She and I were sitting on the old swing set in the backyard of my mom's house (since my parents were divorced). It was a couple of weeks before graduation and neither of us were going to college. I had the band Joe had convinced me to join and she, well, she just didn't want to leave me. That was her honest reason, or the reason I forced out of her. She told everyone else that she just couldn't afford college right now, even with the financial aid.
"I'm so hopeless," She mumbled under her breath out of the blue, swaying back and forth on the swing but never picking her feet up from the slowly-but-surely decaying woodchips that were confined to the makeshift box that my dad built years and years ago. I was surprised my mom hadn't gotten rid of the old thing yet.
"You're not hopeless," I replied from the next swing over, turning to face her, "Why do you think you're hopeless?"
"Because everyone's always talking about where they're going to be five, ten years from now and they all seem to know," She retorted softly, her head hung low so she could avoid my gaze. "But here I am. I don't know where I'm going to be five, ten years from now. I mean, with you, you're going to be a big musician, playing shows all over the world." She glanced up at me, a small grin stretched across her face, "Everyone's going to know your name. Everyone's going to be singing along to your songs and dying to meet you. But me?" She shook her head, the smile faltering ever so slightly as she looked into the distance, "I haven't got the slightest idea where I'll be."
I bit my lip before moving closer to her and taking her hands in mine, "I do."
She met my gaze with her wistful one, "You do?"
I nodded my head, "Of course. You know, your future's not as cloudy as you think it is." I took in a quick breath before saying, "Five, ten years from now, I am going to be a big musician. Everyone is going to know my name. And they are going to be singing along to my songs and dying to meet me. Just like you said, but you're forgetting the most important part of all."
"What?"
"You," I smirked, "You're going to be a big musician's wife. And everyone's going to know your name, or at least know your beautiful face. The two of us are going to be all over the news. When we get married. When we have our first kid together."
Yes, I'll admit, I was very ambitious and we hadn't even been dating for but a few months. But like I said before, I knew she was the one.
A smile crawled up on her dark red lips, "Really?"
"Mhmm. We can live here if you want, because I know how much your dad means to you and how much it would hurt if you were far away from him. And then, if we live here, we can send our kids to the schools I went to and it'll be great. We'll be so happy."
She sat there for a moment before tilting her head down and asking, "How do you know, though? That's five, ten years from now, Patrick. You can't predict something like that."
But I did. Because she was a big musician's wife. Everyone did know her name, her face. We were all over the news. But it wasn't because we were married or we had our first kid.
"I just do," I said, rising to my feet and standing up from the swing. "You're not hopeless. Not if you're with me."
She glanced up at me, her eyes bright, "Patrick, can you promise me something?"
"Anything," I replied without hesitation.
"Will you be there for me?" She stood up, looking directly into my eyes, "Always? Forever."
I stood there for a moment, taking her words in, before responding, "Yeah. Always and forever."
"Always and forever?"
"That's what I said, did I not?" I smirked, snaking my arms around her waist and pulling her closer to me.
I kept my promise. I was there for her. Always. Forever. I just don't know if she ever realized it, or ever believed me...