We met in 2007, when we were both living in New York. I had just moved from Kansas and Paul was a friend of a friend of my sister’s, who I was living with at the time. He was a Brit, working for a totally shady company that went door to door around all the pharmacies in New York City. He lived in an apartment that the company rented for him and three other guys, who spent their days going between pharmacies.
We’d been talking over email and Facebook, but I called him over Skype and said it wasn’t going to work out. We were both really upset, but Paul was so sad that he vowed to quit social media so he wouldn’t have to see me – and he stuck to his word. I cannot find the dude at all. I’ve tried several times over the years to track him down to return the album, but without success.
The album has moved with me to three apartments, and I’m determined not to take it to the next one. People have said to me, “Why don’t you just throw it away?” but these are pictures of his family – even if he doesn’t want it, his mum probably does. I’ve been carrying this with me for 15 years now, and he should have it back. This is my best shot. If this doesn’t work out, we’re throwing it away.
She went back to Belgium and I continued to travel. I think the decision to break up was mutual – the distance was just too much to overcome. Plus we were just at different points in our lives. I deleted a lot of her emails, and even unfriended her on social media, but I’ve never taken the bracelets off. They have become a part of me.