The Game Changer The Final Score - By L.M. Trio Page 0,6

from Phoenix. She’s flying in for the weekend and she’s bringing her new boyfriend. She met him right before winter break and they began dating soon after. She seems to be happy and she’s thrilled for me to meet him.

I miss Deanna terribly. It seems as if it’s been forever since the last time I saw her. Talking three times a week isn’t the same as spending time together. I’ll admit, I’m mostly to blame. I keep myself so busy that I’ve been slacking off in the frequent communication department. While I take one last walk through the remainder of the restaurant just to be sure everything is in place for tonight, I receive a text from Deanna, stating that she just arrived at her hotel.

We meet up at my apartment and head to the Green Iguana for lunch. Jeffrey, Deanna’s new boyfriend, seems nice enough. He’s friendly, but may be just a bit uptight for someone like Deanna. He’s pre-med and comes from a family of doctors. Deanna has a bit of a silly side, and although they seem to enjoy each other’s company, I’m not convinced it’s in his nature to let loose every once in a while. She seems to go for the serious, straight arrow kind of guys. They’re very nice and seem to adore her, but they just don’t seem to be a match for her personality. Mikey will hate him, I decide, but, it should be fun to watch.

“So, what’s my job for tonight?” De asks enthusiastically as we finish our lunch.

“You don’t have to do anything, just enjoy the night. I’m so happy you’re here, you have no idea,” I reply. Just the fact that she flew in to be with me for this important night is enough. She did the same thing last year, even though the event was much smaller.

“I want to help. This is our thing, it’s our fourth fundraiser. I love being a part of it,” she says with a look of disappointment.

“De, I didn’t mean to upset you. I would love for you to help me. I’m just so grateful you are here that I didn’t want you to be tied up working.”

“I want to,” she demands.

So I assign her and Jeffrey to the job of collecting the tickets at the door and she seems to be happy to have an assignment. I figure they’ll only have to sit there for about an hour and then they can enjoy the party.

After lunch, they head back to their hotel to rest up and I head home to do the same. With the excitement of seeing Deanna, though, and in anticipation of the evening, I’m too wound up to rest. My mind drifts, remembering our first fundraiser at the bowling alley, which in turn, makes me think of Luke and the night he came up with the idea. Unconsciously, I wipe my dampened cheeks. It’s been awhile since I shed tears over Luke. I busy myself so much that I don’t think of him nearly as much as I did.

That first year, it consumed me day and night. I hurt so badly. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t pop into my mind at some point, but it’s not nearly as painful as it was then. It seems as though it’s a world away. I struggled for a long time. As much as he hurt me, I still held out hope that he would try to get in touch with me. I expected an explanation. I even thought about writing him, but I never followed through. No, he’s the one that destroyed what we had. It’s been nearly two years. If he loved me, he would have gotten word to me.

Mikey and Deanna never mention his name anymore. It’s a request I made clear early on, they honor it to this day.

I grow angry at myself for thinking about him now. I have a big night ahead of me, and things have been going pretty well lately. I even managed to go out on a couple of dates this year, nothing serious, but an occasional dinner or movie.

I must have dozed off because the next thing I know, I’m being awakened by Mya barging into my room. “Why are you still sleeping? Get up. Can I borrow one of your dresses?” she asks casually, as if she always wears a dress.

“Why, what time is it?” I ask, jumping from my bed. Glancing at the clock on my nightstand, I