October 1964 - Notre Dame University, Washington Hall

"Hey! I didn't think you were gonna make it!" Jed called out to Leo after leaving the podium.

Leo smiled and shook his friend's hand, "You think I'd miss this?"

There were many more hands to shake, classmates, professors, and administrators as so many congratulated him. Sophomore Jed Barlet had just completed his "First Lecture", an annual honor bestowed upon a promising student to address the community on any topic. It coincided with the "Last Lecture" concept, where professors were selected periodically to give a lecture on any topic, as though it was their last.

Once a year, an extraordinary student was selected, usually a senior, who imparted wisdom for the undergraduates. This year, a ground-breaking decision had been made, elevating Jed Barlet to the honor, after his treatise on President Kennedy's 'Profiles in Courage'. The country was in mourning for the slain president, and Jed's insights had captivated the university when published in the campus newspaper.

Leo had hitchhiked and taken several buses to make it to South Bend, Indiana from Ann Arbor, Michigan in time for the Sunday afternoon event. As he'd rushed up the steps to the auditorium, prior to Jed's lecture, he'd felt wet, cold, hungry, and tired. Mud from the road had splashed on his jeans and navy baseball jacket. But, at least he'd been able to keep his new Brooks Brothers suit and tie clean in a garment bag. He quickly changed in the auditorium men's room and found a seat just as Jed took the stage.

For the next 45 minutes, Jed held the audience in the palm of his hand. Leo had seen him do something similar at Phillips - Exeter, but this was a whole other level. There was no question of polite applause of attention because Jed's father was headmaster. At Notre Dame, it was a clean slate for Jed, and he was definitely his own man. Soon, the tiredness was gone as Leo focused on Jed's words, the warmth of the building chased away his chill and his new suit made him feel whole again - more than presentable. Leo even forgot he was hungry.

Jed threw his arm around Leo's shoulders and started moving them toward the reception while acknowledging well-wishers. Leo wondered briefly where Jed's father was? Had his mother made it out for this? Wouldn't it be great for them to see this today? But, as they made their way over to the food, which Leo was becoming increasingly grateful for, he realized he was probably the only guest from outside campus who'd made the trip.

Leo had also noticed one other thing. As they sat down with a few sandwiches and drinks, he thought he might bring it up.

"Nice suit, by the way, Leo," Jed commented.

"Thanks," Leo felt his cheeks flush a bit.

Jed had met him at his worst, with literally no shirt to wear to class the next day. But, Jed never made him feel embarrassed, realizing Leo was just doing the best he could with what he had. Jed really showed him the guy he was that day, and Leo never forgot it.

Since then, Leo had been careful with his money, saving a small ROTC stipend and working part-time at the local hardware store. It would have been great to buy a cheap car, but he didn't really need one most of the time. After he'd been at Phillips for a while and became more comfortable with Mrs. Landingham, she'd even taken him to a few better men's shops and showed him what to look for in quality dress clothes. So, the few things he did invest in were keeping up a good suit, a blazer, some dress pants and shirts, a few ties, and shined shoes. There was something about Leo that might always telegraph "street kid," he knew that. But, doors were opening for him. And, if Leo wanted to walk through them, he needed to look like he belonged.

Finding a few open seats, the two young men sat down and Leo decided to broach the surprise of the afternoon.

"So, Economics major?" he asked, between enthusiastic bites of his sandwich. "No more Theology?"

Jed smiled ruefully. He was out-ted. The program for the afternoon made no mention of Jed's aspirations for the priesthood. In fact, future plans included graduate work focused on economics.

"Well, that was something I was planning to talk with you about today," his friend eased into the conversation. "You know, Leo, I was thinking a lot about what you said about maybe missing out on a family…"

Leo felt the mirth rise up within him, as he stopped munching on his sandwich. "You met someone…"

It wasn't a question, but rather a statement of fact. What was inevitable in Leo's mind had happened. Jed had met someone, who had changed all of his plans. Well, thank God for that.

"Well, yeah, kind of…"

Leo sat up taller in his seat. This was fantastic news! Jed could now let this whole priesthood thing go, have this girlfriend, then, go on and have more girlfriends, put a career together and maybe sometime in his thirties settle down and raise a family. Now, that made sense.

Leo dug back into his sandwich. Life was good for his friend. This afternoon was turning out even better than he'd hoped. Only, Jed interrupted his thoughts...

"In fact, I think I'm in love with her."

The words stopped Leo mid-bite.

"Um, you're what?"

Jed smiled at him knowingly. It was almost as though he expected this reaction.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to ask her to marry me. We might not wait until graduation."

Leo's head was spinning. His sandwich momentarily forgotten, he found the well-manicured shrubs outside the window a strategic point at which to focus and try to collect his thoughts.

He would not hurt his friend by immediately saying, "Why? Why would you do that?" Leo reasoned they were only nineteen years old. How does someone make a decision like that at nineteen? He knew people who did. But, Jed had all kinds of opportunities open to him. How could he want to settle down now? People were starting to delay marriage. With "the pill", women didn't even feel they had to be married to have sex now.

Was this just a replacement for the priesthood, and Jed was going to throw himself headlong into it?

Who was this girl anyway?

"Um… wow…" was all Leo could trust himself to say.

"Yeah, I mean, she's also talking about going to medical school. So, we'll need to figure all of that out."

"Okay," Leo said noncommittally, his heart not in it. But, he was not going to upset his friend on what was a great day for him. This marriage thing could easily go the same way as the priest thing. Probably, the less said the better.

But, Jed wasn't having any of it. His friend shook his head and was clearly going to call him on the carpet.

"You're not excited about it, Leo," Jed stated simply.

"Umm… well, Jed, y'know, those are big decisions," Leo countered, hoping he could change the subject quickly.

"And, you think it's a bad one."

"I… uh… can't say, Jed."

"Listen, Leo, just because you don't want to settle down with anybody… you want to play the field… doesn't mean everyone else wants to..."

"This isn't about me"

"Well, I think it has something to do with how you're viewing the situation."

"I didn't say anything, Jed"

"That's the problem."

Leo sat back in his chair. Jed had a point. He was gun shy about long-term relationships because he knew he was shipping out in eighteen months. The Air Force had offered him a guaranteed slot in flight school, if he could accelerate his degree through summer school classes and graduate early. He guessed the build-up in Vietnam was increasing the need for trained pilots. Either way, given the military was paying for his degree, Leo figured he was going to find himself in a war in Southeast Asia. He could either spend it as a pilot or do something even less safe. It did affect the way he was with girls. He had girlfriends, but not very long. Whenever they started to want something serious, he backed away. There was no point in dashing someone's hopes when he left or even his own. No one was gonna wait around for him for a year or two.

Maybe Leo was looking at this through his own lens, instead of Jed's? He wasn't exactly used to permanency. Jed had reason to feel more confident about things being more stable in his life. Leo supposed even with the loosening up of things, people were still getting married, getting married young, and in college. Maybe who was he to judge, just because he had other plans?

Leo took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to his friend. Despite his intention not to cause it, he could see the hurt there.

"Hey man, I'm sorry," the words quickly came from his mouth.

Jed was his best friend, the best one he'd ever had. And, Leo knew he always wanted him to be his best friend. So, there was permanency there… There was faith in Jed and their friendship… He knew at nineteen years old that he'd made a friend for life. Maybe Jed could know he'd met his future wife and the mother of his children already too? And, how could Leo not be happy for him about it, even if he was still trying to understand it?

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I'm an idiot… Really…" Leo smiled at his friend.

The light in Jed's eyes seemed to come back, the hopeful enthusiasm once again rising in his face.

"So?" Leo teased.

"So what?"

"You gonna tell me about this amazing woman, who has turned your world around? The person who single-handedly saved you from a life of incense, confessionals, and rosaries? Other than you, I bet she'll be the best person I'll know... What's her name?"

"Abbey… Her name is Abbey, Leo…"

The two friends sat for hours as Jed then filled Leo in on the wonders of Abbey Barrington. And, Leo began to understand Jed's excitement for her, even though between distance, war, and college, he wouldn't meet Abbey for years later.

Three months later, when a beautiful redhead named Jenny O'Brien caught his eye at the local hamburger shop, Leo began to even better understand his friend. And, as winter turned into spring, he broke his own rule about long-term girlfriends. Because somehow, the idea that Jenny might wait for him to return home from Vietnam didn't seem quite so far-fetched. If that was how Jed and Abbey felt about each other, they'd be more than okay.