leather jacket to end all leather jackets. We went everywhere together – when I stayed in New York for a month, my sweetheart was there by my side. We would have gone to Austin together this week. I hear the weather there is perfect this time of year, just cold enough to need a jacket around your shoulders. Makes me wish mine was still around to keep me warm.
You know how, when you’ve been around someone long enough, you start to recognize little things about them? My leather jacket had a loose thread at the right cuff, an inside label pressed upside down from constant wear, forgotten candy wrappers in the pocket from Halloween, and weird marks around the collar from where I hand-washed it instead of taking it to the cleaners. I could’ve picked it out of a lineup. The same way a shoe takes on the shape of your foot, the way people start to look weirdly like their pets or spouses over time, my jacket fit like a perfect hug around my shoulders. Putting it on just felt right.
These past few weeks have been the proverbial rollercoaster, and I hate rollercoasters. They make me throw up. So you have some idea of how fun this has been. Being single on Valentine’s Day is fine and dandy, but being single and losing your favorite jacket? That just sucks balls. I know I really shouldn’t be complaining, though…last night I won a replacement on Ebay with one second to go, which nearly gave me a heart attack. Sort of like falling in love again, I suppose.
So here’s a little tribute to my long lost friend. We’ve had lots of wonderful memories together, and I’m sorry for not washing you often enough. Who knows where you ended up – maybe another girl picked you up, or a janitor threw you out, or maybe you’ve made your way to the big Lost and Found in the sky. I guess I knew all along that the flyers I posted all around the school (see photo) weren’t going to bring you back – but at least it was worth a try. And, you know, there’s just one place on earth where you can buy true love for under $50, and it’s not a Vegas chapel or some seedy street corner either. It’s H&M.
Bon voyage, biker jacket – and happy Valentine’s Day.
all the single ladies put your hands up at raised by wolves
Gorgeous!