One Last Time

Chapter 9 | Quarter Hour

Shit

I'm fifteen minutes late to my lunch date with Ronnie. She's gonna strangle me! Ever since she became an event planner she transformed into a time freak! She either arrives thirty minutes early or right on the dot depending on the activities and events. Best friend-time has no exception to lateness. I got to Benita's and rush inside finding Ronnie sitting at the right corner of the restaurant. Ronnie shakes her head at me, "I said we should eat at 12:30pm, not the quarter after that." 

I sit across her, "Sorry I'm late! I didn't get much sleep last night." I chuckled nervously then realized she chose to sit at a four-person table instead of the usual two-person. I shrugged it off without any further thought. As I was gonna ask how Ronnie's been, Reed sits down to the chair on my left. "I wasn't taking too long in the restroom, was I?" Reed quickly takes a notice of me the same time I look at me best friend questionably, "Maya! Glad to see you've finally joined us." I smiled to him politely in response. She never mentioned about Reed eating with us.

What is she up to?

Ronnie wickedly smiled, "I thought we should all get comfortable around each other since Reed's working at The Salvator Library now. Maya and I are a total package deal." She had the audacity to wink at me. "Right, a package deal," I begrudgingly replied. Honestly, I was hoping to not bump into Reed so soon. Yesterday's event gave me a such fright, specifically how things ended. After our little escapade with the willow tree, Reed got us to eat at a 24/7 diner he found out of town. He paid for my vanilla milkshake and pancakes despite my protest. During mid-conversation, I pointed out how he has the habit of wiping his lips after taking bites of his breakfast sandwich. He then teases me about looking at his lips for me to notice that. Luckily, Reed gave up once he believed I'd literally throw the salt shaker at him if he doesn't stop.

How I felt about it made me scared. He drove me home and acted like a gentleman walking me to my door. I picked out my nails in annoyance. I shouldn't be thinking about it right now. It's the main reason why I hardly got sleep last night. A waiter struts to our table, placing a honey BBQ pork cutlet and a bowl of mushroom soup in front of me. He gives Ronnie a plate of chicken fillet with fries and a bowl of salad, then Reed honey garlic salmon with asparagus and roasted carrots.

I drown out Ronnie and Reed's conversation as I savor the pork cutlet in my mouth. I don't go out to eat often, so I'm focusing more on my food than them. Besides, they seem to enjoy each other's company already. Ronnie noted me that she decided to pay for my meal as a treat, which makes the food taste even better! I almost choked mid-swallow when Ronnie called out my name, "Maya!"

I coughed a bit as I calm down from my near death experience. Ronnie hands me my glass of water while Reed gently pats my back while I drink. I took a deep breath then exhale in relief. Ronnie snickered, "Woah, slow down there cowboy. And, pay attention next time." She clasped her hands together, "Now that we're done eating, let's talk about you Maya since Reed and I have already acquainted ourselves while you were absent."

Reed noticed my reluctance, "Okay, why don't we start by asking some random questions since we already know the basics about each other?" Ronnie agreed so I did as well. We all thought of what questions we should ask the other. "What's the most embarrassing thing you've experienced?" I asked and soon regretted it. Reed and Ronnie laughed loudly at my grimace knowing what memory I'm thinking about. "Of course, we know what's yours right now," Ronnie replied. She took a sip of her wine then nodded to Reed as a sign he should go first.

Reed said, "I think mine's when I was ten years old. Back then, I believed girls had it easier than boys so I wore my mom's bra filled with apples around town. I thought that would make my problems lessen since I've become a "girl" but it only made things worse by everyone calling me 'Red-breast Reed' the entire school year." Ronnie and I were in hysterics by the end of Reed's story. I can't stop laughing from the image of a pre-teen Reed walking around with fake boobs. All of a sudden Reed passes me a napkin. I gave him a look until he pointed to the corner of my lips saying I have sauce on it. I shyly wiped it off and scanned for a free waiter to order another glass of water. However, Reed noticed and gave me his glass instead. I tried to politely reject the offer but he showed me his can of coke as reassurance.

Soon, Ronnie's confession grabbed both of our attention. "I had a crush on this guy in freshman high school that was into rock music. I wanted to dye my hair to impress him. My younger cousin came to visit and thought it'd be funny to add his chemistry homework in the dye without telling me. My hair started falling out during third period," she groaned. I remember that! she wore a wig until summer break. Ronnie came up with a question this time, "What's the weirdest thing you've ever done?" Hm, I haven't got one in particular that's weird.

Determination's etched on Ronnie's face. "Don't look at me. I've got nothing," I shrugged. She tuts at me like a mother would to a child. "You haven't done anything weird yet. But your whole confession thing is weird. Well, mostly the reason behind it." Reed looks at both of us in confusion. Naturally, Ronnie explains for me. "Maya wants to sing a song that represents her feelings as her confession," she snorted. I covered my face feeling a bit embarrassed by it. It was something I thought of back in high school, but I didn't expect for me to stick to it so far in my life. Believe it or not, I found myself attached to the idea.

"It's weird because I'm only doing it if I really love that person. And, only when I lose feelings for him," I added, "It's like my form of goodbye, and it helps with moving on easier. It's like a 'thank you for letting me love you, even if you didn't know it.'"