“Leah, did you put those holes in your pants yourself? You must have, because I have never seen holes in jeans that big!” Matthew said as he laughed loudly, with some of the other kids around him joining in. My checks burned with humiliation, and I stewed in silence for the rest of class, ignoring Matty’s further attempts to get my attention.
I hung back after the bell rang and asked the teacher, Mr. Sniders, if I could move to a different seat. When he asked why, I said that I couldn’t see the chalkboard from where I was currently sitting; so, he agreed to move me to a seat in the front row on the other side of the classroom.
The next day I took my new seat far away from Matthew, who immediately yelled across the room, “Leah! What are you doing over there? You sit by me, remember?”
I turned and said loudly, “Not anymore!” I narrowed my eyes and gave him a dirty look before spinning around sharply to face the front of the room with a smug smile on my face. Now Matthew Boyd wouldn’t be able to humiliate me during class.
After the bell rang, I headed out to my locker. Matthew walked by, stopped behind me, and said, “I can’t believe you moved your seat, Leah. You’re going to really miss sitting by me.” He then leaned in close and whispered in my ear, “Or maybe I’ll miss sitting by you more.”
Several months later, I would remember that moment and wonder if Matthew had known something I had not; that maybe he could see what our relationship would eventually become. Or at least, where it was headed. However, if you would have told me in that moment by my locker that I would one day love Matthew with all of my heart, that he would be the most important person in my life, I would have thought you insane. Funny how life ends up taking you in a direction you never dreamed it would or even could.
CHAPTER THREE
“I feel kind of bad that I came here but am not inside socializing,” I said as I looked back towards the clubhouse, the silhouettes of my classmates moving around inside visible through the windows. “But not that bad!” I laughed and took another sip of my wine. Matty and I had been talking for over an hour, continuing to bridge our sixteen-year separation gap. The time we’d been apart seemed to easily melt away, and I was feeling nearly as comfortable with him as I had when we were young. It made me happy to know that our connection had been real, that I hadn’t just imagined it in my teen angst. He appeared to be as genuinely interested in hearing about my life as I was his.
“I haven’t been to any of my reunions; I never felt connected to the high school I graduated from, nor my college. They actually had their ten-year reunion, too, a couple of weeks ago, but I wasn’t interested,” Matthew fiddled with his beer bottle; like me, he was only taking small sips of his drink. “I honestly hate remembering my junior and senior years of high school and even college; I just didn’t fit in the way I had in Springville. I never found a better group of friends than I had with you guys. Or a best friend like you, Leah,” he added with a small smile, which made my heart swell.
“Well, we would love to have you at our next reunion,” I said with genuine sincerity, even though I had skipped the five- and ten-year events, myself, due to work. “You’re still a Springville High alum in our hearts, Matty.” And I meant it, as even though I hadn’t been able to attend a reunion, I was still close to many of our old friends thanks to the power of social media. I had also been able to catch up in person with several over the years during my trips home to visit my parents before they moved.
“Thanks,” he replied with a shy grin. “You know, Leah,” he paused before blurting out, “I wanted to call you so badly during those first months in California. I even begged my parents to let me come back to live with Jimmy. They forbid me to call, and they didn’t even entertain the thought of letting me move back or even visit. They kept telling me to just forget the past and to focus on the future. Since we were half-way across the country, they wanted me to just plow ahead and act like we’d never even lived in Springville. Eventually I just gave into their wishes as it was easier than arguing with them. I tried to forget, too, as missing everyone hurt too much.”
“I was so mad at you when you didn’t get in touch!” I practically shouted in reply, unable to hold it back any longer. I hadn’t wanted to ever tell him that, but in that moment, I could no longer keep it in. Hearing his own remorse made me determined to share mine. “I was angry at you for not calling or even writing. When I didn’t hear from you, I assumed you didn’t want to talk to me; so, I never tried getting in touch myself. I was scared that you might have moved on and had already forgotten me.”
