"Choosing to be with you, isn't a difficult decision, Jacqueline"... "It's easy. Incredibly easy."

I noticed you the first week. Not just because of how pretty you are, though of course, that played into it. It was the way you lean onto your elbows when you 're listening in class, when something catches your interest. And when you laugh, it's never to get attention, it's just-laughter. The way you obssevively tuck your hair behind your ear on the left side, but let the right side fall down like a screen. And when you 're bored, you tap your foot soundlessly and move your fingers on the desktop like you 're playing an instrument. I wanted to sketch you.

A word of advice, though. This won't be the last time you have to deal with something in life that throws you off your game. In future courses, as well as in the real world--such as it is--professors and employers won't always be accommodating. We all have to--what's my daughter's terminology--suck it up and deal?

But I'll say this, if what looks like the facts of the matter are conflicting with your feelings, then you need more information before deciding

Every moment was a before and an after. Every moment was a now to be lived.

What I can't do anywhere is be with you.

I suppose love is never a sure thing, no matter what words are spoken. Love requires a leap of faith into the abyss, every time.