Carl Fredrickson was distracted. He tried to enjoy the nice meal at the fancy Italian Restaurant he had brought his date Emma Jean to, but he just couldn't.
He was thinking of his childhood friend Ellie, she had just told him she was thinking of moving across the country to pursue better job opportunities. She was supposed to leave on the plane tonight.
He thought of that rundown "clubhouse" they had played in when they were kids and how they'd planned to build an exact replica on Paradise Falls someday. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. They had been such scallywags.
Carl shifted his meatball on his plate.
"Are you okay?"
Carl looked up to see Emma Jean watching him.
"Uh, yeah, just a bit distracted."
He'd been thinking of proposing to her eventually, he had just never been in the right spot.
"You're thinking of Ellie, aren't you?"
Emma had been a good friend of Ellie's before Carl had started dating her, and she knew about Ellie leaving.
Carl couldn't find the words to answer.
"You love her, don't you?" Emma asked.
Carl hesitated.
"Listen, if you love her more, you should go after her. I'll be alright."
Carl sighed, "It isn't like that. She's my friend."
Emma looked at Carl closely. "And that means she can't be your partner?"
Carl had never thought of it that way before.
"You love her. Go. I'll be alright." Emma told him again.
Carl nodded. He stood up and gave Emma a polite bow. Gathering his coat and his hat, he headed for the door.
Right before exiting the building, he gave Emma Jean one last glance. She gave him a gentle smile. He smiled back.
And then he turned to leave.
Carl pulled the car up at the airport and pulled it into parking.
Rushing inside, he found Ellie, about to enter the checkpoint.
"Ellie!" He called. She didn't hear him.
Carl rushed through the airport, dodging people, until he was within distance of Ellie.
"Ellie!" He called again.
Ellie spun around to face him, shock in her eyes.
"Carl?" She asked, "What are you doing here?"
Carl was in front of Ellie now. He grabbed her hands and looked her in the eyes.
"Ellie, I want to tell you I love you," Carl said, "From the moment I met you as a child, I've loved you. I didn't know it then, I thought that because we were friends… But I want to be more than friends, I want to be spend my life with you, to share many adventures with you. Will you be my best friend for life, my partner?"
Ellie's eyes were filled with tears as she looked into Carl's eyes.
"I thought you'd never ask."
And with that, she gave him the biggest hug she could find.
And that was when Carl and Ellie first fell in love. They were still friends, but it was then that they found the strongest friendship of all. A friendship that would last a lifetime, and even beyond.