The Curtain Falls

The rest of our Thanksgiving weekend passed without any major incidents. On Saturday, Zac and Taylor took me into DC for a little sightseeing, and on Sunday, we piled into my car to drive back to campus. Between Taylor’s clothes and the mountains of Tupperware containers full of that Diana insisted we take back with us, I wasn’t sure there would actually be room for all three of us in the Jeep.

When we finally arrived back in Richmond, I was struck with the realization that my first semester of college was about to end. Only a few weeks and some final exams stood between me and Christmas break. It seemed strange that it had passed so quickly, and yet, with all its drama, it seemed to have lasted forever as well.

This place, this college, and these friends had become a home to me. I remembered Zac telling me, when we barely knew each other, that my friends would be there for me at all times. They couldn’t replace my family, but they could, in a way, be my family, too. I liked that thought. As we drove down the streets of Richmond toward campus, I understood his meaning more than I ever had before. Richmond itself didn’t feel like home, but everything – and everyone – else that I was returning to, did.

I realized, though, as Zac pulled into the parking lot in front of Johnson, that I wouldn’t change a single second of the past semester. It was such a cheesy thought to have that I mentally chastised myself for it, but even my internal admonishment didn’t change the way I felt. Sure, I had made a few mistakes – dating Donovan, not realizing how great Zac was, accusing him of cheating – but overall, I felt that things had happened as they should. After all of it, I had ended up with Zac, and I was happy. What else mattered?

Sure, we still had problems to face – all of us. Taylor was still, by and large, in the closet. My mother was still… well, infuriating, and I hadn’t worked up the nerve to deal with that yet. I was still a little unsure and unsteady on my feet in this whole relationship thing, even though I knew without a doubt that I did love Zac. But we were both still young, still learning our way around this whole dating thing. Oh, and then there was that little matter of final exams, which we all needed to pass.

There were hurdles to climb, for sure. But for once, I didn’t doubt that we – that I – could leap over them without trouble. I was still a pessimist; I doubted that would ever change. But maybe, just maybe, the entire universe wasn’t really out to get me.