Play The Field.

October 7th.

It’s not a date of any real significance to most people; it’s not a holiday, it’s not a day off work or school, it’s not anything special. It’s just an ordinary day… to most people.

I am one of those numbered people in the world that do count October 7th as a special day. Not because it’s my birthday or anything like that; to put it simply, when I was five years old, October 7th was the day that changed my life.

October 7th was the day I met the love of my life, although I had no way of knowing that at the time.

It was a rather dreary Sunday; the sun occasionally peeked out from behind a cloud, but mostly it stayed hidden. These were the days I liked most; my skin burnt extremely easily, so I was always forced to wear sunscreen when the sun was out.

My mother and father were sitting on the front steps, each reading a book from the library. I was sitting on the front lawn beside my older brother, alternating between idly bouncing my red soccer ball and reading The Lorax. Every once in a while, I’d glance across the street, where there was a large moving van parked in the driveway. Three burly men were leaning against the side of it, constantly checking their watches. After almost ten minutes of this, I set both of my former distractions down and sprawled out on my stomach, resting my head on my elbows.

“Gee, why are those men just standing there?” I asked, continuing to stare at them.

“Because they’re waiting for our new neighbours to arrive so they can move their stuff in,” Gerard replied, not even bothering to glance up from the piece of paper he was drawing on.

“How come Ms. Stone moved?” I rolled over onto my back and looked up at my brother, putting my arms under my head. “I liked her; she used to tell me stories and give me cookies.”

“I liked her too Mikey, but sometimes, people just can’t… stay anymore. They have to leave.” Even though I didn’t understand, I nodded and pretended I did. At my young age, Gerard was like my hero, my God; everything he said absolutely had to be true. If he’d told me that jumping off a bridge would cure world hunger, I would have done it.

Even after my mother and father had went inside to prepare lunch, Gerard and I stayed outside. After watching the movers for another few minutes, I returned to my book, lying on my back and resting my head on my soccer ball. My tiny glasses kept sliding down my nose and Gerard would patiently poke them back up to their proper position each time. I smiled up at him; he really was a good brother… at least, he was back then.

I had just finished my book and was about to go grab another when I noticed a large red car packed with suitcases had just pulled into the opposite driveway. I sat up and crossed my legs, imitating Gerard, who had sat his sketch pad on the ground. Across the street, a middle aged woman was climbing out of the front passenger seat, carrying a small boy with black hair.

“Hun, would you get Frank’s car seat while I talk to the movers?” she asked, setting the boy on the ground.

And that was the first glimpse I ever had of the person who would soon turn into my best friend, into my… well, that part comes later.

He was slightly shorter than me, wearing a Pokemon sweater and jeans. From what I could see, his tiny shoes looked identical to my brother’s Converse. His black hair was fairly long and very messy. As I continued to watch him, he looked up and smiled shyly in my direction. I couldn’t help but notice just how pretty his eyes were, even from so far away.

“Mikey, he’s so adorable!” my brother squealed. “Don’t you just want to go and hug him?” I nodded, still staring at Frank, who was now sucking his thumb and sitting on the sidewalk, keeping out of everyone’s way.

“I’m gonna go int-intro-intra-” I stammered, trying to remember the word Gerard had taught me a week ago.

“Introduce. You’re going to introduce yourself to him,” Gerard interjected, starting back on drawing again. I nodded and stood up, brushing my pants off and grabbing my soccer ball before heading across the road. He looked up at me curiously as I stopped in front of him.

“Hi. I’m Mikey,” I said. “Are you Frank?” He nodded, still staring up at me and sucking his thumb. “Do you want to be my friend?”

Another nod, but the thumb came out of his mouth now. I sat beside him, wondering if he could actually talk.

“I don’t like it here.” I jolted at the sound of his voice; even though he was so young, it was already entrancing.

“Why don’t you like Jersey?” I asked. “It’s real pretty.”

“No it isn’t. My grandma’s farm is pretty,” he said, staring down at the ground. “She has cows and pigs and a horse.”

“I have a cat.” He giggled. Behind us, the movers were cursing and swearing at some heavy object they were carrying.

“They’re saying bad words.” Just at that moment, one of the workers yelled “Fuck!” very loudly.

“They can’t be that bad,” I said. “My brother Gerard says them sometimes, and he knows everything.”

“Really?” he asked, his voice filled with awe. “Wow.”

“Frank!” We both spun around, his mother’s voice having came from right behind us. “What have I said about sitting that close to the road?” She closed the already short distance between us and pulled him up by the hood on his sweater. She couldn’t have been any older than thirty five, yet her skin was already creasing with wrinkles and there were strands of gray peppering her ebony hair.

“I’m sorry Mommy, I just didn’t want to get in your way,” he murmured, staring at the ground again. She nodded curtly and turned her gaze to me.

“Who are you?” she asked. I gulped; in my humble opinion, this woman was terrifying.

“Mi-Mikey,” I stuttered, trying to avoid her eyes. “I live over there.” I pointed over at my house and she stared at it for a moment, scrutinizing it.

“I see. Frank has to come inside now, but I’m sure he’ll be out to play later.” She quickly ushered him towards the house, tripping in her haste.

“Bye Mikey!” I heard him call back before he disappeared into the house.

“Bye Frank,” I whispered in reply. I stared at his house for another moment before getting my ball off the curb and heading back across the road.

October 7th. A day that will forever be etched into my memory.

October 7th ; the day my life became so much better.

If you look at it right, it was also the day my life got worse.