1991 was a great year for me. Considering how awful 1989 and 1990 had been, the fact that I was even alive, let alone at a place physically, emotionally, and psychologically where I felt at home and thrived was something of a miracle. Since the spring of that year, a woman with whom I worked had been pestering me to ask her housemate out on a date. I kept declining, for various reasons; on Labor Day, however, I attended a party with a bunch of friends, and my co-worker's housemate was present, and we spent quite a bit of time talking and introducing ourselves to each other. What followed was one of the most intense relationships of my life. The end was a horrid mess, at least for me, and while I admit that I bore more than the bulk of the blame for our relationship collapsing, I think that we broke each others' hearts. I can't say for sure because I have not spoken to her since 1992.
At the party we attended, someone was playing Bonnie Raitt's multiple Grammy winning album Nick of Time over and over. The song "I Can't Make You Love Me" was heard over and over that day. Funny enough, I don't remember hearing it again until I was driving away from our break-up. As I hope you can imagine, I had to pull the car over and cry. I heard the song again last night. It is one of the most gut-wrenching songs I have ever heard. I have no regrets now that this woman and I ended our relationship; that doesn't mean that, fifteen years later, there is still not pain there.
