Love Lasts

by Savannah Totten

  “What are you so excited about?” She asks in a flat tone. Her bed is full of new stuffed animals and bags of half-empty chips, reminding me of the reason why I’m so excited about this.

  “Dane found the apartment we’re going to move into,” I say and continue dancing like a lunatic. Jessica moves her computer off her lap and continues staring at me.

  “Can I see?” I nod obnoxiously and pull out my phone to show her the photos. She “oo”s and “aw”s, and I can’t tell if she’s making fun of it or actually impressed. When I get to the last photo, I realize Dane texted me back.

  I’ll call tomorrow. I start to dance around again, and Jessica actually smiles.

  “I like it. It looks nice.” I smile too.

  ✦✦✦

  I finished my senior photo shoots and quit my job‒again‒last week, and now all I have on my plate is school and my wedding. Everything is planned. The wedding will be at our church. I created all the invites and sent them out weeks ago, so I already have the number of people attending finalized. The caterer is ready. The cake is ready. The dress is ready. Who knows if I’m ready, but I think I am.

  Despite everything Dane and I have fought about and been through over the last year and a half almost, God has made it clear to me that I’m meant to marry Dane, and I want nothing else. I want to spend the rest of my life with him, even if we fight. Even if we have problems that need to be fixed, I want to marry him and love on him forever. So I’m ready, and hopefully, he is too.

  ✦✦✦

  “The fellowship of the nine set out on their journey in J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of The Lord of the Rings,” I begin.

  It’s the end of May, which means I already took all my AP exams, and this research symposium is the last thing I need to complete before finishing my senior year. I’ve never worked harder on anything in my life.

  The auditorium is only a fifth of the way full, and the majority of the people in the audience are family members of my AP Research classmates and I. But the pressure is still on because I was chosen to present my research to everyone on the big stage along with one other student, while the other six students only presented in front of small groups of people in separate wings of the auditorium earlier.

  I was prepared for this, though, so I continue on and present the rest of my year-long research paper in less than ten minutes with a slide show to aid me. At the end, the audience claps. I smile and ask for questions. A couple of people raise their hands, and I listen carefully to each of them before answering their questions to the best of my knowledge. By the end, I’m sweating from nerves but incredibly proud of myself.

  The audience claps once more when I finish, and I walk down the steps back to my seat. All my AP Research peers give me high-fives and tell me I did great, boosting my ego even more, and I sit to watch the other student present his research.

  At the end of his presentation, our teacher, Miss Peters, thanks everyone for coming, and we’re all dismissed. I find Mom and Jessica near the doors and start to walk with them.

  “You did really good. I didn’t understand a lot of it, but you sounded smart,” Mom says.

  “Thanks,” I say and look at Jessica.

  “I liked it,” she says, and I smile.

  ✦✦✦

  A week later, I go to my last day of high school and walk out of school with so much joy. I drive home with the windows down, letting the breeze sweep all that high school stress far away from me. When I get home, I text Dane, telling him the news.

  I’m officially done with school forever.

  Awesome. He texts back.

  I roll my eyes and throw my phone onto my bed. Now, I have a lot of time with nothing to do, at least until Friday when Dane flies home. So I spend the rest of the evening downstairs, binge watching episodes of The Voice until dinner.

  “How was your last day of school?” Mom asks when we’re at the dinner table.

  “Great. I’m so glad to be done,” I say.

  “Really? You won’t miss it?” She asks.

  “Maybe a little, but overall, no.” Mom nods, and we continue to eat dinner. My siblings argue a little less, and it’s probably because they’re daydreaming about summer. But I’m thankful for the peace.

  In a couple of days, I’ll be graduating high school, getting married, and moving across the country, and my whole life will change. It seems weird, but I’m not nervous at all for any of it. It all feels exactly right, and I’m only excited for my life to begin with Dane as my husband.

  ✦✦✦

  The next few days are boring to say the least, but on Thursday morning, something weird happens. Dane stops sharing his location with me. I don’t remember when we started sharing our locations. But it was probably after a fight where he didn’t answer my text, and I became worried about where he was or if something happened to him. I don’t know for sure, but it’s weird that he stopped sharing it with me. So I text him.

  Hey, why’d you stop sharing your location? I watch the message sit on the screen, not delivering for a few minutes, and it finally delivers but turns green. His phone is turned off. My heart skips a beat, and I quickly go to Snapchat to see if his location is on there. It’s not available. I go to Instagram to check when he was last online, and it says nine hours ago. Nine hours ago was three AM in Washington, so why would he be up that early?

  My thoughts run a mile a minute, and I’m so confused. The only thing I can guess is he lied about when he’s coming home, and he’s actually on his way home now. That makes my chest feel heavy. It’s been five months since I last saw him, and so many fights have happened in that time. I don’t know if I’m ready to see him today, but I guess I have no choice.

  I sit in my room for another few hours, scrolling through social media and obsessively refreshing Dane’s location on Snapchat. For three more hours, nothing changes, but finally, Dane texts me back. It’s only a smiley face, and it makes my heart beat out of my chest. I quickly open Snapchat and refresh his location.

  Indianapolis International Airport. I smile and place my hand on my chest to feel my heart beating fast. He’s here. I go back to Dane’s text message, but I don’t know if I should ruin the moment. I choose not to. I exit out of the conversation and go downstairs to pace.

  “What’s up with you?” Dad asks me from the living room.

  “Dane is at the airport. He doesn't know that I know, but he might be coming here,” I say much too quickly.

  “How do you know?” Dad asks.

  “I can see his location on Snapchat,” I say, even though he probably doesn't know what Snapchat is.

  “Was it supposed to be a surprise?”

  “Probably.” I shrug. I decide to sit on the couch and watch Dad play video games for awhile, and I force myself not to open up Snapchat to see if Dane is coming here. I want it to still be a little bit of a surprise.

  CHAPTER 22

  About half an hour later, a car pulls up outside my house, and I can already see by looking out the window that it’s Dane and his best friend, Monty. I get up, and I’m about to open the front door when my phone vibrates. It’s a text from Dane.

  Come outside.

  I smile and open the front door. I close it behind me and take a few steps out onto the front porch before I see Dane coming up the walkway with a bouquet of flowers. Monty stands behind him with his phone out, hopefully to capture the moment.

  Dane walks up the front steps, and I don’t think either of us know what to say. So I wrap my arms around Dane, and we hug for only a few seconds before he pulls away.

  “I knew it,” I say, but I regret it as soon as it comes out of my mouth.

  “Yeah, I didn’t know it would tell you that I stopped sharing my location or else I probably wouldn’t have done it,” Dane says.

  “Yeah, well, you’re a liar! You said you wouldn’t get here until tomorrow,” I say.

  “Sorry.” Dane shrugs and smiles innocently, but
I shake my head. Then, I look at Monty.

  “And you helped him!” Monty throws his hands up in front of him.

  “Hey, I was just his ride,” he says. I shake my head and look back at Dane. There’s an awkward silence, as we all look around at each other.

  “Well, what now?” I finally ask.

  “I’m starving. We’re going to go eat,” Dane says, and I tilt my head at him.

  “So that’s it? I only get to see you for five minutes?” I ask a little too harshly. Monty shifts around and looks down at the ground.

  “I mean, you can come if you want,” Dane says.

  “Okay, well, I want to. I haven’t seen you in five months.,” I say more quietly.

  “Okay, then get some shoes on, and we’ll all go.” Dane hands me the bouquet of flowers, and I take them inside, leaving the front door open. So Dad steps outside for a second.

  “Hey, there. How’s it going?” Dad asks Dane.

  “Really good. How about yourself?”

  “Good. It’s good to see you home. You ready for the next few days?” Dad asks. Dane lets out a big breath and nods his head slowly.

  “Yeah, I think so.” I step outside again with my shoes on this time, and Dad smiles at us.

  “Alright, well I’ll see you. Have fun,” Dad says.

  “Will do,” Dane says with a smile and a wave. Dad closes the front door, and Monty, Dane, and I walk to Monty’s car. Dane and I sit in the back, and after we’re buckled in, I immediately reach for Dane’s hand. He lets me take it, and he smiles. There’s some tension in the air, but hopefully, that’s only nerves. After all, it has been five months.

  Dane decides he wants Popeye’s, so we go inside to eat, even though Dane is wearing his Air Force blues. That actually gets him a discount, and we all sit down to eat. I mostly watch and listen to Dane and Monty talk to each other.

  Monty is in the Army National Guard, so they talk about a lot of military things that I don’t understand. I look at the two of them next to each other. Dane sits tall with his brunette hair and hazel eyes, and Monty is much shorter with light blonde hair and blue eyes. They couldn’t be more different, yet they’re the best of friends because of church. That’s the kind of friendship I want.

  In the middle of their conversation, I get a call from my mom, so I stand up and walk away to pick it up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, I heard Dane is back in town,” Mom says.

  “Yep, he just got here. I’m with him and his best friend, Monty, at Popeye’s.”

  “Oh, yeah? That’s right down the street. Do you need me to pick you guys up?” Mom asks.

  “Um, I’m not really sure. Let me talk to him, and I’ll text you.” I look over to Dane and Monty, and they’re still talking. Dane glances my way, so I smile.

  “Okay, just let me know in the next few minutes because I’m getting off work.”

  “Okay, will do,” I say.

  “Okay. Love you.”

  “Love you too. Bye.” I hang up and walk back over to the table.

  “Was that your mom?” Dane asks.

  “Yeah, she’s getting off work and found out you were here,” I say. “What’s the plan after this?”

  “Well, I need to go surprise my mom. I haven’t even told her I’m here yet,” Dane says.

  “Okay, well my mom said she could pick us up. Then, she can take us back to my house, and I can drive you to Trafalgar. That way Monty doesn't have to drive all that way.” Dane and Monty look at each other, and Monty shrugs.

  “That’s fine,” Monty says.

  “Okay, sure,” Dane agrees.

  “I’ll let her know,” I say.

  Ten minutes later, Mom drives into the parking lot of Popeye’s, and Dane, Monty, and I go outside. Mom gets out of the car when she sees us and gives Dane a hug.

  “It’s so good to see you,” she says.

  “You too. Thanks for picking us up,” Dane says.

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “I’ll see you later, man,” Monty says. He starts to walk towards his car.

  “Thank you so much for picking me up from the airport. I’ll text you later, so we can make plans,” Dane says.

  “Yeah, no problem. See you later.” Monty waves and gets into his car.

  Then, Dane and I follow Mom and get into her car. She chats with Dane, as we drive home. And once we’re back at the house, Dane and I transition into yet another car.

  I get in the driver’s seat this time, and Dane sits up front in the passenger’s seat. The drive to Trafalgar is about a forty minute drive, and for the most part, we’re silent, except for the radio. Occasionally, we make light conversation, but I don’t think either of us know what to talk about. It’s awkward honestly, but I keep reminding myself that we’ve been apart for so long that it’ll take some time before we’re back to normal. We’ve both changed so much over the last eleven months since Dane left for BMT, and we have to figure out who we are as a couple again. It’ll be hard, but it’ll be worth it.

  Once we finally pull into the Sutton’s driveway, we get out and head to the front door. Dane asks me to film the moment, so I pull out my phone and start recording. Dane knocks on the door, and we wait for a few minutes with no answer. He looks at me, and I shrug. He knocks again, and finally, after another minute, Joseph opens the door. He takes a step back when he sees Dane and then smiles.

  “What are you doing here?” Joseph asks.

  “Shh, I’m going to surprise Mom. Where is she?” Dane asks.

  “In her bedroom.” Joseph steps out of the way. I smile at him and follow Dane with my phone to his mom’s bedroom. Her door is closed, so Dane knocks.

  “Come in,” Pam says behind the closed door. Dane slowly opens it, and when Pam sees him, her eyes go huge. Her jaw drops, and she covers her mouth with her hands.

  “Dane!” She exclaims and steps over to hug him. She starts to cry, and I stop recording.

  “Oh, Dane,” she says over and over again while hugging Dane. He holds onto her until she decides to let go. Pam finally sees me and gives me a hug too.

  “Did you know?” She asks me.

  “Kind of.”

  “Oh, this is the best surprise ever. I had no idea,” Pam says and gives Dane another hug.

  A few hours later, Ethan comes home from work to find Dane sitting at the dinner table, and he’s just as surprised too. He doesn't cry, but he smiles and gives Dane a long hug.

  At the end of the night, Dane walks me to my car, and he gives me a long hug too.

  “It feels so good to be home. I’ve missed you all so much,” he says. I don’t say anything. Instead, I squeeze him a little tighter, so he knows how much I’ve missed him too. Finally, we let go of each other, but he keeps a hand on my waist.

  “You’re beautiful,” Dane says, placing his other hand on my cheek. I smile and lean into his hand. Then, Dane leans down and kisses me, and it’s like the first time we kissed all over again. But we get the hang of it quicker this time, and I smile into the kiss, making Dane pull away.

  “I love you,” Dane says.

  “I love you too.”

  “Tomorrow you graduate high school.” I nod and then shake my head.

  “It’s crazy, but I’m so glad. You’re coming over beforehand to take some photos with me. Right?” I ask.

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “Okay.” I pause and admire Dane’s face, smiling much too big and feeling much happier than I have in a long time. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Wait, one more thing,” Day says quickly.

  “What?”

  “My mom wanted me to ask you… if you’d want to get baptized this weekend?” I stare at Dane for a couple seconds before I realize he’s being serious.

  “I don’t know. That’s a lot,” I admit. A rush of anxiety fills my stomach, so I breathe deeply. Although I’ve been studying the Bible and going to church for a year now, it feels like a lot of pressure added on top of everythin
g else going on in the next week. Dane’s face remains light, and I know he’s trying to be encouraging.

  “It’s really easy. You get in the pool and get dunked under water for half a second. Mom just thought you might want to do it before we get married,” Dane says. He grabs my hand and gives me a sympathetic smile.

  “But it seems like a big decision to make on the spot.”

  “Well, it’s not a decision you’re making today or on Sunday. You’re just telling the church that you believe Jesus is who He says He is. Do you?” Dane asks.

  “Well, yeah, but‒”

  “That’s all it is. Mom said it’s an outward display of something that has already happened on the inside. So what do you think?” I look down at the ground and then at our hands intertwined. He led me to God, and I believe in Jesus. So this makes sense. I start to nod and look up at Dane with a smile.

  “I’ll do it.” Dane smiles big and wraps me in a hug.

  “That’s my girl.” Dane lets go of me and opens my car door, and I get in.

  “Do I have to do anything before Sunday to prepare?” I ask.

  “No, I’ll tell my mom that you want to do it, and she’ll handle the rest.”

  “Okay.” I nod.

  “Hey, I love you so much,” Dane says.

  “I love you too,” I say with a smile. Dane closes my car door, and I watch him walk up his driveway and into his house. So I start my car and drive home.

  The sun sets, as I drive home. The sky is beautiful, and the drive is so peaceful. I roll down the window, and temperature and windiness is perfectly breezy. The music on the radio plays quietly, and I allow myself to meditate on the serenity of it all, letting go of any stress and anxiety. All I need to do is focus on tomorrow because tomorrow I graduate.

  ✦✦✦

  The line finally starts moving, so I stand up from my seated position on the ground and follow the guy in front of me. I think his name is Anthony, but I’m not sure. After spending four years with lockers right next to each other, we should’ve introduced ourselves at some point and gotten to at least be on a first name basis. But the introvert in me spent the last four years not talking to either of the people who had lockers next to me. The tall guy whose locker was to my left follows behind me, tugging at his tie and looking nervous. Nervousness isn’t even on my radar. I’m just ready to get this over with.