I know it exists.

Somewhere, in the corner of my cluttered desk, sits a mound of 3.5-by-2 inch pieces of paper. From blue to green, purple to egg-shell white; every color exists in that mountain of business cards I’ve collected over the years.

Tuesday night I cleared the papers, books and receipts off my desk. I searched for that one card.

It’s not glossy like Robert Blase’s card. It doesn’t unfold to show a secret stash of information like Deborah Newman’s card. And there’s no complex graphic like Rod Pederson’s card.

It’s a simple white card. A picture of Altgeld Hall sits on the left. On the right side, the logo of the Northern Illinois University Police sits boldly. And in the middle there’s his name.

It’s Will McDermott’s card.

I’ve stared at this card since Tuesday night. God – it feels like I’ve stared at this card since last July.

Douglas Hall, C-wing, room 357, my sophomore year – that’s when our paths first crossed. Will’s girlfriend, soon to be his wife, Lydia was living in my former dorm room. Call it fate, call it accident, but I had to poke my head in to meet the girl living in my previous bachelor pad.

That’s when I met Will. At first I thought he was just full of freshman idealism. Sure he was a nice guy, but I had already seen what college could do to nice guys. To my surprise, Will never deterred from the path of a gentleman. He didn’t even live on my floor, but he always helped anyone who needed it.

He helped me keep my job.

I was a fresh reporter at the Northern Star. My assignment was to interview an athlete. I’d had two weeks to do it; it was due in two hours.

That’s when I found Will on my dorm floor. Before I could even get the words out of my mouth he agreed.

There was no reason a redshirt freshman should be talking to me. There was nothing to gain; only something to lose. He didn’t have permission from his wrestling coaches. The interview wasn’t cleared by NIU Sports Information. Yet, Will sat down with me. It was one of the best interviews of my life.

I moved out of Douglas at the end of that year. Through the years we ran into each other on campus. In fact, Will was one of the last people to send me off from NIU; it’s July all over again.

After six years, my time at NIU came to end in 2010. My lease was ending – I was clearing out my apartment – it was time for one last party.

Around 2 a.m., as I sat outside enjoying the smell of fireworks from the Fourth, an NIU patrol car pulled into my lot. It was just a shadow. But then I saw that face appear from the headlights of his Prius – Will McDermott.

An individual was running around Hillcrest harming people. He saw me outside with some friends and wanted to make sure we were OK – still that good guy I thought.

He had a job, but he cared about relationships. He could spare a couple minutes to talk.

We caught up for a bit, shared our ideas and plans for the future. He was happily married with Lydia. He wanted to enjoy the married life for a while, but talked about the idea of starting a family. His life was so put together; I was just trying to figure out my next step.

That’s when he held out his hand, with that simple white card. Will wrote his cell phone number on the back. I had lost it over the years. He said, “Give me a call. Lydia and I would love to hang out and catch up one night.”

July became August; August became winter. I figured, school was in session – I’d give Will a buzz when summer starts. He’d be free for a night on the town then.

Now I’m just staring at those 10 digits; 10 numbers I never punched in my phone, because there’s always tomorrow.

Business cards are supposed to grab your attention; Will’s has mine.