PERFECT PLACES

Cole (1)

As soon as Cole heard her voice as she talked to him for the first time, he was convinced that he needed to be with her. He was very sure of himself. The second time he talked to her, he asked her out on a date. Sarah knew it was ridiculous to say yes to a date with a boy she had just met. But she followed her instincts and agreed to go with him to an afternoon movie.

She did not regret her decision.

Three weeks and three dates later, Cole asked her to be his girlfriend. He asked her this over dinner one night and she was surprised that he had decided to ask her so soon after having just met her. But she said yes anyway. Something about it just felt right; she couldn't explain why. He just felt like the right person to agree to such a thing with. In a short period of time, he already felt like the right decision to make. She was fascinated by him.

They continued dating for months and months. There was no end in sight. Everything continued perfectly clicking into place as they spent more and more time together. Both of them were quickly convinced that they had found their soulmate. And everyone loved them as a couple at school, too. People frequently went up to Cole and Sarah to tell them that if they ever broke up, they would lose all hope in love. It was a strange thing to say to a couple. But it meant that their love was obvious and inspiring. The universe was telling them they were following the right path by staying together.

They dated all the way through high school, spending at least a few hours together on most days. She was his best friend, and he was hers.

When it finally came time to choose which college to go to, it was easy for Cole to decide. He wanted to go somewhere outside of the city he lived in, but he didn't want to go so far away that it would be hard to see his family. He also wanted to go somewhere reputable. And he really didn't want to part ways with Sarah, if at all possible. Sarah wanted to stay with Cole too, and she wanted to go to one of two schools: one was in the city they lived in and the other one was the school that Cole had in mind, which was three hours away from their hometown. They both decided they wanted to go there before they talked about it to each other for the first time.

By pure coincidence, they both got accepted into their favourite school on the same day. They immediately agreed that it was a sign to accept their offers, so they accepted them within a few hours of getting them.

Their story is more optimistic than most. As every graduating class of high school students goes, the too-new couples mutually agreed to break things off at graduation or after that last summer ended, and the long-term couples all agreed they would stay together, either while living in the same city or by long distance. And of course, in either a few months or a few years the long-distance couples will break up too, after one or both of them finds a new in-person partner to be with. And most of the couples lucky enough to stay living in the same city together will eventually break up as well, after realizing how many interesting and beautiful people exist outside of their high school who are even more beautiful and interesting than the person they had sworn to be with forever. But a few would survive the whole mess, and they would stay together for the rest of their lives. Everyone who knew them would agree that Cole and Sarah were likely going to be one of those lucky pairs.

You could say that luck actually had nothing to do with it. Because Cole and Sarah were nearly inseparable. They had very similar personalities, they had overlapping hobbies, and they were very attracted to one another. If you asked them about this, they would agree with each other that the other person completed them perfectly.

Their favourite thing to do was to go to small independent movie theatres and watch small independent movies on a small movie screen. They did this once every two weeks. They haven't missed a bi-weekly movie night in over four years. And they probably never will, as they enjoy it far too much.

The part of Cole's story that I've decided to write about in detail begins on the first day of college of his freshman year. Sarah is away, on a long trip to France and Italy with her parents. She will miss the first two weeks of college, but all of her fall professors know this and she has made arrangements to make up the assignments she will be missing. She wishes she could be there for orientation week to meet her residence floor as they all meet each other for the first time, but it has been her dream to go to Europe for all of her life and her parents have finally offered her a chance to go. So that's where she is, and Cole is alone, on his residence floor, about to attend his first floor meeting.

He misses her already.