CHAPTER I

8/13/99

Dear Diary,

Why does love exist the way it does? Why don't I have it? Why should things be so different for me? Why is it that I see people walking hand-in-hand in the street, hugging and kissing like they do? That's not fair. Why am I the only one without someone to love? My friends all have boyfriends, and I'm insanely jealous! Tina, my younger sister, is getting married in a few weeks! Just for once in my life, I'd like to have the upper hand in things. I want someone---famous or not---to love me for who I am. On second thought....I would like a celebrity for my true love. Now that would make them jealous. Ha Ha!

Cece

If Cecelia Rhodesmann would have seen what was coming to her, she wouldn't be so frustrated with her non-existent love life. However, it was a strange scenario to those who knew her. She was an intelligent, popular, tall, svelte-buxom young woman with auburn hair down to her waist, lively brown eyes, and pouty red lips. Although she was beautiful, no guy would go out with her. She never flaunted her body and she was very patient, but when her sister Tina made the announcement of her engagement, Cecelia had waited long enough.

She graduated from Cameron High School in North Carolina two months earlier and was preparing to go to college, hopefully to meet some young men who were willing to go out with her. All along she had her diary, a white book with red roses on the cover that she had received for her eighteenth birthday. It was her sacred gift, her most personal and trusted "friend", her closest "companion". As she finished her entry in her red-colored room, her telephone rang. It was her friend, Mitzi Ellison.

"Hello," she whispered hoarsely.

"Cece," Mitzi yelled into the phone. "Girl, you've gotta come to the club tonight!"

"I'm not gonna go," Cecelia replied with fatigue in her voice.

"Oh, why not? It's Friday, and there are gorgeous guys out here!"

"Yeah, Friday the 13th! Come on, Mitz. You know how superstitious I am. Luck is not gonna be on my side."

"Oh, please, now don't make me have to drag your so-called "superstitious" butt out of your house! You need to have some fun!"

"Oh, so you're gonna drag me out? What if I was....naked?"

"I'd still do it! Now, are you gonna come or not?"

At this point Cecelia started to laugh at her relentless friend. "All right, all right, I'll come, but please don't act the "drunken" fool while we're there!"

"You know I don't do that, Cece," softened Mitzi.

"Hmmph," snorted Cecelia, "you could've fooled me!"

Cecelia was naked and wrapped up in her sheets. She was living on her own, so she could roam around the house naked if she wanted to. After talking and planning with Mitzi to go to the club at ten, she hung up the phone, got up from her bed, and started looking through her closet to find something to wear for later that night. It was 8:30 in the evening which gave her some time to search, and she had already eaten dinner.

As she searched, she talked to herself. "Let's see," she said. "Blue skirt with a white tank top? No! Not much of a club outfit. Hmmmm....what else? Yellow dress with a flower print? Uh-uh, too spring afternoon-like.....Leopard pantsuit? Yikes!.....Sleeveless leather Catwoman outfit? Hmmm.....I always dress conservative, so I'll go with this. I'll wear my lacy camisole and black stiletto heels with this. I won't look like the hottest person there, but I'll look like something!"

Cecelia laid her clothes on the bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower. She turned on the water and stepped into the black porcelain tub. As the warm water hit her back, she smiled with content. She picked up her bottle of Agree shampoo and lathered her hair with the contents. Then she used the lather as a body wash and laughed as the suds tickled her honey skin. She stayed in the shower for half an hour washing and pleasuring herself, then stepped out to dry herself off.

Looking in the mirror, she stared at her face. There were no pimples on it, just the way she wanted it. She applied her Noxzema cream and rinsed it with cold water. She re-entered her room, dried her hair and face, and got dressed. The outfit viewed her quite large cleavage, which she didn't care too much about because of the camisole. She brushed her damp hair back into a pinned bun and put a rose in the middle.

Then came the makeup: She never wore too much of it, so she put a little foundation on her face, black mascara on her long lashes, and a deep red lipstick called "Sangria". Her perfume of choice was Aquaflore, a strangely mystical scent which made her excited and surprisingly energetic. As she finished touching herself up and looked in the mirror, the phone rang again.

"Hello," she said into the phone.

"It's 9:30," asked a familiar voice. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, Mitzi, I'm ready," Cecelia sighed.

"I'll be there soon to pick you up. Oh, guess what? The WWF superstars are going to be there."

"Really?" Cecelia deadpanned. "I never watch them on T.V."

"Then you've obviously never heard of....the Hardy Boyz!"

"Of course I have! They're from Cameron, but I don't watch them on T.V. compulsively like you do!"

"Well," Mitzi giggled, "maybe you'll get lucky with one of them tonight!"

"Yeah, whatever. See you soon."

"Bye!"

CHAPTER II

As she finished checking herself in the mirror, Cecelia heard the sounding of a car horn honking. She laughed and rolled her eyes in knowledge that Mitzi had arrived. She grabbed her purse and ran down the stairs, laughing all the way down.

"I'm coming," she cried between giggles. "Hold on a minute, Mitz!"

"Cecelia, get your skinny butt out here, girl!" Mitzi called back.

"Excuse me?" Cecelia answered in shock. "I heard that, you know! Don't make me have to kick your ass!"

"Then who's gonna drive you to the club in my convertible? Certainly not yourself!"

"Please, Mitzi, please......DRIVE!"

As they were on their way to the club, Rockell's "I Fell In Love" came on the radio. Mitzi turned it up and started singing to the lyrics:

I fell in love, gave you my heart

You turned your back and walked out on me

I once was blind, but now I see

And I'm so glad you set me free.

"Won't they play this song at the club?" Cecelia asked.

"I hope they do," replied Mitzi. "It's such a good song."

"I wish I felt that way," Cecelia sighed.

"Oh, no, you do NOT," Mitzi stated firmly. "If you want my opinion, you better hope that the man you love never turns his back on you like my ex-boyfriend did to me when we were going together."

"I never had a boyfriend in my life, and you know that," Cecelia explained.

"You better make sure he's a good one if and when you find him," Mitzi advised. "There are plenty of fish in the water, but good ones are hard to find. And you have to be patient, too."

Cecelia sat back in her seat, deep in thought about what her friend had just said to her. "Maybe you're right. Maybe.....patience is best."

**********************

Jeff Hardy sat at the bar, holding an empty glass in his hand. His older brother Matt was dancing the night away on the dance floor with a bunch of girls. He looked over his shoulder and couldn't help but laugh at the strange picture, yet he felt a little out of place. Matt once had a girlfriend, so he had more of the "experience." Jeff, even though he was the most popular of the brothers in the wrestling arenas, couldn't seem to get a date with anyone, not to mention someone close to his age. He wanted to meet his significant other, but had no idea that it would be on this night in the most unusual of situations.

Meanwhile, Mitzi and Cecelia walked into the club, IDs in hand. They weren't of legal age to drink, so they had to settle on ginger ale. As they were drinking, they noticed the unruly crowd on the dance floor and couldn't help but laugh. The girls didn't know it, but the Hardy Boyz were there.....and Cecelia was sitting next to Jeff. They hardly looked at each other.

"Come on, Cece," Mitzi exclaimed, grabbing her friend's hand. "Let's join them on the floor!"

"Oh, I-I-I don't know, Mitz....." Cecelia stammered. "I think something bad will happen."

"You worry too much. Have some fun for once in your life!"

What Mitzi didn't know, not even Cecelia herself, was that she had every right to be worried, because as they were walking onto the floor, somebody slammed into the back of Cecelia, knocking her onto the floor and causing her to hit her head and rendering her unconscious. Another thing that these girls didn't know was that this would be the catalyst for a big change in their lives.

CHAPTER III

When Cecelia woke up, she found herself on the floor in the arms of someone she hardly knew. She realized that her head was throbbing, and she slowly lifted her hand to touch it, but another hand stroked it softly. Her eyes opened even wider as soon as she saw who it was. There was a large crowd of people, and the person who was holding her was a man, a young man.....a very handsome young man. The beauty of the young man didn't phase her, though.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. "I accidentally hit you. I'm sorry."

"I'm alright....just as soon as I get up," she replied hoarsely. As she started to sit up, she winced in pain.

"You need to take it easy, sweetheart," the friendly young man advised.

"I'm fine," she nearly snapped. "I don't need your help. I need to find my friend. Where is she?"

"What's her name?"

"Mitzi. Where is she?"

"Here I am," Mitzi cried as she rushed through the crowd carrying a bag of ice in her hand. "Here, sweetie. Put this on your head. You need to take it easy."

"That's what this guy told me," smirked Cecelia, pointing to the man behind her.

"Oh...you're Jeff Hardy, right?" asked Mitzi.

"Yeah, that's me," Jeff said. "Have you seen my brother Matt?"

"Yeah," Mitzi replied. "He's getting some more ice."

"Wait a minute.....how do you know of them?" Cecelia asked suspiciously.

"These are the wrestlers I told you about," Mitzi reminded Cecelia. "They're from Cameron. I told you that.....I liked them."

As Jeff smiled and Cecelia blushed with embarrassment, Matt came rushing through the crowd with more ice. He was obviously out of breath when he came.

"Is she...awake?" he panted.

"Yeah, Matt, but do you really think it was necessary to run back?" Jeff retorted.

"It was an emergency, Jeff. She was unconscious."

"Excuse me, but don't I have a say in this?" Cecelia announced. "I was the one that was hurt, you know."

"We understand that, Cecelia," Mitzi replied softly, "and we're sorry we're not giving you the chance to speak."

"Thanks, Mitzi," she quietly spoke. "I have a really bad headache, and I think I need to go home and rest. This night out was a bad idea...as I thought it would be."

"Hey, it's not all that bad, you know," Mitzi grinned. "You did meet a cute guy, didn't you?"

Now it was Jeff's turn to blush. Cecelia turned to face him and started to laugh, knowing but not admitting it was true.

"Do you want me to take you home, Cece?" Mitzi asked.

"I'll call a cab. You can stay here and dance your cares away," Cecelia insisted.

"Are you sure?"

"You know," interrupted Jeff, "I could take you home if you like."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Cecelia replied.

Suddenly, she felt a nudge in her arm from Mitzi. "Take it, girl," she whispered. "He may be famous and all, but he's worth it!"

"What about you, Mitz?"

"I have the other one," Mitzi smirked slyly. "Now, go on."

"On second thought, Jeff...I'd be happy to accept a ride home from you," Cecelia sweetly answered.

Jeff smiled widely with comfort. "Let's go!"

He and Cecelia walked out of the club with the disintegrating crowd looking at them. Jeff helped her into his car and closed the passenger side door. After getting into the driver's seat, he turned on the ignition and the car sped off. In the car, there was uncomfortable silence. Jeff wanted to engage in conversation with Cecelia, for he liked this girl a lot, but couldn't bring himself to tell her. Of course, it was too early--he had just met her. But she was everything he dreamed of in a girl: Dark skin, dark hair, buxom body, and a feisty attitude. He wondered if she felt the same way about him, but figured it couldn't be true.

"So...Cecelia," he said, wanting to talk. "How old are you?"

"Is that how you start every conversation with a girl you meet?" she retorted. "Is that what all the wrestlers do?

"Ouch," Jeff grimaced. So maybe she was a little too feisty. "As a matter of fact, some of the wrestlers are married with children."

"I apologize," she whispered ruefully, biting her lip instead of her tongue. "I didn't mean it. I've always been this way, but whenever I get hurt it really upsets me."

"Oh," replied Jeff casually. "Well, that's understandable."

"By the way, I'm eighteen."

"Twenty-one. My birthday is in less than three weeks."

"Happy early birthday," she smiled. "Thanks," Jeff chuckled. "Is your head okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, "but it still hurts a little."

"Here, let me massage it for you," Jeff requested.

"You can do that and drive at the same time?" Cecelia asked, amused.

"I've done it before," he replied matter-of-factly.

Jeff took his right hand off the steering wheel and massaged her head. Cecelia felt herself surrender to his touch. He was the one who stroked her head in the club, and he was stroking again in the car. She couldn't help but feel pleased.....so pleased that she closed her eyes and let moans escape from her lips.

"Mmmm......Jeff," she slurred. "You have such....a wonderful.....hand. If you weren't a wrestler, I'd let you be my masseuse."

Jeff liked the sound of this. He was making her purr like a pampered cat, but he had to stop and look at the road for he himself was getting into it. Cecelia, upon realizing that he had stopped, controlled herself, cleared her throat, and stared ahead.

"So...where are we headed?" Jeff asked nervously.

"54 Lincoln Street," Cecelia replied, just as nervous.

The car was silent again. When he found the house, he drove up to the front sidewalk. The car stopped and Cecelia stepped out, with Jeff racing to catch her if she fell. Cecelia walked slowly to the front door in an effort to prove to Jeff that all she really needed was rest, even though she knew that he was just trying to be a gentleman.

"Well, this is my home," she declared. "I guess I better turn in."

"Well, it was nice meeting you....despite the incident,"Jeff replied.

"I hold no grudges against you, Jeff," she explained gently. "I knew it was an accident."

"I'll see you tomorrow then." "Will you remember where my house is?"

"Come on, Cecelia, I've lived here in Cameron all my life. Plus, I know the house of a beautiful girl when I see one."

Cecelia was startled at this comment and Jeff blushed, realizing what he just said. She looked at him with deep affection and smiled. All of the redness from Jeff's face disappeared as he stared into her deep brown eyes.

"I'll see you later," he said.

"Bye," she whispered."And thank you."

Cecelia waved goodbye to him as he got into his car and left. As she unlocked the door and entered the house, she slid to the floor, an ear-to-ear smile on her face. She sighed helplessly as she gazed at the ceiling. All of a sudden, her head wasn't hurting anymore.

CHAPTER IV

Cecelia was trying to get some sleep when the phone rang at 1:30 in the morning. She awoke from her slumber restlessly and picked up the red phone that was by her bed.

"Who's this person calling me at one-thirty in the morning trying to get details of what happened after Jeff and I left the club?" she asked in a raspy voice. "Mitzi, I know it's you!"

"Girl, you didn't even give me a chance to say hello," Mitzi cried. "So what happened?"

"He took me home. That was it."

"No details? That's ridiculous!" "

Fine, fine. I'll tell you. We talked about our ages and marriage and....he massaged my head."

Mitzi let out a sharp gasp and replied, "No way! I don't believe you!"

"I'm not kidding, Mitzi," Cecelia insisted. "He has the greatest hands in the world, except he used one hand because he was driving. Then he dropped me off at my house and told me he would be back the next day, which would technically be today."

"I don't believe that, either, Cece."

"I didn't myself, because I didn't think he would remember where I lived, and I totally forgot that he lived in Cameron. He told me so and added this: 'I know the house of a beautiful girl when I see one.' "

"OH MY GOD," Mitzi shrieked. "He called you 'beautiful'! You are sooooo lucky! By the way, how's your head?"

"Oh, now you ask," Cecelia remarked sarcastically. "My headache's gone, thanks to Jeff. How'd things go with you and Matt?"

"Just wonderful," Mitzi sighed happily. "We even swapped digits. He is so handsome."

"So is my Jeff!"

"Your Jeff? Cecelia Cheyenne Rhodesmann! I had no idea!!"

When Mitzi said that, Cecelia realized the mistake she made. She broke her promise to herself by admitting that she liked Jeff Hardy.

"Listen, I-I-I'll talk to you tomorrow," she stammered. "I really need to get some sleep."

"Yeah, so you can dream about your Jeffy baby," Mitzi teased.

"Yeah, WHATEVER, Mitzi Veronica Ellison! Good night!"

"Good night, Cece," Mitzi giggled.

***********************

Eight hours later, Cecelia heard a knock at the front door. Expecting Mitzi, she started laughing to herself, forgetting the night before. She opened the door and found Jeff Hardy standing there with a bouquet of red roses in his hands.

"Good morning, Cecelia," he greeted with a smile. "I bought these for you."

"Well, it's obvious," she softly replied, gently taking the flowers and putting them a vase. "Thank you, but...you really didn't need to do this."

"I wanted to apologize for last night," he explained. "I really didn't see you."

"You already apologized.....without the flowers," she stated. "I'm the only one who needs to apologize."

"For what?"

"For being so rude to you when you were trying to help me. Sometimes I believe that I can do things on my own when I know I can't. I don't like feeling dependent, and that's why I was so snappy. I'm sorry."

Jeff cupped her face in his hands and said, "Like I said, I understand. No one wants to have to rely on other people all the time."

Exchanging smiles with him, Cecelia wrapped her arms around him. She knew what she was doing. As she hugged him, she caught a whiff of his scent. It was a mix of CK One and Brut. The scent was so strong that it stayed in her nose even when she pulled away from him.

"So, does Matt know you're out?" she asked as she combed her hands through her auburn hair. "Yeah," he replied with a grin. "He laughed when I told him I was buying flowers for you."

"I'd imagine. Would you like to come in?" she offered. "I can't right now. I have to do some errands. Maybe later....for dinner perhaps?"

"It's a little early for a date, don't you think?"

"Nah. The earlier, the better."

"Bring Matt," she requested. "I'd like to meet him. I'll ask Mitzi, too."

"Good," Jeff smiled. "So, I'll see you around seven?"

"Sure."

As he was leaving, Cecelia grabbed his arm and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Jeff was startled and looked at her strangely.

"Isn't it early for a kiss?" he asked.

"Nah," she mocked. "The earlier, the better."

CHAPTER V
It was 11:30 in the morning, and Cecelia had already finished eating breakfast. She was in the bathroom touching up her hair and putting on light make-up. She was dressed in a red Adidas shirt with cut-off denim shorts. She was planning to go out to the mall with Mitzi and was waiting for her to show up. Mitzi was usually punctual, and she was half-an-hour late. Cecelia wondered why that was.

"Maybe she ran into someone....probably Matt," she mumbled. "Maybe that's the reason why she's late."

Suddenly, she heard the doorbell ring. Thinking and hoping that it was Mitzi, she rushed down the stairs and opened the door.

"Thank God," she sighed. "I thought you'd never get here!"

"Well," replied Mitzi, "I had a run-in with Matt. Besides, you're just exaggerating!"

"Ha! I knew it! I knew you ran into Matt!"

"Anyway, are you ready to go?"

"I've been ready. Let's go!"

They got into Mitzi's car and she drove off. Cecelia opened her compact and checked to see that her make-up was in place. Mitzi laughed heartily as she glanced at her best friend.

"What?" asked Cecelia, apparently confused.

"Cece, why do you have on make-up?" she teased. "Are you planning on meeting your precious Jeff?"

"Not until tonight," replied a smug Cecelia.

Now Mitzi was suspicious. "What do you mean, 'not until tonight'?"

"He's having dinner with me," announced Cecelia. "At seven."

"You're kidding!"

"No, he came over to my house, brought me flowers, and......that's when it happened."

"No way!"

"Way! What's more, I invited you and Matt."

Mitzi gasped. "Then we have absolutely every reason to go to the mall today. We've gotta get new outfits!"

They pulled into the parking lot of the mall and raced in. Cecelia and Mitzi tried on every dress they could find for two hours, until they found the ones they wanted. Mitzi found a beautiful orange spaghetti strap dress which stopped at her knees, and Cecelia found a flowing white sleeveless dress with an Empire waist that stopped a little above her knees. Checking each other out in the mirror, they admired each other and gave each other comments.

"You look beautiful, Mitz," Cecelia sighed.

"You're just as spectacular," Mitzi smiled. "Now let's go pay for these and get out of here!"

After paying for their new dresses, the girls stopped to an aromatherapy shop. They were both heavily into aromatherapy and loved the smells of nature, especially the sensuous scent of jasmine. They picked up bath pearls and salts, and then decided to go home. At Cecelia's house, the girls poured the bath salts and threw a bath pearl into the bathtub. Since it was Cecelia who was hosting the dinner, they decided to get ready there. With their hair up and their clothes off, they sank into the tub of warm water and began to wash each other. It was very quiet for a few minutes, then Mitzi spoke up.

"So...what do you think will happen tonight with us and the boys?" she asked.

"I don't know," Cecelia answered. "I hope it's something good, at least."

"We have sex with them or something?" Mitzi suggested in a perverted way.

"I wish!"

Laughing heartily, they finished washing each other and got out of the tub. They got dressed and helped each other paint their faces with light make-up. They curled their blond and auburn hair and brushed their hair into a Veronica Lake style. A spritz of Aquaflore perfume and they were ready.

Well...almost. It was 6:45 when they prepared the dinner, which was baked lasagna with a bowl of fresh garden salad and breadsticks. Cecelia's mother was an Italian-born American who taught her four children how to cook Italian meals. The lasagna wasn't even ready when the boys came, but it didn't matter, because when the girls opened the door, there were the boys standing there with a dinner of their own.

"Hello, guys," they greeted seductively.

The guys whistled their approval of the dresses they wore, and the girls blushed. The guys were dressed in white dress shirts and black pants. The dinner wasn't exactly formal or casual, but no one cared about that.

"We brought a dish of our own, just in case everything wasn't ready," Jeff explained. "It's grilled chicken with baked potatoes."

"The more the better," Cecelia smiled. "We're baking lasagna."

"My favorite," Jeff replied with a grin.

"I didn't know that," Cecelia giggled. "Don't you guys stand out there! Come on in!"

CHAPTER VI

The dinner was even more exciting than Cecelia had thought it would be. The lasagna actually cooked well despite the fact that she was so nervous, the boys and Mitzi loved the lasagna (especially Jeff), the chicken the boys brought was delicious, and the conversations were wild. Everything seemed perfect, according to Cecelia, but she wanted something else: A romantic moment with Jeff.

"So, what do you guys wanna do?" she asked.

"Let's play a game," announced Mitzi.

"That's a good idea," replied Matt. "How 'bout 'Truth or Dare'?"

"Great idea," snickered Jeff. "I could think of some nasty dares. Anybody else?" girls.

"Alright, Matt," said Jeff, "truth or dare?"

"Um.....truth," Matt said. "Which girl do you think is hot?"

"Hey," cried Mitzi, giggling, "that's not a fair question, and it won't be a fair answer!"

"In the game of truth or dare," Jeff explained in an announcer's voice, "there are no fair questions!"

"Whatever," replied Mitzi, waving her hand in dismissal.

"So, what's your answer, bro?"

"Mitzi. She understands me."

As Jeff feigned disgust, the other three all laughed. Mitzi winked at Matt, who in turn winked back at her and blew her a kiss.

Cecelia saw this and gasped, "Is there something that we should know before continuing this game, Matt?"

"Uh.....what do you mean? I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about!"

"You just blew a kiss at Mitzi!"

"Tattletale!" "Stop acting like children, you two," laughed Jeff. "Let's continue with the game."

"Fine, I'll ask," Cecelia announced. "Mitzi, truth or dare?"

"Dare!"

"Alright," Cecelia replied, staring at her best friend quietly.

The whole room was silent as the three of them waited to hear what the dare was going to be.

"What is it, Cece?" Mitzi cried in near-impatience.

"I want you....to give Matt a French kiss on the lips since you both like each other so much!"

"I hardly know him," whispered Mitzi.

"Yeah," whispered Cece in her ear, "but it's pretty damn obvious that he wants you and you want him!"

Mitzi and Cecelia smiled at each other as the boys faced them, trying not to laugh. Mitzi stood straight up, walked over to Matt, and planted her lips on his. Matt seemed thoroughly aroused by this, because he started to groan loudly. The groaning came from Mitzi, as well, and it looked like they were never going to stop. Jeff and Cecelia watched them, giggling uncontrollably. As they continued kissing, Jeff jumped up and grabbed Cecelia's hand and they ran out of the room. Cecelia opened the front door, closed it firmly, and stared at Jeff, who by this time was red in the face. Suddenly, they burst into hysterics and fell on the porch laughing. When they finished, they looked through the window and found them still liplocked, their clothes coming off. This time, they were shocked. They both knew that Mitzi and Matt liked each other, but they never expected them to have sex on the first date.

"Maybe we should give them some time alone," Cecelia snickered.

"Do you wanna go somewhere?" asked Jeff.

"Where do you wanna go?" she asked.

"Anywhere you wanna go," he seductively replied, stroking her face.

"Let's go downtown. I'm not sure what to do downtown, I just wanna go!"

"Then let's go! There's plenty to do downtown! Anything to get away from the newfound lovebirds!"

Giggling, they jumped into the car and sped off downtown, unbeknownst to the lovebirds in the house. To say that Cecelia knew what she was doing what only half the point; she wanted this to happen.

CHAPTER VII

"Ooooh, I love this song," Cecelia cried as she turned up the volume in Jeff's car radio.

The song was Pearl Jam's 'Last Kiss', and both Cecelia and Jeff started singing along with the lyrics as they were in the car going downtown.

Oh where, oh where, can my baby be?

The Lord took her away from me

She's gone to heaven, so I've got to be good

So I can see my baby when I leave this world...

"That's such a sad, sad song," Cecelia quietly remarked. "Imagine having to lose the one you love in an accident."

"I know," replied Jeff. "I like this song myself, but it's so depressing."

"That actually happened to me once," recalled Cecelia.

"Really? What happened?"

"Vincent, my cousin, lived in New York with his wife Laurie and their five-year-old son Trent. Two years ago, they were coming home from a birthday party that a friend of theirs was hosting, Vincent was drinking. He didn't let Laurie drive the car because, as he put it, it was his car. He loved Laurie, but he treated her like a child and restricted her to do certain things. Anyway, a truck comes the opposite direction they're heading and hits them head-on......killing all of them instantly."

Cecelia broke down in tears and Jeff pulled the car over to the side of the road. Then, he put his arms around her and held her tightly.

"I'm sorry, Cece," he whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I didn't know."

Cecelia kept crying. This was all a true story, but she didn't want to explain it. She wondered why she did since this wasn't her plan.

"Listen, we could always go back home if you'd like," Jeff offered.

"No," she cried defiantly. "I'd rather be somewhere else than home right now. I didn't mean to open up like that. It was supposed to be a happy night. God, why did I have to go and wreck it?" "You didn't wreck anything," Jeff quietly insisted, stroking her face. "I got to know you because of this."

Cecelia smiled, feeling good that she seemingly did something right. "Let's go downtown. I wanna enjoy this night!"

"Let's go!"

*******************