The bonfire crackled wildly, like someone replying angrily to an insult. It glowed in different shades of red, orange, and yellow, with the flames waving around erratically, like one of those creepy spineless inflatable men at car dealerships who look like they had a shot too many of vodka.
The heat that it emitted on this July night seemed unnecessary, as the heat from our anger filled memories was enough to warm us up on such a crisp evening. Manish, Jen, and I stared at it, our minds and faces blank, while the fire continued to pop and burn in front of us.
In an attempt to dissolve the tension that was layering like an onion, I whispered, "So many memories."
Jen let out an exasperated sigh. "All the painful memories that we suffered together are gone, Jaya. We won't be haunted by their presence anymore," Jen comforted, as we all scooted together to watch the fire burn whatever pain there was left.
I felt Manish's arm slide around me, while my hand grasped Jen's tightly. All we could do was sit there and wait for it to finish so that it would be confirmed that our suffering would be put to an end.
Eventually, the remainder of what was ignited in the fire was reduced to nothing but ashes. The bonfire was just a pile of charred logs and ashes, with only a few specks of bright orange in the pile. With a raised eyebrow, my head turned to face Sunny, who just gave me a nod.
I stood up, dusting my hands off, and letting out a huge sigh. "Whew. Glad that's done with. I swear, all those exam papers were making a mess of my room. Sunny, do you have the marshmallows?" I asked, while bringing out a huge bar of Hershey's chocolate.
Manish took out his little backpack, and whipped out the bag of fluffy, sugary goodness. "I got them. And I got them gelatin free, for Jen. Did you guys get the tw-"
Before Manish could finish his sentence, I can sense what it was going to be about. I took the twigs that Jen and I collected and threw them into the pile of what was now burnt out wood and scraps of charred paper. Manish closed his mouth, and said, "You read my mind. That's how we're best friends, huh?"
I threw him a little chuckle, as Jen started to open the box of graham crackers for the s'mores. "Jen, can you pass me the sticks for the marshmallows?" I asked, to which Jen fulfilled. Manish opened the bag of marshmallows, and stuck a big fat one on his stick. My hands dove into his bag to look for his matchbook, to which I eventually recovered.
I struck the match against the matchbook, and almost immediately, a bright orange flame sat on the tip of it. A devilish smirk came upon my face, and I said, "Hey, Sunny, do you remember the time you burnt your finger on the gas stove because I dared you to touch the blue flame?" I bent down to light the bonfire once more, and when I stood back up, I caught sight of Manish's dirty facial expression rubbing its way into my gaze.
I couldn't help but chuckle, because Sunny's dirty looks are hilarious. Hearing me chuckle caused a smile to break out on his face, and he said, "Sadly, yes. I really should've used common sense to figure out that the blue flame was not cold."
Chuckles escaped the three of us, as Manish gave us our marshmallow accompanied sticks. We all scooted closer together so that we could be closer together, both figuratively and literally, and once the fire grew big enough, we proceeded roast the marshmallows.
We held the marshmallows above the fire, and the smell of caramelizing sugar wafted throughout the whole scene, causing the vicious creatures known as our stomachs to let out a low grumble. While our marshmallows were turning into a caramelized cloud of heaven, the smell of it carried another memory in mind.
"Jen, do you remember the time that you nearly dropped the marshmallow - that was still on fire - in biology?" I asked, as I turned my stick a little bit.
Jen rolled her eyes a little bit, and scooted closer to the fire. "Ah, yes. That was a really important moment in my life. It was the time that I realized that I never wanted to do biology in college. Ever," she said, as she withdrew her marshmallow from the fire.
I turned mine for a few more seconds in the fire, then placed it onto the graham cracker-chocolate bed so that it would be made into the best s'mores ever. I gently placed the graham cracker on top of it, and squashed it together. The warm, gooey marshmallow oozed onto my fingers, with the heat from it melting the chocolate slightly.
With excitement and anticipation building up inside of me, I took a huge bite from the s'more, only for my expectations of chocolatey, marshmallowy goodness to be fulfilled. "Out of curiosity, what is one of your guys' favorite memories?" Jen asked, as she wiped a little bit of the chocolate staining her upper lip.
Manish flashed me a warm, yet sentimental smile. I smiled, because I knew that this was going to be a memory that would hit right at home for me, and would make me want to cuddle up and make me want to live in that moment forever. Without wiping that smile off of his face, he adjusted a little bit, and said, "Probably when Jaya first started calling me 'Sunny.' I think that was one of my favorites."
A burst of joy trickled into my bloodstream, as the memory of that day came flooding back into my mind. I knew it. I knew it was going to be a memory as fabulous as that. It was the day that I realized that Manish was providing me with the light in my life, making things brighter and more joyous for me in so many scenarios. There was no better way to communicate my gratitude to him than to convey what he was to me in a simple nickname.
"Why was it so important to you?" I asked, as I licked some of the chocolate off of my lips.
Manish gave me another smile, this time one that had nostalgia oozing from all corners. "It helped me realize how much of a positive impact I made on your life, and it also helped me realize how important you were to me. It was a win-win situation, Jaya," he admitted.
Yet again, my lips curled up into yet another smile. Manish snaked an arm around me, as I scooted in. I rested my head against his shoulder, as the fire crackled and sparked whatever was left in it. I felt Manish's eyes close, as he melted into our little embrace.
With the warmth from the fire and from Manish's attitude and embrace, there was nothing more that I needed. I may as well had gotten a blanket and fallen asleep there. Through the corner of my eye, I threw Jen a little look. There was a question that was plaguing my mind at the moment, and I wanted to see how she would answer it. All she did was reply to that with a wink.
That alone answered my question.
**********
"Do you have your outfit for Irfan's wedding?" I asked, as we sat on the cement near my house. My finger went to my eyelashes to push them up to prevent them from tickling my eye. Jen was swiping through pictures on her phone, and when she got to her outfit, she tilted it towards me.
"Yep! That's what we got! I'm honestly way too excited. As the sister of the groom, my mom and I are so pristine about how the wedding is going to go. These next couple of weeks are just going to be jam packed with so much shopping and preparation. We're just way too excited."
I gawked at her outfit. The red fabric was enhanced with golden threading at the neckline and waistline. The contrast of both the colors, plus the overall design of the embroidery was enough to make my jaw drop in pure envy. It was almost looking at a royal disco ball, with all the shimmery jewels on there, and the perfect color to match the shine. Plus, everything looks good on Jen.
"Dang, girl! You're going to slay in that outfit. I can't wait for his wedding reception too. I'm going to shake it on the dance floor." Jen giggled a little bit. The thought of Jen looking like she just walked out of the Aladdin movie at Irfan's wedding reception seemed very close to possible.
She put her phone down on the cement, and said, "I can imagine. And then I'll join you, and the next thing you know, everyone is dancing. Ah, we gotta love Tunisian weddings. Plus, I know that whatever you wear, it's going to look great."
I gave her another appreciative smile, while thinking about the cream colored suit sitting in my closet that would be perfect to wear to her brother's wedding reception. All that was needed was the perfect jewelry to go with it, and then, it would be perfect. "Ah, I wonder what would look great on me at his wedding reception," a familiarly bitchy voice said.
My eyes shifted up towards the source, and the next thing you know, Cactus Nose was standing right there. The look on her face only seemed more evil than usual. "Ce n'est pas bien," (This is not good) I muttered to Jen under my breath. Jen and I both stood up to face the spawn of Satan herself.
I guess he still had a restraining order on her.