Been Here All Along

20| despacito

"You're with me, you've been here along." - Hannah Montana

"You look beautiful, by the way," Ian told me as he drove around looking for a parking spot.

   For our little outing to the Boston common, I decided to dress on the cuter side. I'm wearing a white off-the-shoulder long sleeve top and a light wash jean skirt. All it took to decide on my outfit was basically putting on a whole fashion show Ian.

   Ian was initially wearing khaki shorts and a Nike t-shirt, but I begged him to change. I wanted both of us to look cute when we went out. I talked him into wearing a nice pair of white shorts and a blue short-sleeved button-up. And he looked good in it, for sure.

   "Thank you," I flashed him a grin.

  Ian squeezed himself into a parallel parking spot, fitting perfectly.

   Fun fact about Ian: he's a god at parallel parking and always has been. It's one of his crazy natural talents. Like, any normal person would not have even bothered squeezing in the space he was given just now, but he did and succeeded. I wonder how he's going to get out, but I don't doubt that he will be able to.

   We got out of the car and started walking, Ian leading the way.

   Basically from what I've seen driving around, the Boston common is a public park with beautiful scenery and lots of people going about their days in all different ways. There were happy couples sitting in the shade at picnic tables, families laughing and throwing frisbees with their dogs, teens walking and gossiping, and individuals doing things like reading or listening to music.

   It seems like a nice place to have in your town. I wonder if the Boston common is to Boston people like Westchester is to Miami people.

   "Have you been here before?" I asked Ian. He walked and talked like he's been here time and time again.

   "I came with Hayden when I visited in high school, and with my family when I came here after finishing my enlistment." So a couple of times. Ian's smart enough to remember the gist of the layout though.

   "It's really pretty." The flower patches are probably my favorite part from what I've seen so far. Each individual flower glowed with pride and delicacy. Whomever is in charge of taking care of them is doing a great job.

   Ian and I continued to walk while he pointed things out and shared interesting facts. He was a good tour guide for only have been here twice before.

   Despite coming to terms with Ian's departure four years ago, I still can't help but wonder what he'd be like after four years at a school like MIT and in a city like Boston.
   I mean, look at Hayden for example. He's a changed man. I didn't think there'd ever come a day where I could look at Hayden and take him seriously, let alone take him seriously while he's dressed all professionally for his genius job.

   "What's running through your mind, Papps?"

   I've thought about it time and time again, where everyone's lives would be if Ian didn't enlist when he did. Has Ian? So I asked.

   "Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you waited until after college to go into the army?" I made sure my tone was completely filled with curiosity, not resentment. I have never and will never resent Ian for his decision.

   "Yeah," he nods, looking down at his feet. "Want to sit?" That must mean this conversation is going somewhere. We took a seat at a nearby, unoccupied bench. "I would think about it all the time while I was on base."