Page 15 of Clichés & Curses

Before I could stop myself, the words were already out of my mouth. ‘You have an ABBA CD?’ I didn’t even try to conceal the surprise in my voice.

‘No.’

‘Oh, is it someone else’s—’

‘I have five of them,’ he clarified.

I’m pretty sure my eyes couldn’t have gotten any wider than they did then, as I whipped my gaze over to him.

‘You have five ABBA CDs?’ I was bewildered by this new information about Colton.

‘Yup.’ He paused while he was reversing the car. ‘It would’ve been all of their albums, but I’m still missing a few of them to complete my collection.’

I’ve always believed that one’s music taste says a lot about a person. Sometimes, it even takes a lot for people to be comfortable enough to share that part of themselves. I could tell that Colton might have been slightly embarrassed by me stumbling upon this part of him, seeing how quiet he got. A shade of red was starting to appear on the tips of his ears.

Trying to think of something to say to save him from the unwarranted embarrassment, I told him, ‘I love ABBA.’

‘Yeah?’ he replied softly, the feeling of unease slowly melting away.

‘Yeah,’ I affirmed. ‘I only know their popular songs though. But from what I have heard, I love them.’

I realized that it was the exact thing to say, when I saw his tense shoulders started to relax, and a smile lit up his face. ‘Let me guess. Are all the songs you know from theMamma Miamovies?’ he asked, his voice teasing.

‘Busted,’ I admitted. It was true, and I refused to be ashamed because those movies were my comfort watches.

He let out a laugh at my reply, and Lord, if it wasn’t the sexiest laugh I had ever heard.

Get it together, Clara.

‘Okay fine, yes that’s as far as my knowledge of ABBA music goes. You definitely know more of their music than me, if you have five of their albums. Is there any story behind it?’ I asked. ‘If you’re willing to share, I don’t want to pry,’ I then added.

‘Not at all,’ he started, both eyes on the road. ‘My parents are huge record collectors, that’s one of the things they had in common before they even knew each other. Of course, when they got married, their collections only grew. My mom usually played whatever record she was feeling for the day. Since she works from home, every day when I came home from school, music had always been playing.’

He paused his story when we reached a junction, making sure we were heading the right way before he continued.

‘Anyway, the summer before I started high school, my mom randomly decided it was the summer of ABBA, so she exclusively played all the ABBA albums until the summer ended. And it was a good summer, so any time I hear an ABBA song, it always brings me back to that time in my life. You know, before life got complicated with high school,’ he said with playful sarcasm. ‘I always blasted ABBA in my room afterwards. When my parents got me this car as a graduation gift, I went ahead and bought the actual albums. So now, I choose to blast them in my car instead. Just me, ABBA, and the road ahead.’

‘How very poetic of you,’ I told him once he finished recounting his story. A corner of his mouth lifted, giving way to a small smile at my reply. ‘But why buy their albums instead of just playing it from your phone and connecting it to the car?’

‘That might have been my parents’ record-collecting influence. I don’t know,’ he trailed off. ‘There’s just something about having them physically, I guess. Does that make sense?’ he then added, struggling to put his thoughts into words.

‘No, I get it,’ I told him because I did. I might not be an album or a record collector, but I am a reader. And every reader knows there’s something magical about collecting books and creating your own mini library as your collection grows bigger.

‘I feel the same way about books. Don’t get me wrong, I like the convenience of eBooks, but there’s just something special about having them in your physical hold. It’s like you’re willingly letting them take up space in your life, for nothing more than just your own happiness,’ I explained. ‘And I think that alone is a good enough of a reason as any.’

Other than the ABBA song that was playing from the speakers—one that I didn’t recognize—and the muffled hum of the car’s engine, the car was filled with silence. I looked over at Colton, silently hoping he wasn’t weirded out by what I had just said.

But I found him risking a glance my way, a genuine smile on his face when he broke the silence, and said, ‘You’re right. That’s exactly it.’

My pulse skyrocketed and I’m pretty sure I was blushing, for my face felt warmer than it did a few seconds ago.

I quickly looked away from him, trying my best to calm myself down, and willing the blush to go away. The radio continued playing ABBA songs as Colton drove ahead, and my lips titled up recognizing the melody of ‘SOS’ as I recalled the scene of Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan singing it in the movie.

‘So, what’s your favourite ABBA song?’ I asked Colton.

‘That’s a fully loaded question.’

‘Why? You can’t seem to pick just one?’

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