The Past is Only the Future with the Lights On

Waking up the next morning, I found myself all alone in my bedroom. That smiling face I had been expecting to see had disappeared. Confusedand slightly depressed, I threw the covers off my body, still bearing the clothes I’d worn the day before, and walked over to the full length mirror hanging from my closet door.

The only circles under my eyes were that from falling asleep with my make-up on, instead of from lack of sleep like they’d been yesterday. My hair was sticking up in every way imaginable, so I quickly ran a brush through it. Straightening the many wrinkles from my top, I was about to turn around when, upon noticing something in the reflection in the mirror, I stopped.

My forehead scrunching in confusion, I turned on my heel and made my way towards my desk, where a piece of folded binder paper sat on open legs next to my iPod.

An inevitable smile on my lips, I picked up the paper with my name written across it in that unforgettable, scratchy handwriting. Carefully unfolding it, as if one too sharp of a movement on my part could make it tear to shreds right before my eyes, I let my eyes wander over the words Frank had scribbled for me.

Morning, beautiful.
Happy day after your birthday =]
If you’ve found this, I’m obviously not there. Sorry I couldn’t be there when you woke up. But I still had some things to take care of for our plans today, if that counts for anything.
I hope you don’t mind, but I need to ask one more thing of you. Don’t worry about your grandma, she already knows about what I intend on doing to you…
At 12.00, if your lazy ass is up by then, which it had better be, meet me at Exotic Java. You should remember that place. I know I haven’t forgotten its significance to me =]
And remember - keep an open mind! It’s really just our ring of love, baby.

xoxoxox
Frank

p.s. Don’t bother asking your grandma about today. She’s on strict regulation to keep her mouth shut.

<3

I laughed at how well Frank knew me about just asking my grandma. But what I didn’t understand was the ‘ring of love’ part. Was this his proposal to me? Why did it always seem like that was what he was planning on doing when he wanted to surprise me?

I glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand beside my bed. Just over an hour and a half to get down to Exotic Java. Why we were meeting at a coffee shop, I was clueless. Wait, I remember. Frank is Mr. I-have-to-make-everything-interesting-and-throw-everybody-off.

Grabbing my towel, I decided I’d start getting ready by first taking a shower.

Dressed in fresh clothes and smelling like strawberries, I stepped through the front door of my house, ready for whatever this day had in store for me.

I was extremely excited for some reason. Most girls in my case would probably call Frank crazy and not show up, for the simple reason that they didn’t know what to expect. But I wasn’t exactly most girls. And, although he was crazy, I had faith in Frank, and knew I had nothing to be worried about. He wouldn’t set anything up for us that he knew I would never go for.

The short walk to Exotic Java was nice. The air was fresh and crisp - as crisp as its gets in Belleville - and nature was beginning to get its color back.

Nothing could ruin today.

“Kelly?”

Oops. Spoke too quickly.