That Blanket

I love crafts, crochet, needlepoint and quilting; all three I acquired at a very young age, before graduating from high school.

For a while, I had strayed away from the crafts but knew I would someday comeback. I had wanted to participate in a craft club and did. The purpose was to motivate me to fall in love with creating those beautiful things again, quilts, crochet and needlepoint projects. I had never lost the love of crafts, only motivation. When my lifestyle wasn’t so busy, I offered gifts to a church every Christmas season, the same church, my homemade crafts. There were, of course other non-craft items but mostly crafts. Also, I gifted a crochet afghan to Jay someone of whom I was briefly acquainted. We were working in the same building but different companies and different floors. I worked on the 3rd floor, he worked on the 5th floor.During my free time, I would sit on the fire escape stairs doing crafts. I met Jay on the fire escape stairs where I would sit working on craft projects. I picked a spot on the fire escape stairs between the 3rd and 5th floor. The individual Jay seemingly liked watching what I was creating and encouraged me. Jay and I had soon moved from connecting only on the fire escape stairs. We were going out to movies, restaurants and more. It was quite serious but short lived. I didn’t forget the crochet gift to him and would not have believed he still had it in his possession ten years later. It was a solid color green. Green he had said was his favorite color.

Ten years later, after a brief fling with this guy Jay, we meet again. We were both booked on the same flight that was delayed due to bad weather. So, I made myself comfortable in the gate area and begun working to complete a crochet project when I noticed someone watching me from afar. Once approaching me, the individual said “hello, said Do I know you? Have we met before? Are you Cindy? I wasn’t sure I knew him. I said “I am Cindy but not sure I know you. The individual was Jay whom I met ten years ago and coincidentally we were booked on the same flight that was being delayed.

We talked extensively. He remembered me from ten years ago and confessed he still had the green crochet afghan that was gifted to him. “Yes, I kept it all these years he said, your green blanket”. He always called it a blanket. At this time, he was married. The marriage he said was falling apart, said he fathered a child outside of the marriage but also said it was a mistake marrying her, his wife. He married her because she was pregnant. At this time I was not married, had never married nor was I romantically involved with anyone but certainly not interested in walking into the door of his house ever again. Why? Our thing was short lived. The breakup was sudden.According to him his ex-girlfriend who lived in another state showed up at his home said they should have gotten married. So, they got engaged, just like that. I doubted that he was involved with me only and because of our sudden break up and his sudden engagement, I was right on target. Also, he was confused. After announcing his engagement, he calls me up to see what I was doing. What are you doing he said. I’m going out to wash my car, that’s what I said. Then he says “bring the car to his home for washing. I went to his home, he washed my car and I left.Later, he calls me again, are you okay he said. The response was yes, I’m fine, are you okay I said? His response was yeah, dragging it – TOTALLY CONFUSED. Our thing was short lied. The break up was sudden. I doubted his sexuality, thinking he might be bisexual, based on conversation but I’m certain he was introduced to sex at a young age; this is also based on conversation. It was okay that our relationship didn’t elevate quite high. I detected things that were bothered me about him. Later on, I would have been fighting to get out of from under him, I knew it, especially if involved in marriage. He maybe was considering it. We did once converse about marriage. I had previously dated men ten years older than me. He was the only one close to my actual age and the only one to initiate the subject of marriage.

I was in college and close to graduating when I met Jay. I graduated and got heavily into antique collecting. While conversing with him in the gate area, I was stunned. He said “I would like to come over there to see some of those antiques”, over there meaning my home. That’s what he said AFTER confessing he was married and the infidelity. I was thinking no and said exactly that, no. I tried to be as polite as possible, said “not at this time”. I did, however, allow him to view antique items and crafts from my phone. Additionally, I thanked him for encouraging me to stay connected in crafts.

We boarded the same plane going to the same destination but occupied different seats. After reaching our destination, the same city. We hugged and said goodbye but once out of his sight, someone unknown tapped me on the shoulder with a letter. The unknown person, a lady said someone asked me to give this to you, said it was a gentlemen, said also he was crying. The letter said “Thank you for that green blanket that’s ten years old. I hoped that I would see you again someday”. He signed it, Jay. I looked for that lady who gave me the letter but she was gone. Hours later, after departing the airport and reaching my destination, I called my best friend Carol about the airport incident. She says to me “he loves you and yes he still has that blanket.

I love crafts strayed away but had to come back. I loved Jay too but can’t go back that way again. I didn’t. I won’t.