On the passenger seat of her beat up white 1968 Volkswagen bug was a blanket that she put over her lap while driving. It was mid-winter, and we both knew that the heater in her bug never quite worked right. Well, actually, it did what it was supposed to do, but it just took a while before it did….like 45 minutes. It wasn’t even worth turning on. We were well bundled up though with heavy ski jackets, scarves and gloves. Well, scarf for her, not for me, wasn’t cool back then in the late 80’s.

This was our weekly rhythm. Classes during the day, grab a quick bite to eat near the student lobby and off to our bible study. After that, to the library where we sat at our usual large table. Sometimes with a whole group of our friends, sometimes just the two of us, mostly catching up on our homework or cramming for the test coming up the next morning. Close to midnight, right before the library would close, we would pack up our backpacks and walk outside. The sudden drop in the temperature would shock our bodies for a second, but we were used to it. We would continue in our conversation mixed in with laughter and even some friendly shoving and physical goofiness….nothing flirtatious though, no way! That would be totally weird and inappropriate. We were just friends, and we kept that line very clear. Plus, she always saw me as a dorky brother, and I saw her as an annoyingly responsible sister. It would never work. Plus, we referred to each other as best friends; we can’t ruin that!