The Summer

Those 3 months. A memory locked deep in my heart. Its keys in her eyes.

Like a late spring bloom, the petals of our relationship slowly unfurled, but not quickly enough. The sly jabs and witty banter evolved into messages trailing late into the night. The tone became softer as we connected on a deeper level.

With each passing conversation, the tinge of affection grew. But I kept mum, afraid to jeopardize the friendship. She did too. However, on the last day, the secret needed to escape. And it did, in a blurted confession before we parted ways. She seemed taken aback, which became a catalyst for all possible negative scenarios to rush to the forefront of my mind. A second passed.

Then another, and other. Before she gave me half a laugh, the nervous kind. I was pretty sure I was done for.

“I like you too, but”

Ah, there it was, the “but.”

“But we only have 3 months before we go to the opposite ends of the country. This is not going to end well.”

A wave of relief washed over, taking all but one worry.

“But why worry about the future and skip out on the present?”

She still wasn’t convinced.

“But … but … but what if we go into it knowing that there is an expiry date attached. It will give it meaning. We will cherish every moment knowing that it won’t happen again and create a core happy memories?”

Her face lightened up a bit, and she agreed to a trial period of one date.

The first date was awkward, and so was the second. However, by the third, our relationship slowly began morphing into an extension of our previous friendship. The jovial leg-pulling was reintroduced alongside the candle-lit dates.

On the backs of one of the midsummer showers, we drove away from the bleeding lights of the town to gaze upon the skies. Under the light of a thousand stars, we ate, laughed, and danced. We waltzed, slow-danced, and tried a bit of swing dancing to the lyrics of Porter, the voice of Valli, and the rhythm of Goodman. The ride back was quiet other than the smooth tunes of a slow jazz saxophone. Both of us were lost in each other’s thoughts. Her smile, sparkling eyes, and laughter from those dates remain permanently engraved many years later.

As the expiration date approached, we began drifting apart, but a small part of us tried to still latch on. That part still remains attached. Our paths took us in opposite directions, and in the decades since, our contact and tabs petered out. I hope that she is content and happy wherever life has taken her. Despite losing her name and with the details fogging up, the emotions of the summer will remain.