Check Yes or No
Julia and Zack had been born within two days of each other. Both of their mothers were single moms and had been best friends since kindergarten. They leaned on each other for support. So needless to day, Julia and Zack were raised together. They walked to each other and besides "mama"; Julia's second word was "Zax." Zack's second word was "Jewuh" which was the closest he could come to her name at the time.
Julia and Zack had the same teachers every year throughout elementary school. They were inseparable, wherever you found one you found the other. In kindergarten, they slept right beside each other at naptime and at recess you always found them holding hands by the monkey bars.
Elementary school came and went; nothing changed other than soon they stopped holding hands but were still inseparable. When they got to middle school, Julia sensed something different in the way he looked at her but she passed it off as just reading too deeply into things, something she was known to do. At least until one day in their eighth grade English class, Zack passed her a note. It read: "Do you want to be my girlfriend? Check Yes or No." Beneath that it had two boxes for each.
Julia hadn't been expecting that. She wasn't ready for a boyfriend and that's what she told him. Zack understood and nothing changed between them. Their friendship continued on as if nothing had threatened to alter it all together.
Ninth grade came and Julia and Zack entered the scary world that is high school. They were separated in all of their classes, all except English ironically. Once again, near the end of their freshman year, he passed her the same note with the two boxes. Julia again refused. Zack, hurt, pretended to understand. Both reassessed their feelings for each other and life went on.
Tenth grade came and went, no note, their friendship persisted but it was strained and both parents saw this. There were less study dates, less movie nights, and fewer phone calls. Julia's mom sat her down and asked her how she felt about Zack. Julia had sighed in a pained sort of way and told her mother the words Zack wouldn't believe if she said them now. She loved him, and that's what scared her the most.
Eleventh came and Zack, with a little prodding of his own mother, handed her a different note this time, asking her to prom. Julia smiled when she saw the two boxes and happily took out a pink pen and checked yes.
They went to junior prom together and the following year they went to Homecoming. That was where he kissed her the first time and asked her, still holding her in his embrace, his lips mere inches from hers, "Will you be my girlfriend? Kiss me once for yes, twice for no." She'd smiled and kissed him once. He looked at her, as if waiting for the second, when he realized it wasn't coming; he hugged her and kissed her again.
Graduation came all too quickly and they ended up going to different colleges. They always got together on the weekends, traveling the four hour distance to be together. Four years consecutively they did this and their love never faltered.
After her graduation, Zack took Julia to a garden that the students in the floriculture class took care of. They were all alone. Zack looked nervous. Julia put her hand on his cheek. "What's wrong, honey?"
Zack burst into a big smile then and shook his head. "Nothing." He said and got down on one knee and opened a small box covered in velvet, it contained a folded up piece of paper and a diamond ring. She was crying happy tears while she read the note.
Will you marry me? Check yes or no.