Together
Again
by Katie
PART 3
During dinner
"Is everybody's food alright?" Mom always has that need to make sure everyone's
enjoying himself or herself. It's not a bad quality necessarily but sometimes she'll
sacrifice herself so someone else can have the pleasure of being satisfied. I guess I just
think she needs to stand up for herself every once in awhile, that's all. She needs to
take care of herself more, that's all.
Everyone nods, concluding that either the food is good or it's so bad that no one wants to
say anything. But, it really is good, or at least mine is. For the majority of our meal,
we sit in silence. I'm not sure why we have such a big table, maybe it's because Mom or I
have company over for meals a lot or maybe it's because every week either grandpa Rick and
grandma Lily or grandma Karen and grandpa Henry always come over too. Oh well. As I look
around the table we're seated in this order: Mom and Katie at the heads of the table,
Kelly and I on one side, and sitting across from me is Riley. I think Mom is catching on
to something, because every so often, she looks up at me, and then glances at Kelly, and
smiles. Maybe she's just glad that I have such a great friend like Kelly. But then again,
my mom's not the biggest idiot in Buffalo. Finally someone speaks up.
"…So…umm…Jessie. I was wondering if maybe you, Madison, and Kelly
would like to join Riley, one of her soccer friends, and myself this Labor Day weekend at
my brother's cabin in Vermont."
[Way to get straight to the point. I wonder whose Riley's soccer friends.]
"…Well, we wouldn't want to be imposing, especially on such short notice."
There was a mix of hesitation and interest in Mom's response.
"Oh, it's no problem. We'd—I'd love it if you all would come up. The cabin is
Michael's, so it's in pretty good shape. It's only about two hours away. Besides, it would
give us a chance to, talk. Plus, this would give the girls a chance to hang out before the
start of the school year. What do you say Jess? Will you come?" Katie's voice almost
has a sort of a plead to it. I can tell that she really wants to fix things between her
and my mom. And to tell you the truth, I want them to work things out. Whenever Mom would
talk about Katie, as much as she tried to hide it, a light glow always came to her face.
It would be nice to see my mom a little bit happier.
"Come on Mom, it's just like four days. The hospital could deal without you for four
days."
"Well, I don't know."
"Oh come on! You know that Dr. Sanchez or Dr. Williams could cover for you. And it's
not like you've ever really asked for time off. For crying out loud, we haven't gone on a
vacation since I was five!"
"…I guess I could ask for a little time off." Mom knew it was over; she had
to give in. She never argued with me for long, unless it was over something serious.
"Are you sure it would be ok if we all came?" We all knew she was hinting at
Kelly. I don't really blame her for asking, after all, Katie knew Kelly the least, if at
all.
"Oh it's fine. Riley's bringing Dani, so Kelly would make an even four: even so, the
more the merrier. Kelly, would it be ok with your parents if you came with us?"
[I knew what Kelly was thinking. Would her parents care? I doubt they'd notice she was
gone. You see, her parents kind of well, favor her brother. I know what you're thinking,
but it's true. I've seen it with my own two eyes. It's like she doesn't even exist. Most
people, myself included, would have never suspected it because whenever we'd be over her
house, Mr. and Mrs. Shipman would either not be there or act like they cared. So it's kind
of understandable to why Kelly stays over my house most of the time, even during the
school year. I'm glad Mom isn't very strict, that and the fact that during the school
year, she has a lot of double shifts.]
[Whoa, Riley's bringing Dani?! As in junior Danielle Bradford? She transferred to BDHS
last year. Apparently she's a soccer wiz, perhaps that's one of the reasons why almost all
of the senior varsity soccer girls hated her so much. Or maybe it's because of the way
Dani looks. She's not bad looking; medium length dark brown wavy hair, fair skin, brown
eyes. But she does look well, like a typical…dyke. That's not MY opinion or the
opinion of the people I hang out with, it's everyone else's. I'm pretty sure she drives a
Harley to school, plus she's got that bad girl, biker, look to her. But that shouldn't be
any reason not to like her. And besides soccer, she's supposed to be an amazing gymnast.
She mostly keeps to herself, or at least that's what I've seen. But the rumors about her
being a lesbian, well, I'm pretty sure those aren't false. Why do I think that? Because,
a) she tried to hit on Grace during a school dance and b) she just ended a relationship
with Jamie Arnold, a just graduated former student of BDHS. I wonder what her intentions
are for Riley. Is it to be good friends or something more? Do two soccer misfits make a
cute couple? I guess I'll find something out this weekend.]
"It shouldn't be a problem, I'm sure they'll be fine with it," Kelly answered in
a little bit of a `pity me' tone, but not really. It was a sad yet uplifting comment, not
really sure how to be taken. But no one noticed, except for me that is.
"Well, it's settled then. Do you think you guys could be ready at say…oh, seven
a.m.? I've already got the food all packed and I have a van so don't worry about having to
drive or anything like that. Riley and I have taken care of everything else."
[Wow, this woman really knows how to be prepared.] It even caught my mom by surprise.
"…Oh, well, that'll be fine then. We'd better get packing. Plus, I need to call
the hospital to tell them."
"Alright then. I guess we'll be seeing you guys tomorrow morning then. Good night.
Madison, Kelly, it was nice to meet you both." Damn. Katie really has the charm. The
two of us say thank you and our farewells, so on and so forth. I watch as Katie motions my
mom into the hallway, out of our sights. But I can still hear what they're saying, or
rather, doing.
"I'm really glad that we talked tonight. Don't worry about this weekend; I'll take
care of everything, for once. I really want things to get back to the way they used to be,
only with more trust and openness. And, thanks for dinner…and the tour," and as
Katie ends her little talk in an almost mere silence, and before Mom could reply, I hear
them kiss.
Then we see them walking out towards the car, Riley was already there, leaving Kelly and I
alone in the kitchen.
Kelly reaches for my hand and squeezes it gently. "Thanks for tonight. It really
meant a lot to me. This weekend is going to be great, and Sexy…"
"…Yeah Beautiful?" By now we're staring deeply into each other's eyes.
"Thank you for always being there for me and taking care of me. I don't know what I'd
do without you."
"It's ok. I'd do anything for you, and I hope that you know that. And don't worry,
I'm not going anywhere."
And with that, we kiss. It was short, but sweet.
[We all have a lot to do within the next nine hours, but we'll be ready. Mom is like the
quickest suitcase packer I've ever met. I'm serious. She was all packed for a business
trip to San Diego in ten minutes, and she was going for NINE DAYS! After Katie and Riley
left, Kelly and I went downstairs so I could pack. Kelly already had a duffel bag at my
house, she was going to stay the weekend anyways, and if there's anything she'll need that
she didn't bring, she can just borrow it from me. By the time I finish packing, it's
already like 2 a.m. Leaving us with less than five hours to sleep. We'll be fine. We both
climb into bed and fall asleep in each other's arms to the soft sounds of one of my burned
mixes, featuring Billie Holiday, Avril Lavigne, Fiona Apple, Nina Gordon, etc. This is
going to be a great weekend.]