Anniversary
© 01/18/01 Bereccaemarie

She sat down at her desk at stared at the pictures surrounding her. She 
tried to stop the tears from falling, but upon seeing his eyes, the 
tears overwhelmed her eyes and fell at a merciless pace. "Why did you 
have to leave?" she asked the pictures through her tears.

On her desk were several framed photographs. One was her best friend 
Heather and she in their high school graduation caps and gowns. They 
had grown up together and when she had moved, she thought she would 
lose touch with Heather. But Heather had always been there, through 
everything. They hadn't graduated together like they had planned, but 
decided to have pictures done a year later to commemorate the occasion. 
Another picture was of her other best friend Jen at her graduation 
party. Jen had since moved several states away but they still kept in 
touch sometimes. Jen had had some family problems and all of her 
friends had left her. Still another picture was of her other best 
friend Jennifer when she graduated college. They had met through 
colorguard in college and were now very close friends, and had gone to 
San Diego for spring break in March that year. Still another picture 
was of her friend James from high school. Their last names were only 
different by two letters and had sat next to each other during 
graduation. A wooden framed picture with the phrase "Born to misbehave" 
held a picture of her dog underneath the covers of her bed. Her mom had 
taken it and had given it to her for Christmas one year. Another framed 
picture on her desk was of Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys. This 
picture was autographed. It wasn't his real signature, but she didn't 
care. It was close enough for her. She had donated to his foundation 
and received the picture as a thank you gift for donating. She didn't 
really need the photo to entice her to give, but it was nice to have. 
And yet there was one more picture in a simple black frame. This one 
was of her boyfriend and her before they were an item. All their mutual 
friends had been wagering on how long it would take them before they 
fell in love. Everyone had seen the way they interacted and had seen 
her flirt with him to no avail. It was to this picture that she had 
asked her question.

"I know it's for the best, but how many people do I have to lose?" she 
asked the photo. She leaned over and switched on her radio, only to 
hear the Backstreet Boys singing "Show me the Meaning of Being Lonely." 
This made her tears fall faster and harder. "There's nowhere to run. I 
have no place to go. Surrender my heart, body and soul. How can it be 
you're asking me to feel the things you never show?" the Boys sang. She 
buried her face in her arms and continued to cry.

She flipped off the radio and switched on her computer. She pulled up 
her sound files and searched for the one she was craving to hear: "If I 
Never Knew You" from the movie Pocahontas. She had just started to 
listen to it when the phone rang. Without turning down the volume on 
her computer or stopping the song, she reached over and picked up her 
phone. 

She sniffed several times and tried to choke back the tears before she 
picked up the phone, but didn't succeed. "Hello?" she squeaked out.

"Rough day, huh?" came a familiar voice. It was her boyfriend and he 
also sounded choked up.

"Yeah, you could say that," she said softly, although her voice was 
slightly brighter.

"I know. Happy anniversary," he said sweetly. It had been a year that 
they had been together, most of it several hundred miles apart.

"Same to you," she replied. "I love you."

He replied with the same heartfelt conviction he had the day he had 
left, "And I love you." Silence followed for a moment before he said, 
"What are you listening to?"

"'If I Never Knew You', why?"

"Is that from a movie?"

"Yeah. Pocahontas. I gave you the lyrics."

"Oh, no wonder I recognized it. Well, I just called to say I was 
thinking about you and that I miss you."

"I miss you too. I'll see you soon though."

"Yeah. So I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye." 

She hung up the phone when she heard his end click. She looked up at 
her walls and glimpsed the poster of the Backstreet Boys she had hung 
over her bed. "Thank you Kevin," she said out loud to the tall and dark 
man on her wall. She then turned back towards her desk and picked up 
the picture of her boyfriend and her. "I love you, Brad," she 
whispered.