Sara

Once upon a time there were two great friends, Sara and Marissa. They went to college together but after they graduated they lived two and a half hours apart. They did not let the distance separate them and did what they could to continue their strong bond that they built in college. One fine day, after New Year’s Day, Marissa asked Sara to come up to Denville and hang out with her and some of her newly re-acquainted friends from high school. Sara was hesitant, but missed seeing her friend Marissa and she had a free three day weekend, so she agreed. On her way up she received a phone call from Marissa. “I am at my friend’s house can you meet us up there when you come up?” “Sure…” Sara said, “Just give me the address” Knowing that this would put her in a place of extreme awkwardness. Sara arrived at the house weary of what she was getting herself into and not knowing what to expect. She gave Marissa a phone call just in case she was at the wrong residence, fearing that she would be intruding into a stranger’s house. She rang the doorbell with her anxiety at an all-time high but Marissa greeted her promptly at the door. Phew… Sara thought. She was at the right place. Marissa took her up the split level house, and on the first floor she was greeted with open arms by a wonderfully intrigued woman. She was around her mother’s age, with so many questions and a quite a passion for Africa. Sara’s anxiety was still pumping through her veins as she answered each question the best way she knew how. Marissa gestured to her to come up the stairs. She said “Everyone is up in the attic, come on up!” As she walked up two flights of stairs of the split level house into an attic room “Oh boy what is Marissa getting her in to,” she thought. There she met two bearded men one of which had a chin strap, which contrary to her previous assumption, was a thin beard that actually lined his chin. This was Brett, when Marissa had explained him to her previously Sara misunderstood the meaning of a chinstrap and had thought Brett needed to wear a helmet at all times. But she did not say anything for fear of offending Marissa and her newly re-acquainted friend. The second man in the attic was tall, slender, and had a beard that was mostly dirty blonde but glistened with red hues. He had glasses that were crooked on his face and had a presence that was rugged balanced with kindness. This man was Jared. That night the four of them hung out in the attic for a bit but decided to go out to Morristown for dinner. For most of the time Sara was unable to shake her uncomfortable anxiety of being somewhere completely new with the two bearded men that she had just met. They had dinner and a few drinks and came back to the house. They watched one of Jared’s movies from the large selection that he had. He was a film major so he had more movies than Sara had ever seen at one time in her life. Marissa and Sara had a few drinks while they were there and were offered a ride back to Marissa’s house, decided to stay the night on the couches in the attic. Brett walked home to his house and Jared went down to his room. Just before Jared had gone down to his room, Sara was pretending to be asleep to relieve awkward tensions of staying in this strange house with people she had just met. Jared had stepped over the couch that she was pretending to sleep on and put a blanket over her. Sara was shocked at this act of kindness and chivalry that is so few and far between in this day and age and began to believe maybe this guy was something different than what she thought men to be… She was intrigued. The next morning they all went to the County Park, Torn for a hike. Sara, amazingly still uncomfortable with the new surroundings was quiet and focused on the task at hand. Getting up the hills, and not falling, on the hike. She didn’t say much, but that did not stop Jared from catching her when she lost her balance. She has had a bad knee ever since a skiing accident that happened in college and her balance to begin with was not superb. Jared was now really getting points in Sara’s book even though she refused to let it show. After the hike, Sara and Marissa finally went back to Marissa’s house to shower, clean up, and spend some quality time. They talked and reminisced about everything since they had last seen each other. Before they knew it they were gearing up for another small gathering of friends. Jared and Brett were at this gathering along with maybe another five or six people. Jared showed up in a sweatshirt that Sara was all too familiar with. Of all sweatshirts in the world Jared could wear, Jared showed up in the same Nautica blue and grey stripped sweat shirt Sara had handpicked for her previous boyfriend. The awkward tensions in Sara’s mind had gone, and now she was just intrigued by this. Was it nothing, a freak coincidence, or a sign? She did not know, but she had to know the origins of this silly sweatshirt. They were outside, just the two of them, and she asked him. This sparked a conversation that lasted for hours, but time seemed to stand still. Finally everyone wanted them to come inside so they could watch the romantic comedy “The Hangover.” Sara and Jared watched the movie but Sara was cold and Marissa had offered her a Snuggie. Half way through the movie Jared began to lean on her. This touching shoulder on shoulder sparked a form of electricity in Sara which lead to many thoughts and questions. Was it intentional? Was he just tired and falling asleep? Or was she thinking way too much into this small gesture? Either way Sara saw that he was cold, and getting tired and wanted to offer him the same kindness that he had offered her, and she offered to share her snuggie. Her left arm in the one arm hole and his right arm in the left. It was quite an interesting sight to see. Jared accepted the offer and they snuggled side by side for the rest of the movie. She was in heaven. The movie was over before they knew it and they both had wished it wasn’t. It was late and everyone filtered out, and I think Marissa may have been giving them some time because she saw their connection. They were alone still sitting on the couch, and Sara said that it was probably time for them to go. They got up and were about to leave the room and go on to their own ways and Jared went in for the kill. It was their first kiss and it was magical. The next day Jared was supposed to go on a skiing trip and Sara was supposed to go home. But they had to see each other again before she left, so Jared stayed home and Sara did not leave. They spent the whole day together, just the two of them hanging out in Jared’s attic talking about anything and everything. They has so quickly become smitten with each other. Now they say anything that’s worth having in this world is not going to come easy. Sara did need to go home after the weekend to work and Jared needed to stay up and help out with things around the house. I guess that’s where the fairy tale ended and reality set in. Living two and a half hours away was not an easy task, but they refused to let it defeat them and what they had. Every weekend they would make the long drive alternating turns, meeting in the middle and even going places that they have never been before. They knew how ever bad the week was that they were apart, they always knew they would be rewarded by their weekends together. Jared and Sara chose to take the road less traveled, and on it they have hit many of potholes speed bumps, and there were burn outs and drifting. There were times that that the road was so sunny and bright and times where the road seemed to have disappeared out from under them, but they kept moving forward. It didn’t matter what direction they went as long as it was together, side by side. Today they are still just as smitten with each other as they were on that new year’s weekend. It will only grow stronger as they start their lives together. And that’s the story of how Sara showed up on Jared’s doorstep.