Daniel taught me my first chord on the guitar: E major. We were 18 and we were in love. By the next year, we’d broken up and I still only knew the one chord, but I wanted to learn to play.
My first husband taught guitar lessons at the local music store. For some reason, the entire time we were married, I never felt the need to play; I was content to listen while he did.
I still only knew the one chord.
About ten years passed, and we were no longer married, but still friends. I emailed him to get his recommendation on what sort of guitar to buy. He sent me some helpful pointers, I read them with gratitude, and I didn’t buy a guitar.
Another few years passed. My future husband, though I had no inkling that he would be at the time, went on some travels. He left his guitar with me, knowing that I’d always wanted to learn to play.
My fingers still remembered E major. I tried to learn the A chord and the D chord, but when I gave his guitar back, I still only knew the one chord.
Several years later, I saw a guitar for sale on Craigslist—a Seagull, the kind that Daniel, my first love, had longed for. It was a bargain at $150.
I drove to Loveland and pulled up at a home with all the shades drawn, weeds sprouting from the cracks in the driveway, no cars in sight. Was this a good idea? I knocked on the door, an enormous man with a Russian accent answered it. No one knew I was here. This was a very bad idea.
And then the man’s ridiculous pug came barreling out. He scooped it up apologetically, murmuring to it in what I presume was a Russian version of puppy talk. He couldn’t be that bad. I followed him in.
He was a computer programmer, and worked at home with the shades down. He’d broken his hand, and had to sell the guitar to make some money. He asked if I wanted to play it.
I played a beautiful rendition of E major. I still only knew the one chord. I bought the guitar.
I married the man who’d loaned me the guitar. He moved in with his guitar; now we had two.
I still only knew the one chord.
And then one day I picked up the guitar and decided to learn to play. That was two years ago.
I still know the one chord, but sometimes I forget how to play it; there are so many others competing for space in my head.
