Cherish

You're All I Need to Get By (31)

"You're All I Need to Get By" -- Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Like an eagle protects his nest

For you I'll do my best

Stand by you like a tree

And dare anybody to try move me

 

Darlin' in you I found

Strength where I was torn down

Don't know what's in store

But together we can open any door...

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"Jaden tells me that you and Kat have been best friends since you were twelve. That's incredible," Georgie commented while smiling at the nurse. Seated on the comfy sofa inside Joey and Kat's office, she munched on the best tasting oatmeal cookie to ever pass her lips. She had complimented the baker, who happened to be sitting next to her, three times already. So thrilled was Georgie with the treat, that she found herself spilling how she and Jaden took their relationship to the next level. The older woman seemed quite pleased to hear that Jaden finally had a significant other.

"My friend Vanessa and I met in the 7th grade and we were both twelve too. I have her on the eighty-year best friend plan. Thirteen down, so sixty-seven more to go." Georgie grinned as she reached into the plate for another cookie. She made a promise to herself that it would be the last. Maybe.

Joey laughed, the curls of her mostly dark locks bouncing. Although she and Kat each had a touch of gray in their hair, it was difficult to believe that they were forty-seven. Evidently, caring for forty children hadn't unfavorably impacted their aging process. In fact, perhaps the job that they so obviously loved had proven to be a fountain of youth.

"The eighty-year best friend plan," Joey repeated, a smile on her face which flowed through her words. "I very much like that. According to the plan, Kat and I have forty-five more years left. Now, what happens if we reach our goal?"

"Then if you choose to, you may extend the plan." Georgie winked at the nurse while chewing the remainder of her cookie. She kept her eyes away from the plate, lest her willpower to not eat another be tested.

"I should have guessed." Joey giggled, which the blonde thought adorable. "Did you and Vanessa meet in school?"

"Yes, we did. Biology class. We hit it off immediately. From what I heard, so did you and Kat."

"Almost." Although she had every intention of continuing, Joey took a sip of her coffee first. There was a bit of torture for Georgie every time she drank from that mug. Caffeine not a part of her diet in preparation for the big bike ride, Georgie could only imagine how wonderful the rich steamy beverage tasted, its warmth cascading down Joey's throat. "I had been living at the foster home of Dale and Anita Clarkson for two months when they took Kat in. At first, she had this big chip on her shoulder and as a result would barely talk to me whenever I attempted to make conversation. Since we shared a room, her resistance to being friendly caused the atmosphere to be very tense.

"Five days after she moved in, I couldn't take her grumpy silence anymore, so I confronted her and straight up asked her what her problem was. She had no problem telling me to go straight to hell so I yelled back that by being her roommate I was already there." Since Joey sported a cat that ate the canary grin, Georgie thought it was okay to laugh. "The way she stared at me, I was sure that I was about to be hit, but Kat didn't advance toward me. Instead, she actually told me what her problem was.