1 Friends
My goodness, Bea, is that really you? You look wonderful!”
Yeah right.
“Thanks, Caroline, you too. You didn’t change a bit”
I mean, I’m not lying. Not really. Though the high huge perky tits and almost immobile eyebrows can’t be what mother Nature gave her, she still has the same strut and aura of an utter bitch. That didn't seem to change.
But hey, who am I to judge? I look 15 years older than I am, grey and overweight. And if being a hypocrite allows said Caroline to go on her merry way feeling good about herself, I’m ok with that.
After stopping myself from shivering from her cursory hug, I walk across the room, fake puking to the joy of the 2 beauties sitting there and giggling like 2 school girls. The sight makes me smile. They could be sisters. My M&M’s. Both gorgeous, slender, auburn wavy hair, doe eyes, 1m63 give or take. Maeve, my sister, and Maddie, my best friend.
2 beautiful, beautiful souls, Maeve somewhat quieter, more shy, but generous and kind, Maddie bubbly and outgoing.
There was a time when people thought we were triplets.
Maeve is, officially, my step-sister.
Story time: my mother walked on my father when I was 8, taking the little bi... sorry, witch, of her second daughter, named Britney with her.
I’ll never know if Britney is really my sister or not. No, let me rephrase this. We’ll never know if she is my father’s daughter too. She is truly our mother’s mini-me, blond, cold blue eyes, thin to the point of being too skinny. I never got along with them both. Whatever I did, I never met my mother’s approval, and from the moment my sister was born, 10 months after me, they both made life a nightmare. Jealous, nasty, I think they made a hobby out of picking on me, from my looks to my clothes to everything in between.
It was a relief, when my mother decided to call it quits and took the nasty kid with her, to live with her new flame, I suppose.
I saw my mother in town, once in a while, and little Britney being in the same school as me, never missed a chance to make my life difficult, spewing lies and insults every time she could, making a life mission of seducing every boy I fancied and taking away every new friend I could meet. But at least, life at home was blessedly quiet. My father was a musician, guitarist in a band, for years, and when they stopped, he took over the music shop, here in town, where he sold old fashioned LP’s and music instruments, and repaired guitars.
Life was good and tranquil. After the divorce, my grandmother moved into a small flat and we moved into her old house. My father added a few nice touches, like a big veranda and an indoor swimming pool and gym, and it was way too big for the both of us, but we were happy there.
I was 14 when one Sunday in the summer, our reading was interrupted by the door bell.
Hearing someone yell, I walked behind my father to see a screeching woman and a girl about my age. After a rant about my father not using protection and being too drunk to remember her, she pushed the girl into the doorway with a snappy “She’s yours so, there you go and good luck with her”, and took off.
Mouthing a “What the hell” to my bewildered father, I put my arms around the girl, walking her inside, and I never looked back.
My father never knew if she was really his or not, his younger years as a musician were wild, and my mother was constantly cheating on him, and him on her so it was a possibility. He was drunk most of his touring times, and he didn’t remember the woman. But he took pity on the girl, and seeing I liked her right away, he took her in. Home and heart. And from that day, he never treated her differently than me. My grandmother did the same and never questioned Maeve’s legibility.
For me, it was an instant click. The need to comfort her at first, that poor girl was shaking like a leaf, and had nothing in her suitcase other than a few sad looking sweaters and jeans. She was my age, she was sweet and unassuming, and I was thankful for her.
We spent that summer together, shopping for her, me and Maddie introducing her to our friends, taking her with us everywhere we went, and when school started, the 3 of us were already inseparable.
Not that you could take Maddie and I apart anyway. Maddie took my hand at our very first school day when we were 4, she was crying and I was shaking, waiting for the director to call our name and telling us which class we were assigned in, and luck was on our side. Both having the same last name, we were assigned to the same classroom, the same table for the rest of our schooldays. She was outgoing when I was quiet, bubbly when I was silent, kind and very attentive, I was more assertive and defended her from bullies, and we complemented each other.
And the 3 of us, Maeve, Maddie and me, we still do.
~~~
“Sooooo”, starts Maeve gleefully, “aren’t you glad to be back? I mean, how long has it been since you saw Caroline?”
I glare at a giggling Maddie, and sit with a sight “15 years, give or take? Not long enough, by far”
The 2 girls burst out laughing and I point my finger under Maddie’s chin “And it’s all your fault!”.
Maeve shakes with laughter at Maddie’s sputtering “How, what? What?”
“Technically, it is”, quips Maeve “I mean, you organised this, Mads”.
It’s all true. Our old college is 75 years old this year, and the board decided it was the perfect occasion for a series of reunions: for 12 months, each weekend saw a reunion happening. Maddie was put in charge of organising our year, Maeve tried to help her when she could, and I flew in yesterday to be there.
Not that I wanted to, but I couldn't say no to her, not after all these years.
I sigh again, and look around. Maddie wanted to double-check everything before everyone came in, and Maeve and I wanted to help her. Our perfectionist had been stressed out for months organising this, it was the least we could do.
But it meant we were already sitting there for more than an hour, waiting for people to come in. Hoping not to see too many unwished faces.
Maddie hears me think, I guess, and, with a nudge of her elbow, say “She won’t be here, you know that”.
‘She’, meaning Britney the bitch. Besides her many attempts to bully me, well Maddie and Maeve too, she never talked to me, except for after my father’s funeral, when she called about her so-called inheritance. After I, then my girls, confirmed she didn’t have one, the conversation didn’t end well, and only Maddie taking the phone out of my hand to hang up and block her number stopped the cursing and screeching. I think my ears ringed for days after that.
She called and cursed our grandmother too, after that. Not that Nany was impressed of course, there is nothing in this world that can scare the woman.
But Maddie was right, being a year younger, Britney wouldn’t be here tonight, thank god for that.
A squeal startles me “Ohmygodohmygodohmygod, Bea, you’re here!!”.
Wincing, I stand up and hug back the tall blond still squeaking “Hi Valerie. You knew I’d come, we spoke yesterday”.
She squeals another “I KNOW!!”, deafening me, before snapping her fingers to the girls “Come on now, give us a hug” and it’s my turn to grin at Maeve’s wince.
Valerie is… an acquired taste. I described Maddie as bubbly and outgoing, Valerie is… loud. And very present. You can’t miss her.
She decided one year when Maddie had health problems and missed school a lot that I was her new bff and followed me everywhere. Despite her overwhelming presence, she was nice, and her squeals and pearly laughs masked a whole shitload of insecurities. Still do, I think.
Last year of college, she flunked and landed in Britney’s class, and became her new bff, but she never stopped being nice to me. After school, she decided to work for her father, who had at the time the only realtor office in town, realtor whom’s services I use to rent out my father’s house.
Valerie called me last week, telling me the last tenants finally left, and asked me to come over and sign some papers. I phoned her yesterday to quickly confirm I was in town and would see her later next week.
After a few more squeals and a flurry of her peach ruffly dress, she struts to the next classmate entering, leaving us breathless and ears ringing.
Maeve sits back with a laugh “My god, I forgot how loud she was”. I snort “Louder than your kids, and that’s saying something”.
We all burst into laughter: Maeve’s kids, 5 years old twins, are loud. Giggly Jeanne and squeaky Noah are the essence of loud. One afternoon with these 2 and you come home with the worst case of tinnitus.
Maddie shakes her head “Yeah, but don’t we love them?”
We all nod now. Maeve is the only one of us married with kids. Maddie has a boyfriend of course, but they can’t have kids. And me, well…
“HEY” gasps Maeve with a heavy elbow poking on my side “isn’t it…”
“Yeah, it is”. Maddy nods with a grin when Maeve whispers “Oh myyyyy”.
Rubbing my poor ribs with a grimace, I look up. Oh my indeed.
Oh my fucking my, even.
Chris. In all his glory.
Standing still between the 2 large doors letting a stream of fancy dressed people, talking to a very tall man I see only the back of, there he stands, grinning, looking finger licking good in a dark blue button up not even closed on his chest, casual black chinos and black sneakers, one nonchalant hand in his pocket, the other one in his signature hand in neck rub… my god he’s gorgeous.
I can’t even say I forgot how gorgeous he was, I see his mug on our social media often, he’s one to share, just like Maddie, all the events happening in town, not much private stuff though. But still, his grinning face appears a lot on our socials. The thing is, it doesn’t do reality justice.
Chris… one of my first crushes ever, my first love-doey, the first man’s heart I broke too.
We met when we were about 15, one summer at the swimming pool, I was for once alone, and he was too. It was crowded and he asked me if he could lay his towel on the grass next to mine. I told him to be my guest and we started talking when I saw him searching his bag and cursing for forgetting his drink. I had 2 bottles of water, offered him one, and we spent the afternoon chatting and laughing together.
He told me only days after that he was attracted to me, but a bit scared to approach me: his cousin had something going on with Britney, and he heard so much shit about me, that he had to muster a lot of courage to talk to me. We quickly became friends, he introduced me to his own group of friends a few days after, when Britney dumped his nephew, and the girls and his group became good buddies too. We spent a whole summer all together, having swims and picnics and long evenings at the old mill around a bonfire. The following years were the same, all of us together every weekend, free day and vacations. Maddie dated one of the guys for a while, Maeve another. It was frankly the best years of my life. Our friendship with Chris became a flirt, then we dated for a few weeks. Then one hot evening, we made out more… closer than ever, bundled in a leather chair at one of the guys’ houses, and I realised that night that I would let him go as far as he wanted, and that I had fallen head over heels for him. It scared me shitless and the day after I just … dumped him.
The girls know how much it destroyed him, I left the group for a while, they were still dating his friends, and he was really miserable. After a few weeks of distance, we talked, he told me we were ok and friends and that was it. We never spoke about it ever again.
Both girls keep glancing at me now, when I take the view in. They know I always regretted dumping him, especially like that, and I think they know that no one in my life after him would rock my boat that hard.
Maeve clears her throat, breaking my staring and reverie, asking “How’s… how is Isla?”
Wow, talk about a harsh landing back to reality. I sigh and rub my forehead “He dumped me”.
I flinch at the stereo scream “WHAT?”, turn to them when Maddie lifts her chin up “I see people waving at me it’s time to mingle a bit, girls”. She turns to me with a stern look “This conversation is not over” and walks away, waving a “Toodles” with her fingers.
Maeve sighs beside me and takes my hand “We’ll talk later. Sean is trying to call, I’ll take it in the hall. Then mingle it is. Oh no, Val is coming our way” and with that, she’s gone.
Not willing to have my eardrums drilled in again, I walk idly in the direction of the buffet, thinking a glass of bubbles would make this whole reunion more bearable. So far, only Val and Caroline said hi, and walking around in a room now full of people in fancy pants and dresses feels quite… lonely. I’m half in mind of slipping away, watching Maeve laughing with 2 women who look familiar, but I hear Maddie’s laughter somewhere in the room and I smile. I can’t slip away, that’d be rude to her, she did her best for everyone. I’m going to enjoy this evening, or at least make the best of it. I mumble an apology to a group of women, reeking of flowery perfumes and one heavily made up gives me an arrogant once over, before whispering something nasty when I walk by, and the rest starts to snicker. Encouraged, she snaps louder “Really, the invitation states clearly that is a fancy clothes event” and another yaps “Some people will look drabby whatever they do, Lenore, you know that”.
That’s it. I turn around to walk away, when I bump into a broad back. I mumble another apology, bump into someone else and almost stumble when I see an arm slip around my waist, stopping me and pulling me against a broad chest. “Well well well, going without even saying hi?”.
I hear the nasty girls behind me gasp and take my time to gather myself before looking up, in the most clear blue eyes, shining with a smile and a gleeful glint. Chris.
I hear another gasp when he says very clearly “Hi sweet pea, I was waiting for you”, kisses my cheek softly and asks “Champagne?”.
I don’t even have the time to mumble an answer before he guides me to the buffet, one arm still around my waist.
Once at the buffet, I look up. He is still grinning at me, and I can’t help smiling back. “Thanks, Chris, for... you know”.
He shrugs, signs the barman for 2 glasses, gives me one, takes the other, and still with his other arm around me, smiles again. “You’re welcome. I saw you sitting with the girls and we were planning to come and say hi, but you walked to us. You know Lenore, she’s nasty through and through. Just ignore her”.
I laugh “Yeaaah. You’re right. Wait. ‘We’? Why do you say ‘we’?”, but I turn quickly when a “Ahem” sounds behind me.
Facing a mountain of deep green button-up wrapping a very broad chest, I have to look up, and up, and still up, I almost hear my neck creaking when I meet one broad smile and two green eyes.
“Oh. My. God...Ian?!”.
With an even larger smile, he says in a deep voice “Hey, little one” and opens his arms.
Now it’s my time to squeal, when he picks me up instead of hugging me and turns around with me in his arms. I don’t even care that people are staring and I’m laughing out loud when he puts me on the ground again.
“My god, Ian, you got huge”
“Nah…” he quips with a wink “You just got smaller”.
I laugh again, for the first time in a long while feeling lighter.
He picks a glass of champagne, slides his arm around my waist and turns us to face a grinning Chris again.
What’s with the arms around my waist tonight?
“My god, you guys, it’s been ages. It’s wonderful to see you both”.
It’s true, it is. I loved these guys. Still do, even if it’s been years. Chris keeps a superficial social media, Ian, same, basically, so we don’t share, we don't talk, but standing here with them feels right somehow.
Ian… Sebastian actually but he hates his name, I never knew why. He moved to town in the summer when Chris and I started to talk, and he was always alone, sunbathing on the same grass field we did, around the swimming pool. We started to talk with him after a couple of days and Chris and he hitted it off immediately. Both kickboxing fanatics, they could talk the shit for hours. The girls always told me Ian had a crush on me, but he was quite shy and in general kind of private, and I never noticed anything. Shortly after meeting him, Chris and I became an item, so he never showed anything other than friendship and teasing around me. Boy, could he tease. We had a lot of fun, all of us. After I left town, I never saw them again, and now I can’t believe my eyes. Two grown men looking down at me, both with the same happy grin and it feels for a second as if nothing changed. Except for Ian’s arm still around me, his big warm hand still on my waist. I look up again “Ian, your hair is so long! I swear you grew up a half meter after I left and don’t you dare say I shrinked”.
He throws his head backwards and laughs. My god, when did he become so… open?
Still laughing, he winks at Chris “But you’re right. They say you stop growing up after you’re 18, but at 22 I had a last spurt, and gained another 10 centimeters”
I scoff “As if you needed it… it’s not fair” and I smack them both when they laugh and say “Aaaaawww”.
We chat for a while, about nothing really, and I’m amazed about how easily we fall into the familiar banter and tease. I put my empty glass down, shake my head when Ian offers me a new one, and glance around. The room is full now, echoes of laughter all around, I hear Maddie’s laughter somewhere ahead, and at the door, I see Meave still with the 2 women, chatting and nodding. Now I feel at home, kind of. Maeve glances at me, sees Ian’s arm still around me and winks. I shrug, and glance up to see Chris and Ian looking at our silent conversation with a grin.
Before I have the chance to say anything, I hear Maddie calling to everyone that the band is here and the dance floor is open, and a song starts. A hand takes mine and pulls me away from Ian. Chris. “Oooh, we always loved that song, Bea, come dance with me” and waves to Ian calling “I’m gonna grab a table, find me there right back” before pulling me behind him. I have to run to keep up, he forgets again my legs are not as long as his, that didn’t change either. I laugh, not even deterred when the nasty Lenore and her club tutt and tssk at me.
We’re not even at the dance floor when Chris pulls me to him, puts a hand on my back and starts swaying. I put my arms on his shoulders and look at his easy grin. I can’t help smiling back. “That’s been a while…”
He laughs “Yeah, but it still feels the same, right?”
I’m not so sure about that. “In the Air Tonight” was kind of ‘our’ song. The first time we kissed, we were dancing to that song. We never missed a chance to slow dance even before we were dating, and we sure never missed a chance to dance to this particular one.
But we’re not 18 anymore. We’re 35, and haven’t talked for many years, except for the compulsory birthdays and holidays wishes. We exchanged a few messages 10 years ago when his father passed, but he was dating a beautiful girl at the time who didn’t seem to react very well to his female followers, so after offering him my condolences and my ear, should he need someone to talk to, I decided to leave him alone.
And now, we’re here, dancing on Phil Collins again.
After this, ‘A wonderful life’ comes and it makes us grin together again.
“You don’t have to wonder who arranged the playlist for the band tonight, can you?”
He laughs, like Ian, head backwards and full laughter, pressing his hands a bit more in my back “It’s Mads, what did you expect?”.
It’s nice to see them both, and to see them smiling and laughing so freely. Last time I saw them, it was at my father’s funeral, and while I basked in all the hugs of my friends, it was not the happiest memories, and shortly after I left for Brussels and never saw them back. Until now.
After a few dances, we decide to go back to Ian, where my hand goes from Chris’ to his and after a short “My turn now”, he pulls me back to the dance floor. I’m running along, feeling like a small kid scooting after a parent, and sticking my tongue out to Chris and Meave who are laughing at the sight. I’m glad I always go for comfort and walk in loafers and not in high heels like the rest of the women here.
Looking around, I realise I must be the only one here without glitters and make- up. Except for my girls of course, but at least they both favor light make up, Maeve with a simple mascara matching her doe eyes and a loose bun, Maddie with her signature eye liner, a trace of lipstick and her curls tamed in a straight braid.
Not that they need more, they’re gorgeous, and Maddie would be popular even in a burlap bag: she is, after all, the mayor of this merry little town. A beloved one at that too.
But a scoff next to me reminds me of my thoughts, when I glance and see a Lenore dancing beside us with a good looking guy, glaring at me, from the top of my hair to my shoes, before Ian waltzes us away, to the other side of the dance floor. He kisses the top of my head quickly and tells me “Ignore them” and I nod. It’s a polite nod, more an acknowledgement than an agreement. I feel more of an out of place ugly duck now at 35 than I felt in our youth.
No make-up is a choice, I hate wearing make-up, always did. I did tame my curls, though, with just a fancy hair clip to keep it from my face, except for a few strands, and I’m wearing a long wool skirt with a high slit on both sides and a waist high off white blouse, open just a button lower than I use to, to show the beautiful malachite pendant Maeve offered me for my birthday. Compared to the rest of this glamourous bunch… it’s overly simple…ugly duck indeed.
But Ian seems to sense my mood and does the most idiotic moves one can think of, quips jest after jest while we dance, and it’s not long before I forget all about the rest and laugh madly again. When we join the rest, my cheeks and belly hurt from laughing that much. Before I sit down, Ian kisses the hand he was holding in his, and pulls a chair for me to sit on, between him and Chris. I smile at Ash, Maddie’s hubby, who is deep in conversation with Maeve and Chris. Ian goes for drinks, and walks back with Maddie in tow, who plonks herself on Ashton’s lap with a sight. “Enough mingling for tonight. My feet are killing me”.
It all feels so easy and familiar, and I look around and listen, taking it all in. The banter, the jokes, the on going conversation, Maeve and Chris disagreeing on something again I think these 2 make a sport of disagreeing on anything they can just for the sake of it. Maeve is tipsy and I’m glad Sean will come to pick her later.
Slowly, the party quiets down, people trickle away and the band plays some ballads and slow dances at a lower volume. Chris and Ian step away to talk to some guy. Apart from the last few people interrupting us to greet Maddie before they leave, it ‘s just us now, Maddie, Meave and Ash talking about the Halloween event next month, when I’m just listening and looking around the room. With the band clearing up the podium, Chris and Ian are still standing at the buffet talking to the same guy. I just see his back, his slender figure, as tall as Chris’ but seemingly tense, his black hair moving when he shakes his head before snarling something and walking away. Just before he leaves, he glares at me.
He looks familiar, but I can’t place him. And why the glare?
I look at Maddie, ready to ask her if she knows who it was but she’s looking at the guys with a strange look on her face.
Chris is talking with intent to Ian now, I don’t know what’s going on but Ian's shoulders are slumped, and he just nods gloomily at whatever Chris is saying. And before they turn to walk to us, Chris puts his hand on Ian’s neck and kisses his forehead. I turn around, the gesture seems intimate and I don't want to stare. Maeve whispers “Gossip around says they’re together” and I look at them walking toward us again. “Huh”.
I always knew Chris was bi, we never talked about it but I always knew. Anyhow, not my business.
The guys sit again, both beside me and Ian shoots me a wink.
“Does anyone want something to drink?”. I walk with him back to the buffet, and ask him quietly “You’re all right, Ian?”
“Never better, little one”.
Once at our table, the old habit kicks in, and I sit back, listening to the conversations around, when Chris stretches beside me and puts an arm around my shoulder “You’re awfully quiet, sweet pea, where did you go?”.
I shrug, trying to ignore Maeve’s glance at his hand “Just listening to you all, it’s nice”. He squeezes my shoulder once when Ash jumps in “it’s really good to see you, Bea, it’s been too long. Mads didn’t say, how long are you here? Where are you staying? You could have stayed at our place, you know the door is always open, right?”.
I smile at him warmly, Ash is really a great guy and they’re incredibly in love, even after years together. They met on a summer vacation where Maddie had her first internship, and he left everything behind to come and live with her in the following months, building his business and life here. He was a professional tennisman since he was 14, but he was fed up with the business and found an internship at a carpenter’s shop in town. He studied, worked hard, and now owns a very successful business. He dotes on Mads, and she returns the favor. It’s always heartwarming to see them together, their obvious love and respect for each other should be an example for everyone.
“I know, Ash, thanks. I could have stayed at Maeve’s too, but I have other things to see to, so I booked a hotel for the week”.
Maeve nods, she thinks she knows what I'm talking about, but she doesn’t know everything. Yet.
“A week?” I feel Ian turns to me “Only a week, and then you’re going back to Brussels and we don’t see you for the next 15 years?”
I feel Chris tense next to me, and he sighs “Ian…”
Maeve asks “The house?”
Chris’ hand is still on my shoulder and I’m faintly thinking that it is very distracting, but I want to tell the girls what happened. Ashton is part of the family. And the boys… feel like friends again.
So I nod “Among other things, yeah, the house”
I feel the guys glancing at each other before I explain.
“You guys remember my grandmother left me her house right? The one I lived in with my father, we” with a look to include Maeve “lived with our father?”
Ian scoffs. “The house the lovely Britney went ballistic about? Sure, how could we forget that?”
I feel Chris nod next to me before he squeezes my shoulder again. “Yeah, sure we remember, the woman screamed around town for months about you being a thief and stealing her due inheritance?”
Another voice quips “Oh, are we speaking about the bitch? I’m just on time”. We all look up and Maeve jumps at the newcomer's neck “Darling, you’re here!”
He nods “Kids were asleep, I left my mother with them, I thought I’d catch up with everyone”. After kissing Maddie’s cheek and slapping the guys’ backs, he opens his arms for me with a “Give us a hug now” and walks to the buffet. We all wait for him to come back with a full plate of amuse- gueules and petits fours and a glass, and looks at me.
“Why are we speaking about the bitch, now?”
I laugh “I was speaking about the house and the guys remember the tantrum she threw all over town”
Ian nods “All over town indeed, I think no one is unaware of the fact that your grandmother left you her house and only to you”.
I smile at Maeve and say “Yeah, well, Nany doesn’t like her much and she said that if the house was my father’s, she would do anything to take it over after him, leaving Maeve and I in the dirt”. Maeve shrugs, so I tell her “I
know
, sweetie, but he was your dad too”.
She shrugs again “Maybe, but Granny was right. It
had
to be your house and no one else’s”.
Chris jumps in “Makes sense. But what about it? Last time I drove by, there were 2 expensive cars in the driveway. You rent it out, right?”
“Right” and I laugh when Maeve and Sean both say at the same time “Oh boy”.
“So, I left the rental and maintenance duty to Mr. Cavalier’s agency, right? Valery’s father? But the last tenants refused to pay rent for the last 6 months, and they were finally evicted last week. Valery told me they left a rampage behind and that I had to sign a few papers for repairs and see to insurance stuff and shit. I was coming here anyway for this” with a gesture around to show what I mean, “and… girls, something I didn’t tell you yet… but I… Well, I think I’m staying here. I’m not going back to Brussels”
At the male voices concert of “What?” and a squeal from my girls, I smile and take Maddie’s hand reaching for me on the table. Maeve puts her own hand on ours and it feels good.
Sean whispers “Shit, the 3 musketiers are back together” and we all laugh.
Ian turns to me and puts his hand on mine when the girls let it lose to sit back. “So, you are staying here, as in, live here?” and I nod.
Almost hesitant, Mads asks “But, sweetie, your job? And… you know?”
I nod again. “My job, you know it’s completely remote now, right? I still have a few articles but the main focus has to be the book now. And as for Isla…”. I clear my throat “He told me yesterday evening when I arrived here that we were over”.
Maddie slaps the table with a loud “Son of a bitch!” and Ash spits his orange juice. I jump back, not fast enough, and shake my hand. My sleeve is drenched. I wave Ash’s apologies and rush to the bathroom. I’m always cold nowadays, and I brought a sweater with me, so I grab my bag at the locker room and hurry to the bathroom. In my bra, I start to rinse the blouse before squeezing the water out, not thinking about anything other than the bomb I just dropped at the girls.
I’m still stunned myself, to be honest. I mean, things have been… lukewarm, between Isla and me, for a good while now . A few years even. But last thing I expected was to call my boyfriend of 10 years and then some, to tell him I’ve landed in one piece, and hear him telling me coldly that we were over “You can’t be surprised, Bea. You’re not who you were, and you can’t expect me to settle with less than what I want, so, yeah. I’ll drop by in the next few days to take my stuff from your place, I’ll leave the key with your landlord” and with that, he hung up. No goodbye, no last word. That was it. More than a decade of your life, closed.
As I said, I’m stunned. Because I never saw it coming.
Am I really bumped though? I’ve thought about it all night, and after the first shock I realised I wasn’t even sad. Not even disappointed. Just… empty.
Still in thoughts, I wrap the blouse in a plastic bag and take my knitted sweater when the door opens. Expecting one of the girls, I’m in no hurry and take the time to put some cold water on my face before looking up… to the face of Chris looking in shock at me.
“SHIT!”
“Oh god Bea I’m sorry, I came to see if you were ok, I didn’t expect you to…”
I hurry my sweater on and grimace. Now my sweater is wet. I didn't even take the time to dry my face.
I stop Chris’ sputtering “It’s ok. I’m sure you've seen a woman in a bra before. Nothing to write home about” and after a stern look, I add more forcefully “Forget it” and walk out. Letting him know it made me feel like shit won't benefit anyone.
He sighs before following me to the lockers and puts his hand in the small of my back when we walk to the table again. Ian whistles when he looks at me “Nice sweater, Bea” and I laugh. Count on him to release the tension with something stupid.
I nod at the girls mouthing “You okay?”, before Ian asks “Isla was your what? Boyfriend? Husband?"
Sean scoffs and he turns to him “What? I don’t know, it’s not like Bea shares a lot on her social media” and everyone laughs. That’s true. I don’t share much. My profile picture is the same landscape for the last 15 years, and if the girls don’t tag me for something, my wall is empty.
“Ian’s right, I don’t share much” before turning to him. I feel Chris' arm going on the back of my chair again and Ian squeezes my hand. “Isla is, was, my boyfriend. We were in a relationship for something like 11 years, give or take? Anyway, we were not even living together. I’m working remotely so I was thinking about coming back here for a while, my family is here” with a nod to my beaming girls. “And now the house is free, so I guess I’m staying”.
I shiver, sit back and feel Chris’ arm wrap my shoulders and pull me against him. Ian doesn’t let my hand lose again, and sits back too with a “Huh”.
The group starts to chat around again, when the cleaning crew walks in.
Sean claps his hands “Yeah guys, that’s our clue. Darling, let’s hit the road”. Maeve nods and everyone stands up. Ash offers me a lift, which I refuse, waving a hand “No, no, you guys still have to drive a bit, just go, I’ll walk. It’s a small walk and I’ll be glad for some fresh air”. Maeve kisses me after a “Tomorrow lunchtime, right?” and Mads and Ash hug me after Sean, promising me to call this week for dinner together, before we all walk out.
After a last hug and wave at their cars, I turn to see the guys standing next to each other, in the same position, arms crossed both grinning. Chris quips “May we walk you home, ma’m” and I laugh.
“Don’t be silly, I can walk to my hotel alone”
Ian nods “We know. But still. I don’t like the idea of you walking the streets alone.” I smile, even then, they never let me walk alone. No matter how late we were out, how bad the weather was, they always walked me home.
So I turn around and start walking, feeling them both coming along on each side of me. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Ian asks “So…. What now?”
“Well… I don’t really know. I have to see Valerie this week, someone will have to determine how bad the so-called rampage, how long it will take to repair if needed… I can work from anywhere, so there's that.”
Chris ambles next to me, hands in his leather jacket “Still a journalist, right? You mentioned something about a book?”
Oh boy. Here we go. Do I really want to tell them I'm writing romantic stories? “Yeah, I write articles for a magazine, about anything and everything really”. And yes, I’m trying to write a book”
Ian starts to ask “About what…?” when I stop in front of a building, just after the entrance of the park, “he, that’s new!”.
The guys laugh “Uuuuh, not really. It’s the swimming pool, surely you remember that”
“Yeah sure but all this around it is new! Well, recent at least.”
“Uh- huh, it’s all ours now”
I look at both of them, and smile when they both have the same self-depreciative shrug. Chris looks around and shrugs again “Well, yeah, Ian’s right, it’s all ours now. You remember the swimming pool was run by my parents, right?” and he doesn’t wait for my nod to continue: “I agreed to carry the torch, if the city hall allowed me to expand it a bit. Mads helped, even before she became the mayor, the building being in a municipal park. So now we have a yoga and dance studio, a complete gym here by the big windows, a dojo behind for self-defense classes, where I teach kickboxing too”.
Ian points to the left “And by the windows there, is my physiotherapist cabinet”. I quip. “Oooh, you’re a physiotherapist now” and he shrugs when Chris adds “And a damn good at that. Physio, massages, acupuncture, you name it”. When we were young, he was into kickboxing as much as Chris.
“Yeah, well, my back didn’t like the kickboxing so much anymore, so I studied hard, and when Chris offered to be partners, I couldn’t say no, of course”
I see Chris’s hand sliding on Ian’s neck, give him a quick squeeze and put his hand back in his pocket.
I wonder about what Maeve said, gossip saying they’re together.
Before we start walking again, I point at the electrical gates on the dojo’s side “And what’s that?”
“Parking lot”
“How on earth did you convince the city hall to allow a parking lot in the park?!”
The duo shrugs again in stereo, and I grin. Really, we got older but some things never change. These 2 were like 2 peas in a pod, and they still are.
Ian says “A few years ago, there were a few attacks on women, I don’t know if you heard of it?”
I remember Maddie going on about it. It was quite the shock when the town discovered from a bar’s CCTV that the criminal was in fact Eric, a very popular guy, volunteering fireman and bus driver for kids. I never liked him, he was loud and obnoxious and too smooth for my taste, he tried to get into my pants at a school party and it took me slapping his face in front of everybody to stop him from touching me, before falling into Britney’s lap a few minutes later. He raped and assaulted about 12 women before the last one was able to give a description and the owner of the only pub in town shared their brand new security camera's shoots with the police.
Ian interrupts my musing “It was a shit show, lemme tell you. Everyone was scared, so it was the final argument: Safety for women. A parking lot only women can access, with cameras and a guard sitting behind a screen from opening to closing time”. He shrugs again “Sure, we’ve had a lot of shit from men, you know, but we felt it was necessary at the time. And there are cams all around the complex, so men are safer too”.
He shrugs again at my ‘wow’ and we start walking again, in comfortable silence. I always loved the park at night, with just the sound of your footsteps, the fountain and rustle of trees. The animals sleep, the town is quiet. It’s good to be back. I smile at Chris, who starts to waddle and bump against my shoulder every other step.
“Hey guys, remember that Halloween evening when you both ran away and left me alone in the middle of the street in front of the cemetery?”
Ian burst out laughing “Yeah right. You weren’t even scared. What a bust”
Chris adds “No, we were scared. I swear to god, Bea, if you told your dad we did that, he would have skinned us alive”.
We all laugh and go on with our walk, and before I know it, we’re in front of the hotel. I take my phone, ready to scan the entrance code, and turn to the guys, again in twin positions, arms crossed and a grin.
“It was wonderful to see you guys, and thanks for walking with me”.
Chris reaches out to me, but before I can react, Ian says “Can we see you again?”, and after a quick glance to Chris, “Can we ask for your phone number?”
I see Chris glance back at him and wondering fleetly what’s that about, I hesitate. Chris reaches out again and takes my hand “It’d be great to see you again, sweet pea” and I laugh at Ian’s frantic nod.
I hand my phone to Ian, who goes in the contacts and enters both their numbers, before calling his phone, then Chris’. In the meanwhile, Chris pulled me in a bear hug, and sways with me, asking “You fancy dinner with us this week?”, before Ian takes my hand and pulls me to him “My turn”.
I laugh and peek at his hand, still holding my phone “Ian, do I spot a tattoo on your wrist?” and Chris laughs. “Not only his wrist, sweet pea. You should see the rest of him”. At my playful “Ooooh”, Ian shrugs “It can be arranged, if you want to see the rest of me. You can see
all
of me whenever you want, you know?” And Chris laughs at my baffled face.
“Right, boys, it’s been a blast but I’m beat. Call me this week when you have time?”
Ian lets me go and takes my face in his big hands, looking right in my eyes. “Will do, little woman. And call us if there’s anything we can do, all right?", and before I can answer, he kisses my cheek and lays a small peck at the corner of my mouth, before Chris pulls him away “All right, my turn now”. He gives me a last hug and gives me a peck on the other corner of my mouth, with a “See you very soon, sweet pea”
After scanning my phone, and opening the door, I turn around and grin at the sight of them both standing again, legs wide and arms crossed as 2 body guards. Chris gives a small wave before they take off, and I laugh again, seeing Chris waddling and bumping Ian’s shoulder, and hearing Ian grumble “Asshole”.
All in all, the dreaded reunion ended up being a great one.
