Young

Chapter One

Logan was going to Europe to study abroad. He said his class would go from France to Ukraine. He traveled a lot so I was use to the goodbyes. His fingers moved across the contents of his bag, checking and double-checking. Logan always wanted to be sure, he was a perfectionist. After I had gone through his packing list for the fifth time he was finally satisfied. Just before I was convinced he had everything, "Don't forget your camera, I want pictures," I said as I kiss his warm cheek. As usual, he turned away from my kiss. He never liked displays of affection, it was a side effect of his condition. Logan had a empathy deficiency that came with high intelligence. The doctors said the smarter their patients are the less the patient cares about. He was always all about academics. He was good at anything and everything he did without struggle. Some people found this annoying. He was safe, responsible and reliably. He was just what I needed. I had seen this the first day I met him. We met on a college visit, in a class sit-in. It was an advanced literature class. We were assigned group work on Shakespeare, Logan was in my group. The other two people in our group promptly started to make out and completely disregard the assignment. Logan and I just looked at each other, slightly annoyed. Then I looked down at my textbook. I cringed under pressure as I realized I knew nothing about Shakespearian literature, not one clue. It all mystified me. I had struggled with it for so long. The weird names in the text always seemed to confuse me. I never liked group work because that left my grade in someone else's hands, but at that moment, I was worried that my grade would be in my own hands. I looked over at logans paper, already full and organized. He caught my wide-eyed stare and sighed. "Do you need assistance?" he asked me, annoyed. I frowned and said, "Is it that obvious? I'm sorry." I slipped lower into my seat, embarrassed. He saw my genuine struggle and lightened his expression. "Okay", he said "Let's just take it one line at a time and translate it from there." He took the jumbled language of Venus and Adonis and made it all comprehendible. I felt comfort that he was the one with everything figured out when I didn't. I had been by his side ever since.
He zipped his bags, taking one last look around the room. "Okay, I'm ready." His parents were waiting for us in the car when we got outside. His father got out and helped load Logan's bags. I got in the backseat, Mrs. Arkansas looked at me through the rear view mirror while putting on her lipstick, and smiled. She was a real estate agent in South Lincoln, her husband, a successful insurance broker, both upper class Americans. "So, Veta, what are you going to do for the summer while Logan is away?", she asked. "I'm not sure," I said. I would be working at the office with my mother, helping out until her assistant comes back from maternity leave. Other than that the rest of the summer seemed pretty bleak. I had few friends from Key Club but most would be at a camp or halfway around the world.
Our relationship was pretty prioritize. I mean between debate team practice, charities, and not to mention his "pointless" comics ban, which I secretly opposed greatly. Nothing else seemed to matter. No time for anything else. And usually he would get frustrated with my friends so it seemed easier just to hang out with his friends. They were the only ones who could handle him. I didn't see it as bad, it just was what it was.
As we made our way to the airport, Logan discussed political views with his parents, I just sat there, looking out the window. I looked down at where my hand rested on the seat and I wondered why it was so far from Logan's. It didn't surprise me. He had only ever kissed me once throughout our 2 years together. When we meet, I couldn't even imagine anyone hugging or showing any affection, neither could he. So the feeling was neutral. But now I find myself wishing for more, for.... Love. Even after two years the words, "I love you," never left our lips.
We arrived at the airport, said our goodbyes and left him to his task of boarding. No hug or kiss goodbye just, "See you in two months."