Life Ends, Love Stays (A Moey Fanfic)

Chapter 30 - Dinner

Meghan's POV

A small circular light shined above our table. We sat in a four person booth, finished with comfy leather seats and hard ebony wood. Menus sat in front of us, closed, for we already knew what we were going to order. Joey took me to this restaurant all the time when we found more interest in YouTube. We used to come here as business partners, but of course friends. We would talk for an hour or so about different cosplay ideas and videos we could make. Memories clung to the walls like picture frames, each with their own unique story. I knew what video we would talk about if we were to talk about making a video. It would be my goodbye video.

A tall waitress glided over to our table swiftly, shaking the thought from my head. Her blonde high ponytail swung with each large step she took. Her pink peachy cheeks rose when she smiled at us, standing at the head of our table.

"Hi! I'll be your waitress, Acacia! Are you guys ready to order or should I come back in a few?"

"Uh, no," Joey spoke up, clearing his throat, "we have our orders," he looked at me, I smiled back in approval.

"I'll have the avocado salad and an iced tea, please." I ordered, motioning to Joey to go next.

"Yes, and I'll have the chicken salad with brown rice, and just a water is fine." Acacia looked down at the small notepad she had in her hands and checked it over, before slipping it back into her apron pocket.

"Great! I'll be right back with your order, don't hesitate to ask if you need anything!" she finished, before walking back to the kitchen on the other side of the restaurant. 

My eyes turned back towards Joey's, always looking at me. He spoke before I got the chance too.

"So, about your bucket list..." he trailed off, waiting for an answer. I had completely forgotten about the small list of things I wanted to do before I died, "I remember one, about flying in a hot air balloon," he winked.

"Yeah..." I said, half a question, half a flashback. It's so weird how vividly I remember being curled up in Joey's old bed in Sawyers apartment. A folded piece of lined paper placed in front of me and a pen in my hand. A shaky breath later, I was scribbling tiny wishes I had. When you're placed in the moment, it's really hard to think of anything you really, truly want. 

So I thought back, to when I was just a girl. Playing in my back yard with my brothers, I always had just one wish that I thought was so simple at that time. Something I thought so easy and so effortless: to fly. I wished I could just spread my hands out and I could have magical wings grow long and beautiful up my arms. It took me a while to realize that was impossible, so I thought of the next best thing. A hot air balloon.

I imagined spreading my arms out in that small basket, feeling my weight being lifted off the ground by just a colourful balloon. Like as a kid, when you hold that helium ballon above your head by a string, hoping to feel your feet just lift off the ground. Little did you ever know, that was impossible.

"You still up for that?"

"Always." I replied, just another memory thrown at me from my past.

I caught sight of our cheerful waitress, Acacia, walking towards our table once again. This time, she held one large black tray with both of her hands. On the tray I could see both of our meals sitting on white plates. I smiled at her as she put my drink down in front of me before setting down my salad.

"Thank you." I said, loud enough for her to hear. I watched her nod slightly, her lips turned up slightly. She placed a plate in front of Joey and went on her way.

"I think I have something even better than a hot air balloon," He said, digging his fork into a piece of chicken, "I hope." He finished witha mutter.

"Oh yeah?" I said, itching for him to go on.

"I'll show you after dinner." he refused, forcing me to search through possibilities of what this mystery item could be. Knowing Joey, it would probably slip out during dinner. But who knows, maybe he is more determined this time. Maybe this 'thing' is really better than a hot air balloon. Maybe he knows it will make me happy. I hope too, I wanted to say back to him.