The Flower Theif

Dinner

Stevie

Reaching my yard, I sit on a little bench I have in my garden. It's so nice out, I love being surrounded by my flowers and I'm not quite ready to go inside and do laundry. Picturing Ally and I with our makeup running and stomachs grumbling sitting in a graveyard is something I don't think I will ever forget. But I think there's a chance that Ally could turn into a pretty good friend of mine, it's rare to get along so well with someone after you yell at them when you first meet.

Today certainly didn't go as I had planned, but I can't say I'm upset with how it turned out. Remembering the shock on Ally's face when she looked up at me this morning makes me laugh, and I still can't quite figure out what made me ask to meet her girlfriend. I'm amazed at the strength it must have taken for Ally to tell me about the week she lost Torey; I can't even imagine how much it would suck to lose someone like that, especially without getting the chance to say goodbye.

. . .

The week goes by incredibly slowly, I love my job but we're in the planning stages of our current job and I prefer the hands-on part more. When Friday night rolls around I decide to text Ally and see what she's up to, we had tentative plans for tomorrow but since nothing is set in stone I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

S: Hey!

A: Yo girl, what you up to?

S: Finally leaving work! Wanna meet up for dinner and drinks?

A: I have the same plans with some friends already; do you want to join us?

S: Yeah, I guess, you sure it's okay if I tag along?

A: Of course! I can pick you up at 7 if you want.

S: Sounds great. See you then!

Turning onto the road I'm met with a wall of traffic, this is the last thing I need after a long week; I just want to get home so I can have a fun night out with Ally and her friends. Inching down the road the only thing keeping me from screaming is my music and the prospect of good food and alcohol. Forty-five minutes later I pull into my driveway and I have ten minutes until Ally will be here to pick me up. I run inside and throw my bag down, rush to my room and rip my work clothes off, put on the first t-shirt and pair of skinny jeans I can get my hands on, check my makeup and put on some perfume. Sprinting out of the front door I see Ally turning the corner and I realize I left my purse inside, I run back in and find my bag, lock the door on my way out, and make it to the driveway as Ally puts her car in park.

I hop in the passenger seat and Ally is already cracking up. "What is so funny?" I huff, trying to catch my breath after the marathon I just ran. I buckle my seatbelt and stare at Ally as she tries to contain herself.

"Well first of all your shirt is inside out and second I'm pretty sure you actually flew out the door, why were you in such a rush?" Her laughing was finally starting to subside. Groaning I put my pride aside and pull off my t-shirt, flipping it right side out and pulling it back on. I know I don't know her all that well but I'm not gonna show up to dinner with my shirt inside out, that's not the first impression I want to make. The look of shock on Ally's face makes me laugh and we're both chuckling as she backs out of the driveway and heads towards the restaurant. Not to my surprise but we end up stuck in the same traffic I was stuck in on my way home from work.

"Where are we going?" I ask, rolling down my window.

"My friends and I have this thing where whoever is free on Friday nights meets at Public School," she explains while handing me her phone to pick the next song.

"That sounds like a great plan, I'm glad I could tag along," I add while scrolling through her playlist and adding songs to the queue, noting that we like a lot of the same music.

"Anytime! It's fun to see who shows up every week and it's nice to have set plans," she adds while rolling down the rest of the windows and sticking her hand out to feel the breeze. We continue to chat as we slowly make it through traffic, and before long we pull into the parking lot. Finding a spot Ally pulls in and shut off the car, turning towards me she warns, "My friends mean well but that doesn't make them any less crazy, so I apologize in advance for any antics they get up to tonight."

"They really can't be that bad, can they?" I ask, as someone leans down next to Ally's window and screams, making us both jump in fear.

"No, they're actually that bad" Ally chokes out, clutching her chest. The girl who screamed and a shorter blonde girl are outside laughing hysterically but they both look shocked when Ally and I get out of the car, apparently they didn't realize I was in the car too. Headed towards the front of the restaurant Ally introduced the screaming girl as her friend Shannon and the blonde as Shannon's girlfriend, Cammie. Ally introduces me as her friend and we all exchange hellos while following the hostess to our table. Sliding into the booth Shannon mentioned that we were the only four that would be there this week. Our waiter introduces himself as John and takes our drink orders; we continue to talk a bit about ourselves until John returns with our drinks.

"Cheers to the weekend!" Ally raises her glass to the rest of the table.

"Cheers!" Everyone else chimes in, and takes a sip.

"So how did you guys meet?" Cammie asks Ally and me. Looking over at Ally I'm not sure how to explain, I'm praying she's going to answer when she nods to me encouraging me to speak.

"I found Ally stealing flowers from my garden and I'm pretty sure the first thing I asked her was 'what the hell do you think you're doing?' and followed that lovely introduction with a lot more yelling" I answered, turning to Ally to encourage her to pick up the rest.

"When she finally stopped screaming at me I made the mistake of telling her I took the flower for Torey. To my surprise, Stevie asks to meet her, and despite the panic that ensued on my part she handled it surprisingly well. We eventually ended up at a diner," Ally continued "Needless to say that was the weirdest way I have ever made a friend." At this point, Shannon and Cammie look incredibly confused but are laughing along with us.