“Michael, I’ve never actually had any friends before you and I’m not about to lose you either. Right about now I think we both are going to need a reliable shoulder to lean on every once in a while. I need one now more than ever so don’t ever, ever leave me and I won’t ever leave you.â€? By then I had started crying harder and was shaking.

We sat on the picnic bench for a while until the drizzle turned into rain and it started pouring. Exhausted, we booked a motel room and went to sleep.