Sun and Moon

Fifteen

"Lunnaaaaaaa!"

"Lizzaaaaaaa!" I called back. I watched the black curls escaping her yellow hair wrap she'd worn to keep her hair tidy on the plane bob as she bounced up and down in excitement on my computer screen. I could tell she was tired because I knew her so well. It was in her eyes. But that was the thing with Liza. When she was tired you hardly ever knew it because she was just a really energetic person. She was the one person always really excited to see me no matter what the circumstance. I didn't even realize how much I missed her until I saw her face and heard her voice. I could feel myself already grinning from ear-to-ear.

"How was your trip? How was your flight? Tell me everything!" I said, holding onto my folded legs on the chair and tucking them closer as I watched the screen. Boo jumped up in my lap and purred, hearing Liza's voice. They were good buddies.

"Hey, Boo! How's my favorite spooky kitty doing??" she cooed at Boo. Boo purred and pawed at the screen, before jumping down and we both laughed.

"Aww, she misses you," I said. "And so do I! You need to come visit me in LA soon."

"Me??? Why don't you come visit me in Chicago? I just got back from a trip. You know I'm too poor now after spending all my money on souvenirs for you!"

I laughed. "That's fair. You shouldn't have gotten me anything." Then I paused before smiling unabashedly. "What did you get me though?"

"HA! Don't pretend you didn't want anything from Disney. You'll just have to find out later when you come to visit me, won't you?" She said, smugly, knowing she'd won the argument.

I groaned. I missed Chicago, but it was so easy to forget about the past when I wasn't there. I didn't have to think about losing my mom or my non-involved dad. It was easy to lose yourself and your past in LA.

"Okay, okay. Now tell me about your trip!"

Liza gave me a knowing look, but let it go for the moment. I knew we'd be revisiting this subject soon, though. I hadn't been back to visit since I'd left a couple years ago and she'd been trying to convince me to come home to Chicago for Christmas this year for the last few months. Once she found out that Daniel and I had broken up, I knew she would insist I come home for the holidays.

Liza launched into all of the details of her trip and soon I was cracking up. Apparently her husband Aaron, who is 6'5" and a very big guy, was trying to get on a canoe with them and almost capsized the boat when he moved because the weight distribution was off. The kids and Liza had screamed and tried to right the boat and all the other families had been staring. By the end of the story, I was cracking up so hard, tears escaped my eyes. I wished I had been there to see it in person, but Liza told the story so well, I felt like I had been.

Finally, our laughs subsided. "I brought you a Moana hoodie, by the way," Liza said, smiling at me.

I bounced on the bed in excitement. "Really?? Omg, I'm so excited! I can't wait!"

"What is the hoodie you have on right now? It looks way too nice to be something of yours..."

"Hey!" I yelled at her, pretending to be offended, but blushing furiously. Hope had actually left his hoodie and I had put it on for the day, because it smelled amazing, just like him. Of course, it was probably some high end brand that Liza would be able to identify. I quietly cursed myself for wearing it. I should've known Liza would notice. She had a sharp eye for high end fashion, whereas I really knew nothing about luxury brands.

"Oh, you know what I meant. Now spill. It looks like a man's hoodie, but I know Daniel doesn't buy stuff like that. Him and his hipster sweaters," she rolled her eyes. "Since when have you been into brand name clothes?"