Found Out The Day After

Chapter three: New start?

That summer, though, unfortunately, I met the 'love of my life'. I had just turned seventeen, and we had a class trip to New York. Picture me, Eleanor Glenn, in love with a boy I had just met. He was the dream boy; he had curly hair that shined the same beautiful golden auburn color in the sun as Ashley's. His tucked cream-colored button-down shirt with puffy sleeves and coffee-colored khaki shorts tied together with a deep gray belt the same color as the beanie he was wearing under his headphones gave him an element of mystery I couldn't quite figure out. Even the silver of his belt buckle matched the silver-chained guitar pick necklace he was wearing. As we passed each other on the New York street, if I was a flower in the school garden, he would be the sun. Even though our meeting was brief, as soon as I saw him, I felt as though a void in my heart that Ashley had occupied was filled again.
As my group and I continued to walk around New York, gazing at the shops and towering buildings around us with awe, I noticed we had walked by Mystery Boy again at least three times.
Later that day, by some bizarre chance, he stopped for lunch at the same pizza place as I had. This time, he approached me. I could feel my heart thumping faster and faster as he casually strolled over to me, donning an unbearably adorable grin on his face.
When he arrived, he leaned against a tree, removed his headphones, and casually began, "What a coincidence, we keep bumping into each other! It must mean something, right? I mean, it would be a crime to ignore such an obvious sign from the universe. May I ask your name?" Oh. My. God. I was absolutely in love.
"I'm Eleanor, what's your name?" I was almost certain he could hear my heart beating out of my chest, ready to explode at any moment.
"Eleanor, hmm? That's a Greek name if I remember correctly. It means 'shining light', I think. I haven't met someone named Eleanor before. It's a beautiful name - a shame it's not more common," he mused, his eyes wandering to a tree across the street. Then, he turned toward me again and, donning a shocked expression, said, "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I just space out sometimes and get lost in thought... Do you ever get that?"
I stammered, "Uh, yeah, it's no problem. By the way, I don't mean to push, but what's your name?"
He raised his eyebrows, and an emotion I couldn't quite capture - guilt? - fluttered across his face for a brief moment before he smiled again and coolly stated, "I'm Harvey; Harvey Thomas. Nice to meet you, Eleanor."
At that moment, I decided my favorite sound was his voice, my favorite color was that of his eyes, and my favorite smell was his cologne, slightly sweet and not overbearing. I was in love. We continued talking, and I told him about Ashley and how much I missed her and how we were supposed to go on this trip together. When I finished my pizza, I stood to leave. Before I could go, though, Harvey asked me for my number so we could keep in touch. I gave it to him, and we went our separate ways.
Later that night, as I was brushing my teeth in my hotel room, my phone buzzed. It was a text - from Harvey. It read: hey eleanor, how was ur day :)? It was such a simple question, yet it felt more significant than anything else I had done that day. I probably read that text a hundred times before responding; I could not believe it. A cute boy from New York was talking to me, Eleanor Glenn!
Over the next months, Harvey and I continued texting and calling. We told each other just about everything about our lives; I told him about my friends and enemies at Wilsor High - the high school I went to - and he told me about his family and love for music. The entire time, I was totally obsessed with him. As the story goes, we were talking on the phone late at night a few weeks before my eighteenth birthday and he told me he loved me. In turn, I told him about my feelings for him. We made a plan that I would go to New York to celebrate his birthday with him in person. It just so happened that my family and I had a trip planned to visit relatives in New York the week of his birthday, so I asked my parents to see a friend I had met in New York. Miraculously, they agreed, but under the condition that we would meet in a public place. They blabbed something about internet safety, completely ignoring that I told them I had met Harvey before.
Seeing Harvey in person again was electrifying; I was reminded of how lovely his voice really sounded, how breathtaking his eyes were up close, and how slightly sweet and not overbearing his cologne was. We spent the entire day together wandering around downtown New York, holding hands and peering into shops, occasionally entering them to marvel at price tags on designer bags and clothing. That day felt as though I was no longer holding the weight of the universe on my own; Harvey was holding it with me, just like Ashley did. The comfort and safety of knowing a person is by your side for no other reason than to support you is something I had missed since Ashley died, and now I had it again with Harvey. It was magical.
During our New York expedition, Harvey bought a blanket and some tea candles, and he stuffed them in his bag; I tried to ask him what they were for, but he wouldn't tell me. As the sun began setting, Harvey told me he had something he wanted to show me. We got a taxi that took us to the edge of New York at a place right outside the suburbs. He laid out the blanket and tea candles, and then he invited me to sit next to him.
We sat there on the hilltop in silence for a long while, gazing at the sunset, our shoulders brushing. Harvey was the first to break the silence. "Eleanor, I had fun today." I dragged my stare away from the sunset and onto Harvey. "I didn't realize how much I missed seeing you in person, how much doing this" - he waved his hands in the air - "is gonna suck."
My heart dropped. "Doing what?"
Harvey turned toward me and continued, "Don't get me wrong, I'd do anything for you, but it just sucks that I can't see you in person a lot. We live across the country from each other." He dropped his head and sighed in frustration.
I wasn't quite sure what to say, so I rested my hand on his back and murmured, "It'll be okay, Harvey, I promise. If I have to, I'll move to New York after we graduate. We'll figure something out. We have to."