The Beginning

He was a senior; she, a junior. They had met and become casual friends that year; they talked pleasantly, flirted occasionally. To her, he seemed so different from the other college boys: he wore jeans and shoes, rather than sweatpants and sneakers; he had a leather jacket and tinted glasses; he carried a handkerchief. He was hard working, mature, confident in himself. He had a flock of female friends and admirers. She was too shy of him to try to get to know him better, and envied the girls who would visit him in the architecture studio. She had a crush on him. She knew she never had a chance.

They sat at the same table during lunch one afternoon. It was near the end of the school year and their idle conversation turned to a school-wide party being held that evening. She inquired, "Are you going?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Well, Paulina isn't going, Colleen isn't going...." He rattled off the names of four or five girls who weren't attending. She cringed inwardly, saddened and jealous of the lucky girls with whom he would have considered going to the party.

She had a sudden realization. Opportunity was knocking.

She carefully questioned: "Is the problem that you have no one to go with?"

"Yes."

Her heart skipped a beat. Time stood still. The door was open. Did she dare step through? A lifetime passed. Two lifetimes. An eternity. Three seconds.

"Would you like to go with me?"

"Yes!"

Thus began the journey of Herself and her Beloved.