Blood in the Water

Forever and Always

   I looked at the small playground equipment as Connor and I entered the park. This park held more memories than I could count. The most important one was our first kiss. Now that it was July, our anniversary had arrived. This park was where Connor asked me to be his girlfriend. He brought us here, after our gourmet dinner.

"Let's go sit at the top," Connor instructed.

     We climbed up the slide and sat on the top of the equipment. We leaned against the metal bars behind us. The nostalgia was unreal. I was staring at the spot where he asked me to be his girlfriend. It was in the grassy area in front of a large tree. We carved our initials into the bark, and they were still there, three years later.

"I see the A+C from here," I told him.
"Me too. It's like it was yesterday," he said.
"I know. I don't want to get any older god," I explained.
"At least we get to do it together," he replied.
"You're right."

      The initials were faded but still there. They withstood all of their obstacles, just like we did. We faded after the attack, but we came back stronger than ever.

"Oh my god Connor do you remember the secret hideout?" I asked him.
"How could I forget," he laughed.
"Let's go see it," I convinced him.

     We walked across the park, clasping our hands tight. We used to go here to get away from the other kids and talk. We would talk about what we wanted in the future.

"Remember what we would talk about. I was crazy back then," I said.
"Not as crazy as me. I wanted to have a house on the ocean," he laughed.
"We all did, let's be real," I told him.

      We had arrived at the two evergreen trees we used to lay under. I took the left and he took take right. We both lay down on our stomachs under the branches, just like old times. I was trying to think what had changed. What we wanted for our future was different now.

"Let's see. What do we still want in the future?" I asked.
"I still want to play football," he said.
"Well of course. I still want lots of animals," I added.
"I'll make sure you have plenty. Anything you want from a dog to a goat," he told me.
I grinned at the thought of our future.
"I want to be a lawyer now, not a physical trainer," he said.
"I still want to be a doctor, that won't change."
"You'll be a great doctor," he told me.
"Thank you."
"We'll have two kids, one boy and one girl. We have to have kids. I used to want to be empty nesters but I refuse to follow that old dream," I said.
"I want to have your babies," he said.
"Me too."

      We stared at each other in silence. Things were different now, yet so similar. He was still my Connor. The best man I could ever ask for.

"What about the wish stones?" I asked.
"I bet they are still there. We buried those suckers good," he said.
"Let's go get them," I said.

      When we were eight, we buried stones we painted in the flower garden. It was on the very edge so we would be able to find them. We made our way over there and started clearing the dirt. We found six stones. They were dirty, but still legible.

"Oh, Alyssa yours says you hope to get a puppy! You have one now," he said.
"Thanks to you."

      We cleaned off his rock and read it.

"I wanted to play for the dragons," he said.
"You're the hottest starting quarterback out there," I told him.
"Thank you, sweetheart."
"Let's bury theirs again so they can find them on their own," he thought.
"For sure."

     We covered up the remaining rocks and decided it was best for them to find their way to them.

"Let's go back to the tree," I said.
"Perfect."