It's About Time

"A Little Bit, yeah"

The two girls pulled into the parking lot at Early Bird’s and quickly found a space next to the others.  The diner looked like kind of a dive from the outside- its blue siding was faded and chipped, the windows were darkly tinted, and the sign had a letter burnt out so it read “Early Bid’s”- but the inside was incredibly nice.  The parking lot was empty save for one other car- a beat up minivan- and everything was quiet.  Natalie wasn’t surprised that it was so empty the day before Thanksgiving seeing as everybody seemed to have family in colder cities that they would go visit for the holiday.

Sarah, Scarlett, and Sabrina got out of their car as Natalie pulled in and she quickly shut the engine off, climbing out.  Within seconds, the girls were attacking Emma with greetings and hugs.  The girl appeared to be slightly uncomfortable but Natalie knew that Emma had a feel for dramatics and was probably loving every minute of the attention.  She watched for a minute more, laughing at Emma’s attempt to not just sit and bask in it, before she intervened.

“Okay guys!  You can all get to know each other better later, but I’m hungry and would like to eat”.  The girls all looked at Natalie when she spoke and all seemed to agree that, yes, food was a good idea.  They headed inside and sat a large booth in the corner.  Natalie loved the inside of the diner.  The floors were done in dark hardwood that the staff cleaned frequently.  The walls were painted a warm yellow and covered in pictures of the staff with their families.  The tables were spaced out quite a bit, each one decorated with a light blue table cloth and a vase of wild flowers.  The diner was clearly set up to feel homey, and Natalie loved every bit of it.  

At that moment, a young woman came over wearing a white apron, her hair tied up in a ponytail.  “Hello. I’m Caroline, I’ll be your server today.  What can I get ya?” She asked in a strong southern drawl.  Natalie was actually kind of surprised to hear it.  A lot of the people she had met did not have a strong accent, if any at all.  

Each girl took their turn ordering and then handed their menus to Caroline.  She hadn’t written down their orders and Natalie wondered idly if they would get exactly what they ordered.

“I’ll have those right out for you guys”, she said before hustling back to the kitchen.  

“So, how long have you two been friends?” Sarah asked from across the booth, looking at Natalie and Emma.

“Since we were in preschool” Emma responded, smiling.  Natalie laughed at the memory of the two of them meeting.  

“Is it a funny story?”  Sabrina asked.

Natalie and Emma looked at each other, letting out chuckles and silently agreeing that Natalie would tell the story.

“Um, yeah, you could say that”, Natalie laughed.  “Emma was new to my school that year and she came in part way through the year.  She wasn’t in my class, she was in the one next door to mine though, with my-”  Natalie cringed.  “With my boyfriend.”  The girls all laughed at the idea of little four year old Natalie with a little boyfriend.

“So one day, this girl in my class came up to me and told me that Kyle- my boyfriend- had been kissing another girl, so naturally I was pissed off.  You know how crazy  that preschool drama gets”, Natalie said laughing.  “So I found out who he had kissed and I hunted her down on the playground the next day and low and behold, it’s Emma.  But at the time she was just some bitch who had been macking on man.”

“Oh my god!  You were four!  How did you have this much drama?”  Sabrina interrupted, breathless from laughter.

“I’m just worried about how she seemed to get more action when she was four than she does now!”  Scarlett interjected.  Natalie blushed and quieted everyone back down.