Another Now

Carol Silliard

Everything was perfect. It had never been so perfect for as long as I could remember. I woke up every morning with an overwhelming sense of peace inside me. My best friends were best friends. No more drama, no more extremes, no more abuse. Just eight friends who would die on the cross to protect each other.

Mikey and I planned a double date night with Jess and Leslie almost a month earlier, sometime in mid June. We were gonna go to Boston Pizza and share an appetizer of fries and milkshakes with two straws in them, in celebration of finding ourselves again.

Of course, we planned this in advance. We made special reservations. Or Jess and Mikey did. They went to pretty great measures.

We were all to meet in front of the Burke house at precisely 7:00pm. My mother offered to drive me over, more than willing. She was happy for me too. She was happy to see a change in both Lisa and myself. Or more of a change back.

I stood in front of the full length mirror on the closet by the front door as I slipped on my black flats. I glanced up at myself, and I stared long and hard at the face staring back at me. It amazed me, the physical changes in the simple structure of my face that clearly projected a feeling that hadn't been there before; the feeling of happiness. I could see it in the way my lips curved into a half smile naturally, not forcefully. I could see it in the way my eyes gleamed in the reflection, glistening with hope rather than potential tears. I'd forgotten what I looked like.

And then there were two of me in the mirror, and I turned around to extend my arms around my twin sister's neck as she squeezed me hard enough to break bones or cause seizures.

"You look... wow. Like me, but better!" she laughed, studying my tight black dress that comfortably hugged my hips, came dangerously close to my knees and was topped off with a v-neck with a diamond necklace just above. Our more-than-willing mom spent an hour and twelve minutes styling my hair into a mature, sophisticated bun.

"I prefer sweats and a t-shirt most days anyway" I laughed back, acknowledging Lisa's causal attire.

"Congratulations, and be careful. Elbows off the table, mind your manners and don't eat too fast; it looks piggish. Oh, and don't leave your virginity behind anywhere" she winked, as I threw my arms ungracefully at her evidently unbrushed hair.

"Girls! Be ladylike! Let's go, Care. You don't want to be late!" our mom's voice came from behind as she stood at the door, slipping on her flip flops.

"Be ladylike!" Lisa repeated as I slapped her arm with much less violence before joining our mother at the door.

We pulled up in front of the Burke house as I checked the front screen of my phone. 6:58, the clock read. Right on time. My mom gave me a quick side hug and cheek kiss before allowing me to jump from the front seat and wave one last time as she drove away.

As I walked around the trees that mostly concealed the presentation of the Burke's house, the first thing that caught my eye made me loose my breath. A limousine, black and shiny sat meters away from the house. I hardly noticed when Mikey, Jess and Leslie emerged from inside the house.

"Care!" Mikey's soothing and familiar voice caught my attention from a distance, and I glanced at my three friends, trotting towards me.

"Like it?" Leslie said in a somewhat breath-filled way, a result from prancing like a reindeer across her grossly large property.

"Like it? This is amazing! But BP's is only a minute or two away" I pointed out, trying not to sound ungrateful.

"I know" Leslie rolled her eyes, "but you know my parents. They insisted."

"Better than walking" Jess chimes in, as Leslie slapped his arm in a playful yet disciplinary sort of way, just as I'd done to Lisa minutes earlier.

"Well? Shall we?" Les smiled big, gesturing towards our expensive ride.

The inside of the limo contained both a plate of chocolate and chips and salsa, a combination Jess pointed out, didn't go very well together.

"Shut up, it's probably like $50 chocolate" Mikey spat at him before adding, "a piece."

Jess shrugged and tossed another chocolate into his mouth as we pulled up in front of the restaurant.

Leslie graciously thanked the driver before waving him off. When we got inside, she told the hostess we were "The Burke Party" and we were immediately seated at a four-seated table near the window.

After ordering our drinks and appetizers, Jess asked us all about our summer plans.

"Well, I've mapped everything out but last time I did that you got culture shock or something" Les told him, taking the cheap shot at her boyfriend.

"Well, I on the other hand plan to go on as many waterslides as possible before it gets cold. I hate those stupid indoor waterparks. There are cameras or something in the slides" Mikey chimed in, his interesting statement earning the attention of the whole table.

"I actually like indoor waterparks, they're like summer in the winter" Jess retorted, much to Mikey's dismay.

"Except it's not... it's still winter" Mikey pointed out, taking a sip of his drink as his way to end the argument.

My eyes met Leslie's, an indication of our annoyance with our boyfriends. Boys loved to argue, we silently agreed.

After changing the topic from waterparks, the four of us had a pretty great evening. I looked around the table at the once familiar smiles on my friends' faces, smiling myself at the thought that everything was finally okay. I had so many questions I wanted to ask; Jess mostly, but Leslie too, but I decided it was best to just accept our luck and not press the issue. As long as we're all happy now, what does it really matter what happened then?

That was June 28th, 2017.

On June 30th, the group as a whole celebrated our graduation from Lark Creek School. Off to high school we would go this fall. Except for Grace, who I had to give an exponential amount of credit for putting on a brave face and celebrating everyone else but herself. I'd forgotten about that side of her.

On the night of July 4th, Mikey, Barb, Lisa and I all watched the Independence Day fireworks from the hot tub in Mikey's backyard.

On July 6th, Leslie called me early in the morning to tell me that Jess and Grace slept together on her living room floor.

On July 15th, Mikey and I broke up after disagreeing about whether Grace and Jess were capable of what Leslie had accused them of.

On July 16th, Lisa and I cut contact with the rest of the group.