Celebrate Good Times

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“Is it really over?”

Sarah, Henry, and I stood outside of our classroom after we'd given our last exam.

“It's...over” I whispered. We stared at the floor with our brows furrowed. Breathing heavily as if we'd been holding air in our lungs. The realization slowly came over us. We turned to one another. The smile on our faces growing rapidly.

“It's over!” Sarah squealed as she jumped with joy. Henry and I followed, the three of us eventually ending up in a hug.

The double doors behind us opened slightly. We turned around to find our professor's assistant glaring at us. “There are students still testing. Please keep it down.” She whispered in a nasal tone. We giggled at each other and scurried out of the building.

“No more study sessions, no more late night cramming, no more early morning classes!” I spread my arms and looked up at the sky. It was like I was seeing it for the first time. I never remembered it being so blue. Maybe this is what freedom looked like?

As we approached the end of the street Sarah and Henry's driver pulled up to the curb. The two of them stood by the door, each waiting to say good bye. “Are you sure you don't need a ride?” Sarah asked.

“No, it's fine. You two should get going”

“I'm gonna miss you, Lynn!” Sarah wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. Sarah and Henry were leaving for London the next morning and wouldn't be back until the end of summer “Please, come visit us!”

“Oh” Sarah had practically pounced on me. I took a step back to catch my balance. “I'm going to miss you guys, too! I'll try my hardest to visit.”

“You promise?” Henry asked as he pushed Sarah away to give me a hug.

“I promise!” I gave him a good squeeze before they both jumped into the SUV. We said our final goodbyes as they drove away.

It felt so surreal knowing I wouldn't have to be on campus for the next couple of months. I'd been so consumed with school I didn't even know what to do with myself.

I grabbed a snack from a street vendor and headed on my way back to the apartment. First thing was first, I gathered all my books and hid them in the back of my closet. The sight of them made me shudder on a normal school night. I didn't even want to know the reaction I'd have if I'd seen them while on vacation.

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and taking a shower. It wasn't until the late evening when I'd gotten a call from Connor. He wanted to celebrate my year ending and asked if he could stop by.

“Congratulations!” He yelled as I opened the front door. He was still in his dress shirt and slacks from work with a bottle of champagne in hand. “You've officially finished your first year of med school!” His arms wrapped around me and carried me in, closing the door behind us.

I pulled out a couple of glasses and met Connor on the couch. He popped the champagne bottle open and poured it out. We clinked our glasses before he pulled my legs over his lap. I nestled myself into his shoulder. It was exactly where I wanted to be after a long and exhausting week.

“So, how does it feel?” Connor asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“It feels...amazing!” I leaned in a gave him a kiss “Do you remember your first year?”

“Oh God.” Connor stared off in the distance, as if the memories flowed back to him. “It was bad, but it wasn't the worst. At least you'll have summer to recuperate.”

“I know!” I happily cheered. “I can finally catch up on all those things I've been wanting to do since I've moved here.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Like...going running in Central Park.”

Connor's head fell back as he laughed out loud.

“What?” I pushed his shoulder teasingly.

“What else?”

“I don't know. Maybe go back home for a few days.” I couldn't think of anything off the top of my head. “Sarah and Henry invited me to visit them in London, who knows where the summer will take me.”

Connor smiled. “Well, I have some good news of my own.” I straightened my posture and looked over at Connor, giving my full attention. “The charity project me and the other doctors have been working on has finally gotten approved.”

“Oh my God! Congratulations!” I gave him in hug. The last few weeks Connor and his colleagues had been working endless hours trying to get the detailing right. I was so happy they'd finally gotten everything figured out and impressed with how passionate he was about the project. “So, give me the details!”

“Well” Connor cleared his throat. “It's going to be a two week long project.”

“Okay” I nodded my head. “Go on...”

He looked at me before he sat up, putting his drink on the coffee table. “And I'm leaving next week.”

I stared at him for a second. I had known Connor's charity work was going to take him on a trip to Asia, but I didn't think it would happen until much later.“That's so soon” I tried to sound excited, but it didn't come off that way.

“I know, it's the only time that worked for all the sponsors. I didn't think it would happen so fast either.” He said apologetically.

“I'm sorry, Connor. I should be way more excited. This is such an amazing opportunity. You've got a kind soul, my dear.” I leaned in and gave him a kiss. Connor took the glass from my hand and put it on the coffee table. He pushed me back onto the couch as his body climbed over mine.

He began kissing me from my jaw down to the base of my neck. “I'm going to miss you.” He mumbled in between kisses. “I wish you could come with me”

When Connor first told me about his project I considered going with him. I thought it would be a great experience and would help to shape me as a future doctor. But, since he was leaving so soon we both knew it wouldn't be enough time for me to get my paper work and shots in time.

I grabbed his face with both my hands and pulled him up until we were eye to eye. “I'm going to miss you too. But, what you're doing is heroic. You're going to be helping so many people. Those two weeks are going to fly by before you know it.” I smiled reassuringly.

Connor's eyes stared straight back at me. “I...” He paused for a moment before he spoke again. “I love you, Lynn.”

My heart stopped for a moment and I'm pretty sure I forgot to breath. I tried to say something, but it wasn't coming out. Did he really just say what I think he did?