“What happened with you and Tami?” she asked.
I stopped and thought for a moment. I came to the discovery it was okay to talk about it with Harper.
“Tami held a special place in my heart,” I began.
“You said ‘held’?” Harper inquired.
I bit my lower lip.
“I guess I did,” I said, and wondered what it meant for us when she came back in a few weeks. “Anyway, we were best friends since first grade. You never saw one of us without the other. Everyone assumed we would live happily ever after.”
“What happened?”
I felt my chest tighten as I remembered the slow disintegration of our friendship.
“When we were younger, I wasn’t nearly as confident as I am now. Tami helped me grow up. I think we thought it was normal for her basically to run my life because someday we were going to marry and have kids. However, I was holding her back. As a matter of fact, we were holding each other back. We were making decisions about our lives based on what was best for the other, rather than what was best for each of us,” I said and then paused.
“Tami wants to be a doctor. I have no doubt she’ll be one of the best. When she went to Wesleyan, it was the first time we were separated. No, I take that back. My being sent to my uncle’s farm was the first time we were separated. With me out of the picture, she had the courage to go to Wesleyan.”
I got up and paced around. What really caused us to drift apart?
“People much older and wiser than us have had difficulties holding together long-distance relationships. I guess it’s not a surprise we weren’t able to make it work. Two things finally did us in. The first was Tami’s need to be involved in all phases of my life. It wasn’t working. She couldn’t pull it off from long distance.
“The second was she needed to experience life. I couldn’t handle her dating other guys. I had to pull away, or I was going to kill someone. You have no idea how close I came to flying over to the UK and ending Simon’s miserable life.”
Our eyes locked.
“Harper, you need to know this is the one thing which is nonnegotiable with me. I will not share you with other guys if you expect me to be around.”
“And yet you have no problem sleeping around?” Harper said.
“I’ve come to grips with it. I’m not ashamed of who I am. I know in my heart, once I find the woman who’s going to be my one-and-only, the mother of our children, my soul mate, I will never stray. I don’t see it happening anytime soon. My best guess would be when I settle down after college.”
“So, what happens when Tami comes back?”
Here was what had alarmed Harper. I gave my head a little shake.
“I have no idea. I’m not even sure we’ll be friends. I’m sure it’ll never be what it was; at least, not now. Tami and I need to lead our own lives.”
“So, there’s no chance you’ll dump me and she’ll swoop in and take you off the market?”
I chuckled to myself. Not even in my wildest fantasy did I see it happening like that. I would always love Tami. What was that stupid saying? If you loved something, you needed to set it free. If it was meant to be, it would come back to you. I felt my heart break all over again at the memory of setting Tami free. I was afraid I would never get over her. I felt a tear leak out of the corner of my eye and come to rest on my cheek.
Harper reached over and brushed it off. She wrapped me in her arms. She knew where things stood. I didn’t need to confirm her fears. What was it they say about the best-laid plans? God takes one look at them and then laughs. They also said God won’t give you more than you can handle. I hoped they were right.
SARAH SHOWED UP AND found Harper just holding me. She gave us a curious look.
“Are you still taking me to the dance?” she asked.
I held out my arms and she joined us on the couch. I gave her a kiss.
“I needed to fix things with David,” Harper explained.
“Are you two ...?”
“Friends,” Harper furnished.
Sarah was a questioner. I needed to slow her down before she had a meltdown. I pulled her to me and gave her a kiss with some serious heat.
“Better?” I asked when we finally stopped kissing.
“Yes, much,” she agreed, and then turned to Harper. “What are your plans?”
“I’m going back to school. I needed to clear the air with David.”
“What does ‘friends’ mean?” Sarah asked.
I reach over and pulled Harper into a kiss similar to the one I’d just given Sarah. Sarah smiled when I finally let Harper go.
“I see,” was all she said.
I pulled them both close to me and we talked about other stuff.
WE WALKED INTO THE ballroom at the Dunn’s Country Club and the place went quiet. Sarah was wearing a Vera Wang black cocktail dress that looked like it was made for her. I had a little smile on my face when I saw my friends with their mouths open as they stared at the vision I had on my arm. They had all met Sarah before, but she’d been in jeans and a sweatshirt. This was Sarah in full model mode, with evening makeup and her hair pulled up so you got the full view of her elegant neck.
I was in my Tommy Hilfiger tuxedo, which made the perfect backdrop for Sarah’s entrance. She walked in with her head held high, using her ‘runway strut’ as she held onto my arm. She had mastered the model’s expression of the thousand-yard stare. She knew all eyes were on her. Then she giggled, and I think every guy in the place fell in love with her at that moment. She was no longer the unattainable beauty. She was now a sexy teenage girl who didn’t take herself too seriously.
Sarah looked at me and I smiled.
“Now that was an entrance, my lady,” I assured her.
“Introduce me to everyone,” she commanded.
She had seen me work a room at Wesleyan. She went up a couple of points in my estimation by suggesting we make the rounds. I was eager to see my friends from Washington. As we walked around, it was apparent people had taken the lax dress code seriously. There were guys in everything from jeans and t-shirts to tuxedos. Everyone had a smile on their face and seemed to be having a good time.
Mike and Gina had saved us seats. Ty and Isaac joined us with their dates. I hadn’t seen Bill, Trevor, or Lou. Come to think of it, Mona, Kim and Sammie were ‘missing in action,’ also. I asked Mike about it.
“They all went to Prom since the guys are seniors. Rumor has it Bill will be Prom King. He said once they’re done they’ll come over here and join us.”
I turned my attention to my Washington friends.
“So Ty, what are you going to do now that Isaac and the rest of your team are graduating?” I asked.
“I’m trying to talk my parents into moving here.”
I looked at him and he was serious. My mind raced with the possibilities. I had been a little worried we wouldn’t be able to make up the offense Bill was taking with him to USC. I sure hoped he wasn’t kidding.
“If you need us to help you pack, let me know,” I told him.
“Washington’s fans would kill him if he left,” Isaac complained.
I waved him off.
“They’d get to see him play when we play you guys,” Mike said.
I think this was the first Ty’s date had heard of his plans. They went off to talk, so we turned our attention to Isaac.
“Where are you going to college?” Mike asked Isaac.
Isaac was one of the better quarterbacks we had faced last year. The only one I would rate better was the kid who had a scholarship to East Carolina for college.
“I’m going to State as a preferred walk-on. They told me I had a roster spot and would be able to practice with the team. If I show them what I can do, they said they’d work to get me a scholarship,” Isaac said.
“When are you going?” I asked.