I stood absolutely frozen and it had nothing to do with the bitterly cold weather outside. There sitting just a few feet in front of me was my first love, my first real love, Ronald "Sunshine" Bass. Hundreds of memories raced through my mind. I remembered the first time I ever saw his face, the first time we ever talked, my first night hanging out with him and his family, our first kiss, our first dance...it had been an amazing time and he was an amazing person. Truthfully I had probably loved him the first time I saw him but it took some time and a little bit of drama before we finally got it together. He had always loved me so patiently and tenderly. At an awards ceremony honoring the '71 Titan players and coaches, I had finally accepted and confessed my true feelings for him. From that moment on, we became inseparable. We had loved each other with such a beautiful gentle passion. There was junior prom and of course an unforgettable 1972 summer where we spent every waking moment together laughing and talking and swimming. He started as quarterback the next year and I faithfully cheered him on through the less than perfect 9-2 season and I was there to hold him when the team lost the game that would have put them in the finals. We were each other's confidant and best friend and we pledged our live twice that May of 1973. The first was when we made a promise to always be there for one another even though he was going to the University of South Carolina and I had been accepted to Skidmore in New York. The second was the night of senior prom when in an act of the purest love, we conceded to physical want and gave ourselves to one another. That night, the best of my life, would bond us forever. I knew I would love him always. And I did. The first few years of college we saw each other regularly during the summer and holidays. After junior year visitation became less and less frequent and we knew that although the love we shared would always remain, it was time to go our separate ways. Still the entire four years we wrote to each other faithfully once a week every week. I saw him once and only once after college. We spent the day together and had a wonderful dinner...Ronnie, myself and his serious girlfriend, Pamela Murray. We had lost touch but over the years I often thought about him, sometimes wondering what he was up to and always wishing him well. Now here he was sitting before me.

"Mary-Courtney, it's so good to see you", he said hugging me. "You look great."

Being in his arms again always took me to that magical, special place. It was our place.

"Ronnie...it's you. It's really you."

He motioned for me to sit down and we stared at each for a while.

"How have you been?" he asked finally.

"Good. Good. And you?"

"Everything is great. I work as an account manager for ABC and I'm still living in South Carolina. Found this great little cabin by a lake and uh...everything is going well for me. Um, what about you? How are you doing? Where are you living now?"

"Milwaukee."

"Milwaukee? You like it?"

"I do actually. It's a nice place. I do PR for an advertising agency. It's nice. Good people and all. I get to travel a lot which I really like and the pay is nice."

"Sounds great", he smiled. "It seems like you're doing well for yourself."

His eyes kept diverting to the ring on my left hand.

"It's new", I blurted out. "My boyfriend, I mean, my fiancé Charlie just gave it to me."

"Congratulations. When is the wedding?"

"I don't know. We haven't really talked about it or anything."

"That's cool", Ronnie smiled. "Is he a good guy?"

"He's the best."

"Good. I'm happy for you, Mary-Courtney. You deserve the best."

"So um, what are you doing here? I had no idea you were in town. I got together with a few of the guys the other night. We sure did miss you. We would have called if we'd known you were home and all."

"Yeah it was kind of spur of the moment. I didn't really tell anyone. I just sort of showed up. I didn't expect it to snow like this though. Man, this weather is brutal."

"Tell me about it. I can't get a flight out of here."

"I drove and the roads are too bad for me to try to head back so I'm sort of stuck."

"Bummer."

"Yeah...it was..."

He gave me a look, THE look and I felt my whole face flush.

"So what else is going on?" I asked, quickly trying to change the subject.

"Nothing much."

"You seeing anybody?"

Smooth, Mary-Courtney, real smooth. Why did I have to be such a blubbering idiot sometimes?

"You remember Pam, right?"

How could I forget? How could anyone forget Pam? Beautiful, evenly tanned, blonde haired, blue eyed, body right out of a fashion magazine Pam.

"Of course. You guys are still together? That's great. How is she? Did she come up with you?"

"No", he said quickly with a rather sad tone.

"Oh."

"She...um, Pam isn't doing too well, Mary-Courtney."

"Is she sick?"

"Yeah...it's leukemia the doctors say."

I instantly recoiled at the word and the saddened expression on his face.

"Leukemia? Oh dear. Oh Ronnie, I am so sorry. Um, is she...are you okay?"

He shrugged and took another sip of coffee.

"I'm fine but I really worry about her. She tries so hard to be strong but it's really hard to watch someone you love be so sick. She's dying and there is nothing anybody can do about it...not the doctors...not me."

His voice trailed off and instinctively I covered his hand with my own.

"Does she have much time?"

"A few months they say. But each week it seems to get worse, you know? I hate it. I hate not being able to help her. That's like the one thing I can't handle. It's been really getting to me so I decided to take a few days off and come home. Alexandria will always be home for me. I needed a break. I needed to get away and see Mom and Dad and just be some place happy and familiar."

"I'm sorry. Gosh, Ronnie I have no idea what to say. I wish I could help or do something for you or Pam. I guess all you can do now is just be with her and love her. And I'll keep her in my prayers and thoughts."

His eyes had welled with tears.

"Thank you, Mary-Courtney. That's very kind of you. It's nothing anyone can do now. I guess it's all in God's hands. But this...right here...being with you now it helps. It's nice to see a familiar face."

"I agree", I smiled.

"Now enough about me. Tell me more about you and your new life. Tell me about this guy."

"His name is Charlie Foreman and we work for the same company. We've been together almost a year. It's good. We're happy. I love him and out of the blue he popped the question the other night. Surprised the heck out of me, that's for sure. I guess he's ready to make an honest woman out of me on the account we've been living together for a few months."

"Living together?" Ronnie's eyes widened. "That's cool. I mean, it's 1978, right? Times are changing."

"That they are."

"Girl, if your parents knew..." Ronnie laughed.

"They don't and I'd like to keep it that way. Poor Charlie's at the house with them now but he's sleeping. We're trying to leave as soon as possible tomorrow. There was a mini blow out tonight. Charlie let it slip that he was Jewish and all...well, you know the rest."

"I can imagine."

"I needed to get away from them for a while."

"Some things never change. Remember all those nights they used to get on your nerves and you'd sneak out to my place?"

Remember? Just like it was yesterday.

"I'd throw a pebble at your window to get your attention and since I can't throw worth a spit, rocks would be everywhere."

"Yeah", Ronnie laughed.

"Looking back, your parents had to know, right?"

"I don't know", he shrugged. "They probably did but they never let on. They trusted me...they trusted us."

"They sure did. Gosh, we were so young...so in love back then. We used to have so much fun together. It was a crazy time but it was simple back then as well."

"I know what you mean, Mary-Courtney. You know, I'm glad I ran into you tonight. It's so good seeing you. I can't believe we lost touch like we did."

"I know. But never again, huh?"

"Never again", he grinned in agreement. "We're going to exchange phone numbers and addresses."

"And we'll visit too. In fact, I think I'll see you next month when Emma and Gerry get married. They were talking about mailing you an invitation."

"Emma and Gerry? Rock on. I always knew those two would end up together."

"We'll have ourselves a Titan reunion. Louie's coming in from Tennessee and everything."

"That's gonna be awesome. Dude, we're gonna party on. We haven't all been together like that since graduation."

"I know."

We chatted some more and as time passed it felt more and more like the good old days. Sometimes his hand would brush mine or I'd catch him staring at me and all of a sudden I was taken back years later. He was sitting in front of me in a little diner but my eyes wouldn't see it. Instead I'd flash back to 1972, me in my cheerleading uniform, Ronnie in his letter jacket, sitting in Col. Bass' Corvette making out like crazy on the Hill as we listened to the Beatles. I was having the time of my life even though we were waiting out a storm in a hole in the wall drinking stale, unsweetened coffee. It didn't matter. Looking back, the best times in my life had usually been with Ronnie Bass.