"When are you going to stop thinking about her, Mani?"
Normani doesn't answer her friend and instead looks up at the stars, wondering where the young Tongan beauty was, and what she was doing at that very moment. Eight months, eight entire months since she had heard the soft rasp of her voice and eight months since she had seen the caramel goddess in person. They hadn't even attempted to keep in contact with one another, it hurt too much.
"Remember when you first met Dinah? You thought she was robbing us so you threw one of your precious little cupcakes at her like it would do any harm," Normani chuckles as she thinks back to three years prior. Dinah and Normani had been on a few casual dates and on one date in particular, rain began pouring down in their small Texan town. So she dragged Dinah to her apartment and rushed into her room to grab dry clothes, leaving Dinah alone in the living room.
Moments later, a small woman comes out in a panic as she spots Dinah, cupcake pan in hand as she lets out a scream and throws one of the delectable treats at the taller woman, hitting her in the shoulder. She runs back into the kitchen and when she returns, Normani is there laughing at the pastel pink icing that is smeared on the embroidered bomber jacket.
It was the start of a beautiful friendship between the two, a primary nickname for the duo being Biggie and Smalls. Ally also met her fiance, Tori, through Dinah. Something she is forever grateful for, but it doesn't mean that just the mere thought of Dinah didn't hurt just a little.
The two remain quiet for a number of minutes as they watch their friends splash around in the small lake in front of them. The two women, along with Tori, Camila, and Zendaya had decided that camping near the lake would be a decent way to get their minds off of their respected jobs for awhile.
Ally turns her head slightly, directing her attention to her best friend. She sees the subtle, yet unwavering sadness in her eyes as thoughts of her lost love flood her mind.
Everything was going fine in their lives, but Dinah didn't have enough. She never did. She wanted to get out of the small town she'd been trapped in her entire life. She needed to, even if it meant leaving everything and everyone behind. So when all the others opted to stay in their hometown, that's what she did, she went back to her roots and has been there ever since.
Normani wonders if she ever even crossed the Tongan woman's mind anymore. Though in truth, she was the only thing that Dinah ever really thought about on her spare time.
=====
Six thousand miles away, Dinah was watching as one of her friends, Lauren, climb a small tree in an attempt to get a closer look at a small bird that had perched itself on a brittle branch higher up in the tree. Lauren Jauregui, a young Cuban doctor, was here with a few of her colleagues on a mission that was organized by both a local church and hospital back in her hometown of Miami, Florida.
The two had hit it off immediately, even though Lauren scared the absolute hell out of Dinah at a constant. Always bringing in various types of lizards and insects that she had found along the beaches or in a more rugged part of the island they were on. The younger of the two always cracking jokes about how the other should have been a zoologist instead of a doctor.
"Dinah, sweetie, I told you to keep an eye on Lauren," Amaakee, an elderly woman whom Dinah had grown to love, walked up to where she was standing while carrying a small bowl of sliced mango.
"There is no stopping her-"
"Fuck!"
"Language please!"
Lauren slowly climbs down from the tree whilst holding her left hand, accompanied by a sheepish expression etched on her face as she looks at the two Tongan women standing before her.
