I'm Always Yours

Prologue

SEPTEMBER 1990

Despite summer vacation being long gone, the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. A Saturday with no rain was exciting for kids who wanted to play outside and for parents who wanted a quiet house for the day.

The Billings had moved to Los Angeles from Colorado only a month prior. This meant a big change for 9-year-old Doug and 7-year-old Marley. Neither of them had wanted to move since it meant leaving their school and all their friends.

Doug was lucky. As soon as they started the semester at their new school, he made friends almost instantly. He would come home every day and tell his sister about the trouble they had gotten up to that day.

Marley, however, didn't have her older brother's luck. During her first few weeks of school, she found it hard to come out of her shell. None of the kids in her grade had introduced themselves to her, and she found herself too nervous to approach them. Even her teacher wasn't as nice as her old one. She couldn't help but be jealous of Doug and how simple it was for him to make friends.

But, she knew that outside of school, she would always have Doug to spend time with. The two of them had been inseparable from the moment Marley was born.

And that was why Marley did her best to keep a smile on her face on this particular Saturday. Doug had asked their mom if his two new friends could come over, leaving Marley thinking she would be spending her Saturday playing with her toys alone. Her brother had told her she could play with them too, but she told him she didn't want to embarrass him, despite him saying that wasn't possible.

She was sitting at the kitchen table, colouring in her Barbie colouring book, when the doorbell rang. The bell was followed by fast footsteps coming down the stairs.

"I'll get it!" Doug called out, excitement lacing his voice.

Her mom, who was sitting across from her, reading a book, chuckled slightly. "I wonder who it is." She said sarcastically.

Doug walked through the kitchen door with a wide smile on his face. Following behind him were two boys. One of them had glasses, and the other was carrying a basketball.

"Mom, Marley, this is Stu and Phil." Doug pointed at each of them, letting Marley know who was who. "We're gonna go to the park down the street and play basketball. Is that okay?"

"Of course!" Marley's mom agreed, since the park wasn't that far. "Have fun."

"Thanks! It was nice to meet you." Stu replied, politely.

The three boys walked out of the kitchen, so Marley gave them a wave and went back to her almost completed page of Barbie on a boat with a sailor. Before she could even get her crayon back on the page, a voice caught her attention.

"Hey, Marley?"

She looked up to see Phil in the doorway.

"Why don't you come with us? We need an even number."

She was confused. Why would they want a girl to play basketball with them? And why would Doug even want his little sister there? She had never even played the game before, and her brother knew that.

"Thanks, but I don't know how to play." She smiled at him and shrugged.

"I can teach you!" He offered, "Come on, it'll be fun."

Marley looked to her mother, who only gave her a nod of approval. She felt a big smile growing on her face as she looked back at the boy. "Okay, let's go."

Phil smiled even wider as she got up from the table and began following him out of the house. Doug and Stu were waiting for them outside the front door.

"This is great!" Stu smiled at Marley. "Now we can play as proper teams. Marley, maybe next time you can bring some of your friends to play too."

Before she could begin to embarrass herself and tell them that she hadn't made any friends yet, Phil spoke up. "We're her friends now!"

Stu nodded in agreement, and she couldn't help but smile at them. Doug gave her a nod and a grin, knowing he was right before when he said she couldn't embarrass him.

They began the short walk down the street to the park.

"You like Barbie?" Phil asked her, pointing to the pink T-shirt with the doll logo written across it.

She felt her cheeks heat up slightly with embarrassment. Would he think Barbie was lame and girly?

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Cool." He nodded, "Maybe I should start calling you Barbie. It kind of sounds like Marley."

She let out a giggle and shook her head, "Sure. Why not?"

As the four of them got to the park, Marley wondered why Phil made her laugh so easily and why he was so eager to give her a nickname.

He'll probably forget about the nickname after today anyway. She thought to herself.