Page 26 of Crash and Burn

He shrugged, “Ok, but I don’t really know what you like.”

“That’s ok. That’s part of the fun. You’re either going to pick something I love or introduce me to something new.”

“Well, tell me what you hate. I don’t want to pick out something you hate.”

“There isn’t much I don’t like, honestly. You can do this.”

He grinned so I said, “Meet back here in 20 minutes unless you finish sooner. Ready…break!”

I went for the classic rock section. He struck me as someone who might like Guns N’ Roses or Aerosmith. I flipped through record after record. I glanced around looking for Hudson to make sure he was ok, and I spotted him doing the same thing and he seemed really into it.

I settled on Jimi Hendrix,All Along the Watchtower. I thought,who doesn’t love Jimi Hendrix?I went back to our meeting spot and waited there for another five minutes before Hudson arrived.

“This was really fucking hard,” he said.

That made me laugh. “What did you pick?”

He slumped his shoulders. “I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s good.”

“Oh, just show me. I already told you, I like practically everything.”

“Well, I noticed when we were on the bus that Jimmy was playing Jazz. I figured maybe he played it because you liked it. I’m not an expert, but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Miles Davis.”

He flipped the record over so I could see it. The album was ‘Miles Davis, In a Silent Way.’ I gasped and looked up at Hudson standing there with this hopeful look on his face.

“I love Miles Davis! He’s my favorite jazz musician. I have several records of his at home, but I don’t havethisone. This is perfect, Hudson!”

“Really? You’re not just sayin’ that?”

“No! I’m dead ass serious.” I threw my hand over my mouth. “I’m loud, I’m sorry. I can’t wait to listen to this.” I had his record tucked under my arm, so I pulled it out and looked at the cover.

“Ready? I hope you like this.”

I flipped it around and Hudson’s face lit up.

“Wow!! Hell, yeah! Who doesn’t love Jimi Hendrix? Shit, Amelia. This is amazing.”

We both laughed because he was being loud, too. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of people in the store.

“Let’s go pick out your record player.”

He looked excited. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. Let’s go!”

We picked out a small one that he could put in the garage if he wanted and took it to the register. I pulled out my wallet and Hudson stopped me.

“Amelia, no. You’re not paying for all this.”

“Hudson, it’s your birthday and I planned this. You can’t pay for yourself. This ismygift toyou.”

“Nope. Not kidding. This entire day has been a gift and honestly, it’s been amazing. I’m buying my first record player, first record, and yours, too. Don’t say another word.”

I gave a small smile. I wanted to pay, but after he said all that, I let him pay.

We took our goodies and headed for the bus again. Hudson stopped short so I turned to look at him.

“You ok?” I asked him.

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