Scratching Her Vinyl

"Oh, nothing…" he says with a little laugh.

We slow our pace as he looks at my storefront and all the signs in the window. "Clearly you have something to say?" I prompt him, trying to keep my emotions in check.

He laughs again and shakes his head. "Ok, I'll tell you. I was just thinking to myself how absurd it is that a place like this should still exist. We are in an age where digital media reigns supreme. Even CDs, MP3 players, are all outdated. What possible use could there be for vinyl records now?"

I struggle to bite my tongue and keep my anger in check, reminding myself that it’s because of this rich snob that I’ll be able to keep the place alive. But internally, I’m seething. Who does he think he is? "You know, just because something is new, or cutting edge, it doesn't always mean it's better. There is a certain beauty in preserving things from the past because it's a part of us and our history. It can hold a lot of memories for certain people," My voice trembles with my barely-contained rage.

He just laughs at my response and keeps trying to prove his point. "That's ridiculous. I bet that I could fit every single track off of every album in that store on a flash drive that would fit in a pocket. And that’s not even factoring in that most people just stream now, so why hang onto a bunch of dust-catching junk?"

His words are my breaking point. I can't do this, nor do I want to anymore. How could I even consider going for a drink with this jackass, let alone giving him my virginity? I guess I'll have to figure out some other way to save my store, but I can’t go through with this. Right now I want to get as far away from this man as possible. I'm so angry and hurt by his words that I might do something I will regret.

I take a step back from him, "You know what? You can keep your fucking money. I'm out!" I spit the words like they’re venomous.

I turn around and start walking back to where the auction is still taking place. I need to see if it's too late to get out of this deal and if they can give him his money back. Not that I really care about what happens to him, so long as I’m off the hook.

I can tell my sudden anger caught him off guard, because he hesitates before catching up with me. "Wait!" He calls out.

He grabs my arm, gentle, but still firm enough to halt me. I stop walking and turn to face him, pulling my arm out of his grasp. "What do you want?" I demand angrily.

He holds his hands up placatingly. "I just wanted to apologize. Seriously, I’m sorry, it was very rude of me to speak like that. You see, I own a tech company, so I'm used to progress. We are always upgrading and updating things, that’s my whole life. I’ve never had much patience for nostalgia because of that. Clearly you seem to have strong feelings about those things, and it was wrong of me to argue and poke fun like that." He apologizes.

I glare at him a few seconds. His apology is certainly sincere but it still doesn't stop me from being irritated with him. If only he knew why those things meant so much to me. I take a deep breath to calm down. Maybe I’d kind of jumped down his throat, too. He’s not wrong, I know someone could probably fit the entire catalog of the store in a microchip smaller than my fingernail these days.

I try to think of what Florian would do in a situation like this. He was such a people person. A lot of times I have wished I could be like him in that way. It would certainly make situations like tonight a whole lot easier. I try to think about this situation logically.

He’s already explained his viewpoint, and I get it. It’s personal for him, too. But maybe there is a way to make him see my world. Suddenly I get an idea. I look at him. "Okay, I will accept your apology. If you let me show you something, and you try to keep an open mind about it?"

He looks at me warily, but curious. "Fair enough.”

"Good. Follow me," I instruct him.

I start walking back towards the record shop. He follows, and we walk in silence. I'm going through all the records in my head, wondering which one I should play for him.

Abruptly I stop outside the store. I dig around in my purse for the keys. As I'm unlocking the door, I can almost feel his shock and I have to hide a smug grin. He wasn't expecting me to be the owner of this place. I turn on the lights and hold the door open for him. "Come on in."