There was a time when the world was sweeter...when the women wore dresses, and the men donned hats. The summer of 1958 was one that I will never forget. At age 57 I still remember, as I look back at the time I was seventeen. I was living in the small religious town of Beaufort, North Carolina. My father was a congressman so he was not around much since he lived in Washington, DC. I felt like our relationship was stretching out farther and farther every time he was not around. He told me to run for school president and with the help of one of the most popular guys at school and also my best friend, Eric Hunter, I actually won. Now, the bad thing about being school president was that I was required to go to the dance with a DATE. I asked many girls, but they were all taken.
So I decided to look at the yearbook to find one. As I was looking through the pages I saw Jamie Sullivan’s picture. I didn’t want to go to the dance with her, but no one else seemed to be available. Jamie Sullivan was the daughter of Hegbert Sullivan, the church’s reverend. She always carried a bible, and just the sight of it made people guilty. She always dressed in modest clothing and every time she talked to someone she had to mention “God’s Plan”. Jamie didn’t seem to mind living in a world apart from the other teens. She took care of her widowed father, rescued hurt animals, and helped out at the local orphanage. Never in the world will I imagine asking Jamie out, but sometimes things happen for a reason.
When I asked Jamie out to the dance she said she will go with me under one condition. I thought her condition was ridiculous so I guessed she had a sense of humor, but, boy I was wrong. She said “You have to promise that you won’t fall in love with me”, and I assured her I wouldn’t. At the night of the dance I saw Angela Clark, my first and ex- girlfriend. She was with her boyfriend Lew, a mechanic. Lew noticed I was looking at Angela’s direction, and threatened me but, thankfully Jamie came to my aid by telling Lew some story how she met his grandmother. I had to say, Jamie was a good person. The dance wasn’t that bad after all. After a few weeks, Jamie unexpectedly asked me to play the lead role in the school’s play “The Christmas Angel”. You see, I decided to take drama class that year because I thought it would give me an easy A, but now it results in me playing the lead role. I accepted Jamie’s offer but I was not that happy about it because, my friends will tease me once they found out. On the other hand Jamie was more than happy.
One day when rehearsal finished Jamie asked me to walk her home, which then became more frequent. A few days later, while I was walking Jamie home, Erick saw us and mocked me and Jamie. I felt embarrassed of her but I couldn’t help it. However, I learned a lot about Jamie. She told me the organizations and people she helped including, the orphanage. Jamie and I went to go visit this orphanage one time. She had this idea that she wanted to do the play for the children, but Mr. Jenkins, the owner, didn’t approve of it. On our way back from the orphanage, Jamie tells me her wish of getting married in a church filled with people, and her father to walk her down the aisle. I thought this was pretty strange but to be honest, I kind of liked spending time with her.
As days passed, I kept walking Jamie home, till one day she annoyed me and I told her I wasn’t her friend. I was really sorry afterwards I tried telling her on the night of the play but I couldn’t find her. Jamie was playing the angel of the play and for once I saw how beautiful she was. She wore a hint of makeup and her hair was down then rather in a bun. After the play, I finally got to say I’m sorry and tell her if there is anything I can do for her. In return, she told me to collect all the jars she put up around town to help collect money for the orphanage. When I did, there was only fifty five dollars and seventy three cents in there. I felt bad that she went through the trouble of putting jars all over town and just get that little after putting them at the beginning of the year. So I went to the bank and when I gave it to her there was two hundred and seventy four dollars. We bought a lot of gifts for the children in the orphanage, and we spent Christmas Eve there. As a present she gave me her bible. It used to be her mother’s so it really meant a lot to her. I finally realized my true feelings, all I could do is wonder how I'd ever fallen in love with a girl like Jamie Sullivan.
I invited her to dinner for Christmas, and I went to visit her the next day at her house where we shared our first kiss. Afterwards, I asked Hegbert if I can take Jamie to Flavin’s, the restaurant, on New Year’s Eve. He obviously refused, but then after I declare my love for his daughter, he let her go. In New Years Eve Jamie and I went to dinner and we shared our first dance. After a couple of weeks, I finally told Jamie that I loved her, but in response she told me that I couldn't. I demanded and explanation and that was when she told me she was dieing of Leukemia. I felt like my whole world was collapsing. The woman I love was dieing.
I noticed that Jamie was not coming to school no more, and I knew that she was too weak to go to school and never again will go. I insisted Jamie to have dinner at my house one night and there, for the first time, Jamie told me she loved me too. After a few weeks later, Margaret and Eric come to Jamie’s house. They apologize for being mean to Jamie and treating her rude. She gladly forgave them, and that’s what surprised me the most. She’d always tolerate their taunting and just like that she forgives them. They gave her 400 dollars for the orphanage and left knowing she was the greatest person they have ever known.
My dad took me by surprise when he paid for Jamie’s home care since she refused to be hospitalized. It’s hard to believe, but this suddenly brought me closer to my dad. At the end I married Jamie. We married just like she wanted it with a church full of people, and her dad walking her down the aisle. That would always be a Walk to Remember. When Hegbert turned his daughter at the front of the steps he said "I can no more give Jamie away than I can give away my heart. But what I can do is let another share in the joy that she has always given me." Looking back at this memory makes me remember that Jamie taught me the importance of faith and forgiveness. Even though she was dieing she never lost faith. I now believe by the way that miracles can happen.
Word Count: 1,278
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