Yrs Forever

My Dear John

Alexander wrapped a scarf loosely around his neck, contemplating whether it was obvious that he was eager to impress. After a few minutes, he pulled the scarf off, slumped his back pack over his shoulder, and marched out of his apartment, before he could change his mind.

Laurens.

He had had a busy year. When he was offered a job at the Washington Post, he couldn't refuse. The pay was much better than working as a freelance writer, and he finally had some stability that he had always craved. His own excitement was matched only by his best friend's. Alexander had everything going for him: a new job, his best friend, and a lovely (albeit small) apartment.

Laurens.

The cold wind hitting his cheeks was ignored as thoughts of John flooded his mind. Would they still be as close as before their year apart? Of course they had kept contact, sending each other emails in an attempt to bridge the geographical gap between them, but lately their communication had thinned. Both of them were insanely busy. John was in South Carolina, doing some volunteer work. Well, the initial plan was to do "some work, to give back to the community, you know" as John had put it. But weeks turned into months, and soon John was employed part-time at a local aquarium.

John had always loved animals. His interest in natural science was instilled in him since a young age, by his nature enthusiast mother.

In fact, the first time John and Alexander met was when an obviously inebriated John was loudly defending his turtle drawings from the light-hearted taunts of his friends. The bar was pretty small, so everyone got an earful of John yelling "they just look like that!" as he got louder and louder. Alexander was drawn to this ragtag group of friends, and, being surprised by the intelligent conversations they had together that night, soon became fast friends with the three men.

Laurens.

Alexander was almost shocked when he was face to face with the door of John's apartment. He had walked here almost on autopilot, so familiar with the path between their two houses. He unlocked the door, with the spare key John had no doubt forgotten he had given him. Alexander flicked on the lights, and basked in the comforting glow of the familiar place.

It would be an hour until John would arrive.