Chase & Adrienne

44

ADRIENNE

MONDAY NIGHT

"No way, Adrienne!" Danny calls out, delighted. "You got Twister?!" 

"Hormonal teenagers playing Twister? Absolutely not!" I respond. Danny rolls his eyes before continuing to file through my board game closet. 

"No fun," he mutters. I pinch him on my way back to the den, a bowl of chips in my hand. I walk in to see all of my favorite people scattered around the room. The speakers are blasting through the room. Jeremy and Andre fight over the aux cord while Carmen calls out song requests from the couch. Next to her, Renee is trying to take selfies with her. Chase is sitting on the rug with the remote control, trying to find something good to watch. Finally, he decides on a college basketball game, muting the TV. Danny slides in behind me, Cards Against Humanity in tow. The entire room approves of his selection loudly. We circle up on the rug ritualistically and distribute the cards. 

Within 30 short minutes, my best friends manage to turn our quiet, celebratory night into a memorable mashup of absolute madness. Every five minutes, someone is forced to explain to Renee what a dirty word on a card means. Every four minutes, one of the guys exclaims at an impressive play in the televised basketball game and grabs the remote greedily to see a replay. Andre and Danny get into a wrestling match when Andre tries to fast forward through one of Danny's favorite commercials, one with singing animals. Every three minutes, Jeremy gets up to change the song--he bribed Andre for aux cord privileges. Every two minutes, Carmen says, "Okay, this is my last handful of popcorn, people." Every thirty seconds, the five of us erupt into laughter at the terribly hilarious cards we encounter. And every other second, Chase's knee brushes against mine, reminding me that he's really here, that he's really real, and that amongst the beautiful chaos, he's really here by my side. Always. 

After these thirty minutes, we're all riled up. Unanimously, we vote to take a short snack and bathroom break. Just like that, we disburse. I find myself in the kitchen with Renee. She's pouring herself some more iced tea. I hold my cup out, and she fills it gladly. 

"Thanks, Renee."

"Of course, girl! Are you having fun?" 

"Definitely," I say. "I'm glad everyone could make it." 

"Me, too," she agrees, taking a long sip. "It's been forever since we've all hung out like this. I missed it so much."

"So did I."

And we stand for a minute, relishing in the beauty of being back to normal, of being back to better-than-nromal. 

"You were right, you know," I add. Renee quirks her eyebrows.

"About what?" she squeaks from behind her iced tea. 

"About Chase being more than a default. Do you remember when you told me that?"

Renee sets her cup down on the counter and gives me a pointed, knowing look. There's a smile on her face. 

"Yes, I do."

"He was never a default. He--"

"Girl," Renee interrupts. "You don't owe me an explanation. I'm just glad you finally saw what we've all seen for the last three years."

I smile, and Renee gives me a big hug. She pulls back, keeping her hands clasping my arms tight, and asks, "Are you happy, Adrienne?"

"I'm more than happy."

"Then that's all that matters, sister." She loops her arm around mine. "Now let's go play some more Cards Against Humanity."

"Don't forget the tea!" I call out. Renee gasps, taken aback that we could almost forget something so important. She grabs the gallon and a few extra cups, and we head back to the den. In the doorway, Renee stops me. 

"Hey, Adrienne," she starts, her voice nearly a whisper. "Will you tell me what a--"

"Ask Carmen!" I scream, bolting into the den. Renee chases after me desperately. 

Everyone congregates back in the den. We play for another hour, laughing until we cry, having too much fun to even think about being offended at the answers. We start betting on what terms Renee does or doesn't know. Chase rakes in twenty five bucks. I get a modest ten. 

After that, we switch games. If you thought games like UNO or Trouble tore friendships apart, you've certainly never witnessed five teenagers duking it out with a good old-fashioned game of Monopoly late into the night. Tonight, I find out that Danny is a vicious money tycoon trapped inside a scrawny teenaged boy's body. Carmen storms out of the den to "cool" down more than a few times, and Renee nearly cries. Thousands of dollars in paper money is torn to shreds, being pried out of the hands of fellow players. Andre threatens to shove a Monopoly hotel up Jeremy's butt. Jeremy retaliates by bankrupting him.

It's a lovely night.

Finally, someone checks the time. It's 1:16 AM. Everyone groans, realizing it's a school night. People begin gathering up jackets and phone chargers strewn about, stretching out their muscles and calming down a bit. 

I'm sad to see them go, but I'm comforted by the greatness that is this night. I imagine tucking tonight into a microscopic file folder and placing it inside a cerebral filing cabinet, one I can remember fondly.