Nick, Katie, and Charlie: One Year Later

Charlie:

I still send post cards with music lyrics to Nick. At the risk of sounding like a complete chick I miss him. And although we never had the most solid relationship, he was the closest thing to a brother I had. Sometimes distance is the best thing you can do for a relationship. While I don't regret following my heart with Katie, I do regret that Nick got hurt in the process. But we both have to pick up the pieces and move on to wherever our journey may take us.

It was at some dive bar in Savannah, GA where chance met opportunity. I was staring at a blank piece of paper in my notebook desperately trying to find my next blog inspiration when the smooth sound of Failed Optimism sailed into my ears. It was a concept beyond me how people of my generation can not only understand but produce the intimate soul that jazz is all about. Sure we know Pop, Rock, and other diluted genres where the artists focus more on dollar signs and air play then the actual art of making music, but Jazz? Sadly most music has become noise these days.

The best way, in my opinion, to appreciate jazz is with your eyes shut. Let the cool undertones run through the pulse of your body. Don't just listen to the story, open your ears and really hear it. A slight smile was playing upon my face when my waitress interupted my thoughts.

"Everything okay?"

I explained how my latest muse had found me. We chatted for a bit. She went to college part time while working full time to pay for it. I was kind of floating by figuring things out while blogging about the randomness of life. She asked for my blog address. Then we parted ways.

You know how these things go. She liked my blog about the band and told some of her friends. Those friends in turn told some of their friends. And the ball kept rolling. About a month later I received a tentative job offer from a magazine based out of NY. They wanted to pay me to blog on their site about music. Are you freakin kidding me? This job would involve some travel, mostly on the east coast. It's funny how life works out sometimes. I had been given an opportunity that combined two of my biggest passions: travel and music.

Katie was completely supportive. But we both agreed she shouldn't come along with me, instead it was best she stay grounded in Savannah. She had an adventure of her own she was working on.


Katie:

For quite some time I had been this lost little girl and I think part of me had just assumed that's how it was always going to be. Unfortunately I didn't have that one thing I was passionate about, that was until Jacob came into my life. Then I just knew that this was what I had been waiting for all along.

As much as I care about Charlie, things just didn't work out between us romantically. It wasn't for lack of trying, but eventually things just fizzled out and we realized we were much better off as very close friends. I don't regret my choice to give things a shot with him because at least now I know and not knowing can completely gnaw at you. And if it weren't for Charlie I wouldn't have ended up in Savannah.

Savannah is one of those amazing cities so rich in history you can't help but get immersed in it all. You can imagine how excited I was when I got an entry level clerk job with the Savannah Conservative League Preservation Society. (Yeah say that ten times fast.) Our main purpose is to secure grants in order to preserve old buildings and then hopefully get them recognized as historic landmarks. Lots of research, lots of leg work, and lots of unknown variables. Not too long ago I would have been scared by such an unstructured work atmosphere, now I am thriving.

Okay, okay. I know you're all wondering about this Jacob fellow. First of all it's not what you think. Shortly after Charlie and I ran off together I discovered I was pregnant. Unfortunately I had been intimate with both Charlie and Nick within the same time period, so to avoid ending up on Maury I had a paternity test discreetly with Charlie. He is not the father, but he agreed to support me every step of the way.

I am well aware you won't agree with my decision and may even hate me for it. I decided not to tell Nick about his son. Nick has been there for me in every possible way since the day we met at Banjo's. Now it's time for him to focus on his own happiness and I don't want to stand in the way of that. Sometimes the best way to love someone is to let them go.

NICK:

It's not every day you open your heart up to someone and they walk away. At least that doesn't happen on a regular basis to me and thank God for that. It only happened to me the one time and I wouldn't wish that on anyone else. Even though it's been a year not a day goes by that I don't think of her. It's the little things I miss like her laugh, her stick figure art, and ice creams sundaes while watching a movie together.

When you love someone that doesn't just go away, but I chose to focus all my energies on my other love, Banjo's. Uncle Tommy was never the same after his heart attack which meant that I stepped up to take things over. It's true this was what I had been working for since I was nine years old it's just that I never expected it to happen so suddenly or so soon. But it was actually kind of perfect timing considering the whole Katie and Charlie situation, if I ever needed a distraction then this was it.

Although my uncle had done an amazing job establishing Banjo's I felt it was my turn to make it my own. Charlie was still sending me those post cards and it got me thinking about live music. I wanted to keep things authentic though, this wasn't some night club. So on the weekends I had local musicians play here. Music had never really been my thing, but it seemed to bring in a different crowd and that was how I met Elena.

Elena is a petite girl with hot pink streaks in her strawberry blond hair. She may be tiny but she has a personality larger than life. Picture Tinkerbelle meets sledgehammer. Yeah, that pretty much sums her up. It's kind of intimidating at times actually. That fateful day she walked into the cafe wearing knee high leather boots over her dark jeans and a denim jacket with patches all over it. Her eyes were covered in glittery eye shadow. It struck me how someone could be so tough yet so soft at the same time. Elena thrust artwork in my face.

"What about the artists?!" She wanted to know.

"Musicians are artists", I argued. But in the end I had once again become powerless over a girl that walked into Banjo's looking for an opportunity. An entire wall became dedicated to local artists.

Elena is not some Katie replacement, nor would I want her to be. But I need to move on with my life and find my own way to happiness. It's a day by day process. I think the only thing that still haunts me is the unknown of if I will ever get my best friend back again.