"I'm going to need this with me...this can
go with the moving van...I don't really need this anymore...Hey Jayme,
do you want this?"
It was two days after I'd accepted the job with
Denise, and I was trying to pack all of my stuff up. Luckily I'd
acquired quite a few household items over the years, so I had the essentials
for living on my own. I wasn't quite sure where I was going to live
yet, but for the time being, Nick's family had graciously offered to let
me stay with them until I got on my feet. It was going to be a really
busy two weeks for me, what with moving all of my stuff to Florida and
then right away going to Europe with the Boys. But I was so excited!
Jayme looked at me with tears in her eyes.
Suddenly I realized we wouldn't be able to see each other all the time,
and I certainly wouldn't be able to talk to her as much as we were used
to. "Oh, Jayme, I'm so sorry. I've been so wrapped up with
this that I forgot to ask you how you felt about it. Are you going
to be ok?"
"Yeah, I'll be alright. I mean, it's not everyday
you get offered an opportunity like this, right? I'll miss you a
lot, but I'm sure we'll be able to write to each other, and even talk occasionally."
I reached over and gave her a hug. "I'm going
to miss you too. How am I going to live without my best friend?
You know everything about me, and now I'll be surrounded by people I barely
know."
She smiled at me through her tears. "You'll
have Nick, he'll look after you. You don't need me by your side every
minute of the day. You're a tough girl; I'm sure you'll be fine."
Great. I felt so guilty about having gone
on and on about Nick for the past few months, because now it was all coming
back to haunt me. The truth was, I needed Jayme just as much as I
needed Nick, and I had no idea what I was going to do without her by my
side.
"I'm sorry Jayms, I had no idea you felt so neglected.
Will you forgive me?"
"Of course...as long as you promise me one thing."
"What's that?"
"Every once in a while, send a picture of Brian
along with your letters."
I laughed. "You've got it."
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Males
entering female territory. I hope you're both decent." And
with that, in came Nick....and Brian, Kevin, Howie, and AJ.
I noticed the surprised look on Jayme's face.
"Jayms, I knew that this would be hard, but I wanted to leave you with
a little gift. So I asked the guys to come over here and serenade
you. Are you up for it?"
"Is the pope Catholic?" came the reply.
I grinned and said "Take it away, guys."
They counted themselves in and then Kevin started.
"Baby, I know you're hurting. Right now you feel like you could never
love again. Now all I ask is for a chance to prove that I love you."
Then it was AJ's turn. "From the first day
that I saw your smiling face, honey I knew that we would be together forever..."
"Ooh, when I asked you out, you said no, but I found
out, darlin' that you'd been hurt, you thought that you'd never love again...I
deserve a try honey, just once, give me a chance and I'll prove this all
wrong.." Brian continued.
"You walked in, you were so quick to judge, but
honey he's nothing like me..." AJ nodded to the rest of the guys.
"I'll never break your heart, I'll never make you
cry...."
By this point, Jayme had huge tears rolling down
her face. She gave me a hug and whispered, "Thank you. This
means a lot to me, Sam."
When they finished the song, Brian came over to
Jayme. "I know this is going to be very hard on you. But we'll
be sure to make time for Sam to keep in touch with you, and who knows,
maybe you'll get to fly out and visit her once in a while."
Jayme had a dazed expression on her face, so it
was up to me to speak up. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate this.
Um, I have some more packing to do, so why don't I get some drinks for
you and you can talk to Jayme for a bit, ok?"
"That sounds like a plan" Kevin piped up.
So I got them their drinks and led Jayme over to a chair. "Try not
to be too star-struck" I whispered. She made a face at me as I started
out of the room. "Hey Sam, wait up and I'll help you" called Nick.
He laced his fingers through mine and we walked back to my room to finish
packing up my stuff.
I was silent for a while. Nick knew me well
enough by then to know that sometimes I just need to think about stuff,
without anyone asking me what's wrong. But when I started to cry,
he also knew that I need to be comforted, so he took me in his arms and
said, "You're going to miss her a lot, aren't you?"
I sniffled and said "Jayme and I have been inseparable
for 16 years of our lives...I have no idea what it'll be like to be away
from her for so long..."
"I understand. And I wish I could make this
easier, but I can't. I'm sorry I can't do more to help you."
I looked up at him. He wiped the tears off
my cheeks and slowly brushed his lips over mine. I opened my eyes
and told him "You already are. Just the fact that you're here makes
me feel ten times better."
I kissed him again, and he looked at me and declared,
"Alright, enough of this mushy stuff. We've got work to do!"
**A couple of hours later**
"Whew, I can't believe what a strange day this has
been."
Jayme and I were sitting on lawn chairs in my yard,
sipping fresh iced tea. It was now 8:00 in the evening, and we were
exhausted. Nick and I had finished packing up my stuff, and the moving
van was supposed to come tomorrow to pick up the stuff in the boxes.
Then late tomorrow evening, I was going to board the plane for Florida.
I was excited, but at the same time very nervous. I'd never been
that far away from home before, and it wouldn't be like I could just go
back if I got homesick. This was permanent.
Jayme turned to me. "Are you still nervous
about tomorrow?"
"Yeah, a bit. I think once I'm down there
for a couple weeks or so, I'll be fine, but for the first little while
it's going to be really tough."
"It's going to be tough without you being here too,
but I think both of us will be alright. Friends forever, remember?"
"Yeah, friends forever."