title says it. fifteen days from now, dearest Niki turns 19...this is my gift to her...erm...well, part 1 of 5...the rest will go up periodically over the next two weeks. It's based off The Lake House...love it. LOVE YOU NIKIIIIII!!!
Time Has Told Me
But love, I’ve come to understand, is more than three words mumbled before bedtime. Love is sustained by action, a pattern of devotions, in the things we do for each other every day. ~Nicholas Sparks.
As she stuffed the last of her luggage into the car, a set of strong arms wound around Niki’s waist, pulling her in close. She draped her hands over the man’s shoulders and laid her head on his chest, savoring the last moment that she would spend with him for the next month.
“You don’t have to leave today, Niki. Tomorrow’s your birthday, I’ll take you to dinner and then you can leave after that,” he said.
She looked up at him, raising her eyebrows. “Luke, you know I can’t do that. I promised the girls I’d be there tonight, and I’m already running late. It’s been so long since I’ve seen them all, I have to go. I’ll call you every chance I get, I promise.”
Luke grasped her hand tightly in his, bending down on his knee. Niki felt her breath quickening at the sight, fearing what would come next. “Nicole, I want you to know that I love you more than anything. I was really hoping to wait until tomorrow to do this, but since you won’t stay…Niki, will you marry me?”
Blinking away tears, Niki opened her mouth, sound coming out barely above a whisper. “Luke, I- I don’t know what to say. This is…too much to take in. I really do need to leave, can we talk about it when I come home?” she asked, then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, “I love you.” Turning, she got in her car and drove away.
* * *
A few hours later, Niki pulled into the winding gravel driveway of the beach house she was spending the summer in with her friends. As her car inched closer to the house, she could see balloons and streamers draped across the banisters on the front porch, as well as two girls sitting in rocking chairs, jumping up when they spotted her car. Niki threw the car into park and jumped out, running into the embrace of her friends. It had been almost two years since she had seen them, and she missed them terribly.
“Niki, you made it! Come on, let’s go inside…everyone else is waiting!”
She followed the two girls inside, where she found her other three friends sitting around a large table, laughing and talking boisterously. When she entered the house, the girls erupted into shrieks, each rushing to give her a hug. Already she felt more at home with these girls, whom she hadn’t seen in years, than she did back with Luke, who she saw almost every day. She sat down in an empty chair, quickly catching up with the girls. Being there with Kat, Tina, Ray, Erica, and Brittany was the only way she wanted to spend her twenty-fourth birthday.
After she had gotten her teaching degree from college, Niki moved to South Carolina to teach at an elite high school. She met Luke, and even though he was beyond nice to her, and would give her the world if she had asked, she didn’t feel like he was the man she was meant to be with forever. He was great, but she wanted more adventure in her life. Luke was average, and would suffice as a husband, if need be.
The girls spent the night laughing and counting down the minutes until Niki’s birthday, with the intent to throw an all day party the minute midnight came around. Shortly after midnight, the girls settled into their rooms, trying to get some sleep. Niki was too restless to sleep, tossing and turning for a good hour before she finally got up. She sauntered into the kitchen and flipped on the light, filling a glass with cold water. Not wanting to wake anyone, she opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. Looking down the driveway, Niki thought she noticed the flag on the mailbox standing up, but she didn’t recall it being that way when she arrived. Letting her curiosity take over, she grabbed her rubber flip flops from inside the house and headed down the driveway, gravel crunching under her feet.
When she got to the white mailbox, she saw that the flag was, indeed, standing up. Niki tugged on the lid, and it opened after sending a few flecks of paint flying into the air. Inside was a small, unmarked envelope. Niki pulled it out and closed the mailbox, heading back toward the house. She sat down at the large oak table, turning the envelope over in her hands, as if examination would tell her what was inside. She carefully slid her fingernail under the seal, pulling out the folded piece of paper. It was a letter, written in slightly messy but readable print. She rubbed her hands over it, flattening the paper against the table, and began to read.
If you’re reading this, I’m not sure whether to tell you to stop, or thank you for actually paying attention to me. My name, if you care, is Joe. I’m eighteen years old, and I’m here vacationing with my brothers and parents. We’ve got a break for once, and we’re taking advantage of it in the best way-seclusion. My brother’s seem to be having the time of their lives, but they keep telling me that I’m bringing them down. I don’t see why they let my mood bother them so much, it’s not like they don’t get into a funk once in a while or anything.
Not that this should matter to anyone else, but I’m starting to feel like a failure. I’m supposed to be this tough skinned, macho, ladies man. But I’m not. Everyone thinks that the reason I can’t keep a steady relationship is because I’m not mature enough for commitment, but that’s not the reason at all. The real reason is that I just haven’t found the right girl, and I don’t want to waste my time when I know that it’s not going anywhere. But sometimes I feel like I should just give up on finding true love altogether, and settle for the next best thing that comes along. Even my younger brother has managed to find himself a steady relationship, and he’s not even sixteen yet.
Whatever, I’m probably wasting my time writing this, but it’s either that, or put it into a song. But I’m sick of having my emotions up for interpretation, and out for the world to see. So, if anyone is reading this, you now know about me. Won’t you tell me about yourself?
-Joe.
Niki folded the letter and crept into her room, where she pulled her stationary from her suitcase. The paper was meant to send letters home to Luke, but she thought that this Joe person, whoever he was, was more important. She took out a pen and twisted it around in her fingers, thinking of what to write.
Dear Joe.
My name is Nicole, but you can call me Niki. You’ve caught me on a good day- it just so happens to be my twenty-fourth birthday, and I’m spending the month here with five of my closest friends. Your story sounds truly heartbreaking, but I feel as though I can relate, somewhat. My friends don’t know this, but before I left home to head up here yesterday, my boyfriend proposed to me. I couldn’t answer him, and now I don’t know what to do. Luke is a great guy, but I just don’t see myself with him for the rest of my life. I do suppose that it’s getting to the time where I should consider settling down, starting a family, doing the normal things that twenty-four-year-olds do, but I don’t feel like it’s the right time.
I don’t have much to offer in the way of advice, but I can tell you that settling for second best is NOT the way to go. You seem like a nice person, and I’m sure that somewhere out there, there’s a girl waiting, and she’s perfect for you. She may not jump right out at you, but keep looking-she’s out there, I promise.
It’s getting late, so I’m going to head to bed, but first, I’m curious. You said something about writing songs? Are you a musician? If you are, that’s great, I adore music. At any rate, I hope to hear from you again soon, Joe.
-Niki.
She placed the response into her own envelope and walked it out to the mailbox, placing it inside and raising the flag. Niki wasn’t sure where this boy had come from, but she felt a strange connection to him.
