Relationships • Photo Restoration • 9 • Gabičko • Heather

• I met Heather at the Aldershot Animal Hospital. She was a volunteer at my mom’s clinic and had already been working there for a few weeks. On this day our paths finally crossed. Eventually Heather joined the payroll, and we ended up working the same shift on Saturdays. At first I got her to do all the dirty work. In the morning one of us had to walk the dogs, and the other cleaned the cages. The cages were always filthy from the night before, so walking the dogs was always the best option. Also, before closing the clinic we needed to vacuum and wash the floors. I hated vacuuming, so that was her job. As time went on Heather ‘s charm had me in role reversal – and I was doing all the dirty work.

• Two years later we started dating. The awkward bit was that we began our relationship when Heather was in ninth grade and I was in grade twelve. In some ways we were a perfect couple with a lot of common interests. I was also infatuated by her. But I couldn’t shake the fact that we had such an age difference. I was never outright ridiculed by my friends, except for a few passing comments. But because of my adolescent insecurities at the time, it bothered me a lot. As a result, Heather suffered through no less than four breakups over a span of 18 months, and a repeated cycle of me crawling back in shame and regret.