Silence fell over us as waves of heat radiated from every direction. There was so much I wanted to ask Kelly I didn’t know where to begin. It was evident it would take time to hear the full story about Nico. I took seven deep breaths and plunged in. “Listen, I don’t want to keep you from wherever you’re going but I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me some time.”
Kelly smiled. “What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know, dinner maybe, perhaps this weekend.”
“Tell you what. I’m on my way to buy my textbooks. If you don’t have plans, why don’t you come with me. We can go to lunch afterwards, and then…” She let the sentence trail off.
“And then what?”
She shrugged. “Then we’ll see.”
That was a year and a half ago. Kelly and I have been living together for the past year and we’re graduating this spring. Kelly’s been accepted at State for their Veterinarian Medicine program and I have a job lined up with their Computing Resources Department. We plan on getting married next summer. I’ve never been happier.
Nico has stayed with me, haunting my memories. She did come to me in my dreams once and did as she promised. When I awoke I was making love to Kelly. I don’t know if that really was Nico’s ghost or just the memory of her, but quite frankly, it doesn’t matter to me.
All I know is, I owe her so much.
For Nico. I love you and I miss you.