Under the Stars

Epilogue: After

After Harvard, Stevien was recruited by the San Francisco Giants organization. He played for their minor league team, the Sacramento River Cats, for a year before receiving a major contract with the Cleveland Indians. Mr. and Mrs. Jones were extremely excited for Stevien. He was getting the chance to live out his dream, so they threw a going-away party in his honor, after all, he was officially moving across the country. Mrs. Jones invited me over, but I felt that the guest of honor wouldn't want to see me. He hadn't reached out to me in five years, I highly doubted that he would want to start with his going-away party. I did leave a letter with his mom to give to him for me though. I still wanted him to know that I was still rooting for him, always.

On the day of the party, dad insisted that I come to his house and have dinner with him. I reluctantly agreed but told him that I would not be going to the party unless Stevien himself came and asked me to come. Dad simply laughed at me and told me he would be right back when the party began. About ten minutes after he left, there was a knock at the front door. I could not control my heart at all. I didn't think that Dad could actually convince Stevien to come and bring me to his party. I gathered up my nerves and courage as I opened the front door.

"Hey, Ellie." A pleasant voice rang out. A voice that I had not heard for some time. A voice that still caused butterflies to dominate my stomach.

"Hey, Bry. What are you doing here?" I asked with a smile, surprised to see him but more than happy for the distraction from my thoughts that repeatedly drifted to the party next-door.

"Your dad said to come over for dinner. Am I early?" He asked.

"Oh! No, um... Dad just went over to the neighbors' house for a few minutes. Their eldest son is moving to Cleveland play for the Cleveland Indians, so they are throwing a going-away party for him. Dad just went over to say good luck and such." I replied.

"I see." He said before he asked the question I did not want to answer. "Why aren't you over there, too?"

"Well, that is a long story, but the short version goes like this," I said taking a deep breath before spitting it all out as quickly as I could. "We were best friends and then we had a falling out. I tried to reach out to him, but he never responded to me. So, I figured he wouldn't want to see me there."

"Oh wow. Okay. Well, that is too bad for him, but I guess good for me otherwise I would be standing here looking awkward by myself." Bryant said with a smile which I returned.

"Would you like to sit out here on the swing until your dad comes back?" Bryant asked.

"Yes. I would love that."

Once we were both seated on the porch swing, we enjoyed the soft hum of the music next door and the gentle breeze that blew through the air. We just sat on the swing for a while going back and forth in comfortable silence before Bryant asked the question that I had a feeling had been burning a hole in his mind since I shared the short version of our falling out.

"So, what exactly happened to cause you to have a falling out with your neighbor?"

"Well, Bry, as I said, it is a long story. We grew up together and were best friends since we were five. We did everything together ever since they moved here when we were five. We were nearly inseparable to the point at times our parents had to drag us away from each other. He was the sports star for most of our high school years and I loved being able to watch him play. One day during our senior year, his parents were taking me to watch him in a really big soccer match, I can't remember now if it was semi-finals or not, but the team was on their way to playing in the state finals.

"Anyway, as we were on our way to watch him, this vehicle came across the center line and struck his dad's car. It was a crazy experience. His dad was knocked unconscious and ended up with his head landing on his wife's shoulder. She was a bit hysterical but wouldn't move until the EMS arrived for fear of hurting him more. I was in the backseat and was able to get out and flag down help. There were three ambulances and lots of other emergency vehicles. I kept his mom as calm as I could while we waited. His dad was transported to the nearest hospital as soon as they got him out. Luckily his mom only had a few cuts and scrapes but rode with her husband. I couldn't blame her for doing that. I would have done the same but that left me by myself at the scene of the accident. I was alone and scared. I didn't know what to do, so I ended up going to the hospital and waited there until my dad came and got me.

"After the accident, his dad was placed in a coma to allow his body to heal and had a hip replacement. Stevien was so shaken up with seeing his dad that way, that he shut the world out. I don't know what exactly happened, but it got to the point where I was the only one being shut out. He wouldn't look at me or talk to me unless he was forced to. And for some reason, he stopped calling me 'El' like he used to. He only ever referred to me as 'Eliotte' just like his girlfriend at the time did. She was mean and was not shy about showing me how much she hated me. I didn't think that she was ever right for him, but I never told him that. I only ever told him that I would always root for him and I only ever wished him the best. Anyways...I tried talking to him but he would act like I didn't exist. I even wrote to him a few times but heard nothing in response. So yeah...That is the long version I guess." I ended our story with a sad chuckle.

"Wow. Ellie...I don't even know what to say to that," Bryant said softly.

"You don't have to say anything, Bry. It's in the past and I can't change it even if I wanted to. But I always hoped he would get to live out his dream of playing baseball professionally. And now I get to watch him do just that. I just get to do it from across the country instead of by his side where...I used to think I would be." I said with a sad laugh.

"It sounds like you miss him."

"Yeah. I do, but if it makes him happy for me to be out of his life, then so be it. I meant it when I said I wish him the best. I do. I wish him the best in everything. And I know that sounds weird, but we were best friends for so long that I would feel terrible if I wished him anything else. He deserves this chance... He has worked so hard for it."

"Ellie, you have got to be the best person in the world. I don't know anyone else who would say such things and mean them the way you do. I know that I would have a hard time even thinking half of those things if my best friend suddenly treated me like that. I don't know how you do it. You are simply amazing."

"That she is."

"Hey, dad!" I said as my dad walked up the steps to join us on the front porch.

"Hey, Lottie. Hi, Officer Landis. I am glad that you could make it." Dad said to us.

"Mr. Romick, I told you, please call me Bryant," he replied, holding his hand out to shake dad's hand.

"I know, but you are still an officer of the law and you deserve that respect."

"Well, think of it this way. We are out in a casual setting and this is a casual conversation, so let's talk casually." Bryant replied with a smile.

"Okay, Bryant. Let's go inside," dad said, leading the way with Bryant following. I lingered behind, looking over at the Jones' house before heading inside because something inside me told me to look. I saw Stevien standing on his porch looking at me. The look he gave was mostly unreadable. It was full of various emotions but none of them stayed long enough on his face for me to fully register what they were.

A memory surged forward into my mind catching me off guard. It brought a myriad of emotions with it causing me to lose my breath and a tight clenching in my chest. We were laying on my roof, looking up at the stars, the view unhindered by clouds. At that moment, I could still hear his heart beating. The steady rhythm mixed with the rise and fall of breathing often haunted me in my dreams, but under the stars, it always brought me back home.

As the memory settled, I let go of my shirt that I evidently grabbed at the shock of the memory. I looked back at Stevien's eyes which now looked full of worry. Unsure what to do, I merely mouthed "congratulations" to him followed with a small smile and polite wave before following my dad and Bryant inside.

Word Count: 1651