At the opening ceremony, Amy was part of a round table discussion on new products and companies.  She gave a five-minute presentation on their new concept in decision-based gaming, as well as the new company.  When she was done, the Master of Ceremonies asked her a few questions.  She was the youngest CEO ever at their show, as well as one of the very rare females running a tech company. 

“Amy, how did you get here?  You’re eighteen years old, and the President and CEO of a rising game company,” Tripp Tyler, the show MC asked.

“Well, Tripp, it might be as much of a shock to me as everyone else.  My boyfriend’s sister… I mean, my sister-in-law… is an amazing chef, but she was having trouble organizing herself to build a business around it.  I offered to help her put together a business plan and procure funding, then build out her kitchen and launch her business.  As we were in the later stages, my father’s company had a computer game that had been mostly developed by one of the programmers in his spare time.  They wanted to get it finished up and I was asked if I could take on managing the project.”

“And that led to this?”

“Largely, yes.  The game was pretty well developed… but I saw it as limited.  I hired some gamers I knew to consult and see if they could push the boundaries of the game… make more decisions, have more valid game paths.  Then I hired another consultant to clean up the story and make it flow more like a book.  Finally, I went back to the programming team with the new material and had them code it all in.  We added some randomization that makes gameplay different each time it is played and made some other tweaks to make play more challenging and not just a matter of making a flow chart of how to get through it.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I had the opportunity to play a pre-production version of the game and it is really cool.  It reads like a novel, but I was controlling the steps,” Tripp told the crowd before turning back to Amy, “So what’s next for Prince Interactive Gaming?”

“We are hard at work on our next projects.  I don’t want to give away the details yet, but we expect several titles in the first half of next year.  We are going to focus on some educational gaming opportunities, using real historical events and how they could be affected by different decisions.  We are also looking a couple of generations down the road and designing some games for platforms that haven’t been developed yet.”

“I bet everyone would love to hear about that?”

“I bet they would,” Amy said with a laugh, “but I can’t talk about those projects for quite a while.”

There were scattered laughs around the audience at that comment… indeed, any of their competitors would have loved to know what their next steps were going to be. 

“One other thing, Amy,” the MC asked, “your logo is a pig and you have an animation of the Three Little Pigs playing a computer game while the Big Bad Wolf rages outside of the brick house.  Can you tell us about that?”

“Sure, Tripp,” Amy said with a smile.  “The initials of Prince Interactive Gaming form PIG.  We were pretty confident that it wouldn’t take long for everyone to figure that out.  Instead of hiding from it, we decided to get in front of it and have fun.  And the story of The Three Little Pigs is a perfect metaphor decision-based gaming.”

Apparently, she did a good job, because on the show’s first day, they had commitments from retailers for more sales than any other new game presented at the show.  One of the computer manufacturers was also trying to work a deal with them to have the game included with the purchase of their computers. 

***

“Baby, you knocked it out of the park today,” Jack told his wife at dinner after the close of the show for the day.  “You were amazing.  Your presentation was incredible and the poise you showed when you were interviewed was perfect.  I’m so proud of you.”

“You really think so, Jonathan?” she asked.

“Amy, I have seen a lot of leaders that had decades of experience that didn’t come off as smooth as you did today.  In every conversation, in addition to what Jack said about the presentation and interview, you were knowledgeable, confident, humble and well-spoken.  That is a tough combination for anyone to have,” Melody Grafton added. 

“Thanks, Melody.  I really appreciate that.  I was scared to death.”

“It didn’t show, Sweetheart,” her father told her.  “I don’t think anyone could have done it better.”

“I just felt like there were probably people thinking, ‘oh look, the eighteen-year-old daughter of a tech CEO just got handed an opportunity for free, without really deserving it’,” Amy responded.

Ed spoke up, “if they thought that before you presented, they didn’t think it after.  Being as objective as I can, what I saw was a very well put together young woman that knew her product and was at ease with everything around her.”

“Thanks.  And I think I know what we need to do next.”

“What’s that, Amy?” Bill asked.

“Well, the pig logo and the Three Little Pigs thing was a lark, but I think we need to do a mini-game with different options for the Three Little Pigs and offer it up as a freebie.  Maybe when people register their product or something.  That way we can build a database of our customers as we roll out new titles.”

“Bill, she’s smarter than us,” Ed said in response. 

“No doubt, my friend,” Bill replied.

Their plane took off at 3:47pm.  They were scheduled to arrive in Las Vegas at 6:18pm.  There was a limo waiting for them at the airport to take them to the hotel, as well as pick them up in the morning.  She was so glad to have Jonathan by her side.  Not only was he calm and comforting, but he had been incredibly organized getting everything ready for the trip. 

When the plane landed, Amy started to get nervous again.  They were walking through McCarran International Airport when they saw the driver holding a sign for Amy Dixon.  Amy laughed and asked Jonathan if he was the one that had done that. 

“Nope.  Your dad was the one responsible for the limo.”

“Wow,” Amy said, laughing.  “I guess he’s sending a message.”

***

Their limo took them to The Palms Hotel, where they were booked into a top floor suite.  They walked into the room, their bags following them with a Bellhop, and were struck by the amazing view of The Strip from the two-story windows.  The plan was that they would grab some dinner and then relax a little. 

As they walked through the lobby, Amy’s hand holding the inside of Jack’s elbow, Amy had an idea.  They walked through the doors, the driver waiting for them in front of the hotel.  The driver held the door for them.  Amy asked the driver if he could recommend a restaurant to them for dinner.  Someplace quiet and nice.  He had just the place… 

They stepped through the doors of a small steakhouse just west of downtown.  It wasn’t glitzy, but the driver gushed about their steaks.  He knew the owner and was able to get them a nice table.  Amy was hoping it was as good as he said it was. 

“Let’s get married tonight,” Amy said to Jack.

“What?  Tonight?  Are you sure?”

“I think the sign was a sign.  We can go to the same place both our parents were married.  I would guess it’s still in business.”

“Little Church of the West?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”  Then a smile spread across Amy’s face.  “You were thinking about it too, weren’t you?”

“Maybe a little,” Jack said with a grin. 

They finished their dinner and rushed excitedly to the limo.  They asked the driver to take them to the Little Church of the West, which he did.  It was only a few minutes away.  Both Amy and Jack were smiling through the whole trip.  They pulled up in front of the wedding chapel and hurriedly made their way to the door.

“I wish I was wearing something nicer,” Amy said to Jack, “and that you were in a suit.”

“Maybe they have something inside.  I’m sure plenty of people show up with the same thought.”

“I bet you’re right,” Amy said as she walked through the door Jack opened for her.

As she turned and walked through the door, her mother said, “I have your dress, Amy.”

Amy looked around the entryway.  Both of her parents were standing there, her mother holding a wedding dress.  Jack’s parents were standing there next to them, his mother holding a suit.  Nicole was there, as were Gunny and Melody.  After a few moments of stunned silence, she turned back to Jack, “You did this?”

“Kind of…”

“How?”

“We planned it out before I proposed.”

Bill looked at Jack, “How did you convince her to get married tonight?”

“It was her idea.  We started talking about it at dinner and then came over,” Jack replied.  “I think it was the sign you had made that did it.”

“What sign?” Bill asked.

“That would be me, Bill,” Melody chimed in.  “I thought it would be funny to have the limo driver’s sign say ‘Amy Dixon’.”

“That did the trick, Melody.  After seeing that, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.  Me, too,” Jack replied.

Jack looked over at Amy.  She had tears rolling down her cheeks.  She hugged her mother and then her father.  Then she hugged Jack’s parents and his sister.  Then she grabbed Melody and Gunny and gave them hugs, too.  After making sure they were all hugged and letting each of them know how much she appreciated their being there, she went into the Bride’s Dressing room with her mother and Jack’s mother.  Jack and the fathers went into the Groom’s Room so that they could talk while he dressed. 

“Jack, I have to say that was something else.  Your dad and I both managed to surprise our wives with their families when we ‘eloped’, but nothing like this.  It was her idea, you say?” Bill asked.

“Yes, Sir.  I was going to say something, but she beat me to it.”

“Son, I have to say that I am proud of you.  I have seen you grow since you have been with Amy.  I’ve watched you turn into the man I always wanted you to be.  I never thought I would be eager to see my eighteen-year-old son getting married, but I do believe that you and Amy will be as happy as your mother and I,” Ed told his son.

Bill, not to be left out, told the young man, “Jack, I couldn’t be happier for you, or my daughter.  I thought I would dread the day when I had to walk her down the aisle and give her away.  But I am beyond thrilled that the man I am giving her to is you.”

Jack and Ed walked from the room, Bill on their heels.  All three were in dark blue suits.  The two Dixon men walked up the aisle to wait with the Justice of the Peace, while Bill waited for his daughter so that he could walk her up the aisle and give her away.

When Amy stepped into the room, Jack’s jaw dropped.  He’d never seen her look more stunning.  As she came up the aisle, Jack actually had to hold back tears.  So did Amy as she saw him choked up from seeing her. 

They had written their own vows on their planning weekend at Carova Beach… and Jack pulled the slips of paper from his pocket.  They each read their vows to the other.  A few moments later they were married. 

After they ran back up the aisle in a shower of confetti, Bill announced that they would have a reception the next Saturday back in Hampton.  Then he turned and said quietly to his daughter, “check out those business cards I had printed for you.  Only the first few have Prince on them.  All the rest say Amy Dixon.”

“Really, Daddy?  You were that confident?”

“Sweetheart, the two of you have loved each other since you met.  It took you a little while to work out the kinks, but we all knew that it wouldn’t be long after graduation before you got married.  It’s just a bit of a bummer that on the day after your wedding you have to work.  Your boss must be a hard case.” “Don’t you know it… Boss,” she said to her father before giving him a final hug before leaving with her husband. 

They unloaded the groceries they had picked up on the way down and put everything away.  Then they poured themselves a couple of cold drinks and made their way to the balcony that looked out on the beach and the Atlantic Ocean, beyond.  The Banker Horses that roamed the area beaches were walking along the shoreline, ignoring the fishermen and surfers with whom they shared the beach. 

“Can you believe it, Jonathan?” Amy asked.

“We’ve graduated, we’re engaged and we’re sitting in the house where either or both of our lives could have ended a year and a half ago?  It has been an eventful two years.”

“Parts of it are surreal.  Everything that happened the night you were shot is a blur.  Now, it almost seems like it happened to someone else… that I wasn’t part of it.  And then it crashes into me and I have nightmares,” Amy said.

Jack slipped onto the loveseat next to her.  She snuggled into him and he put his arm around her.  “I’m so thankful that we all made it through that night.”

“Me, too, Jonathan.”

“So, we have this wonderful escape and there are so many things we need to talk about.  But all I really want to do is sit here and hold you.  This is so perfect… this moment.”

Both of them had applied to take classes at Christopher Newport College, and both had been easily accepted.  They’d had a discussion a long time ago about taking a year or two locally before “heading off” to finish their degrees.  They’d also had several conversations about what they would be studying. 

Jack had found himself more and more drawn to photography and writing.  He’d started shooting pictures for the school yearbook, and really enjoyed it.  Then, when his sister started turning her cooking into a business, she’d asked him if he could take pictures of her creations.  He found that he loved that even more.  And he’d found that he was pretty good at it.  He also picked up a knack for writing he didn’t know he had.  When Amy’s father was building the pick-up truck that he’d bought at the same time Jack’s dad had bought his Mustang, he photographed the build process.  He documented every step of the build.  But when he contacted a magazine about publishing the photos, they said they needed a write-up to go with them.  He put together a story and they turned it into a six-part series in the magazine.  Since then he’d shot and written several other features on cars and trucks for a couple of different magazines. 

Amy had found a different skill hidden inside.  Nicole needed a business plan and asked her if she could help her put it together.  Ed was willing to finance a real commercial workspace for his daughter, but she needed to have a solid business plan to get the financing.  Amy worked with her and they developed a business plan that both young women were comfortable with as achievable.  And then, as Nicole started to implement it, Amy helped her manage the details of pulling everything together. 

Amy’s father had been very impressed with what he saw his daughter doing and offered her a project.  Steve Evans, the head of programming for Prince Systems, had a side project… a computer game.  Development had kind of stalled as Steve had dived into several other work-related projects.  The game wasn’t moving along.  Amy was tasked with finding a way forward for the game. 

She had only been on it for a few weeks, but Steve had been shocked with her progress.  She managed to get a couple of programmers from the office to work on the game when they had downtime from their other duties.  And she’d sat down with Cy Litton and Bobby Smith… both being drama nerds and computer gamers… to flesh out a more streamlined story.  What Steve had developed was good but limited in the paths that the main character could take.  There were only a couple of outcomes, even after dozens of decisions. After working through the possibilities with Cy and Bobby, they came up with a flow chart that had dozens of possible outcomes and a couple hundred decisions.  They had even added some randomization to make the story different each time it was played.  Finally, she hired Mrs. Foster, the Cheer Coach, to build out the text descriptions.  She taught most of the creative writing classes at school, and Amy thought she might be a good person to tap for writing better story lines. 

It was still a work in progress, but Amy, Steve and Bill were all excited about the market possibilities of the game.  It had gone from a slightly developed idea to a fully fleshed out plan in only a few weeks.  Now it only lacked the programming to be ready for market. 

“You told me last time that you hadn’t made a decision about what you wanted to do after school,” Amy related, “have you worked through that?”

“I want to be a freelance photographer and writer.  My concern, though, is income.  I don’t want to put the burden on you,” Jack answered. 

Amy leaned over and kissed him.  “That’s one of the reasons I love you Jonathan Dixon.  But I’ll tell you what… you give it a shot and we’ll worry about the income later.  You’ve barely turned eighteen, and you already have a dozen stories published.  All the magazines you have worked with are asking you for more.  And you haven’t even tapped anything but car magazines.  I have some ideas that you could produce that would make a splash onto a larger stage.”

“Ok, then I’ll give it a shot,” he replied… relieved.  He’d always been supportive of Amy, and she was just as eager to be supportive of him.  “Still looking at management and business development?”

“Absolutely.  Things are looking up, too, for the project.  I presented everything to Steve and Dad just before graduation, and they are onboard.  We are going to try to have everything ready to launch the first game in the fall.  There is a trade show in Las Vegas in October, and we want to launch there, then be ready for Christmas deliveries.  And we have a second title in planning…”

“What’s that?” Jack asked her.

“Your World War One Bomber story,” she said with obvious excitement.  “We learned so much with this first project that we can apply to that one…  It will be amazing.  And I talked to Mrs. Pellier about a series of educational games about history.”

“Wow.  You have it planned out.  I don’t feel worthy.”

“You’d better be kidding,” Amy said with a grin.  “You’ve inspired me more than I could have imagined.”  She reached over and punched him lightly. 

“Ok, ok.  Just don’t hurt me,” he said jokingly back.  “Are you sure you still want to get married?  I kind of put you on the spot.”

“I was in a daze… but I absolutely want to marry you.  The question for you is when… when should we set the date?  Or should we just run away like our parents?”

“What are we going to do if we need to go to different schools, like you for management and me for writing and photography?  Should we wait to figure that out?”

Amy looked at his eyes.  She didn’t want to wait.  She didn’t want to wait a single minute.  “I’ll go wherever you go.  My place is with you, Jonathan.”

“Funny… I was going to say the same thing.  And, to be honest, a particular school might be more important for you than me.  I can go anywhere you go,” he said back with a grin.  “How about we plan it for next June… maybe here on the beach?”

Jack had something else in mind.  He’d already been talking to both Amy’s parents and his own.  He had worked out his plan before he’d even asked her to marry him.  “A beach wedding would be beautiful.  And starting our life together where our lives could have ended is kind of poetic,” she replied.

As Lori Rose was giving her Valedictory address, Amy went over her speech in her head one last time.  Lori was wrapping up and Amy’s nerves were multiplying.  She glanced over to the beginning of the first row of graduates.  Jonathan gave her a thumbs up and blew her a kiss.  He mouthed ‘I believe in you’ before she looked back out into the audience.  She wasn’t sure where her parents were, but she looked around to see if she could spot them.  She also knew that Gunny, Melody and their whole team were in attendance. 

Lori finished up and Mr. Garrett stepped up to the microphone and introduced her.  Her knees were weak as she made her way to the podium.  She looked out again at the arena.  It sat twelve thousand people, but this evening there were perhaps a quarter of that in the seats, with another four hundred students on the floor, as well as the teachers and other school staff. 

“It was the best of times,” she began, “it was the worst of times. 

“Charles Dickens wrote those words to begin A Tale of Two Cities, in 1859.  It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…

“I think that is an incredibly accurate picture of our high school experience.  Emotional highs and lows, as well as academic triumphs and defeats.”  Amy continued for a few more minutes, recounting the experiences of the Class of ’83.  “In conclusion, this has been the time, and these have been the people that will remain fundamental to shaping our various futures.“

As she finished, from the corner of her eye, she spied Jonathan Dixon walking across the stage.  She turned, not knowing why he was walking toward her.  His stride was purposeful.  The look on his face was both taut and serene. 

Behind him a couple of paces was Principal Garrett.  He was supposed to take over speaking as her speech concluded, but he seemed to be waiting for something.  

As Jonathan got within a couple of steps of her, Amy saw the school’s principal hand him something.  Mrs. Foster, the Cheerleading Coach also walked up behind Jack and handed him something else. 

Jack put the microphone from Principal Garrett up to his mouth.  “Amy Prince, look out into the crowd.”

As she scanned the front row, she saw the message…  AMY PRINCE, WILL YOU MARRY ME?  Then, when she looked up, there was a banner strung across the front of the balcony saying the same thing.  As she looked at the banner, she saw her father at one end, Ed Dixon at the other end, and in the middle were her mom and Jack’s mom, both giving her a thumbs up. 

She turned back to Jonathan, who was now down on one knee, holding out the ring that Mrs. Foster had handed to him. 

“Amy Prince, I have loved you since the very first day I met you.  You walked into Mrs. Garrison’s class, and I didn’t know yet, but my life changed.  As we embark on the next stage of our lives, let’s take the rest of our journey together.  Will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”

Amy was in shock.  She knew that Jack wanted to marry her, and she knew that he would propose.  But this… this was a complete shock.  And there was nothing more she wanted than to be Mrs. Jonathan Dixon.  “Yes, Jonathan Dixon.  A thousand times, YES!” she said through tears of joy.

The assembled students let out a cheer.  There was applause from the audience.  Jack stood up and took his fiancé in his arms and twirled her around. 

Principal Garrett stepped to the microphone as Amy kissed Jack just behind him.  As he started to speak, they returned to their seats, Amy on stage and Jack on the first row down on the floor.  “How do I follow that?  But such is the life of a High School Principal.  But I have to say, I’m thrilled to have been a part of their story and wish them the happiest of lives.  This school will not be the same without them.”  After another few comments, he began the process of delivering the diplomas to all the students graduating. 

All too quickly, it was over.  The students headed toward the exit, looking for their families and friends, meeting them on the apron in front of the building.  Many had dinner reservations, others had graduation parties.  Some just wanted to go home. 

The Dixons, Princes, and a few others had booked a party room at Darryl’s 1895.  Amy hadn’t known that it was a two-fold celebration.  Apparently, she was the only one that hadn’t known about the proposal.  The room was decked out for both celebrations. 

“Wow, Son, what would you have done if she said no?” Ed asked Jack.

“Crawled under the stage and died, Dad… I don’t know what else I could have done.”

“It would have never happened, Mr. Dixon,” Amy added.  “I’ve been waiting for this day since ‘the party,’ when Jonathan said those words when he meant to ask me on our first date.”

Jack reddened at the thought.  He flashed back to the embarrassment he felt when, while struggling to ask Amy out, he instead asked her if she would marry him.  That was just about two years before, in tenth grade, and he’d had a crush on her since fourth grade.  It was only poor communication and fear of rejection on both of their parts that kept them apart that whole time. 

“I was so shocked.  I mean… I’d had a crush on him from the moment I saw him, and he was so sweet to me.  Part of me wanted to just kiss him right then and there.  And he turned white as a ghost when he realized what he said.  It was so cute.  I wanted to laugh, but not at him or in a mean way,“ Amy told Jack’s dad. 

“So, when do you kids think will be the big day?” Ed asked.

“We haven’t really talked about a date, yet.  I think we need to sit down and have a long talk about our goals, dreams and plans and see when we want to have a wedding,” Amy responded. 

“Yep.  I mean, part of me wants to do it right away, but the rational side of me knows that isn’t realistic.  We need to have a plan for both of us,” Jack added. 

“Sounds like you two are really wanting to do this the right way.  I’m glad to hear it,” The older Dixon said before walking away to join his wife and Chrissy.

***

“Hey, Bill, Jack’s grandparents still own that house in Vegas,” Ed said to his friend. 

Sharon piped in, “Chrissy and I were just talking… did you know that we all got married in the same chapel in Las Vegas?”

“Seriously?  I had no idea.  Wouldn’t it be funny if the kids eloped to the same place?” Bill added. 

The four parents joked about their own elopements.  Both fathers had managed to pull off a surprise with the aid of their wives’ parents.  Maybe Jack would have the same idea.  Or maybe not… they’d have to wait and find out. 

***

Ross Abbot sat there as an outsider at the table full of old friends.  He’d never met any of these people, aside from Ed and Sharon Dixon, prior to coming to the graduation and dinner with Nicole.  They were in Culinary School together and had been out on a couple of dates.  As he looked around the table, he was a little surprised at the assembled group.  There were a couple of guys, especially Gunny, Ronny and Bobby, that looked like they could break someone in half… and had.  Duke looked and sounded like British Royalty.  Gino was hilarious.  He seemed to always have a joke on the tip of his tongue.  And Melody’s eyes seemed to almost look into his soul. 

All the older adults acted like Aunts or Uncles to Amy, Jack and Nicole.  They were like a big, happy family.  He didn’t get some of the comments between them, and almost felt like an outsider that had intruded on a family gathering.  At the same time, everyone was very welcoming. 

“You go to school with Nicole?” Ronny Torres said as he handed the younger man a beer.

“Yes, Sir,” Ross replied. 

“Come on, Son, call me Ronny.  We’re all friends here,” the older black man told him.  “Don’t let this bunch scare you… unless you need scaring,” he added with a big smile.  “Are you as good a cook as Nicole?”

“No, Sir.  I wish.  She seems to just know what works.  Of course, it probably doesn’t hurt that she has more kitchen experience than the rest of us.  I was pretty surprised when I found out that she was opening a bakery this summer and already has had clients for over a year.” “She is something else,” Ronny replied before sitting down at the table as dinner was being served. 

She almost knocked him down.  The “old Terry” would have been on the floor… probably with a concussion… when she did the flying tackle through the doorway.  But the “new Dirk” caught her and spun her in his arms.  Sherry was crying and kissing him.  He didn’t know what to think. 

“Oh my gosh, Terry… Dirk… whatever.  Oh my…  I missed you so much.  There was so much I’d wanted to tell you, and then you were gone.”  She started crying again.

“Why don’t you guys come inside.  This is incredible.  What a wonderful surprise.  How long are you here?” Terry asked.

Amy replied, “At least through the weekend.  It depends on how long you want us here.  School doesn’t start for another few days.”

“I just can’t believe I’m here.  Amy told me yesterday that she had a surprise for me and told me to pack some clothes for a little trip.  She gave me a list of what to pack and said we were going to have some fun.  She told me that she hated to see me moping around, but she knew how to lift my spirits.  I could never have imagined…”

“I’m really glad you are here, too, Sherry.  I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather see.”

“And you look so different, but your eyes.  Oh, how I have missed your eyes.”

Jack and Amy got up, “hey guys, we’ll let you talk for a few minutes.  We’ll see what we can whip up in the kitchen.”

“Terry… or do you want me to call you Dirk?”

“I guess you should call me Dirk, but I love hearing you say my old name.”

“After what Amy told me, I need to get used to calling you Dirk.  I would hate to have habit take over at the wrong time and blow your cover.  But I have to tell you something.”

She was sitting next to him on the couch.  She turned to face him and reached out to turn his face straight to hers.  She gently stroked his cheek.

“I missed you so much.  When I heard that you’d died, I was so full of regret.  I wanted to go out with you so bad.  I wanted to tell you.  Every time I rode in your car, I wanted to hold your hand.”

“Sherry, I had a crush on you for years, but always thought you were out of reach.  It always seemed like you were carrying a torch for someone else,” Dirk replied.  He pointed toward the kitchen and gave her a conspiratorial wink.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I did for a while.  But that fully died the night Jack asked Amy out for the first time.  But even before that it wasn’t much of a real crush.  I thought he was cute… he’s still cute… and he’s funny and stuff, but you were always so nice to everyone.  And you have always been really funny.  And the way you treated me… I always felt like a queen around you.  And the more I was around you, the more I wanted to be your queen.”

“Wow… that was… unexpected.”

“I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable…”

“No, that isn’t it.  I wanted to ask you out so many times… and I was always afraid you’d say no and then our friendship would deteriorate.  And I put so much value in our friendship that I was afraid to risk it.  When I left Hampton, the one person that I didn’t want to leave was you.” Sherry leaned into Dirk and kissed him passionately.  And he held her the way he’d wanted to for so long.  As they embraced, they heard Amy shout from the kitchen that lunch was ready.  They headed into the kitchen for tacos. 

Saturday, 27 August 1983

Dirk had an amazing week.  He and Sherry, along with Jack and Amy spent the week doing a bunch of the tourist things he hadn’t been able to do in July.  They rode the Durango-Silverton Railway to Silverton and spent the day walking around and hanging out in the old silver mining town.  They hiked a few of the peaks around Durango.  They went to Mesa Verde National Park and hiked to some of the cliff dwellings.

Having people actually call him Dirk, which Amy and Jack were getting in the habit of doing, as was Sherry, helped him transform himself into his new identity.  When Sherry told him that she had to make herself think of him as “Dirk” so that she didn’t accidently blurt out the name “Terry” at the wrong time, that actually sunk in.  He’d been thinking of himself as “Terry, playing Dirk” like an actor.  But he realized that there were people that wanted to kidnap or kill Terry… and Dirk was a survival mechanism that he needed to embrace. 

As the week closed, it was time for Sherry, Amy and Jack to leave and head back to Hampton.  Sherry had classes starting up at William and Mary, while Amy and Jack had classes starting at Christopher Newport Community College. 

Dirk stood on the apron at the Durango-La Plata County Airport, by the General Aviation Terminal.  Sherry was giving him a last kiss, with Jack and Amy boarding the Gulfstream G III behind her. 

“I want you to be free, Dirk.  I could fall in love with you, but I also want you to be ready to fall in love with me.  You’ve never had a girlfriend before… and unless I’m wrong, you never kissed a girl before me.”

“Well, I…”

“It’s ok, actually, it’s kind of wonderful.  But I don’t want you to wonder what it’s like to kiss another girl when you are with me.  Even Jack has kissed other girls.”

“And then what?”

“When you come back to Hampton, or maybe when I come out here to visit you again, let’s see if you feel the same way.”

He kissed Sherry again.

“Have fun,” she said, “but not too much fun,” as she flashed a serious look, followed by another smile.

She climbed the stairs to the plane, turned and waved. 

As Dirk drove back to the house in the Jeep CJ-7, he thought long and hard about what Sherry said.  Classes started in two days.  It was going to be a new experience.  But, in the meantime, he had work to catch up on. 

***

“I love him, Amy.  It’s as simple as that,” Sherry told her friend.

“Did you tell him?” she replied.

“No.  I couldn’t.  If I did, he would have told me that he loved me, and I think things would have been great for a while, but the ‘long-distance’ thing would have gotten in the way and I think in the end we would have both been miserable.  Instead I told him to have fun.”

“So, the ‘If you love someone, set them free’ theory?”

“I guess.  But, Amy, he’d never kissed a girl… I mean unless you count that one time on the playground in fifth grade when that girl dared me to kiss him and I pecked his lips at light speed.  He’s never been on a date.  He’s never had a girlfriend.  I want to be the only girl he thinks about, but I want it to be his choice.”

“Seems risky, Sherry.  I don’t want to set Jack free,” Amy said, laughing a little.

“It’s different.  You had another boyfriend.  Jack had a bunch of girlfriends before you.  But through it all, you guys wanted each other.  I want Dirk to kiss a girl and think of me,” she said, “then, he better stop kissing her and fall in love with me, though.”

***

The next day, Dirk went to his favorite restaurant in Durango, the one with the cute waitress that flirted with him.  It was the day he was going to ask her out.  He sat at his normal table and ordered his normal dinner.  She was, as normal, his waitress.  

“Mary,” Dirk asked, “I was wondering if you might want to go out sometime… maybe grab lunch or something.”

“Sure, Dirk.  I have school tomorrow, but maybe after?”

“Fort Lewis College?” he asked.

“Yeah…”

“Me, too.  Hey, what about if we have lunch.  I’m free from twelve-thirty until two,” Dirk told Mary.

“Meet me at one in the commons.  We can get something and hang out.”

They met for lunch, then went to dinner on Wednesday.  Dirk got his wish and kissed her.  And it was fun.  But over the next few weeks, as they went out once, twice or even three times each week, he started really missing Sherry.  He also found that he really liked hanging out with Mary, but it was more of a friendship than a romance.  Luckily, when he talked to her about it, she agreed. 

He dated a few other girls… never taking them to Mary’s restaurant, and if he enjoyed spending time with them at all, he didn’t seem to be romantically interested in them.  Some, although they were beautiful, he just didn’t like hanging out with them.  He was excited for Christmas Break.  Sherry was flying out to Denver and he was picking her up.  He couldn’t wait.