Dear Diary. It's your old pal Olive again. And today is the day I made one of the most important decisions of my life. The irony is: it started with some of the worst decisions I ever made in my life. I guess I should back up a bit. You see me and Sydney have been dating for several years now, and I would do anything for her. In a family full of chaotic brothers, Sydney provided me the warmth and affection my parents and brothers never had the time to share. I could never begin to express how I appreciated Sydney so much. But one day, I started to wonder if that appreciation was one-sided.
Sydney was stepping off of a bus and onto a sidewalk as she said, "Oh my gosh. A chance to perform with my guitar on stage in New York City! Can you believe this Olive!?" Then Olive stepped off the bus behind Sydney carrying two large suit cases as she said, "Oh, I can believe this luggage is real heavy. Can you give me a hand with this Syd?" Sydney then smirked and said, "Come on Olive. You know Mr. Flynn said I had to keep my hands free of any heavy weight or strenuous use for the concert. Besides, I know you're strong babe. Ooo. Look. New York pizza! I gotta try that!" Sydney then ran off as a frustrated Olive said, "Sydney, wait!"
Look, I was so happy for Sydney. Not many high school students get the chance to perform at one of the prestigious music halls in New York City. But I was starting to feel more like a carry-on in Sydney's life at this point; even more than her actual carry-ons.
Sydney was sitting in a hotel room on a bed in her underwear talking on her phone. Meanwhile Olive was sitting on the floor doing some basic sewing on Sydney's long black dress. As Sydney was on the phone she said, "What do you mean new black dresses can't be shipped that fast? I tore my outfit this morning on a stupid train, and I have to follow a stupid strict dress code for my music performance. Ugg. Well, thanks for nothing." Sydney then hung up the phone and said, "Well, it looks like you'll have to keep on sewing Olive. What's your ETA for being done?" Olive who looked a bit stressed and sweaty said, "About five hours." Sydney then said, "Won't work. I gotta be out of here in four. Think you can get it done by then?" Olive nodded quickly and said, "I'll try." Sydney smiled and then said, "Thanks. I'm gonna relax in the hot tub while you do that." Sydney then began to walk towards the bathroom as Olive groaned in frustration, and continued to sew.
I would do anything for Sydney. I would give up anything for Sydney. But in that moment... I began to wonder if Sydney felt the same way about me.
Sydney stood back stage at an auditorium wearing a black jacket and pants. Sydney then turned her head and saw Olive running towards her. Sydney then said, "It's done?" Olive nodded looking tired and worn out as she said, "Yeah. Here's your fully repaired dress." Sydney looked at the dress as she said, "Excellent. And just in time. Ten minutes till I got on stage, and... Olive, are you okay?" Olive, whose face was looking pale, began to lose her balance as she said, "Sydney... I'm not feeling too good." Then suddenly Olive's eyes closed as she fell to the floor.
I completely blacked out at that moment. Since I had been so focused and determined to help Sydney out with her dress, I guess I forced my brain to not notice the obvious sickness was body was starting to get. Not the best decision I ever made. The last thing I saw before I hit the floor was Sydney's face looking concerned; which happened to also be the first thing I saw when I woke up.
Olive was lying in a hospital bed seeing Sydney sitting next to her in a chair. As Olive looked at the hospital room around her she said, "Sydney?" Sydney made a little smile as she said, "Good to see you awake. You took a real sudden fall there. Doctors say you're okay. Just the flu, but made worse by you being so exhausted." Olive then said, "Well... sorry for being such a drama queen. How did your performance go?" Sydney with a simple tone to her voice said, "I didn't perform." A surprised Olive then said, "What? But Sydney, this performance was so important to you. It was everything you ever wanted." Sydney then with a little smile said, "But I had to come with you to the hospital to make sure you were okay Olive. Because... you are everything I've ever wanted." Olive's eyes widened slightly as with a look of surprise she said, "Sydney, I..." Sydney then put a hand on Olive's cheek and said, "Olive... you've been there with me since my mom died. And when that happened, I thought my heart was broken. But you helped me heal it. But if something really bad happened to you... well, it would just about to kill me because... my heart is now with you." A few tears began to come from Sydney's eyes, as Olive began to cry too as she said, "Sydney... I love you." Sydney nodded and smiled as she said, "I know."
And in that moment, I finally knew who Sydney was. The girl that would give up everything else she ever wanted in life... just to make sure I was okay. And it wouldn't be for another two years before I asked her the question, but it was that day, or rather it was that moment, when I finally made the decision that... I was going to ask Sydney Reynolds to marry me.
THE END
Next Chapters:
Chapter 3: Making Love
Chapter 4: Creating Life
Chapter 5: Individual Unique Moments