Chapter 13

As you are no doubt all too aware, when you're 15, or 16, or 17, or 18, emotions rule your world. The blackest day can be followed by the most marvelous evening you have ever known, and it all seems so natural at the time. It's only with the passage of years that you look back on that time with a mixture of awe and humor that you managed to live through those times relatively unscathed.

Yes, that one phone call opened up the lines of communication between Melissa and I. Within a couple of weeks, we were actually on friendly terms. The summer's upheaval, if not exactly forgotten, was pushed into the background, where it mercifully faded away to practically nothing. Melissa and Micki were never going to be best friends, but they at least found a way to put aside their animosity for my sake. I, on the other hand, faced a dilemma that kept me up nights for a long time. I had learned to respect and appreciate Micki, and maybe even to love her, during our time of stress. I wasn't about to abandon her now, especially considering how fragile she seemed to be. I couldn't help thinking, however, that maybe it was Melissa who was supposed to be my soulmate. Wait and watch, wait and watch was my mantra for a long time while I tried untangling that lovers' knot. Eventually, I saw the solution, the one that was probably there the whole time, waiting to be seen in its elegance.

The Ray Machine saw a real surge in popularity, which culminated in my election in the spring as Prom King, with Brittany Felson reigning as Prom Queen. True to his word, Ev Delaney provided a character reference for me that was almost embarrassing in its praise, but it helped get me into the University in the fall.

And, of course, in the fashion of a good old romance, after I graduated from college, I was proud to stand up and make my high school sweetheart my wife, to love and honor and cherish forever.