If Only You Knew

TWO

The 416 Snack bar was far from the glitz and glamour that Shawn was probably used to and yet, there he was, standing in front of me soaked in the red liquor I spilled over him.

- Naomi? he half smiled.

Chloe uttered a loud "fuck" right behind me, snapping me back to reality. My throat suddenly dried up, I couldn't put two words together. I panicked and handed him a stack of napkins from the bar next to us.

- So sorry about that.

In my drunken fluster, I bolted to our table, grabbing jackets and bags before turning right back. On the way out I seized Chloe's wrist, avoiding any eye contact with Shawn. While dragging us outside, the lines between past and present were now a blur, making me feel worse the more the images of the bar looped in my mind.

My best friend followed me without objecting, her face most likely still frozen in shock. My heart was pounding, and I tried to catch my breath for a few seconds. Sounds of chatter and music faded behind us, and the crips air slapped some clarity into my face.  

- Naomi, slow down, Chloe eventually pled.

She kept her pace beside me quietly, too quietly to my liking. I struggled to believe this run-in had actually happened. It was quite disorienting to face someone who I hadn't seen in a decade.

- Did this... really happen? I asked, unwilling to truly hear the answer.
- Yup, Chloe slowly said.

My feet froze in place and I turned to Chloe in disbelief. We both stared at each other in silence, blinking our eyes out, before we both burst into laughter. This was the kind of laughter that came from deep within, fueled by the absurdity of the situation and hurting our stomachs so bad, that we had to stop laughing to breathe.

Between gasps for air and fits of giggles, we tried to recount the scene: the red drink splattered across Shawn's pristine white sweater, the look of shock on his face, and my own mortified reaction. It was something straight out of a sitcom.

- God, my insides hurt, Chloe whined wiping away the tears in her eyes.
- I needed this, so badly.

Chloe reached in her pockets to retrieve her phone. I glanced back at the bar, taken over by this surreal feeling of crossing paths with Shawn.

- Let's call it a night. With your luck, who knows what might happen next, she said.

This run-in had provided the perfect ending to our evening and the most entertaining event of my stay so far. Our Uber ride home passed in a blur, the hum of the engine lulled me into a contemplative silence. I truly had stumbled into a parallel universe, where two of my worlds collided in the most unexpected way. It felt so eerie to just think about how random my life was at the moment. When our driver pulled in front of Chloe's building, I gently squeezed her arm to wake her up.

Once in her condo, Chloe clumsily stepped out of her jeans right in the living room and I guided her to the bedroom. She collapsed onto the mattress where I tucked her in the sheets before slipping out of my clothes. I let my mind drift away in the past while wiping away the last traces of makeup I had left.

After my parents divorce, my Dad bought his dream house and moved to Pickering. Things were pretty rocky with my Mom, especially when my teenage angst kicked in. After countless of arguments, my parents agreed it would be best for me to live with my Dad and visit my Mom every other weekend. It helped me  explore and experiment a lot as a teenager outside of my Mother's tight grip.

It was around that time Shawn and I met. On my first day of school in Pickering, his group of friends spotted me being lost in the cafeteria, searching for a seat. Their whole table waved arms and hands at me, inviting me to seat with them. They made my transition to the new school so much easier, though to this day, I wasn't entirely sure why they welcomed me to their circle this easily. It wasn't long before I fell head over heels for the tall boy strumming his guitar and singing.