Friendship for Dummies

Chapter Two

            Okay, so now I’m curious. Whatever it is, she’s obviously dying to tell me. Maybe there’s hope – she wouldn’t be this keen to inform me of her trip to the grocery store, so at least I’m in for something marginally more interesting. At the same time, the smug look on her face does make me kind of wary. Does this story have a potentially embarrassing theme?

            Knowing Mom – probably the least conventional mother there’s ever been – it does.

            “You remember Julie, right?”

            I pause, letting the name register in my brain. I’m pretty sure I’ve come across a couple of Julies before, but it doesn’t trigger an immediate image of anyone I know. Should it? Am I just being incredibly stupid? Mom’s expression implies that I am.

            “Julie...?”

            She shakes her head at me, pushing the pile of papers away from her and getting up from the table. Pressing a button on the coffee machine, she leans back against the counter, facing me.

            “You know Julie,” she assures me. “Julie as in Connor’s Julie?”

            Instantly, realization strikes. It must be written all over my face, too, because as soon as she catches a glimpse of my expression, she grins. At the mention of Connor’s name, a whole wave of memories come flooding back to me. Connor: the guy who I’d once been practically attached at the hip to. I hadn’t forgotten – the thoughts had merely been pushed to the back of my mind. It’s impossible to erase his memory completely; he’d been my best friends for eight whole years, after all. And when you’re kids, eight years is an eternity. However, so long had passed since we’d had any contact, and I hadn’t spared him a thought in forever.

            Well, until now.

            “Oh, right...” I say, trying to keep my voice casual. “What about her?”

            The coffee machine’s timer finishes, beeping loudly to prompt Mom to remove her cup. She does so, stirring it a couple of times before sipping at the hot liquid. “She’s back.”

            “What?”

            If I had a drink right now, I would’ve spat it out. In hindsight, it’s probably a good thing my mouth was liquid-free, because I’m not sure my mom’s third grade class would appreciate my saliva all over their homework.

            “She’s back,” she repeats, even though I heard her the first time.

            “Back?” I echo. “Back as in... back here?”

            The idea seems surreal, but at the same time, I know it’s possible. Just because Julie’s family moved to New York eight years ago, doesn’t mean they’re forbidden from coming back. Although I’m not sure why they’d want to. The heart of Manhattan and small town Indiana are practically worlds apart.

            Not that I’ve ever been to New York. My knowledge is purely based on highly reliable sources of information – i.e. movies.

            “Yeah,” she confirms with a smile. “It’s kind of sad, but she and Richard are filing for divorce. He... well, long story short, he was cheating on her. Of course they weren’t going to stay together after that. She thought about staying in New York, but the only reason she moved there in the first place was for his job. Now they’re separated... well, she and Connor decided to come back here, since she missed it so much.”