Boombox

It was all Michael’s fault. After three weeks of dating, he really wanted to do something special for Sara. There were flowers (white roses; a favourite she mentioned in passing), candy (little Coke bottles; he liked them, too), and a dinner (home cooked when his parents were out and he finally learned how to make his own bread). It was all perfect; Sara told him so. And then, his first big mistake that felt like the perfect ending.

It was her favourite movie. Sara talked about it all the time and he knew that he would have to watch it one day. And what better time than a romantic dinner at his place?

“That was perfect.”

“I do try and try.”

“You did. And you even found…?”

“Yeah. Took a while, but I got it.”

“Great! You ready?”

Was he ready? Sara jumped on the couch and grabbed the remote before he put the last of the dishes in the sink. Michael walked over to the monitor and slumped down on the cushions. And watched. And watched. And kept watching.

“This is my favourite!”

“Right…”

“If you ever did anything like Dobler, man…”

Sara leaned onto his shoulder and sighed. Michael wanted her to finish her thought. But the message was clear.

And now he had a plan.

*

The biggest challenge was the jacket. Michael worked near a local mall that faced out on the highway and he could easily pass by a shop that held a lot of suits, hats, shoes and the like that were once popular with kids in the 80s. But he could not finish his look. The shoes were there, as were the t-shirt and bandanna. In his bedroom mirror, it looked pretty close to the real character.

But he needed the jacket?

“Hey, you’re back!”

The girl working behind the glass counter was one Michael knew quite well. Steph – she had it on a neon pink name tag – was popping bubble gum as he walked in. Was her look part of the deal for the employees here (he only saw her on weekdays)? She had the legwarmers, feathered hair and bracelets that he remembered from his mom’s fanzines and collection of VHS tapes. She did make it work. And her perfume was some sort of floral thing he couldn’t place. It was a real effort to bring the past back.

“Yeah, I’m back… Just need help finding a jacket.”

“Cool.” She moved quickly from behind the counter and turned up the music (even Michael recognized Wang Chung). “You have some sort of thing going on with your girlfriend, right?”

This threw him off. Some girls could read things he would never have placed (maybe they all could).

“Um, yeah. Yeah, my girlfriend loves this movie and I am going to surprise her when it’s her birthday.”

“Ah, that is sweet.” So young; Steph would break a lot of hearts when she was older. She had a very thin frame and seemed to live on nothing but bubble gum and the bottles of Fiji Water he saw on her counter. Fifteen, maybe?

“So, what’s the film? Some classic…?”

Michael would always remember the moment he shared this information with her and how this one young girl managed to shock him during a lunch break. He would also keep in mind that it might be a good idea to keep the outfit.

“Ohmigod! That is the sweetest thing I ever heard! I love that movie, when he stands outside and won’t give up on her and just…”

They both noticed how she grabbed his arms and started to hop with excitement.

“You have a good grip.”

“Damn! I am so sorry. It’s just…my boyfriend hates that movie.”

Well, that was also good to learn, thought Michael. He wondered what his brother would say about it (a real chick flick, maybe).

“Sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah, he’s kind of a dick.”

“He’s a teenager. Give him time.”

At least she smiled. “Taking too much time. Sorry, so you need a jacket?”

“Yeah, like the one in the film.”

“Right. A duster.”

“What?” He really thought she was speaking about cleaning the shop up (there was something that lingered in the air with the mothballs and incense).

“The jacket. They call it a duster. Really long, like a cloak and you could use it like a raincoat.”

“Well, I’m learning something new all the time.”

Steph grabbed his arm again and pulled him toward the back (was this a thing she did with all the customers?)

“Let’s find that jacket!”

They both marched into the latest deliveries and searched.

*

Almost there…

“Seriously? You doing this?”

Michael only bothered telling his slightly older brother his plans because Paul had the last thing he needed to make this complete.

“Yes, you doink! I like her, and it’s been a month…”

“A month.”

“I know.”

“One month. Too much.”

Paul was an older brother, and played his role too well. He always went after him over his wardrobe, anyway, so what difference did it make if he hated what he had on now?

Such a jock, anyway. Perfect for a high school gym teacher who never moved out of their hometown.

“She’ll love it. You should have seen her when we watched the thing.”

“Hmm…” He tossed a basketball up to the ceiling and passed it from hand to hand. “Whatever.”

“So, you got it?”

“Yeah, yeah…” He let the ball fall on the floor and hopped up to open up the sliding doors of the closet. “Just don’t wreck it.”

It was not even dusty. Had Paul actually cleaned it up for him when he called about borrowing it? It was not heavy, either, which was something that Michael was thinking about as they stared at the thing.

“Everything works: tape and radio. Can still copy stuff if you want…”

“Yeah, I just need the tape.”

“No worries.” Paul pressed on the eject button of one of the tape players and a copy of the album he needed slowly revealed itself behind the clear plastic.

“It’s all synced up. You just gotta hit ‘Play’.”

“I know that much. And thanks.”

“Get out of here. Just make her happy. And don’t get arrested or anything.”

“Right.”

They did not hug or anything, but the fist-bump was nice. Michael sometimes wondered what his brother thought of him, but this cleared up some fears.

Some of them…

He still had an interesting plan to put into action.

*

A beautiful spring day was promised by the local weather crew on his parents’ favourite network, so Michael pushed any worries about rain or too much wind out of his mind. Sara had already told him several times that he did not have to do anything special for their birthday (wink, wink) and he got the message. He already had plans for another dinner and would make sure that was ready when this was done. But he had to get into place.

Sara’s place was in a cul-de-sac with just a few other homes nearby in a close ring. Paul rode up in his dad’s car and made sure to park a good distance away before taking anything out of the car. She would be up and heading to work at her mom’s office soon, but there was still time.

Her room was right above the kitchen, in the dividing walkway and fence between a home that never seemed occupied. He had only been up there once and could easily place it in the map he made of her home. Michael checked his outfit and the boombox one more time before he pressed the play button (still wondered why Paul had the tape).

And then, there was music.

He lifted the radio and waited.

And waited.

And waited a little bit more before her neighbour opened a window and threw something hard and sticky at his head.

“What the hell kinda bull is this? Damn idiot kid, get outta here!”

As soon as Paul felt the egg on his hair and outfit, he turned and saw a rather heavy woman with pink curlers and a cup of tea staring down at him. And he forgot he had the boombox over his head.

*

“You romantic idiot.”

At least Sara visited him in hospital. The police and even the ambulance crew were not that nice when Ms. Torelli called to complain about an intruder playing music at “a godawful hour in my neighborhood”, and they found him unconscious on the grass and paving stones. Michael’s parents tried not to laugh when they saw his outfit (Paul had explained things to them before they walked in; how did he get there so soon?). His dad asked the staff to make sure to run an extra brain scan (was he joking?).

And then, Sara…

“You really are dumb, you know that?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“You could have gotten hurt.”

“Right. Okay.”

“Your brother is going to kill you if that radio is wrecked.”

“Boombox, actually.”

“Shut up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She did not prepare him for that kiss. Sara was not really sure what she would do until she saw him in that gown and saw his special set of clothes on a side table.

“All this for me?”

“For you.”

Her hug was heavy and made him forget the throbbing in his head.

“Next time, just send roses…or those candies.”

At least she did not let go.

At least the nurses let her stay.

And the staff, even though visiting hours was about to end, did not interrupt them. It was too perfect and they all wanted to see the end of this show.