To the one that will love her next,

You’re probably wondering why I’m writing you. It seems weird, I know, but I felt compelled to talk to you. There are a few things I think you should know since you’re the person she calls home now.

She hates runny eggs. Seriously. She can’t even look at them or she will gag. Over easy or scrambled are the way to go. Trust me on this.

Sometimes she’ll go to sleep squeezing your hand so tight you’re almost positive she needs you to save her from something. She doesn’t. Or at least she’ll say she doesn’t. Rub her back until she’s completely asleep. Maintain some form of physical touch throughout the night just so she knows you’re there. Bring her a bottle in the morning to fix her broken head.

She wears her hair curly on beach days because it makes her feel a little bit more like Carrie Bradshaw.

Tell her about your childhood. She’ll want to know everything so don’t skimp on the details. She’s fascinated by people’s histories. Listen to her tell her stories and listen carefully. She doesn’t give this information easily.

Tell her she’s beautiful when she wakes up in the morning and her eyes are all sleepy and she has no makeup on. Kiss her forehead  late at night when her face is tear-streaked because the book she just read ended. These are the times saying she’s beautiful mean everything.

If you guys go out for drinks and she starts creating stories about the strangers in the bar and the kinds of lives they might lead, indulge her and her imagination. She likes trying to make the strange people in the world seem more real to her.

Sometimes she smokes when she drinks. She says she does it because it’s what her father always did. If her smoking bothers you just tell her. And if you kiss her enough she’ll leave the cigarettes at home.

There are reasons why she’s distant at times. Don’t take it personal. There are things from her past that still haunt her.  It’s not that she doesn’t trust you. It’s just that she’s lost so many people in her life and been so let down that she doesn’t have expectations for anyone anymore. She finds it hard to let people in, to realize she can count on them.. Give it time.

You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you all of this. The truth is that she was the best thing that ever happened to me but our timing was off. We were never in the right place at the right time. I guess you could say I never felt like I really had her. And maybe I didn’t. I’ll never know and that’s okay.

This is what I ask of you: respect her. Love her. Be honest with her. Always be loyal. I wish you two the best.