"The Anguish of Almost"
Growing up, William and Diane lived next door to each other. William would talk about Diane to his friends. He would call her everything from...Flat chest, Olive Oyl, brace face, and anything he could come up with to keep his friends from realizing that he had a crush on her. However, William wasn't the only one doing the name calling. Diane would call him...Pimple face, Nerd boy, four eyes, and just about anything to get back at William. They were constantly, name calling and wrestling with one another.
However, away from school they were the best of friends. William and Diane would ride their bikes until the sky was an intense shade of orange. They would walk to the pond and throw rocks at each others reflections in the still waters.
Their friendship had become something more than childhood friends. As they grew older their feeling grew deeper. They both hoped that the other would make the first move. Diane no longer had braces and she had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. She had even begun modeling. William, no longer wore the big glasses that nearly covered his entire face, he was pimple free, and he had become the College football star. Phenomenally, they still never wanted to be the first to say, I've always loved you.
Although, they were at different collegesDiane at Yale Universityand William at Howard University, they still kept in touch. They would call each other about twice a week. They would talk about the relationships that they both were in and neither cared to hear about. Diane and William were good at pretending as if they were happy without each other...William more than Diane. The love they had for one another remained unspoken.
It was spring break and they both had come home to visit. William had decided to take a trip to Colorado Springs. He wanted to see the beautiful-Seven falls. He'd asked Diane to go with him. Her parents weren't too pleased, but she decided to go anyway. Besides, she had broken up with her boyfriend about two weeks before leaving for spring break.
It had been about two weeks now and William and Diane was having a ball. They were mountain climbing, hiking, enjoying the beautiful scenery, and most importantly they were enjoying each others company. On their last night there, William took Diane to a very nice resort. He scheduled a day at the spa. Later on that evening he treated her to dinner at a fine restaurant. His reasoning behind everything that he'd done for her was to thank her for coming along with him and catching up on old times.
After dinner, William went to Diane's cabin. They listened to music (they both loved Nina Simone), talked, had a few glasses of wine, and looked at old high school photos.
"Wow, you have really changed," William stated. "You are beautiful. "
"Thanks. You didn't turn out too bad looking yourself," Diane replied.
William continued looking at Diane as if he wanted to confess something. He moved closer to Diane and kissed her as if he had been saving it for that moment. Diane was relieved. She had dreamed of this since they were kids rolling around wrestling in the grass. Then, something made Williams pause. I'm assuming it was his girlfriend back at school.
"I'm sorry Diane. I didn't mean to do that. I have Claire and you have Stanley. Really, I'm sorry and I was wrong. I didn't mean to disrespect you like that."
"Actually, Stanley and I aren't together anymore," Diane replied.
"What happened?" William asked.
"It just didn't work out. I suppose it was because I have feelings for someone else."
"Who is that? "
William obviously didn't get the point. So Diane just left the subject alone.
That night Diane stayed up thinking about the kiss and hoping that William would tell her what she wanted to hear. However, the next morning William again apologized and said that it would never happen again.
When they arrived back home, Diane was very disappointed. She really was in love with William and thought that he felt the same way. But he didn't say another word to her before going back off to college.
A year had passed and Diane had heard from William's sister that he'd gotten married to Claire, and that they were divorced within a year and a half. She said that he was on his way back to Texas for good. In a way, Diane was happy but on the other hand she really didn't want to see him.
It had been two days and he had made it home. Before he could even get settled in, he hurried to see Diane.
"Hey, how have you been?" He asked.
"I've been great. I've finished school and I'm happy to be back in Texas."
"Diane, can we take a walk?" He asked. I"t's something I want to tell you. "
"Sure, I suppose it won't be an inconvenience."
"Well, it's hard for me to say this but I have always loved you. I believe that is why it didn't work out with Claire and me. I really love you, Diane. And I hoped that...well, since you said that you were no longer with Stanley we could do what we have always wanted to do, but never had the guts to say anything."
"William I really did love you. I still have feelings for you but you really hurt me back in Colorado. You showed me what we could have had and you just let it go."
"I know I was such a fool for letting you slip away, but I want to make it up to you. We have loved each other since we were kids Diane."
"That was the past, William. Anyway, I am in love with someone else. As a matter of fact, I am engaged to be married. What we had is just that. We were young, in love, and neither of us ever said anything. What's more, I really felt like we were going to start something special in Colorado. But all of this is besides the point. I'm getting married in two weeks William," Diane replied.
William just stood there for about ten minutes speechless. He felt like he had lost a huge part of himself.
"Well, I guess I messed up. I guess there is nothing left to say but, I wish you the best. I hate that it isn't me that you are marrying in two weeks."
I suppose one should never hold back from telling someone how the truly feel. Doing so, (like William) could possibly be the demise of your one true love.