Tillie Cole

Even if the boy I loved no longer loved me back.

nothing could compare with the pain of seeing the one you love in the arms of another.

Nothing could compare to a promised lip’s betrayal of a kiss.

What she hadn’t seen was me watching her from the kitchen window as she sat outside with Jorie. She hadn’t seen me arrive when I’d never planned to be there in the first place. When Judson texted me that Poppy had arrived, nothing could hold me back.

“Yeah, baby?” I replied softly.

She loved me.

Poppymin. My girl. She loved me.

“That boy would walk on broken glass for you, Pops.”

I just wanted you to visit a little while. I always feel better when the light of my life sits beside me and talks to me some.”

She passed it to me and said, “I’ve been sick for a while now, girlie, but the memories that make me feel better are the ones where your pawpaw kissed me. Not just everyday kisses, but the special ones, the ones where my heart almost burst from my chest. The ones that Pawpaw made sure I would never forget. The kisses in the rain, the kisses at sunset, the kiss we shared at our prom … the ones where he held me close and whispered in my ear that I was the prettiest girl in the room.”

back in the jar and took his hand. “A new adventure, Rune. To collect a thousand boy-kisses before I die, from my soulmate.”