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"I'm never doing this with you again," she said with a glint in her eye. She packed up and grabbed her coffee. I took her hand, and we were back out the door before Professor Beckett and the rest of the class showed up.
Instead of my place, we went to hers. Her roommate ended up being home, but it didn't matter. We weren't staying long. I had an idea where we could go.
The park wasn't that big and was edged on one side by some woods. When it was winter and the trees were bare, the little clearing was easy to make out. There were stumps along the tree line that I had watched get covered in moss and lichen in the years that I'd been coming here. I hadn't known how Veronica would react the first time I brought her. It was back when we were still pretty casual, before I had asked her to be my girlfriend.
Her best friend and my sister happened to be the same person, so I had her to thank for letting me know that picnics were one of Ron's favorite things to do. She kept a blanket and basket in her car for that reason. We grabbed those before we left and after buying some sandwiches and pastries at her regular coffee shop, we were walking through the trees to our spot.
We had never been interrupted and since neither of us had ever brought anyone else there, it felt like it was ours. It was about as private as we could get while being outside in a public park. The only thing I sort of wished it had was a stream or something; we weren’t near the river. Water always made places look better. Ron and I had talked about it a lot. She wanted to swim in each one of the five oceans, and I wanted to do it with her.
She gave me half her sandwich since she wasn't that hungry. As we ate, she started asking me about summer classes and football training, but I changed the subject. I wasn't going this year and I didn't want to tell her why...not just yet. She tried to pull her textbook out again, but I took it from her, stashing it in my backpack till it was time to go. I was feeling selfish. I didn't want to share her.
Doing so reminded me that I had something for her. I told her to close her eyes.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Don't look," I said. The small rectangular box had been in my bag since last weekend when I had bought it.
"What is it?" she repeated, eyes shut like I had asked her. I popped the box open and looked inside. A light pink stone on a gold chain. I had wanted something that would remind her of me, but got something that made me think of her instead. It was pretty and feminine, like her. The lady at the store I had gotten it at said the stone stood for love, and that was enough reason to get it.
"Give me your hand," I instructed. Her fingers closed around the box as she opened her eyes.
"What's this for?" she asked.
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bsp; Something that reminds you of me whenever you look at it, I thought. That would sound better than having to tell her what it really was: a going away present. I didn't want her to think she was getting it because I wanted to butter her up before I made her upset. I don't know, maybe the more I told myself that, the more it would sound like the truth.
"I just thought you'd like it," I said instead. She opened the box and I watched her face break into a smile when she saw the necklace. "Oh my God, Roman, are we celebrating something?"
"No celebration, I thought it would look good on you. Put it on." She took it out and undid the little clasp at the back. I helped her fasten it around her neck.
"Thank you; it's so pretty," she said, touching the stone.
"I'm glad you like it."
"Now I wish I had something for you," she said. Time – that was what I needed from her. I didn't need a present. Or maybe she could tell me how the fuck to say what I needed to say without completely wrecking what we had together.
"Think of it as an early birthday present," I said lightly. She was going to be twenty-one early next month and honestly, I wasn't going to be there then to give it to her on her real birthday... But right now, when she was happy and we were spending what had to be one of the last times we were going to get to be together like this, it wasn't the right time for that announcement.
"I love it," she said happily.
"I should have gotten it engraved or something," I said, gently touching the stone.
"And a matching one for yourself."
"I don't think pink's my color," I joked.
"Your initials on the back of this and mine on the back of yours, so you're always thinking of me when you have it on you," she said softly. "At school...work...in battle."
"In battle?" I scoffed. She shrugged slightly.
"You know, if you ever got deployed."
"Not everyone gets sent to a combat zone when they're deployed," I told her.
"But do you think you will?" she asked.
"I don't know. Nobody knows. You just go where they send you."
