Memory Lane (fiction)

Donna picked up the pile of photos and looked at them then placed them  face down on the table one by one.  Each photo transported her to the past when she was happy and in love for the first time. 

The night they met.  Each had gone to the Fourth of July fireworks, Donna was with her girlfriends and Jake was with his buddies.  Donna’s best friend had just started going out with one of Jake’s friends and the two groups just kind of joined.  Seven teenagers just out having fun, eating junk food, and watching the sky light up.  The photo was all of them sitting on the hill staring up as a rainbow of colors fell from the sky. 

After that evening the seven began hanging out with each other.  As Jake had a van he would often pick up everyone.  Sometimes they would just hang out in the basement of one of their houses, go to movies, or go swimming at a nearby lake.  Just before school started they had an all day picnic.  As evening came and a bonfire was lit, Jake and Donna sat close together talking of dreams and hopes.  By the end of the night they had their first kiss.  The photo of the two of them snuggled together watching the bonfire was the next photo.

School started, Jake and Donna spent their days walking the halls hand in hand.  Afternoons were spent studying.  Friday nights were for football games then basketball games.  Through the seasons they went to Homecoming then the winter formal and in the spring the Jr. prom.  There were hugs and kisses, but Donna wasn’t ready for the next step that Jake wanted to take.  Photos from the dances and snaps from the games joined the other photos. 

By the next summer they were an established couple, their lives intertwined as each of them was treated as family in the other’s home.  Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, family birthdays and anniversaries, all the small celebrations they shared.  Even the sad times, as Donna’s mother went through treatment for breast cancer and when Jake’s great grandfather passed in his sleep.  Photos of them in front of the Christmas trees and holding Easter baskets, blurry pictures of them sitting in each other’s living rooms dropped onto the table. 

The next summer their summer jobs took them in different directions.  Jake got an internship at his father’s law firm, Donna got a job at a restaurant.  He was working days and she mainly nights.  Occasionally they would be able to meet on the weekends.  It was difficult on both of them, but the rare time they were together made up for all the angst.  As their time together became more precious their emotions became more intense.  And on the Fourth of July, their one year anniversary, they checked into a motel, and made love for the first time.  They planned it for weeks, Donna went to the doctor to get on the pill. Jake bought condoms, just in case.  They told their parents they were staying the night at friends’ houses.  They planned the perfect romantic getaway.  The day and night passed so quickly.  It was all that they wished it could be.  The rest of the summer was full of such stolen moments as they anticipated their senior year of high school.  Just a couple of photos from that summer, they had been too busy living and loving to commemorate their memories. 

Their senior year started with excitement and anticipation, but complacency had entered their relationship.  Each began taking the other for granted, at the same time their attention was being pulled in other directions. Jake’s internship was over and he began applying to the Ivy Leagues for college.  Donna still had to work at the restaurant to save money for college.   Her mother’s illness had taken a toll on the family finances and she could only apply for in state colleges and hope financial aid would help.  While Donna was working Jake would go out with his friends, more often than not they would end up drinking too much.  They began fighting, Jake would pressure Donna to stop working and spend more time with him.  He would complain that they didn’t have sex often enough.  Donna would get upset that Jake couldn’t understand that she had to work.  They still went to the homecoming dance, but they fought that night when Jake got drunk and made a scene. The photo of him with blood shot eyes and unable to stand straight fell to the table.

At Thanksgiving, Donna gave Jake an ultimatum, no more drinking or they were over.  He promised and for the rest of the holiday season they were happy.  Their love felt new.  Jake’s father talked with him to make him understand how important it was for Donna to work.  Donna was able to work a schedule where they could spend more time together.  The rift seemed fixed, for a while, but there were too many cracks.  Occasionally, Jake would get drunk and complain at the lack of sex.  Donna began working more to avoid the pressure.  Donna placed pictures with strained smiles from the holidays face down on the stack. 

Spring brought renewed energy and a feeling of joy.  Jake got accepted to his first choice college.  Donna got a scholarship from the State University.  Both were excited but feared the future.  Each pretended that the following year would not bring major changes.  But the change came sooner than either expected.  Spring Break, the holiday filled with all the exuberance of youth.  Jake headed to Miami with his buddies.  Donna had to go with her family to visit her grandparents.  Donna, Jake and their friends had a group chat.  Everyone kept posting pictures of their vacations.  One of Jake’s friends didn’t realize that the selfie he took at the beach showed Jake making out with a girl in the background.  Soon all of their friends knew about Jake cheating.  By the time everyone was back at school.  Donna and Jake were over.  Jake tried to apologize, he claimed he was drunk and that girl didn’t mean anything, but it was the last straw on the camel’s back.   Donna cried.  Jake cried.  The plans they had made for the end of their senior year… crashed.  Getting through the last couple of months had been hard.  Instead of going prom together they went with their friends.  Luckily studying for finals helped fill in the time.  Graduation and all of the parties were even more bittersweet as they tried to avoid each other.  Which they did until  graduation night.  That night memories and old love pulled them together for a long good-bye.  They walked together, threw their caps in the air, and went arm in arm throughout the night. They went from friend’s house to friend’s house, eventually they ended up at the lake, where they had spent so many of their special moments.  They held each other knowing that it would be for the last time.  When the sun came up they shared a last kiss and went their separate ways. Donna looked at the photo of her and Jake in their graduation robes, smiling as if they owned the world.  She wiped the tears streaming down her face away with the back of her hand. 

Carefully she stacked the photos and placed them in the box next to the corsages from the dances they had attended, tickets from concerts they had attended, the stuffed penguin he had won her in a claw machine.  She closed the lid , letting the memories fade away. She placed the box on the shelf in her closet.  Closing the closet door, she turned and picked up her purse and suitcase.  Time to leave for college time to turn off Memory Lane and make a right turn onto Future Boulevard. 

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