First Love...

We met at the start of a new school year. She sat down next to me and smiled. I turned red in the face and got nervous. Pretty girls always did that to me. We became friends right away and before too many weeks had passed I overheard her announce to a classmate that I was her boyfriend. Wow! I wasn't expecting that but after the initial shock I liked the idea.

As the weeks went on we grew closer and closer. We did everything together and hated for each day to come to an end. Our individual studies kept us apart more than we liked but we tried to make up for it when we had a break.

Fall came and the leaves fell. I expected things to end as most first loves do but by Christmas I was still madly in love and I think she was too. We were too young to know how to express this love so we contented ourselves with simple acts of kindness and longing looks.

During the spring semester we planned our June wedding. She wanted white horses pulling a white carriage loaded down with red roses. An odd wish in my opinion but I was fine with it. Actually, all the planning was done by her while I concentrated on making better grades than I ever had before....I was going to support a wife so I needed to get smart in a hurry. I figured if I didn't get enough education in time I would humble myself and ask her dad for a job on his ranch. I was pretty good with horses so I figured he would take me on.

Before the spring semester ended we knew we had to announce our plans to our parents. Their blessing was critical to a happy marriage. She promised to talk to her folks over the coming weekend and made me promise to do the same. I promised but I was a wreck thinking about how it would go. As expected, my Mom was not amused. She said I was crazy to even think of such a thing. Her response convinced me that telling my Dad would be a big mistake. When the following Monday came she asked how it had gone for me. I told her it wasn't good and asked about her parents reaction. She said her parents actually laughed at her. I was offended for her and worried what the future held.

Before school let out for the summer break she told me we were going to have to break up. With a huge lump in my throat I asked her why. She said her mother had convinced her we were too young. We needed to take our time and see other people. I was hurt but I tried to not show it. Later in the day I asked if she still felt the same way about things. She told me she did and insisted she knew better than I because, after all, she was older than me. I couldn't argue with that. She was seven and I was six.