Breathe Easy

|1.| Meeting the perfect one (The perfect roommate)

The gang and I were all seated at a table by the window in a coffeehouse just outside of downtown Miami. It was my turn to pick the hangout spot, and being the simple person I am I picked a small, congested coffeehouse for us to come together and laugh like old times. My love for coffee may have also had something to do with my decision as well. I liked the smell, and the warmth of a freshly brewed cup of coffee in my hands. I liked how the aroma of coffee beans never seemed to leave the clothes on my back even several hours after departing the place; it just lingered - in my hair, on my breath. Most of all, I liked how the caffeine made Dinah crazy - no, crazier.

She was the life of the party of course, so I could always count on her to cheer me up after a bad day, or whenever I was in one of those grumpy moods for no reason like today. I don't know what I'd do without her, or Normani, or Ally. We lived in the same city, but we'd been drifting further and further apart for a while now ever since the end of college. Not too long ago we were out on the town every night, always with each other, practically inseparable. Especially Dinah and I - we're still thick as thieves, though - but now, Normani and Ally are doing what they like to call settling down, focusing on their occupations and other important aspects of their lives.

Those two were usually left out of our shenanigans as of late, mainly because Ally had a kid about two years ago, so she had no choice but to mature. Normani, on the other hand, went all adult on us after she hit 23 and became a middle school History teacher. How boring is that?

I was sitting among them as they carried on their own conversations. Every now and then Dinah would glance at me out the corner of her eye, or shoot me a long speculative gaze and tap my foot under the table with hers. I think she was trying to get me to speak and not sit there looking like a "standoffish, emo loser". Just for her sake, I would crack a wan smile to let her know I was fine, then keep quiet and continue drinking my coffee until something was said to me; something worth talking about.

Somehow this whole get together was more appealing if I sat and listened and chuckled halfheartedly at what they said instead of speaking myself. Although I had what I thought to be the best job out of all my friends, their lives seemed more interesting than mine. Seemed like they were very genuinely happy; like they had it all together - I envied that. My life was okay. I made enough money as a photographer, my apartment wasn't a piece of shit, nor was my car. I'd been able to control my emotions a lot better lately... A lot of things were okay in my life, but something had been missing for a while now. That sounds cliche. I feel like a lot of unhappy people say that, but it was the truth. There was this big void in my life.

"So, Dinah tells me that you're looking for someone to move in with you?" Ally said, looking from me to Dinah. "Are the thirty cats that you have not enough company, Lo?"

Dinah snickered uncontrollably while taking a sip of her iced coffee and nearly spit right in my face. I wouldn't have been surprised. I can't tell you how many times that's happened in the past. I emitted a terse chuckle that was dry of any emotion and tossed a napkin at Dinah whom was seated across from me.

"You've got jokes, huh?" I said, wearing a wolfish grin.

"You have cats, Lauren? Since when?" Normani chimed in, completely oblivious to the joke.

I bowed my head a little and whirled a small straw around in my cup of coffee - then suddenly cut my eye over in her direction in a way that said, "are you dumb?".

"I don't own any fucking cats."

"I've told her a thousand times to get a cat. Why not? They're friendly? And she has to start the collection sometime, right?" Dinah jested.

"Go to hell."

Ally and Dinah erupted with laughter, Mani joining in a little late. This was usually how we got our entertainment; by ridiculing each other with jokes, sarcasm and a whole lot of sass. It could be anything from crude and immoral to just downright rude - as long as none of us took it to the heart, it was alright. They were always referring to me as an old cat lady. After all, I did live alone, and might I add that I hadn't been in a relationship in almost seven months. For someone like me, seven months is a long time.