Kindergarten buddies, middle school nerds, high school out casts, and finally we’re here. We are college preps. Together once again, at the same college, but still not together like I wish. He’s such a gentlemen, opens doors for me, pulls out my chair, buys me coffee in the morning, everything a good boyfriend does. But he’s not a good boyfriend, he’s my best friend.












…



My phone started buzzing in my pocket while we were in the library studying with our newly found friends.


“You should take that.” His cool, icy breath smoothed over my face.
“Yeah, I should take it, be right back” I tried to be as seductive as he was.


“Hello?”
“Marcie? It’s Hayley… I have some bad news” Hayley’s, my sister’s, voice sounded somber and not in a peppy, cheerful mood.


“What? Broke a nail? Had a tough break up?” I was being as sarcastic as I could with her, just like I always am.
“No, stop playing, mom’s in the hospital, and they’re not sure if she’s going to be able to live” Her voice started shaking, she’d been crying.


“No, no, no, no. Mom can’t be in the hospital. What happened? Is she OK? She’s not going to die, right?” As I stuttered the word ‘die’ a tear ran down my face and I started trembling. I ran into the library, grabbed my back pack and ran out while still on the phone with Hayley.


“Marcie! Marcie, wait, where are you going?!” Robby questioned with wonder.
I didn’t say a word; I just left and started running back to me and Robby’s dorm. I was going to back my things, and catch the soonest plane out of New York City back to Tennessee. What I didn’t know was that Robby was coming with me. He followed me all the way home.


“Marcie, did I do something? What’s happening? Would you please give me some explanations?” He questioned. Questions, off the bat, back to back. I couldn’t take it much longer so I tossed the phone at him with Hayley still on the line.


“…Hello?”
“Robby? Listen, I need you and Marcie to come back to Tennessee as soon as possible. I don’t have time to explain but possibly Marcie can on the way there if she’s not too torn up. Okay, thanks doll, bye-bye.” Hayley’s sweet voice echoed in Robby’s ears. He didn’t even pick up a bag, or anything. He just grabbed my hand, and we ran like the wind to the New York airport. We bought our tickets and caught a plane. When we sat down, I was still trembling, I could hardly breath. And Robby, being the wonderful friend he is, didn’t want me to say a word. He just stroked my hair out of my face and wiped away my tears as they fell one by one down my cheek.


“It’s all going to be okay sweetie, I don’t know what it is, but I know that as long as you have God in your heart, you’ll be fine dear.” He spoke, his voice ran through me, his words repeating themselves.


“No! No I’m not going to be okay Robby! MY MOM IS DYING! And I can’t go through this alone. I have no one, no one to comfort me, no one to kiss me, no one to hold me, no one to tell me they love me and actually mean it!” I absolutely broke down, and pushed him off of me.
“Marcie, I’m here for all of that. I love you, always have and I always will.” He kissed my cheek, then my nose, then cupped my face into his hand and kissed my lips. What was happening was making a little ballerina in my stomach perform the nutcracker and made me feel like I should be doing it with her.


I had to pull away from the kiss because I couldn’t breathe. I grabbed his shoulder and pushed myself off of his plump, warming lips.


“Why now? Why are you just telling me this now?” As I questioned him, I questioned myself ‘And why are you asking this? Why aren’t you enjoying your first kiss from your first love on your first plane on your way to see your dying mother?’


“Well, because now you showed you really need me. Before, I thought ‘She doesn’t need me, she’s got plenty of other guys’ and today, right here, I realized that you do need me as much as I need you.” His voice trembled when he talked, I guess because he was nervous, maybe because he was feeling as if we were in kindergarten again when he kissed my cheek and we got married under the weeping willow tree.


“I do need you, Robby. And I do love you.” After that I kissed his fingers, every one of them. He laughed somewhat queerly, and smiled at me while saying “So you really do love me, huh, Marc?”


“Yes Rob, I really love you.”
“Man, if we were in kindergarten again, I’d totally be going ewe!” He smirked and laughed along with me. I was laughing, which was proof that I was in love. At a time like this, I should be crying and mourning over my almost dead mama. But I wasn’t, because Robby consumed my face every day with a smile. I couldn’t be sad with him.


“Robby, sing me a song, it’s been so long since I’ve heard your voice.” Robby’s voice was like an angel, he could really make it big with that singing voice.
“Okay,”
So he sang me Spanish lullabies, as I fell asleep into his arms, on the 2 hour long plane ride. His arms were comforting, and welcoming. And they were perfectly made to hold my body close to his.