Amor

The One That Didn't Get Away

This is the story of how one man lost his woman but got her back. Just kidding. This is the story of a man who almost lost his woman, but did everything he could to stop it. Let's call the guy Jerry. Now, the woman would be called Mary. Mary and Jerry. Their ship name would be called Merry. There, it's so cute I already ship it. Do you know what shipping means? It means to transfer a load over land. Alright, I'll stop with the jokes. A ship can be a shorter term for a relationship. When you use it to talk about couples, it means that you want them to be together. I started shipping them ever since their first meeting.

These two met at a local department store. Jerry was there, looking for something to buy for his girlfriend. He forgot that it was their anniversary. Meanwhile, Mary was in the changing room, fitting one of the dresses she liked, and she just went out. Mary wasn't looking where she was going and bumped a guy. The guy's chosen items fell to the ground. They both scrambled for their items and in their haste, their heads bumped. Mary's head hurt so bad she fell on her ass, and Jerry was rubbing his head where they connected. They looked at each other and quickly apologized. Mary went first.

"I'm sorry!! I wasn't looking where I was going!" she said. Jerry just shrugged, stood up, and dusted himself.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault I bumped into you. I also wasn't looking where I was going," he extended his hand towards her. Mary took a second before deciding to take it. Jerry pulled Mary up.

"I'm Jerry," he said while picking up their stuff. "I'm here to pick something for my girlfriend I kinda forgot it was our anniversary and I went here for last minute shopping," Mary's mouth was wide open.

"You forgot it was your anniversary?! What kind of boyfriend are you! Have you picked anything yet?" Mary asked him.

"Well, I thought maybe a dress like this? I'm not really sure." Jerry held up a sleeveless baby blue dress with floral patterns on it. Mary scrunched her face.

"No, definitely not. I don't think any girl would want that. Wait here, I'll pay for my clothes and I'll help you pick stuff after. She then dashed off to the nearest cashier and left him staring at her.

See? That was a cute first encounter, right? So here's what happened next. Mary went back to Jerry, a paper bag with her clothes in hand. She remembered she hadn't introduced herself to Jerry yet and decided to go for it.

"I'm Mary, nice to meet you!" She extended her hand. Jerry took it and shook her hand.

"So, where do we go first? Lead the way, I have absolutely no idea what to buy." Jerry said.

"I thought she's your girlfriend? What does she like? Does she collect bags? Shoes? Jewelry?" Mary started firing off questions so fast that Jerry backed off. He scratched his head.

"Jewelry. She likes jewelry." He finally said.

"Okay, then that's where we go," Mary led the way to the jewelry section. Not long after, they both got out of the department store carrying a small paper bag that contained a pair of earrings with a matching pendant. Jerry was looking confident.

"So, good luck on that," Mary said.

"I've got your number. I'll personally call you and treat you to coffee when she sees it and likes it." Jerry beamed at Mary. She nodded at him and they both went their separate ways. Cool, right? Not really. In the next few months, Jerry's girlfriend cheated on him and left him for another guy. ln those months, he met had only one person who comforted him. Mary. They got so close over the course of a year that they finally decided to make it official and they got together.

Everything was great, they were both so happy. They fell deeper in love. They were so mad for each other, neither can function without the other. Then it was their anniversary. This time, Jerry learned from his mistakes and got her the dress she was always looking at in the store. She got him a watch, the one he's been saving for.

"OMG thank you very much!" Mary practically leaped at Jerry and hugged him, before giving him a kiss.

"Thank you, too! You know how I've been saving for this! Where did you get the money?" Jerry asked.

"It came from my college fund. College can wait some more for me," Mary sighed.

"What?! No, no! You take this back to the store and get a refund. Or I'll pay you. We both know how much you want to go to college and I'm not letting you waste your chances on something as trivial as a watch for me!" he exclaimed, handing back the watch, which was still in the box.

"You don't like it?" Mary looked crestfallen.

"No, I liked it! I fact, I love it! But I'm not letting you use your college fund just to buy things like this for me. You have to finish college. It's for your future." Jerry repeated.

"But I don't care about the future! We can worry about that later. And as much as I want to go to college, I also want to be with you!" Mary cried. She tried to hand the box back to him, but he wouldn't take it. She looked about to cry, and before Jerry could do anything, she walked out. Jerry cursed at himself.

"This is all my fault. She shouldn't spend so much for me." He muttered.

That was their first ever real argument. As cute as their first meeting was, their first argument was both romantic and depressing. But after that the arguments and the fights increased, getting worse and worse and more frequent. Soon enough, they were arguing over the smallest things.

"Where's the freaking remote! Give it to me!" Mary snatched the remote from Jerry and changed the channel. Even when they were arguing they were still cute together.

"Hey! He was about to score a goal!" Jerry complained, then tried to take the remote back from Mary.

"No! It's already time for my show!" She exclaimed, then took off with the remote. Jerry chased off after her. So it seems that this was one of their good days. They ran around the room, chasing each other and trying to get the remote away from one another. In the end, Jerry caught up with her and lifted her off her feet. Mary tried kicking, but her feet only met with empty air. His grip on her was steel tight. He lifted her on the counter and started tickling her. She desperately tried to force him away, but Jerry didn't stop and sent Mary to a fit of giggles.

Some days they are like that. Others they would be arguing and have actual shouting matches. It worsened so much that they both felt it coming, neither just wanted to speak about it. The end of the relationship was near. They weren't happy anymore, and they often found themselves trying so hard to reminisce and remember how it was before, how happy they were, how much they hoped for the world.

But Jerry had a surprise that brought the magic back. Here's how it went. One day, while Mary was out with her friends, Jerry went to the university. He's already prepared everything. By the end of the day, her friends would take her to the university and Jerry would give her the surprise. He accomplished everything and before the end of the day, he was waiting outside the university with an envelope in hand.

Mary and her friends arrived in a car. As soon as Mary saw Jerry, she started to have doubts. What was he doing here? Why did her friends take her here? When she went out of the car, Jerry approached her.

"Mary," he said. "I know that we weren't having the greatest of times lately, and I know you could feel it too. It isn't working anymore. We're not as happy as we used to be. But there's something I'd like to give you. I want us to start again, to try for a second chance. No matter how hard we argue, it still won't erase the fact that I love you, Mary. And I can't live without you." He handed her the envelope.

"Oh, Jerry!" Mary exclaimed, tearing up. She opened the envelope and saw what was inside. "Is this-? But how about you?!" She took the form out and examined it, her tears starting to fall. It was the result of a college application. She only has to take the interview and she'd be in. "But how about you?" Mary asked him again, her tears still freely falling.

"Don't worry about me," Jerry said. "I'll be fine. Besides, who said you're going alone?" He asked.

Her eyebrows perked up. " What do you mean I'm not going alone?" Mary questioned. Jerry took out the other envelope he's been hiding the whole time.

"I'll be going with you. I enrolled too," He said, and he finally let his own tears fall. "I just told you that I can't live without you, didn't I? You really thought I would let you come here on your own? I'll go to uni with you," He said.

Mary went and hugged him, not caring if her tears soaked his shirt.

"I love you too, and yes, yes we can try again here, let's start another life," she said.

So that was it. See? He almost lost her but got her back the last minute. And watching them from the beginning was really cool, and I ship them so hard!