We didn't have one of those "and our eyes met from across the room and I just knew" stories. The first time we kissed was at a party and he spent about 20 minutes trying to convince me that kissing him was a good idea, and then proceeded to jump off the porch, fall on his face, and swagger walk away after I finally gave in.
It wasn't adorable. But it was us. We were inseparable in a if-you-ran-into-one-of-us-in-the-library-the-other-one-was-probably-downstairs-studying kind of way. He was my best friend. He understood me and knew me to my core. And he loved me. I have no doubt he loved me.
When I went to the hospital, he blew off studying for his most important exam and went without sleep to be by my bedside. When the nurse missed my vein 5 different times trying to put in the IV, he almost puked but stayed right there. He HATES hospitals.
Our friends called us Mom and Dad. For our first date, we parked his car on the top of a parking structure, laid all the seats down, and watched Ghostbusters. And then it was over. Mistakes were made and neither one of us handled it well. There was a lot of crying, screaming, "how could you"s, "I love you"s, and "please don't leave me"s.
It wasn't pretty. We don't speak. Ever. If we see each other on the street, we pretend we don't. He has a girlfriend now and she seems lovely. She seems to really care for him.
When we were breaking up, I realized my Giving Key wasn't on my wrist. It had fallen off and was laying on the floor. He was talking but I don't remember what he said, I was staring at my "trust" on his carpet. I put it in his hand as I walked out the door.
Months later when I saw him again, he sat next to me, wordlessly pulled out his wallet, showed me a key in it that says "trust", got up, and walked away. I hope he still carries it around with him. I have no doubt I'll see him 20 years down the road. I hope he'll still be carrying the key. I think he will be. I mean...what else can I do but trust?
