by Yuriko Hime
Glace turned to me. “Come lie with me.” I placed my head on her chest without a second thought. She was warm and soft. Her coffee scent filled my nostrils. Glace wriggled beside me, taking something from her pocket.
“What’s that for?” I asked as she held her phone above us.
“Smile for me Dulce,” she whispered. “This is so I can have something to look at while you’re gone.” Though my heart was breaking because of the reminder, I still gave her what I hoped was the most beautiful smile I could muster. It was all I could offer right now. A memory to hold on to.
Chapter 34. Ticking Clock
Dulce
Time has become my number one enemy. Long ago, I used to count every second until I graduate and pursue my culinary dream. That was before I had the opportunity to meet and love Glace again. Nowadays, I was simply wishing for the second arm of the clock to stop. To freeze us in this moment in time, so I could be with her in every waking second.
Unfortunately, life and time stopped for no one. It could either work for you or against you. In my case, it was proving to be more and more of the latter. I was running out of time. Everything was settled- the college I would attend in France, the chef I would train under, the place I would stay in, even the clothes I would use were packed and ready to go. All of these things were waiting for me. It was just a matter of time, hence my hate for it.
Glace understood it well. She too was a victim of time, for it would take her love away. But you know what? As soon as I leave for France, time would be a friend again. We would count the weeks, days, minutes, seconds, until time took pity on us, making us meet together in the future.
“So tell me,” Tim said, bouncing up and down on the sofa in the living room. “Why are we wearing party hats again?”
“Because this is Dulce’s going away party,” Patty said patiently. She scooped a large chunk of yogurt to feed Eris who was waiting with an open mouth.
“I know. But why the party hat?”
“Because we’re 13 years old today Tim,” Glace said to my right. She smirked at me for no reason. “Dulce and I agreed to catch up on as many dates as we could before she left. You won’t really understand it.”
“When I was 13,” Eris spoke, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “I was busy discovering what a cat was.”
I looked at her, confused. “What do you mean?”
Eris smiled slyly at me. “You know exactly what I mean. If this wasn’t a PG-13 book or conversation,” she said, giving Patty a pointed look. “The author would have already used the term puss.”
“Shut up Eris,” Glace said in a rush. “I swear to God, you have a very dirty mouth.” Eris giggled in response. When she turned to Patty, her smile froze, replaced by an apologetic look. I was glad that they were getting along well. Someone would take care of my best friend while I was gone. Hope Denise would consider my wish when it came to Glace though.
Tim clapped his hands, making us turn to him. “I almost forgot,” he said. “I have a gift for the lesbian.”
“Me?” I pointed to myself.
“Duh! Who else is there?” He rolled his eyes.
“Well all of us are lesbian’s here, except for you.”
“Maybe I’m a lesbian too.” He giggled, his eyes looking like an arched line. “No I’m not. I like boys. Anyway, back to the topic. I have a going away gift for you. All of us do.” He grabbed his black backpack from the sofa and sat on the floor. “Come here guys, let’s give her our gift.” All of them followed him by sitting on the wooden floor, taking with them their bags.
Feeling curious, I completed the circle they created. Glace was on my right and Eris on the left. Tim unzipped his bag. He took out an Ouija board, the one people used to summon spirits. I moved to get up. “Don’t break the circle,” he said in a hushed tone.
I glared at him as I returned to my seat. “What the fudge Timmy? I’ve heard about this kind of game. I’m not doing this with you.” I turned to Glace. “Baby. . .” She shrugged and looked amused, but didn’t ask Tim to stop.
Tim reached inside his bag again. He revealed a small glass. “We’re playing spirit of the glass.” His voice was meant to be spooky. Tim glanced to the left and right, as if he was expecting ghosts to come out any minute. “Eris, do the honors of bringing out the last item of interest.”
Smirking to herself, Eris unzipped her expensive handbag and pulled out a bottle of wine. “See?” she said with a naughty smile. “We’re calling all the spirits tonight.”
I grinned as I realized that the joke was on me. “Ok, that was a good one.” Eris popped the bottle open. She poured a small amount on the shot glass and handed it to me. Tim produced four more glasses for them, pouring wine on each one.
Glace raised her glass. “To my Dulce. May she achieve her goals in the future.” She stared around the circle, glancing at our friends one by one. “To us. May this friendship remain over time, even when we’re apart, even when we meet other people along the way.” We cheered and drank our share of wine. Thirteen years olds were not supposed to do this, but the hell with that game for now. We were having fun.
“Okay, who will give her the first gift?” Tim asked Patty. She rolled her eyes at him.
Patty pulled out a yellow envelop from her satchel. She handed it to me. “Is this money?” I joked, wondering what was inside. It was heavy. “Can I take a peek?” She nodded. I carefully took out the stack of papers from the envelope. They were attached together using binder clips. The first page contained a word, which I read out loud. “Starstruck.” I glanced quizzically at Patty.
“That’s the manuscript for the first book that I’m writing. I want to be an editor in the future.” She exchanged tender looks with Eris. “But I also want to write a book because I was inspired by my favorite author.” She shifted her attention back to me. “That story is about you and Glace. It’s in the early stages, but read it when you arrive in France. Someday I will publish it so your story will be known. And they will love you, just as we do.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I murmured. “Thank you Patty.” I pushed Eris who was on my left to hug her. “You’re one of the best friends a girl like me could ever have.”
“Okay, break it up girls. I’m getting jealous.” Eris playfully pulled me and Patty apart. She was the next one who gave me her gift. It was a package wrapped in brown paper. “Now for my gift,” Eris said. “Open it.” Her excitement was palpable, as if she was the one to receive it instead of me.
I tore the brown paper, revealing a box. My eyebrows arched as I opened it. “Oh no you didn’t.” I gasped. "What the heck?!” Glace laughed hysterically beside me after seeing my reaction.
Eris took the content of the box from my hand. She pushed a button on the side, making the thing vibrate. “This is for when it gets lonely,” she explained with a poker face. “Your girlfriend will not always be with you in France. And we all know that you have needs Dulce. Needs that have to be met. Instead of cheating on my best friend, you can use this instead.”
Glace was still laughing beside me while Patty just shook her head. In the meantime, Tim and Eris clapped their hands together, enjoying the whole scene. I took the thing from Eris’ hands and shoved it inside the box. “I’ll abstain,” I murmured.
“Trust me Dulce. You’ll thank me when you think about Frio on those cold lonely nights and she’s not there to dive on your pool. If you know what I mean.”
I turned to Tim, ignoring her. “Please tell me that your gift is not like this.”
“No,” he muttered, reaching inside his bag. He handed a folder to me. “It’s my treasure. And now they’re yours.” Glace’s face greeted me when I opened the folder. Each page on it contained images of her, from her pre-teens in Hollywood, up to her most recent projects. I shuffled through the pages and saw that there was a picture of us sleeping on her bed. We were covered in comforter while cuddling.
Glace grabbed the picture. “Where the heck did you get this?” she
asked Tim.
He smiled like a Cheshire cat. “I climbed on the window using a ladder the other night. I did it to take a picture so I could add it to the collection. You were so cute together.”
I reached out to slap his leg. “You’re such a stalker Timmy. If you weren’t my best friend, I would have you arrested.”
He stuck his tongue out. “I did it for the greater good,” he said in defense. “You’re the president of Frio’s fans club now so it’s only right that I give everything to you. Anyway, have fun obsessing on her face while you’re away.” I didn’t have an answer to that. I’d probably stare at her picture everyday while in France.
Thanking my friends for everything, we continued our small party and talked all night. Our conversations made no sense at all. We discussed everything about life, what our goals were, how we would attain it, and even how much we would miss each other when college started. It was painful to be apart from them, but each of us knew that after all was said and done, the friendship would remain.
I woke up with the widest grin on my face the next morning. It was just me and Glace again. We were going to her mother’s cabin. Today, we were 16 years old. It was going to be a fun date.
After arriving at our destination, we left our bags on the living room, just in front of the fireplace and went out with our fishing poles. “I’m going to explain the basics,” Glace said with a know-it-all expression. We sat on the grass at the edge of the river. “First lesson is I don’t know anything about this, so don’t believe me.”
I giggled. “Didn’t you listen to the seller of the pole when he explained how to use it?”
She shrugged, smiling lazily. “No. I was staring at you the whole time. You look hot with that mountain hiking outfit.” Her eyes trailed on my black tank top, shorts, and boots which closely resembled hers.
“Fortunately for both of us.” I smirked. “I was listening to the seller. Or else we wouldn’t be able to catch a fish.”
“A know-it-all Dulce sounds sexy too,” she teased.
I ignored her subtle hints and proceeded with my tutorial on using the pole. We sat patiently by the river, enjoying the comfortable silence as we waited for one of the fish to bite. Luckily for us, we caught a big one, about the size of a boot. It was going to be dinner. After eating our haul for the day, Glace and I sat side-by-side in front of the fireplace. We snuggled together with a blanket over our shoulders and a mattress underneath us.
“You’re leaving tomorrow,” she said, breaking the silence.
I watched as the firewood burned and crackled. Heat radiated from it. “Yes.”
“I’m scared,” she admitted. She sounded like the child she was when I met her in the graveyard. I studied the frown on her face and how she bit her bottom lip. It was the first time she confessed about how she truly felt regarding my trip abroad. She’d usually smile when it was brought up, saying that she was happy for me.
I turned my whole body to her. “I’m scared too. How can I not be? I’m so freaking frightened that I won’t be worthy of you. I’m so terrified that you’d get tired of waiting for me. My world is falling apart just from thinking that I’d wake up each day, knowing that we’re oceans apart.”
Her breath hitched. “How can you even think for a second that I’ll be tired of waiting? I love you so much Dulce. You’re like a second skin. I’ll bleed without you.” She lowered her eyes. “Please don’t love somebody else.”
“I won’t,” I promised. “There’s only one Peter Pan in Dulce Gavin’s life, and that’s you Glace McKenzie. I’ll marry you someday. You know that right?” She nodded, still not looking at me. My voice broke as I said, “But the timing is not right baby. I’m not ready for you yet. I’m nothing.”
She hugged me tightly. “You’re everything.”
“I will be when the right time comes,” I whispered. “I’ll return here. I won’t run away ever again. From you, your fans, or the paparazzi. I won’t be the scared teenager who needs protection. I’ll be something you can be proud of.”
She squeezed me tighter, like she wanted to disappear inside me. It was exactly what I was experiencing. Knowing only one way to express my feelings, I laid her gently on the mattress, holding her gaze as I began to peel away my clothes. When everything was removed, including her lingerie, and there was nothing between us but the intense love we felt, I proceeded to tattoo myself on her, giving away each part of me, and receiving what she gave in return.
Compared to our first night, and the many other nights that followed after that, this one was quite different. We were both crying, trembling, knowing that time was about to run out. “I love you Glace.” Tears streamed down my eyes.
She looked up at me, her coffee colored eyes drowning with her own sorrow. “I love you too.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I let instincts take place, moving in synchrony with her. When we were on our peak, I forced my eyes open, vowing to remember this very second. How she held me tightly against her sweat covered body. How her voice sounded when she called out my name that night. How beautiful she was. And how she left her mark on me, and mine on hers. For a brief moment, time gave us a gift. It stopped for us. And though it continued minutes later, it was enough to keep us going.
“Goodbye Glace,” I whispered, just as she was falling asleep.
Chapter 35. Unexpected Turn
Glace
“You’re sulking Frio.” I stared at the ceiling of my room, wishing I could sleep for a long time. “Hey are you there? Don’t ignore me. You know I hate that.”
I rolled my eyes to no one in particular. She was always like this, pestering me with a phone call. “I’m here Eris. And I’m not sulking. Whatever gave you that idea?”
Eris laughed from the other line. “Ever since virgin girl flew to France a month ago, you’ve barely left your house. Emphasis on the word flew because Dulce didn’t die. She studied abroad. Now quit your sulking and come meet me so we can talk face to face. I hate to admit it, but I miss bullying you.”
“I don’t want to leave the house. Let me just stay here, sleep for four or maybe five years, and maybe, just maybe, she’ll be back in my arms when I wake up.” I groaned. “Besides, don’t you have better things to do than bothering me? Play with Patty, or better yet, go back to modeling.”
“I am back in modeling,” she snapped. “But fashion week is two months from now so I’m on a well-deserved vacation. Also, need I remind you that I shot a commercial for this big brand a week ago? So yes I’m still desirable and yummy Frio. Thank you very much.”
“Whatever,” I muttered. “Can I go now? I want to sleep.”
I was about to end the call. My finger was hovering on the screen of my phone, when Eris blurted something that made me stop. “Dulce called me last night,” she said in a hurry. “She wants you to meet me today. That’s why I called you.”
“She didn’t say anything the last time we talked,” I said carefully, remembering the conversation I had with my girl the other day. Maybe it was Eris’ tactic of getting me out of the house. Using my Dulce as bait.
She sighed audibly, making me feel as if I was right next to her. “Look, I won’t lie to you about this. She really did call me. Just get your butt in my house so we can discuss about it. I’ll expect you to be here in 30 minutes.”
Before I could reply, the line went dead. God. I loved Eris as a sister but sometimes she was too nosy for her own good. Couldn’t she just leave me be and let me wallow on my sorrows? Apparently not, I concluded as I got out of the bed. Walking inside my bathroom, I couldn’t help but halt when I passed the mirror. As I stared at my reflection, I wondered how many pounds I lost since last month. Since Dulce left. I looked like a zombie. No wonder she would sound worried whenever we called each other.
I just wished she was here right now to take care of me. If she was, I would trail my hands on her soft skin, whisper sweet and naughty things to her like I used to do, smash my mouth on her. Okay I really needed to stop b
efore another cry fest started. With a subtle shrug of my shoulder, I proceeded to ready myself.
Eris greeted me with a kiss on both cheek before I was able to stop her. She knew I hated that, yet there she was doing it to me. “It’s been a while since you’ve been here. Welcome back to my home.” She stood aside, letting me walk through the front door.
My eyes roamed the place. “You got another sofa.” I pointed to the grey colored cushion in the living room. “But aside from that, everything looked like the way it was before.” Eris chuckled, dragging me to the chair I was talking about. Her home closely resembled mine. Sleek and modern. Only hers was a little more colorful, with random artworks displayed all over the place. I was more of the minimalist type.
As we sat on the chair, she tucked her left foot underneath her other leg. “Patty hated my last sofa so I got rid of it,” she explained with a shrug. “You know I’d do everything for that silly girl.”
“How is she? How’s Tim?” I had to admit, I was a very bad friend. Ever since Dulce left, I haven’t been talking much to people or leaving the house for that matter. Heaven knows what happened to her two best friends. I was hopeless.
Eris patted my shoulder in an assuring manner, letting me know that everything was cool. “To answer your question, both of them are starting college now. They’re in different universities, but we still get in touch, especially Patty.” A small v formed on her forehead. “They’re worried about you. Everyone is. Hell, I’m worried about you, and I’m not the type to worry.”
I removed the arm she had around my shoulder. “I’m okay.”
“Liar. We both know that you’re not. That girl was very special to you. Now that she’s away, you just can’t stand being alone again.”
“Well what do you want me to do?” I grabbed a pillow, squeezing hard as if it was a person’s head. She didn’t know how difficult it was to be oceans apart from the one she loved. “Do you expect me to party around? God Eris, she wouldn’t even allow me to visit her for a year.”
