Old Town was surprisingly quiet for one o'clock on a Saturday. The small section of San Diego was a few blocks surrounding the Old Town State Park, which featured a series of buildings that had been restored to replicate the first Mexican settlement in the city. Adobe shops were scattered around a central plaza with a few authentic shops and museums, and it was easy to feel transported back to the seventeenth century.
"The first people to settle here were the Kumeyaay. They were a Native American Tribe that lived here for thousands of years," Vi said, as she, Meghan, and I sauntered past the Wells Fargo museum. "And then the Spaniards came and put a presidio, or a fort, over the area which included the Kumeyaay settlement. The people suffered years of torture and hardship by the Spaniards, which caused them to start a revolt, but it didn't change much in the end. Even though the Kumeyaay had successfully burned down the fort, the Spaniards maintained control over the area."
Meghan's nose scrunched. "Why is history always so bloody?"
"People think having power means having to assert it."
Meghan shifted towards Vi as we continued walking. "Isn't that the definition of power?"
Vi hunched her shoulders. "Having power means having power. It doesn't have to be continually demonstrated for it to remain intact"
Meghan stopped dead in her tracks, sun blaring over her chocolate hair and said slowly, "You really think that?"
Vi slid her eyes from the Adobo building to the ground at Meghan's feet. "Yes. I don't say things I don't mean."
The sunlight continued to shower Meghan as she stood in place. As it had on Fiesta Island, something ignited in the air between them, and seconds later, the corners of Meghan's mouth began to lift in a tender expression. "Of course, you don't. That's what I like about you."
Vi responded immediately. "I like you too."
I felt like someone who had stumbled upon a scene in which they were not meant to see. Should I make up an excuse and give them privacy? But privacy for what? A seed had been planted back at the beach ,and I was now watching my two friends grow something small and fragile. Vi hardly branched away from the close group of people she kept in her life, the people she knew well and was comfortable with. Meghan challenged this rule at every angle.
To quiet the extremely heavy silence, Meghan cleared her throat and stated, "I'm starving. Where are these famous tortillas y'all keep talking about?"
Once we had exited the park, we weaved along a few blocks around more museums and shops towards a small restaurant that had a short menu of authentic Mexican food, including the best tortillas in the area. Meghan scarfed down the shredded chicken quesadilla she had ordered and was now swinging a plastic bag full of flour tortillas.
"That was delicious," she said as the three of us lazily grazed along the street, admiring each shop we saw. I stuck to the outside of the sidewalk as it offered fewer chances for run-ins with death dates. "We had good Mexican food in Texas too, but that was incredible. I can't believe how much I ate!"
"What city in Texas did you live in?" Vi asked.
"Lubbock."
"That's where Buddy Holly was from," Vi said, causing Meghan to grin.
"Yep, and everyone there is as proud as proud can be."
"He pioneered rock and roll."
"I thought the Beatles pioneered rock and roll," I said, dodging a harried looking woman who zipped around the corner of the street.
Vi shook her head adamantly. "No. Buddy Holly was regarded as the person who introduced the traditional instrumental lineup. The Beatles were influenced by him. John Lennon and Paul McCartney styled their acts around him. They even named the Beatles after Buddy Holly's band, The Crickets."
Our expansive friendship had taught me many humbling lessons, and one of them was that if I was wrong in her presence, she'd be sure to tell me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't bothered by it, especially when we were younger, but after having many arguments and conversations, I had learned that when Vi was correcting me, she wasn't coming from a place of pretension, but rather she lived in a world of truth and was obligated to share the facts when she had them. I learned something new every day with her.
I nodded my head. "I always think of that Weezer song whenever I hear Buddy Holly."
Meghan laughed on the other side of Vi. She had dug her hand into the plastic bag to remove a fresh tortilla. "Ooo-wee-ooo I look just like Buddy Holly," she sang.
"I don't know that song," Vi stated.
"What?" Meghan said, wide-eyed. "I'm not sure whether to be impressed or sad."
"Vi has a strict policy: classics only," I stated as Meghan handed me a fresh tortilla. I rolled it into a tube and nibbled off the top.
"Classics being?" Meghan prompted.
"What is it?" I bit off another piece and glanced at Vi. "'76 and below?"
"'77 and below," she corrected.
Meghan's mouth formed a small pink flower as she inquisitively rounded on Vi. "So why is that?"
"They're the rock classics. Music advanced a great degree in that period from the late 50's until then. Rock was new and innovative."
"Music is innovative now," Meghan countered simply.
Vi didn't respond.
"So, you're telling me you haven't heard a single song past the year of '77?" she asked.
"No, that would be close to impossible. I've heard new music at stores or when people play them in class. Plus, my parents like to listen to contemporary pop music when we drive, and that makes me want to break the stereo."
Meghan's full cheeks rounded as she broke into a smile. "One of my favorite bands is from here –Delta Spirit. You ever heard of them?"
"No," Vi said.
"Would you ever listen to them with me sometime?"
Vi didn't answer immediately. I was worried Meghan was about to get a taste of the structured way Vi lived her life. Not many people understood or could put up with it for very long.
Vi, however, surprised me. "What kind of music do they play?"
"Indi rock, a little bit Americana."
"Maybe," Vi said.
"I'll take it." Meghan granted me a swift smile which I returned, stunned but elated.
"They're actually the reason I decided to move out here," Meghan continued.
"To San Diego?" I asked.
"Yeah," she said. "It's not like I was hoping to run into them or anything, but when I was thinking about places to move to, I knew I wanted to go somewhere warm and on the coast. One of their songs came on when I was driving, and I knew then I was going to San Diego."
"What was Texas like?" Vi asked suddenly.
Just then, a suave man with polished black hair stepped right in front of me. With no time to prepare, the air swirled and hummed as our eyes locked, and a lightning bolt struck my core. The voice then called:
February sixteenth, two thousand and fifty-nine.
I took a deep breath as the air returned to normal and the man carried on his way, completely unaware of the secret I now carried. Suddenly, I felt exhausted. Three seconds was all it took to zap the life out of me.
"– but it was alright. I mean, there wasn't a whole lot to do, and I was bored as a twenty-year-old. My family's all there, so it was hard to leave them, but it needed to be done. I needed a change."
"What was your girlfriend like?"
"Vi!" I snapped.
She didn't seem to hear me and offered no apology.
"Oh, um." A chuckle caught in Meghan's throat. "She was – she was the first person I fell in love with."
Neither Vi nor I apparently could think of anything to say to this.
"She was fun – a little older than me, which was exciting when I was younger. She got me into a lot of bars and clubs, and we had a lot of fun together."
"Why did you break up?" Vi asked.
"Well," Meghan began. "She was, um, she wasn't the healthiest person to have in my life." The three of us crossed the street and veered right towards a shopping center. "She was incredibly possessive and didn't like it when I saw my other friends. She liked to be in control. Really, I think she wanted me to be the girl I was when we first started dating, all in awe of her. She liked that, having the attention from someone who admired her." Meghan pulled her hair over her shoulder. "Ultimately though, like everyone does, I grew up and started doing things that I liked to do."
"She didn't like doing things that you liked to do?" Vi asked.
"Well, it wasn't really that she didn't like doing those things, it was more that she saw that I was enjoying my time doing something that didn't involve her. She liked being the center of attention.
"Anyway, things got pretty bad. She said and did some horrible things to me in the months before I left – it was hard."
"What was hard?" I said.
"Breaking up with her. She was the first person I really dated, and I did really love her, but it wasn't working. I wasn't going anywhere with her – couldn't grow."
The three of us came to stop before the shopping center, and we sealed our backs against the building.
"So here I am in sunny San Diego looking to spread my roots and try new things."
As people passed by, some in conversation and some alone walking their dogs or on their phones, I thought about Meghan's story. I had to admit it was inspiring. How many people actually went through with accomplishing a fresh start? A strong notion wrenched at my insides, and, again, my death date reared its ugly head.
But for the first time, I was able to cast it aside. It was an interlude, one that gave me the opportunity to recognize that a new desire was crawling its way up from the pit of my stomach. And when it reached the light, I was surprised at what I felt:
I wanted to volunteer at the vet.