At the reception, I found my parents who I rarely ever saw anymore and sat with them. Not living at home will do that sometimes. They were busy talking to other people in the room. Me on the other hand wanted to sit alone at the table. After a while, people began sharing memories of Savannah and her daughter. The first one to speak was someone I didn't know who said nothing interesting. Steve was the second one to speak.

"Hello everyone. It means a lot that all of you were able to make it. As many of you know. I was Savannah's Husband. I first met Savannah as a young child in Kindergarten I believe." It was obvious he was doing his best to hold in his emotions. "We were at a soccer game. As some of you know, I sometimes cheat at games and get competitive. Every soccer game, I loved it when the other team's goalie was a guy because I could kick the ball towards his privates and he would usually fall to the ground allowing me to make a goal. Sadly, Savannah was the goalie this time and my technique didn't work." The room was in an uproarious laugh. "I tried at least four times until she got annoyed and kicked me in the private. We became friends after that. But I think the defining and changing moment in our friendship was in high school during our Junior Year. Margo had a stalker and Savannah was worried because she couldn't defend herself. She insisted that I took care of the stalker. Margo would ride the bus home after Volleyball Practice with her stalker not far off. One day after practice, we picked up Margo and I found her stalker. I kicked the crap out of him and told him to leave her alone. Savannah was thankful, and we began dating a month later."

My mind began to wander off to the time I had that stalker.

Volleyball practice was over and as soon as it was over, I received a text message.

"Hello, cutie," read the text message.

Every day I would receive similar text messages. And every day I would rush to the bus in fear of my stalker who would usually follow me to the bus. He was a creepy fellow with long eighties rock band hair and incredibly short shorts. He had been accused many times of rape. As I rushed to the bus, Steve honked at me before I got on the bus. My sister was with him and I got in the car.

"I hear you have a stalker."

I nodded.

"Can I see your phone?" He checked my phone for all the creepy text messages.

At that moment, the creep was standing near the bus and I pointed him out. When the bus left, and everyone had left, Steve got out of the car.

"Hey buddy, I hear you've been stalking Margo."

"I'm not doing anything."

"So why are you bothering her? Are you a student here?"

"I graduated last year. I just wanted to talk to her."

"Why?"

There was no answer. Eventually, he just walked up to him and socked him in the face. My stalker fell to the ground.

"Now listen up! If you ever come near Margo again, I'll do more than that. Assuming you're a legal adult now, I can call the cops."

Immediately he ran off and I found myself rushing out of the car to hug and thank Steve. Once we were in the car, Savannah gave Steve a little kiss on the cheek as her thanks. My feelings and opinions about Steve changed that day. That night I sat in our backyard on the swings. Steve joined me.

"Are you holding up ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks."

"Well if you ever need anything, I'm always here. Ok?"

My head nodded without a word. It was obvious he didn't believe me.

"Hey, I'm serious. You mean a lot to me. I'd hate to see someone hurt you. You're like a sister to me."

To my surprise, I spoke. "But we never talk."

"It doesn't matter. I know your shy. You may be different from most people, but I still care about you. Friends forever?" He put his hand towards me in knuckle form wanting me to pound it with my knuckles. So, I did.

For the next few minutes, he sat next to me. He had accepted me for who I was. It was at that moment for the first time, I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to hold his hand. I wanted to tell him everything about myself assuming he knew nothing about me. You could say I developed a crush on him. Usually, every time I developed a crush, it would last maybe a month or two at the most. As three months passed, I was a little jealous of my sister who was dating him. Sure, I was happy for her, but maybe I wasn't. As time progressed, I spoke less to my sister. I wanted to tell her about how I felt about Steve, but you can't really do that when your sister is dating him. Deep down, I hoped they would eventually break up, so I could have him. Maybe once they graduated high school. Didn't happen. I never anticipated they would get married. I eventually learned to get over it somewhat.

There were a few more people who spoke. My dad was one of those people. It came to my realization, that Steve was now available. Yes, I still had a thing for him. I felt awful for thinking that.

"Are you going to be ok honey?" my dad asked when everything was over.

"I'll be fine."

Me and the preacher walked back. This time I talked. I told him about the stalker and the night I fell for him on the swings. He knew everything.

"I feel terrible about all this," I said to the preacher. "I loved my sister so much. I feel like I'm betraying her."

"Well as twisted as all this may sound, perhaps this is the will of our Heavenly Father."

"So, you're saying this is the perfect time to ask Steve on a date?"

"At least reconnect with him. Why not just be a friend? He could use one right now."

"I don't know. He probably hates me."

He led me back to the two tombstones and looked at both.

"Margo, look at both these stones. One was your sister. The other was your niece. Your sister worried when you had a stalker. Who did she call?"

"Steve, I guess." I took a deep breath as if I had said something deep.

"That's right. Now, Steve came to your rescue. He wouldn't have done it if he hated you. They both loved you a lot. Now I know you're dealing with a lot. I get it. There is a time to mourn and it's right now. So, mourn because I'm sure Steve isn't your only problem right now."

My hand found itself on the grave of my sister. "Why would God allow her to die like this? Why a child? Why did she take that phone call?"

His hand found itself on my shoulder. "I don't know why all this happened. Yes, bad things happen, but we can't see into the future. Perhaps something great is going to come of all this. And please don't ponder over that phone call. It was a mistake. Forgive Sabrina."

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