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Sammy Loves Denny
By Samantha Cleaver In elementary school Denny Price loved Samantha “Sammy” Miller. In first grade he sat next to her every chance he got. He waited for her at the bus stop each morning and walked her home in the afternoons. In third grade he made her a valentine, prettier than the others with lace, stickers, and glitter. He waited anxiously while she sorted through the pile in her shoe-“mail”-box. She opened his valentine -- oh the suspense -- and read it. Then she calmly added it to the neat stack of cards on her desk. Denny looked on in dismay as his special card became just one of many. In junior high Denny proposed to Sammy via a small, crumpled note: Sammy, marry me! I love you! Love 4-ever, Denny. Sammy wrote her rejection at the bottom of his note and passed it back: Denny, no thanks. Maybe next time. Sammy. Denny endeared himself to Sammy when he finally took her out on a date their freshman year of high school. “You know,” Sammy said at the end of the night, “you’re not so bad.” Denny glowed. During their junior year of high school, Denny asked Sammy to the prom. Inexplicably, she accepted. Denny worried for weeks over what he would wear. He decided on a dark grey suit with a maroon cummerbund and bowtie. Sammy wore a bright yellow dress with yellow flowers in her hair. “We’re ketchup and mustard,” Sammy laughed. Denny was mortified. “I still love you,” he whispered to her at the end of the night. “Okay,” she replied, accepted his good-night kiss on the cheek, and stepped into her house. In college they went their separate ways: Denny to California and Sammy to Florida. They kept in touch. Denny sent Sammy the same e-mail every Valentine’s Day: Sammy, I still love you. Marry me! Love, Denny. For three years Sammy sent the same reply: Denny, nice try. Keep it coming. Sammy. Their senior year of college Sammy sent a new reply: Denny, I’ll give it a try. See you soon. Sammy. Now, here they are, back at home. Their wedding is in two weeks: Sammy and Denny invite you to their wedding. Come celebrate sixteen years of infatuation with us. The wedding is the event of the year in their small town. Everyone will be there: their elementary school teachers; the junior high teacher who intercepted Denny’s love notes; friends of both parties who can’t believe that either is actually going through with it; and the local news will cover the story for their weekend romance feature. In his speech, Denny will address his long courtship. “She finally gave in,” he will quip, champagne glass raised high. Denny and Sammy’s story will inspire weddings and romantics for years to come; it will become local and regional lore. The truth and their future will be forgotten. Suffice it to say that Sammy and Denny will live long and happy lives and will continue to pass notes to each other via post-its on the refrigerator and messages left on each others’ nightstands and by the phone. Sammy, I love you! Denny. Denny, I know. Sammy |
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