The fall semester was moving right along... I was enjoying my classes, had celebrated my 20th birthday in October and Brenda (19) and I were seeing each other almost everyday. In the middle of the day we would meet at the quad in between classes and watch the squirrels chase each other around the giant oak trees on campus. We had fun taking pictures of some of the squirrels and even named one "Rocky", he was our favorite and the most photogenic. Our work schedule at the Grille was the same thanks to a really sweet supervisor, so each night that we worked I could walk her home.
The 2nd floor of her dorm had an assortment of couches and chairs and was open to all students until 1 AM each night. There we sat and talked for hours about what our lives were like back home as she'd grown up in the very western tip of our state and I was about as far east as you could get. We measured it on the map one night and while our dorms were a five minute walk apart, our real homes were separated by over 400 miles. Her hometown was a medium sized farming community while I was from a small failing mining town yet somehow we'd ended up at one of the biggest universities right in the center of our state.
Brenda was a 4.0 honors student in high school and crushed the ACT test with a score of 32. I had been a solid B student and as far as the ACT was concerned, let's just say I finished the test. In my eyes she was the most beautiful girl in the world and was without a doubt the smartest person I had ever met. She'd earned a scholarship and been accepted into the Occupational Therapy program which was one of the most competitive programs in our state. If it weren't for her parents telling her that she couldn't move out of state I really think she could have ended up in medical school at an Ivy League College and she I and would never have met.
I chose our university because it had a really good Criminal Justice program and I knew that I wanted to be in some form of law enforcement after graduation. Every morning I would get up at 6 AM and run 5 miles to the criminal justice center and then 5 miles back to my dorm for a quick shower before heading off to the cafeteria for breakfast and then to classes. Some of my classes were held in huge lecture halls that held 300 students which is more people than were in my graduating class.
As time progressed so did my feelings for this incredible lady in my life. Neither of us owned a car so we were used to walking anywhere we wanted to go. One night after sitting in her dorm until almost 1 AM we were hungry for snacks. It was like a ten minute walk from her dorm to the football stadium where we hung a right and walked another mile up the strip to Dunkin Donuts. Getting there at those hours meant the staff were just beginning to bring out fresh donuts for the morning rush. She ordered Bavarian creme and I got chocolate frosted. They were amazing!
