you can always go home, right? (part 2)

magic. it was like magic seeing him again. maybe because i had just assumed that we may never cross paths again. not realizing until recently, that sometimes you have to give the universe a little shove back – sometimes you have to choose to be friends with someone, or not. robb is definitely worth a little pushing match.

he is still the same, but a grown man at the same time. he always had a special way of looking at me, like he could really see me. he always made me feel safe, and he always made me want to be a better person. he is a giver. if he loves you, he loves you forever and he always tries to see the good in everyone he knows – even if you’re not his favorite person at the time. he was always my friend. he even seemed at times to be like my big brother even though he’s three years younger. and when i needed him, when i called him after 3 years of not speaking for whatever reason, when i told him i was ready to come home after 10 years, when i needed a friend to be next to me during scary moments this past weekend, he never asked why, he just stepped back into place.

after visiting with his parents, we picked up the vw bus that he keeps at their house. at some point i looked at the necklace hanging from the rearview mirror, i knew i had seen it before. i kept staring until robb asked if i knew what it was – so i picked it up, looked at it up close and personal, ran my fingers over the beads and knots – it was the hairwrap i had in my hair my freshman year in college. i had forgotten that i gave it to him – then i remembered, he had worn it for a long time as a necklace then hung it in his jetta. when he got the bus, it found a new home. i looked from the necklace to robb in speechless disbelief, a smile across both our mouths, tears welling in my eyes…and here i thought nobody even noticed i was gone.