As I enjoyed the view while the Ferris wheel circled, I thought about how funny it was that it took a trip like the one we’d just been on to:

Have the chocolate chip cookies that came from all my failures win a prize.

Discover something Mom and I can do together that we can both feel proud of.

Find out how cool my grandma really is.

And the bonus part of the trip was meeting someone like Brandon and realizing that the people I so quickly label as “just a little too cool” can actually make pretty great friends.

Now, I don’t know if you’re thinking this or not. But I sort of wonder, that at this point, in this collection of letters, because this is the last one, and I’ve set you up with this really sentimental ride on the Ferris wheel, that you might be thinking that I’m going to finish with sort of a semi-surprising bang.

(And no, I don’t mean that you’re thinking something really bad happened, like the Ferris wheel malfunctioned, and Brandon and I got stuck at the top for hours and hours or maybe even days and days. Although with all the things that have happened to us so far, I guess something like that would not necessarily be out of the question.)

But that’s not the kind of thing I’m talking about.

I’m wondering if it hasn’t crossed your mind that possibly, at some point during the Ferris wheel ride, that Brandon and I may have become more than just friends.

Maybe you’re wondering if Brandon and I held hands.

And in all these letters, I’ve always written nothing but the truth, and never kept anything from you.

But this is where I have to stop.

Because here’s the thing.

If Brandon and I did hold hands, I’m pretty sure you’d remember it.

And if we didn’t, maybe you’d rather remember it like we did.

But either way, it doesn’t matter, because when I hit the road this summer, what turned out to be important was the ride itself.

The ride Brandon and I took on the Ferris wheel.

And the ride the four of us took together in Gram’s Mustang, down so many rural back roads of Florida, doing all the things we’d set out to do and a whole lot more than we could’ve ever expected or imagined.

That’s how each of us ended up with memories that will last a lifetime.

And for me, those memories pretty much changed everything.

Love,

Me

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup light brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Optional ingredients to put a Samantha twist on your chocolate chip cookies (use one or all!):

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg