Love Stories

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​Aidan trekked across campus that Saturday in the interest of friendship; Emma, a loud-mouthed girl from his English class, needed help with her student senate campaign. She was hoping to be elected as a Freshman Senator. Student government wasn’t something Aidan would be caught dead participating in, but he wanted to be a good friend to this girl - after all, she’d already helped him with some of their pointless class projects.

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Fixing his glasses, Aidan trudged up the concrete steps and across the front porch of the Honors Residential College. He followed a girl in - since he lived in Martin, he didn’t have an active keycard for Memorial - and headed straight into the dormitory’s drawing room. Emma had a whole spread of poster-designing materials splayed out. Colored paper, markers, stickers, scissors, and tape littered the floor. A small group of Emma’s friends chatted amongst themselves, some scribbling slogans whilst others cut out photos for the posters.

 

Spotting him, Emma jumped up from her makeshift workspace. “Aidan!” She exclaimed, her hazel eyes gleaming. She rushed over to greet him. “Thanks so much for coming.”

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“No problem.” He surveyed the room. “Where should I start?”

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“Pick any poster you want! The only rule is we can’t use words like ‘Baylor’ or ‘sic em.’ You know, no Baylor-trademarked stuff.”

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“Sounds good,” Aidan said, taking a seat on the ragged carpet.

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Although he was willing to give it a shot, Aidan wasn’t naturally artistic. He was therefore unsurprised when an attempt to slice a poster in half resulted in a finger injury.

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He waved Emma over with his uncut hand.

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“Hey,” he said as she approached. “I cut my finger.”

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“Oh,” Emma said, struggling to conceal a giggle. “There’s a bathroom down the hall, but if you need one, you can get a band-aid from my roommate. She’s got a bad cold, so she’s up in our room. It’s 246.”

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She handed Aidan her keycard, and he took off up the stairs. He held his injured right hand atop his left to keep blood from dripping on the floor.

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Emma had mentioned Grace - her roommate - before. Excitedly, she told him all about how close they’d been from the get go. She’d had more first-year roommate luck than Aidan by a long shot, but he was too good-natured to be jealous. Besides, he had some budding friendships himself - Xiang just wasn’t one of them.

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As Aidan headed down the second floor hallway to Emma’s door, he prayed her roommate wouldn’t think he was a weirdo for showing up unannounced. Then again, he told himself, it would be par for the course for Emma to send a random man to their door. Perhaps Grace wouldn’t be so shocked.

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He approached the room with a cheap plastic plaque reading “246” screwed into the wood. He knocked.

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There were a few unnerving seconds of silence before the door creaked open. Behind it stood a dirty-blonde girl with ocean blue eyes. She appeared slightly dazed, her petite frame enveloped in an oversized dusty blue t-shirt with a faded bird in the center. Emma hadn’t lied; the girl was definitely sick, her nose rubbed raw and her eyes red and puffy. Aidan barely noticed, though. He was too distracted by the fact that she was pretty cute - well, and that he was still holding on to his own bloody finger.

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“Hi,” she said, her voice soft. “How can I help you?”

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“Hey,” he stammered. “Um, I’m Aidan. I’m a friend of Emma’s.” He would’ve reached out to shake her hand, but he figured dripping blood on her probably wouldn’t make for a good first impression. “I’m really sorry to just show up like this.”

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The girl nodded. “It’s okay, she’s mentioned you before. I’m Grace.”

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He held up his injured hand. “I cut my finger working on her posters.”

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“Ah. Just one sec,” she said, leaving the door ajar as she shuffled across the room to her tiny closet. Feeling awkward waiting in the hall, Aidan stepped inside.

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Grace’s face burned as she rummaged through the closet on her quest to find her stash of band-aids. Not only was she sick, but the room was a mess! The floor was littered with clothes, makeup, and hair clips, and school materials were haphazardly strewn across the furniture. How embarrassing, she thought.

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Aidan didn’t notice any of that. He was too busy nursing his finger, trying to keep droplets of blood from spilling onto the girls’ fluffy white rug.

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At last, Grace located the band-aids. She took one over to the dorky stranger that stood in the middle of her room.

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“Okay,” she said. “Give me your finger.”

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He held out his hand. She steadied it atop her own, carefully wrapping the band-aid over his skin.

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Aidan hoped his hands weren’t too clammy.

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Grace recognized the boy’s discomfort. He was thin, with short brown hair that curled up slightly in the front and blue-green eyes tucked behind dark-rimmed rectangle glasses. Although a little awkward, she found it kind of sweet that he came all the way up to their room just to get a band-aid for his cut. As a natural caretaker, Grace found joy in doing little things for others.

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“There,” she said, satisfied.

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Aidan admired her handiwork. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

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The pair stood still for a moment, neither of them sure what to do next.

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Aidan broke the silence. “So, you’re sick?” he offered, as if it wasn’t obvious.

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“Yeah,” Grace nodded. As if on cue, she coughed into her arm.

 

“Do you have cough drops?” He asked.

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“I’m sorry?”

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“Cough drops. My mom swears by the Sambucol ones. I’ve got some back in my room in Martin.”

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“Oh,” Grace said, her voice raspy now. “No. I’ve got some cold medicine but it doesn’t really seem to be working.”

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“I’ll bring them to you.”

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He said it as though he was making her an offer, but the look on his face showed it was non-negotiable.

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“They’re good,” he assured her, a smile playing on his lips.

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She grinned back softly. “I’m sure they are. Thanks.”

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And that’s how Aidan Weis met Grace Cary.

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October 2019

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It wasn’t long before Aidan decided that he was interested in Grace.

 

Whether they liked it or not, Emma had determined that Grace and Aidan were going to be her best friends. Accordingly, she planned weekly study sessions with the pair, which were typically held on Sunday afternoons on the second or third floor landings of Moody Memorial Library.

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This proved to be the perfect bonding opportunity for Aidan and Grace. Aidan went to the study sessions to spend time with Emma, sure; but he looked forward to them much more when he knew that Grace would be there. The amount of actual studying the group accomplished varied widely from week to week - sometimes they focused in, but they usually chatted and laughed about life instead.

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One Sunday, God bestowed upon Aidan a rare chance to prove his protective capabilities to Grace. A cricket jumped onto the group’s study table (as it turns out, these bugs reproduce in menacing waves across Texas, ruining any semblance of safety the out-of-state students may have thought they could find indoors). Handling this nuisance was immediately assigned to Aidan. The girls were impressed when he successfully overcame the challenge.

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                                                                                                  ________

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Aidan and Grace soon chatted one-on-one over coffees at a cozy bar in downtown Waco. Amidst dim lighting and trendy background music, they discussed everything from their childhoods to their classes. The pair discovered that, despite their attendance at a Baptist university, they were both raised Presbyterian. They decided that they’d go together to try out a few local Presbyterian churches. Both were still searching for their “home” church in Waco, and this denomination felt like a natural place to start.

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Aidan and Grace were looking forward to the Sunday morning opportunities to get to know each other more. While the churchgoing excursions were sweet, they often became awkward. At one church, the pastor gave an in-depth sermon on the Song of Solomon on the day of Aidan and Grace’s visit. If you have any familiarity with this book of the Bible, there’s no elaboration needed as to why this resulted in discomfort for the boy-girl pair.

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They also attended a church that turned out to be 90% composed of people over the age of 60. Ecstatic to see college students in the congregation, an ancient woman approached them during the passing of the collection plate. “What a lovely young couple!” She exclaimed, her cavernous wrinkles stretching into a wide grin. Neither Aidan nor Grace had the heart to correct her, so they instead both sat through the rest of the service red-faced and uncomfortable.

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                                                                                                  ________

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You've reached the end of this excerpt. Parts two through four of this story will be added throughout September 2024, so check back to read more. Please note that I offer personalized nonfiction love stories as a service! If you’re interested in having a special memory, collection of events, or full love story immortalized in your very own printed book, don’t hesitate to save your spot on my project-for-hire list by scheduling a free consultation with me here (P.S. I’ve also discovered that a story like this makes for the coolest surprise gift for a loved one!).

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*Names changed for privacy purposes