Station 429

the night of departure

the night of departure

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Misty and Foster were standing outside. Foster was talking and making gestures with his hands, while Misty was listening, arms folded across her stomach. Foster stopped talking and let his arms go limp at his sides, waiting for Misty to say something. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, to which Foster drew her in closer.

    Colleen watched all of this as she climbed down the rock pile and slowly walked towards them, trying to give them as much time as they needed. Just as she was approaching, Misty untangled herself from Foster's grasp, then turned and went inside, leaving him alone.

    "That looked good," Colleen said, slightly startling Foster since he hadn't been aware of her presence. "What did you say?"

    Foster shrugged. "I just apologized. And explained everything. Basically, everything I told you."

    Colleen nodded and pursed her lips.

    They stood there for a moment together. A breeze blew over them, as one typically does; it happened so often, that it barely even registered with Colleen anymore. She was used to the bitter temperatures and harsh winds that came with the New York winters. She wondered what a summer in New York felt like.

    "Tonight's Dustin's last night," Foster said, breaking her away from her thoughts.

    "I know," Colleen said. "I'm gonna miss him."

    "He'll be back, you know."

    "Yeah." She sighed and looked at Foster. "It's just-he's like a brother to me now, I guess."

    Fosternodded. "Yeah, I get it."

    Colleen, in all honesty, was really worried for Dustin underneath all of the excitement. She was worried that he would come back a bigger mess than he was before he left. That seemed to be the risk that Colleen was terrified of.

    "Well," Foster said, "guess we better make the most of our time here."

    Colleen sucked in a big breath, then let it out. She turned to face Foster, and he responded with a move of his arm, telling her to lead the way.

    Everyone was standing in a circle in the middle of the room, all talking at once to Misty. It was strange enough that they were all standing rather than sitting, but the fact that they were talking over each other was extra strange. Colleen's eyebrows creased as she said, "What's going on?"

    They all turned at once to look at her and Foster standing near the doorway. The circle split down the middle to reveal Misty standingdirectly across from Colleen. She said, "I decided to visit my sister."

    A smile instantly spread across Colleen's lips, and Misty matched it as Colleen rushed over to give her a hug. "Oh, my God," Colleen said, "this is so awesome."

    Everyone laughed, and Colleen released Misty just in time to wipe away a tear that slipped down her cheek. "I'm sorry," Misty said. "It's tears of joy, I swear."

    Eventually, they all settled in for the night, and plans for Misty and Dustin were discussed. Mia had already left earlier that week due to her prepaid plane ticket, so that left Dustin alone on his plane ride. Misty was just going to drive the two hours to her sister's and James's house. They both left tomorrow, bright and early.

    The initial nervousness from both of them had diminished, leaving only excitement coursing through them. Misty said she was actually quite excited about getting caught up with her sister after all these years.