It’s been about a week since Aaron and I reconnected. Every morning I’d get up and get dressed just to head out and be around him. It didn’t matter what we did, I was just glad that it felt like old times.

Just to be up under him, everything made sense.

I looked over my shoulder once I heard my mama clear her throat but I quickly turned back to the breakfast I was cooking. Grits, oatmeal for Daddy, sausage and bacon, homemade biscuits and eggs. I squeezed a few oranges for some fresh orange juice and  cut up some fresh fruit for myself to snack on.

I wasn’t really hungry but I was certain they would be.

“I’ve never seen you cook before, what’s the special occasion?”

“There’s no special occasion Mama. I couldn’t sleep in so I figured I’d get up and give you a break for a change.”

I could feel her eyes burning a hole in the back of my head. The whole point of me coming home was to spend time with her and Daddy, and I’ll admit that I’ve purposely been avoiding them both. Just so I won’t have to hear speeches about doing and knowing better. In fact, she’s got an entire speech on not living in the past.

Mama was saying something but I decided to tune her out, staring out the window as I thought about one particular moment growing up. When I first met Aaron. Back when I was a freshman in high school, there were five other families living on this large amount of land my parents owned. There were already two house that had been abandoned so my parents rented them out and let three families park their trailers. The first family to move in was the Eckharts. Aaron, his mama, his sister, and one of their cousins. His cousin tried to step to me but it was only because he thought I was easy.

You know, a fat girl will gladly take any boy that came her way. That wasn’t the case with me and back then Aaron was the only boy who treated me with respect. He was my first real friend, my only friend for a long time.

I remember that day so clearly. I was standing right in the spot I’m standing in now, cooking myself breakfast when I heard a boy screaming outside of the window. Being as nosy as I was, I looked out the window and caught sight of him running around with his sister Carey. I guess even then I had this tendency to stare so hard that whoever I was watching would notice. He turned around and spotted me. He smiled but I quickly finished and moved away from the kitchen window.

Later that afternoon he came over and introduced himself and after that we were inseparable. I guess you could say he was a bit of a hometown hero. As long as he played sports everybody loved him, including my parents. But for some reason or another, they never felt he was great enough to date me. I used to say it was because they were making less money than we were but they denied it. We sneaked around for four years, stayed in trouble but it was worth it because I loved him.

“Marjorie, did you hear a single word I said?”

I cleared my throat and finally turned the stove off. I fixed my mama a plate and sat it in front of her before sitting down. “No, I didn’t hear anything you said.”

“Always daydreaming. Probably thinking about that no good Aaron Eckhart. Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been going around Memphis with him.”

“I’m grown, it’s not like there’s much you can say about it now.”

“You’re a super model now, what happiness could you honestly find with a washed up football player who works as an underpaid mechanic?”

“The same happiness you found with a man who took over his daddy’s farm. Mama I love you dearly and I thank you for raising me with good values, but letting go of real love and happiness for money and false security… that’s not of them. I know what I want, and whether you and Daddy like it or not I’m gonna make sure things are good between Aaron and me before I go back to New York.”

One again, wanting to avoid any arguments I walked out. Quickly grabbing my keys, I said goodbye to my daddy as he headed towards the kitchen and made my way to see Aaron.

He couldn’t get away from work just yet so I decided to stop in and see him, see if I could get that old feeling I used to get when I would watch him. It only took me about twenty minutes to get to his uncle’s shop, and I spoke to everyone. Hugging, laughing, and talking as if it hadn’t been years since we last saw one another.

I’m certainly not the baby-faced teen I used to be.

I gave Aaron a hug before sitting off to the side, watching as he worked on the engine of a Challenger. “You must have been real bored to come down here and watch me mess around with engines and carburetors.”

“You know I like watching you. You’re looking good in that white t-shirt, muscles out, all sweaty and what not.”

He smirked before pushing his glasses up on his face. I hadn’t even noticed them, so focused on every other part of his body. “Wanna wipe me off?”

“Don’t you start anything Aaron.”

He chuckled before standing up and kissing me. It was the sweetest; his lips were soft and gentle, and all I could do was lean into it, enjoying the warmth and tingles I felt as our tongues met and danced and a small moan escaped my lips. I didn’t want it to end, but his uncle cleared his throat. We parted, but not before Aaron gave me a quick peck before sitting back down. “I missed being able to do that.”

“You two are ridiculous.”

I laughed and said hello to Mr. Larry as he made his way to his office. “So are we going to be sitting here all day or will I get the chance to steal you away? It is my last night.”

“Damn, already?”

“Yeah, I’ve got shows and photo shoots. The borings things that keep my bills paid.” He nodded slowly, keeping his eye on the engine sitting in front of him.

“So what happens with us. It’s only been a week but you know that I still love you.”

“I want us to work something out. I’m not a fan of long distance but if you’re willing to try it, I’m willing.”

“And how often would I get to see you? We’re living totally different lives. You’re in the spotlight and I’m just here.” If I had to be honest again, I’d rather be here.

“Believe me Aaron, if I hadn’t signed contracts I wouldn’t even bother going back right now. I spent so much time thinking that I would get used to living in different cities and having fame and all of that other stuff but I’m just over it all. I’m not happy.”

He cleared his throat, smiling a little as he stood up. “Give me a few minutes to put this engine back in and we’ll get out of here.”

“What are we gonna do?”

“See about doing something to make you happy before you go back.”

For hours after that, we just drove around the city, visiting our old high school and empty fair grounds thinking and talking about all of the mess we got ourselves into as teenagers. Let me tell you, finding trouble in a super small Tennessee town wasn’t as easy as you’d think.

Although I wish he hadn’t brought it up, he reminded me of our very first time. Yeah, he was my first and looking back on it now, thinking of how clumsy we both were, I couldn’t help but laugh. He was more scared than I was but in the end it was perfect. Not like in movies, of course, but it wasn’t as bad as the horror stories I’d heard from other girls.

He laughed at me as I sang along to Deborah Cox’s My First Night when it played on the radio but I didn’t care. He knew that song summed up the beginning of our relationship, in fact, it summed up our entire relationship. No matter how many times we did something, even things other would consider childish or corny, it always felt like the first time.

Parked in the driveway of his home, I rested my head against his shoulder as we waited for the sun to set. I’d been inside to speak to his mama, relieved to know that she’d been cancer free for about six months now and she was back to being her silly self.

One thing I could say about Ms. Beth, she’d always been one of the sweetest women I’d ever known and her demeanor hadn’t changed at all. Maybe it’s just me but when you break the heart of someone’s child, you tend to think that parent would hate you. That wasn’t the case. She hugged me tightly before heading into her room to watch her soap operas.

We were silent for a long time before he grabbed my hand.

“Would you marry me this time? Not right now, of course, but if I asked you again someday, would you say yes this time? I think your parents were right in saying that we were entirely too young the last time.”

“Seventeen, yeah, I guess. And yes Aaron, I would marry you. That’s all I’ve ever really wanted anyway. To marry you and raise kids, I just always held on to the thought that we’d be happy.”

“We will be.”

I smiled, taking a deep breath as my phone ring. It’d been so long since I had a decent signal out here I’d almost forgotten I had a cell phone. “Hello?”

“Where are you right now?”

“Nana? What’s wrong?”

“Your daddy collapsed while he was at work, get to Delta Medical as soon as you can.”

“Oh my God, okay. I’ll be there soon.”

“Aaron, please drive to the Delta Medical Center as fast as you can.”

He started up his truck and looked at me for a second before pulling off. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, something happened to my Daddy.”

I took a deep breath and prayed silently as I looked out the window, trying to think positive to keep myself from over worrying and crying.

You ever see your entire life with someone pass before your eyes once you’re forced to think about the possibility of them not being there?

That was my state of mind the entire time I paced back and forth. My grandma tried to reassure me that Daddy was just fine but I was just scared. I kept thinking about how I came here to make things right with everybody and so far that’d only gone right with two people. Aaron and my grandma, even though she was never mad at me.

I kept asking why I couldn’t go in and talk to him, why we couldn’t get information on my daddy’s condition but no one answered me. A majority of the nurses and other staff looked at me as if I was crazy. To keep myself from cursing somebody out, I did the one thing I should have done from the beginning.

“Mama.”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

I guess she could sense my uneasiness, or maybe I had a worried look on my face. As light as I am, it’s not hard to tell when I’m embarrassed, sad, or feeling guilty. I wear my emotions on my face, my face often gets as red as a tomato when things aren’t right. “I love you too Marjorie but nothing is going to happen to your father. He just has these little episodes where he has seizures or passes out. He’ll be fine, he always is.”

I want to ask how long this has been happening, but I’m sure that if she didn’t tell me he didn’t want me to know. “He never wants me to worry but I don’t even know what’s going on.”

“He’ll be fine.” I hope so.

I must have paced back and forth for another hour or so before a doctor finally came out and a nurse followed, wheeling my father in with one of their wheelchairs. He looked so weak and defeated.

Without letting my emotions take over completely, I gently put my arms around him and hugged him. “I love you Daddy. And I’m sorry for everything.”

He pushed me back and smiled. “I have epilepsy, I’m not dying. And I love you too. I just wanna get in my bed and let this medicine take effect.”

“Come on Love, I’ll get you home.” Mama thanked the doctors and headed to the front desk to get Daddy signed out. I quickly gave my grandma a hug before she joined them, leaving me alone.

“Everything alright?”

I turned to see Aaron coming from the opposite direction, wondering where he was coming from. “You know you didn’t have to leave, my mama wouldn’t have said anything.”

He smiled before hugging me tightly. “I’ve stood up to Ms. Evelyn before. I just wanted to give you all a little privacy. Come on, let me get you home before you curfew.”

“Boy, shut up.”

“Haha.”

Walking into my parents’ home an hour later, it was nice to see my mama sitting in the living room staring at old pictures. She’s the type of person that doesn’t like to dwell on the past, no matter how happy or sad something had been.

She was looking over her wedding photos. I quietly sat beside her, taking her hand in mine as she began talking. “Your daddy is a very proud man. No matter what he’s going through he likes to hold his head up and give the appearance that everything is fine.”

“Daddy’s usually right though. Everything always works out.”

“But every time he has one of these seizures I fear losing him. And I don’t know what I’d do if he weren’t here. When they wouldn’t tell us anything, I couldn’t do anything but think. And I was thinking about what you were telling me, how all you ever wanted was something like what your daddy and I have. I think even I didn’t realize how great and beautiful and simple it is. There was a time when he and I had nothing, but we had one another and that always seemed to be enough.”

“Sometimes you can make it on nothing but love, because having that person there is what gets you through all of the hard times.” Mama started crying. I pulled her close to me, hugging her tightly as she pulled herself together. “I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like you couldn’t or didn’t deserve to be happy. Because you do.”

“Thanks Mama.” She kissed my cheek before heading into the kitchen. She asked if I wanted anything to eat or drink but I declined, heading up to my bedroom to do some thinking of my own after I checked to make sure Daddy was okay.

Staring out my bedroom window, I had my eyes focused on the stars but I was lost in thought. An hour passed, and then another. And before I knew it, it was midnight. I was just about to go to bed when a rock hit my window.

Opening it, I looked down to see Aaron standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking like he was lost or confused. I cleared my throat, whispering even though I’m sure my parents wouldn’t care. “You couldn’t just knock on the door like a normal person?”

“Nope.”

“Couldn’t call or text and ask me to come to the back door?”

“Nah. Come down, let’s spend the rest of the night together.”

I smiled, shaking my head as images of me climbing out of this window years ago played back in my mind. “Fine, I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“Wait, if I’m not being normal you can’t be normal. Climb down.”

“Let me guess, we’re gonna lie in the back of your pickup?”

“Nope. In the back of your daddy’s, like old times.” I rolled my eyes before stepping away from the window to put my shoes back on. I quickly pulled my hair into a ponytail and stuck one foot out of the window, making sure I stepped onto the ledge first before moving towards ladder that always stood next to my window. Aaron held the bottom of it and soon I was at the bottom, leaning against his check as we walked around to the back of the house.

I pulled the tailgate of my daddy’s black pickup down and climbed into the bunk before pushing some stuff over to make room for Aaron.

“Remember when we got caught drinking in the back of this truck.”

“Yeah, I did a lot of things I normally wouldn’t have because of you.”

“Heh. Like playing runaway, drinking, smoking, kissing…”

“Having sex. Now that I think about it, I’m not so sure we should start dating again. You’re nothing but trouble Aaron Eckhart.”

“But you loved it Marjorie Dawson.”

“Ugh. Why won’t y’all call me Malinda?”

He laughed before we finally sat down. He leaned back first against an old tire, quickly getting as comfortable as possible thanks to some old blankets, and I leaned against his chest, wrapped my arms around his waist. I missed moments like this the most. He and I would just stay outside all night, looking up at the stars and talking about anything and nothing at all. Making plans for our future.

“I’ve made a decision. I know a lot of people are going to think I’m crazy as hell but I just feel like I’ll be making the right choice.”

“What’d you decide on?”

“I’m moving back after I get through these last few shows I have. But I don’t wanna live in Ashland City again. I think I might like it with you in Memphis.”

“For real?”

“For real Aaron. I don’t wanna give up on us again and I just know that if I stay gone I will continue to be unhappy. I wanna be happy.”

“Wow. I just don’t want you to regret giving up whatever you like.”

“I’m sure there’s something I can do for work here, or I can start a business of my own. I do have a business degree that no one knows about. Either way, as long as I can lie under you and be with you, I’m good.”

I took his hand in mine and interlocked our fingers, finally feeling that wave of happiness I kept talking about to my mama.

For the first time all week, I’m actually glad I came back home.

It’s been years since I’ve traveled down this old dirt road that winds and leads to my parents’ front porch.

I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t miss the sounds of our farm animals, sunlight hitting my barely open eyes as the sun rose in the morning, and the scent of the fresh breakfast my mother cooked every morning.

I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t still a little bit of that extra country, Tennessee girl left in me.

I left years ago, chasing a second dream when the one I wanted most was taken away from me. Back then I was told that I was simply too young, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, a few years would pass and I would find better. I was told I’d have better.

Sad to say, my daddy lied when he told me that. Sure, I’m successful now. Rich, somewhat famous, with any and everybody you could imagine standing in my corner. But it’s not enough.

I honestly don’t know what coming back here will do for me. Not sure what would be the use of revisiting the past and picking at old wounds that I’d told myself are healed.

I don’t think they’ll ever be healed.

“Ms. Dawson, we’ve arrived. It’s not part of my job requirement, but would you like me to assist you with your bags?” I looked at the young man who’d driven me all the way from the airport to this middle of nowhere area my parents chose to live all of their lives. Told me that his name is Curtis and he works this job to help support his family. Very polite and respectful, and a real cutie too; he can’t be more than eighteen but he carries himself better than a lot of grown folks I know. The simple fact that he offered to help me is something I rarely see happen without the person complaining or stating that they’d do it for the right amount of money.

“No thank you Sweetie but I appreciate you so much for asking and for driving me here today.”

“It was my pleasure Ma’am.” I gave him what I owed plus a little extra, thanking him and getting out of the car before he could object to the amount I placed in his hands.

I looked around for half a second before my eyes stopped and focused on the old house. Now that I’m grown, it looks a hell of a lot smaller than it had when I was a little girl. Pulling out my phone to take a picture, I immediately noticed that my signal was weak, probably due to the fact that our family home is surrounded by nothing but trees. Trees and more trees.

Good old Ashland City, Tennessee.

Just as I snapped a picture and turned to grab my bags from the trunk, I saw the front door open and heard my mama’s soft voice. To the world I’m known as Malinda Dawson, plus-sized super model. But to my parents, I’m still just … “Marjorie Linette Dawson.”

I gritted my teeth and smiled. “Mama, you know I prefer to be called Malinda.”

“That’s not what I named you.”

“You should have.” I mumbled to myself as I grabbed my last back and closed the trunk of the car, thanking Curtis again before he waved and finally drove away.

“Is that my baby girl?”

I shrieked and ran into my daddy’s arms, actually happy to see him in spite of the last conversation he and I had. He grabbed my face gently before kissing my cheek and brushing my hair behind my ear. “I’ve missed you.”

Call me crazy, but there was something different about the way he spoke. My daddy has always had a deep voice but it’s gentler now. His beautiful brown eyes are softer and for the first time ever I can see emotion in them, something he’d always avoided showing. “I’ve missed you too Daddy.”

“Oh, my Marjorie is back.”

“Ma-Lin-Da. Please, can you both call me that?”

“Not while you’re home.” I shook my head before getting my bags, trying to convince Daddy that I could get them but he insisted on helping.

“I’ve got so much planned for us. I’m sure you noticed on your way up the road that a lot of things have changed since you were here last, so I can’t wait to show you the change we’ve made around here.”

“What’s changed Mama?”

“You’ll see.”

I was almost in the house when I felt this strange feeling wash over me, almost as if I were being watched. Our house was the only one on the land now, so it wasn’t like there were any nosy neighbors… but it still felt as if there were eyes on me. Maybe I’m tripping.

Wanting to take a little time to relax and clear my mind before dealing with whatever my mama had in mind, I decided to take a nice long bath. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to completely clear my mind. I guess being back in my old room brought back a lot of old memories.

Instead of a pink room like most little girls had and wanted mine was blue with white accents here and there. Next to the window my huge bed with a large canopy, draped with white lace still sat, untouched. My soft sheets, clean and neat are still white and my duvet comforter is still that same pretty but dark shade of blue. My walls are still adorned in posters of all of my favorite artists. Michael Jackson, Prince, Keith Sweat, Guy, Kid & Play, and more. Old shoes lined the walls, my letterman jacket was still thrown across my rocking chair and in the corner, next to my closet sat a giant teddy bear I’d gotten at a state fair one year. It was tattered and worn, no doubt in my mind that my nieces have come across it a few hundred times by now. My night stand had been untouched and on it was my lamp with my New Edition buttons still hooked on to the shade, my high school year book, and a picture of me at prom.

That picture, that’s what’s stuck on my mind as I soak quietly in this tub. The radio was playing lowly, and since it’s a rare song, I was surprised to hear Just Wanna Hold You by Jasmine Guy come on. It, just like the picture made me think of him. Just like me, he loved old school music and that was one of our many songs.

“What if I hadn’t listened to my parents?”  I dipped my head under the water and stayed for a few minutes before coming back up, taking one deep breath as I pushed old feelings and resentment aside.

I got out, dried myself off, and put on lotion before dressing in a t-shirt and a simple pair of jeans. Almost certain that we’ll be doing a lot of walking, I put on a pair of my Nikes and headed downstairs.

Pulling my hair into a ponytail, I smiled and said hello as I saw my grandma walking in. “Marjorie! My baby. Come give Nana a hug.” I already knew they weren’t going to call me Malinda so I didn’t bother correcting her.

“Hi Nana, how are you?”

“Doing just fine. Your mama told me you were here and I had to get myself over here quickly.”

“But Nana, you’re not supposed to be driving, how’d you get here?”

She looked back and forth between me and my parents before pulling me to the side. Being that I’m nearly six foot tall, and the tallest in my family, I had to bend down so that she could whisper in my ear. “An old friend of yours was kind enough to give me a ride over.”

“You couldn’t say that out loud?”

“Not with your mama and daddy standing there. You know how they’ve always felt about him.”

I looked at her, hoping she wasn’t talking about who I think she’s talking about. “Who brought you over here Nana?”

“Aaron.” I sighed and shook my head, praying that he was gone and off of this property. “You know his mama lives next door to me and he came back to help take care of her when she got sick.”

“Ms. Beth is sick?”

“Mmhm, cancer from what I heard but she won’t tell anyone what type or how bad it really is. Either way, that young man has been a blessing because the good Lord knows his sister wasn’t doing anything.” I bit the inside of my jaw as I stood there thinking. “He’s still out there and he knows you’re in town.”

“Nana.”

“What? It casually slipped out in conversation.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Glad to see you Nana but please don’t try to set anything up. I don’t need any problems while I’m here.”

“Okay, okay. But you’ve gotta stand up for what you want for yourself at some point. They’re your parents but it’s your life, remember that.”

She kissed my cheek and walked back to the island where my parents were standing.

I didn’t walk outside, but I stood by the door, watching as Aaron messed around under the hood of his truck. The sight alone made me think about when we were in high school and he worked in his uncle’s garage during the summers. Every day he worked, I sat off to the side on the hood of another car, watching as he tinkered and fixed every car that came in. As if his personality wasn’t amazing, his body was like that of a Greek god, perfectly sculpted over time. He’d always been muscular, and over the years he added tattoos to certain parts of his body. I loved touching them, tracing along them with my fingertips as he ran his fingers through my hair and kissed along my neck.

I missed him dearly.

The sound of my daddy clearing his throat snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned around, giving a light smile as I sat down and thanked him for the food he’d put out.

“This looks great.”

“I figured you’d be starving after that long flight from New York.”

“Yeah, straight off the runway and back on the farm.”

He chuckled before rubbing my shoulder. “It’s not a farm anymore.” Lost in my own world, I actually hadn’t noticed that I didn’t hear the array of animals.

“What happened?”

“Just figured it was time for a change. You know we barely got by when you were growing up. Sold everything, even most of the land and got regular jobs.”

“Wow. So different.”

“Well Marjorie, if you hadn’t stayed away for the last six years you’d know what was going on with your daddy and me.” There was that self-righteous tone I hated.

I took a sip of the water he’d set beside my plate and sighed. “Don’t you think I had a reason to stay gone Mama? We couldn’t get along, you didn’t respect my wishes and I didn’t want to disrespect either of you. It was just easier for me to leave after I graduated.”

“Hunny, we only wanted you to see that you could have done so much better than…”

“You don’t have to say his name.”

“Marjorie, your mama and I just didn’t want you to struggle the way that we did. Your happiness has always been important to us, we want you to be happy, but you know that you would have been miserable living off of nothing but ‘love’.”

“Maybe Daddy, but at least with him I would have had someone to cheer me on and give me that extra push when I felt like giving up. I had no one in New York.”

“You could have called your mama and me.”

I looked at my daddy as he stood there with a serious look on his face. I could tell he wanted this to be one of those old moments where I just agreed with whatever he says and we go on acting like we’re the perfect little family. “Called you two for what? Just for you to shoot my ideas and dreams down again. Every dream I had, according to you both I was simply too young, or too hopeful, or you felt that no one would accept me because I was too big.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is. I wanted to be just like you and Mama. Happy and content in a little home of my own, married with kids. I would have never considered modeling if I was able to do what I wanted in the first place. I wanted a simple life, but since you felt that wasn’t good enough, better yet, since you thought Aaron wasn’t good enough, I went ahead and put myself through the stresses of what you thought no one would accept me for. Struggling and heartbroken versus a simple and happy life, yeah I got the good end of that deal.”

All three of them looked at me. I think I surprised myself with the amount of anger in my voice. I thought I had my feelings in check but the more I thought about their reasons for why I couldn’t do what I wanted, the angrier I got.

It had nothing to do with them not wanting me to struggle and I know it.

Instead of finishing my food, I gave my grandma a hug and headed upstairs to search for the keys to my old car. No sense in sticking around when I know the tension will be thick for a while.

I made the forty minute drive to Memphis, trying to find something interesting to get into. Anyone would tell you that Tennessee is Country Music heaven but that hasn’t been my thing for a few years now and I’m not in any type of mood to sit in any of the Blues clubs. Back when I was in school you could always see someone you knew, but driving down Beale Street all I saw were people I assume are tourists.

I decided to stop at King’s Palace Café. Driving around the corner and parking in the lot of another building, I walked back over to the café and took a look around. It was a little bigger than it looked from the outside but I still wasn’t impressed.

After finding a seat and ordering I looked around, nodding my head to the Z.Z. Hill song they were playing. Although I hate it with a passion, anytime I hear Down Home Blues I have to listen to it and sing along.

“What can I get for you this afternoon Ma’am?” She looked at me for a few seconds and smiled. “I’m sorry, I might be wrong but are you Marjorie Dawson, from Sycamore High?”

“I go by Malinda now but yeah.”

“Sorry, you probably don’t remember me but we graduated together. I’m Susanne Jacobs.”

“I think I do remember you, your dad was the school security guard.”

“Yeah, great to see you. You look amazing.”

“Thank you, and you as well. I guess it’s kind of strange to see you without the glasses you used to wear.”

“After years of suffering with the coke bottles, at my parents’ insistence, I got myself some contacts and some much needed dental work.”

“Well there’s nothing wrong with that at all. You were a bigger bookworm than me though, I figured you’d be out of Tennessee by now, working as an engineer or something.”

“That was the plan but you know how things go when young girls get pregnant before they should. Graduate at fifteen, somebody’s mother at sixteen.”

“Wow.”

“I love it though, love my little girl.”

“Aww, can I see a picture?”

“Sure.” It was interesting to actually see someone I grew up with. No, she and I hadn’t been close friends back then but I was never the type to ignore someone or treat them differently because of social or economic status. Just like me she grew up on a farm, helping out parents and going to school. The only difference was that her parents had nothing at all and worked tirelessly to make sure she had the basic things she needed.

I looked at the picture as she showed it to me, her pretty little girl was a strawberry blonde with the biggest smile a kid could have. She was most definitely Susanne’s twin, same green doe-like eyes, round face, with a tiny mole on her left cheek. “She’s gorgeous. I think I just got baby fever.”

Susanne chuckled before putting her picture away. “That’s my little Desiree. What have you been up to? Last any of us heard, you’d moved out of the country.”

“Ha, I wish. I’ve been in New York doing some modeling here and there.”

“That’s awesome. You’ve certainly changed.”

“Thankfully I grew into my figure, trust I wanted to be as thin as you and the cheerleaders.”

“Wow, and now all of us want bodies like yours. But let me get your order taken care of, don’t want my boss to think I’m slacking.”

“Let me guess, he’s one of those that shouts ‘time is money’ often.”

“Every three and half minutes. What can I get you?”

I quickly looked over the menu. Hearing a familiar voice, I looked towards the door. “Uh, sorry, I’ll just take a shrimp po’ boy and a sprite if you guys have it.”

“Alright, I’ll be right with that.”

“Thanks Susanne.”

She walked away and I watched from the corner of my eye as he walked around speaking to people. I began wondering if he’d followed me, but that was just my ego speaking. That was my heart hoping the he still might have some type of feelings for me.

I must have been staring a little too hard because Aaron smiled and began walking in my direction.

What do I do? What do I say?

Play it cool Malinda. Play it cool. It’s no big deal; he’s only someone you’ve loved your entire life.

And within minutes he stood in front of me, smiling wide as I stared into his gorgeous face.

Aaron Eckhart; a man with the most beautiful dark skin I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s what they call a ‘good old country boy’. Patient, kind, courteous, respectful, and doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty. And those hands, Lord, those magnificent hands. I’ll just say that they can do some magic and he uses them well. He still had that warm smile, except now he no longer wears braces. And just as I had years ago, I found myself mesmerized by his beautiful brown eyes. They were soft, bright, and they always held a glimmer of hope.

Even after six years of separation, I love this man. And here he stood, towering over me. 6’2, with his large but toned frame, and when he spoke my heart melted. “Hi.”

“Hey.”

“I, uh, I’m not sure what to call you.”

I was a bit confused. “What do you mean?”

“I hadn’t heard from you in so long. Turned on the TV one day and saw you, but they said your name was Malinda, not Marjorie.”

“Oh, please call me Malinda. I’m getting it changed legally soon. Have a seat, Aaron. How have you been?”

“Missing you. I know you probably don’t even want to talk about it but why’d you leave? Why’d you go off without me, we could have gone somewhere together and been happy.”

My mind was telling me to move my hand away as he grabbed it but I couldn’t. I missed his touch, missed the sensation his touch gave. “I hope you don’t think I never thought about that. You had your mama and she supported everything that you wanted to do. I figured you were gonna get a scholarship for football and you’d make it big. I didn’t want to ruin that for you Aaron.”

“Shouldn’t I have had a say in it?”

“Honestly, I don’t think so. I thought about it a lot when I first got to New York and I just know that we would have struggled and resented one another after a while. I loved you too much to put our relationship through any type of strain.”

“Loved? So there’s nothing there anymore?”

I gave a small smile before nodding. “Yes, there is. I bet you’re happy now though. Married with a little family. I bet you’ve got the son you always wanted, a mini-you.”

“Nope; no wife, no kids. I haven’t really done anything major yet either.”

“Why not?”

He smiled before interlocking our fingers. “I was waiting for you.” I could only stare at Aaron, shocked that he’d said that. But honestly, that’s what I was hoping for.