Mark said goodbye to his parents, and his sister, and got into the passenger seat of his girlfriend's car for the long 36 hour drive down to the campu.... In the backseat, was Mark's best friend Alex, who also got a baseball scholarship at USC. Mark was the ace pitcher of his high school baseball team, and Alex was the teams slugging first baseman. Mark had always wanted to be a great hitter, but he never could figure out how to actually hit the ball, so he stuck with throwing it instead. Mark. . if I've never said it properly ... I love you," I stammered, holding her hand as I began my heavily rehearsed proposal. "I want to marry you. Will you marry me?"I don't know how long I held my breath, waiting for her response. She looked surprised, but not shocked. I had pulled out the dark blue velvet box from my jacket pocket, opened it, and placed it in front of her. Her eyes were flicking back and forth between me and the ring that now shone in front of her."I ... I ... love you too, Lee.. Novel as it was, Kevin could not have been more pleased to promise himself to Kelly. Now in their mid-twenties, their relationship had been one of maturing together, and each discovered in the other only more to love. Tonight, as he watched Kelly reach to the top cupboard, he traced her splendid figure and smiled at how she still held such allure for him after all these years. Feeling amorous, he quietly waved for her to join him and leave the clean-up for tomorrow.Cheerfully, Kelly dusted off. Of course you'll not be found until I wish you to be. Perhaps if you're not capable of being housebroken, you'll be here when my dad arrives. Of course I'll be quite tearful about your crude behavior and you can be sure that he will act accordingly. My father will ignore anything you say, that's one of his best characteristics. He knows what would happen if he didn't." Her tone of voice led me to assume that she held some power over him, perhaps almost as great as the hold she already.