“Anyway,” Max said. “Enough of this, I’ll have plenty of time to think about it later, for now I just want to enjoy the night. So, is anyone else coming to the party?”
I glanced at my watch. My other friends were either late or not coming. I felt a slight pang of disappointment but then dismissed it. The only friends that really mattered to me were right here. It would be a small party, so what? Last night’s adventure was enough excitement to last another twenty five years anyway. “Um, looks like it might just be us.”
“Okay, let’s get some fish and chips, hey? Probably be the last time for a while I’ll get to indulge,” Max said, standing. “I’ll duck across the road and get it. My shout.”
“I’ll go with you,” Kasey said and they wandered up the hill and over the road, as Selena and I shared a concerned glance.
“I can’t believe it,” Selena said. “Max always seemed so … so … perfect. Like he was invincible.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Selena crossed her arms and chewed on her bottom lip. “Kelli, what if he doesn’t make it? What if the treatment doesn’t work?”
I slid an arm around her shoulder. “Hey, worrying won’t do any good. I have a strong feeling he’s going to get through this just fine.” It finally made sense, what Kasey had mentioned in the future about her husband being involved in a skin cancer campaign. He wasn’t a scientist, he was an ambassador. “Who knows, maybe something positive will come of this. With him being in the public eye, he might be able to encourage young people to better protect themselves in the sun.”
“You’re right. Wow, Kelli, you’re so positive today with everything that’s happened. It feels like …”
“Like what?”
“Like you’ve, I dunno, matured a few years overnight or something.”
If she only knew the half of it. “Are you saying I was immature before?” I spiced my words with sarcasm.
“Haha, no,” she replied. “Actually …” She brought a curved finger to her lips, squinting her eyes as though in deep thought, before laughing.
“Hey, you!” I gave her a friendly slap on the arm, then blew a raspberry in her direction. “Is that immature enough for you?”
“I can do better.” Selena inhaled sharply and released a raspberry of epic proportions, her fringe flying up from her forehead before slapping back against it.
I burst out laughing, tears streaming down my face. “You know, if you really want to get serious, a burping competition would be even more immature.”
Selena tried and failed to summon a burp. “If I was a guy I could do it. What is it with men? They can summon a burp at a moment’s notice!”
“I know, it’s crazy. I think they must store them up or something, keep them in a reservoir in their Adam’s apple until required.”
“Oh, Kel, you crack me up.” Selena doubled over with giggles.
I pulled my friend close. “Selena, promise me we’ll always stay close?”
“Of course.”
“I mean, really promise me. When your career takes you around the world and little old me is left behind, let’s not lose contact with each other. In fact, let’s make a pact.”
“A pact?”
I stood in front of her and held onto her shoulders. “Yeah. Let’s make a pact that no matter where life takes us, we won’t let a year go by without seeing each other.”
Selena nodded. “Okay.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.” She crossed her heart with her finger. “Even though right now we hardly go a day without seeing each other, I promise to see you at least once every year.”
“Good.” I smiled. “And if you ever get a personal assistant, make sure you tell her to always put my calls through to you, without needing any special pass code or anything.”
Selena tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow. “O-kaaay.”
“Oh, and when you’re a famous Hollywood starlet, don’t succumb to the pressures of cosmetic surgery, okay?”
“Surgery?”
“Yeah, you know we will get wrinkles at some stage. But promise me you’ll let nature take its course? You’ll be much happier for it.”
“If it’s that important to you, then okay. But, c’mon, a little Botox never hurt anyone, I’d consider at least getting that.”
I put my palm out in front of her. “No. None, you hear me?”
“Okay, okay,” she said. “And hang on a minute, what makes you think I’m going to be a Hollywood starlet?” She placed her hands on her hips, angling her chin towards me.
Oops. “Um, I don’t know, I was just getting carried away. But you would make a great actress.”
Selena laughed. “It’s funny you say that, because I’ve actually been thinking of taking acting classes. I was going to ask you tonight what you thought about it, but then Max brought up the whole cancer thing and it didn’t seem important.”
“I think it is important. If it’s something you think you’d enjoy doing, then go for it, I say.”
“You know what? I think I will.” She gave her chin a sharp nod and smiled. “Thanks Kel, I knew you’d be supportive. It looks like we’ll both be branching out in the career department.”
“It looks that way.”
“Speaking of branching out, look at Kasey. Her confidence has soared all of a sudden.”
I turned in the direction of Max and Kasey, armed with bags of food, standing in an embrace on the side of the road.
“Looks like she’s made a new friend,” Selena said. “And Max is going to need all the friends he can get.”
He’s going to get a lot more than that from Kasey. Wow, she must have been there—I mean, was going to be there—for him, throughout his whole cancer treatment. Good on you, Kasey.
“Kasey was just telling me about her innovative new research,” Max said as they returned. “Fascinating stuff. This girl’s gonna go far, I can tell.”
Kasey glowed so brightly she was practically luminescent. “Oh, we’ll see. Research is a slow process. I’m probably just paving the way for the next generation of researchers to carry things on.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure, you never know, you could find a cure for the common cold or something,” Max suggested.
I covered my mouth as a laugh caught in my voice box.
“What?” Kasey asked, glaring at me. “You think I couldn’t? Well, let me tell you that it’s entirely possible. You just wait and see. One day, Sis, one day.”
“Oh, sure. Whatever you say,” I teased. I’d let her have her victorious moment in the future, but it was so much fun to humour her now. No harm, it would make her feel more satisfied when she actually did find the cure, being able to prove me wrong.
“So, let’s eat,” Max said, opening a plastic bag and ripping the paper on a wad of hot chips and battered fish.
Greasy food at its finest. I wondered if the calories I’d consumed yesterday still counted today, but reasoned they wouldn’t, so I happily tucked into a huge piece of fish and a handful of chips.
“Who wants a glass of this fine Moėt, served in the most elegant of plastic cups?” Selena asked, taking the liberty of opening my birthday gift and pouring herself a generous serving.
“Me,” we all said at the same time. Selena poured us each a glass, er, cup and we sat and talked and laughed, until the sound of someone crying turned our attention towards the shore.
A young woman about my age with frizzy blond hair had her face buried in her hands, tears dropping into the ocean as gentle waves swirled at her feet.
“Hey, are you alright?” I called out.
“I’m fine,” she cried back, releasing another burst of tears.
I stood, brushing sand from the backs of my thighs and walked up to her. “It doesn’t look like you’re fine.” I gave her a concerned glance. She looked up at me, then towards our intimate gathering.
“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you and your friends.”
“It doesn’t mat
ter. Can I help?” I didn’t know why I was so concerned about a complete stranger, I’d normally just examine my fingernails and pretend I hadn’t seen anything.
“My boyfriend, he dumped me!” She revved the engine on her tears, unable to articulate any distinguishable words after that.
“Hey, it’ll be okay.” I rubbed her arm and seemingly surprised by my random act of kindness, she pressed pause on her tears.
“It’s so unfair, I did everything to please him, changed my life to accommodate his needs and this is how he repays me?” Her eyes pleaded understanding. “Why do I suck at relationships so much?”
“I’m sure it had nothing to do with you, it was probably just him. Didn’t realise how good he had it.” I hoped my words offered some sort of reassurance.
“Too right, he didn’t.” She sniffed back tears and nodded. “But I worry I’ll never meet anyone decent in my life. I mean, I’m twenty eight now, almost thirty for God’s sake. I thought I’d be married with kids by now. What if I’m destined to be alone forever?”
“Oh, I seriously doubt that. There’s plenty of time to meet the right man. He’ll probably turn up when you least expect it.”
“It’s just that, I thought this guy was the one, you know? I really felt we belonged together, but apparently not, according to him.” She raised her arm and let it slap against her thigh.
“You know, I had a guy I thought was the one too, but sometimes the one you think is right for you, isn’t. You just have to believe there’s someone better out there, waiting for you.”
My mind flashed to Will, first in his Facebook profile picture, then in his business suit, then in his Superman outfit. A smile graced my lips at the vision of his lopsided grin and cheeky sense of humour and I couldn’t wait to see him again. But I’d have to.
“I guess you’re right. Time heals, so they say,” the woman replied.
I glanced at my sister and friends, digging into the mountain of food. “Hey, do you want to come and join us? There’s plenty of food left.” I gestured towards the campfire and the woman assessed the situation with her eyes.
“Okay then, why not? Thanks.” She managed a small smile and we walked over.
“I’m Kelli, by the way,” I said, offering my hand.
“Nice to meet you Kelli, I’m Elaine.”
I stopped dead in my tracks, hoping my jaw hadn’t physically dropped to the sandy ground below.
“Are you okay?” Elaine asked and I looked deep into her eyes, flickers of recognition speeding along the memory highway in my brain.
“Um … yes. Sure. It’s ah, just that I knew someone called Elaine once.”
“Oh, well I hope the name doesn’t bring back any bad memories for you. Don’t you hate it when you meet someone who has the same name as the kid who pulled your hair in science class at school, or the bully who tipped your lunch box over in the playground? Even though they have nothing to do with them, you still feel uncomfortable.”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about, the Elaine I knew was very nice. In fact, you remind me a lot of her.”
Even though our only light was the campfire, the moon and a distant streetlight, Elaine’s flushed face was clearly visible. “Aw, geez. You hardly know me, but thanks!”
I flashed a smile and led her towards the fire, introducing her to Kasey, Max and Selena. She asked Max why he looked so familiar and he simply shrugged and said they’d probably passed each other in the street or something, even though I knew very well it was because she’d most likely glimpsed his gorgeous physique in a giant ad on the back of a bus. She’d find out soon enough.
As we ate and talked, I looked up at the sky, the same sky I’d looked at while on the Ferris wheel with Will and thanked the universe for this synchronistic turn of events. Elaine was now in my life and we could get to know each other properly, from the beginning. I would make damn sure that she followed her dreams of opening a cake business, or a restaurant and that she wouldn’t sacrifice her own identity for the sake of her marriage. All I could do was try, but the rest would be up to her.
After we finished off the dinner, Selena got to her feet. “Oh, I forgot. I brought something for you.” She scurried off to her car parked nearby and returned holding a lantern with a candle inside. “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, c’mon everyone! Happy birthday, dear Kelli,” everyone joined in, “Happy birthday to you! Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray!”
I blew my breath towards the candle, twice actually, because the first one didn’t work, as I had to get the right angle to blow inside the lantern and finally the flame was replaced with a sinewy trail of smoke floating up to the sky. “Thank you, Selena.”
“I didn’t know it was your birthday, happy birthday!” Elaine said.
“Hey, you didn’t make a wish,” Max protested.
“Didn’t need to,” I replied with a smile.
“Well I wish that you’d all get up to shake your thang,” Selena proclaimed, pulling me to my feet, then putting her iPod on full volume, a dance track blaring from the tiny device.
We wiggled and swayed in time to the music, and Max, Kasey and Elaine joined in. As a techno track took over, an urge inside me took over and my arms bent at right angles, moving stiffly up and down, while my body jerked here, there and everywhere.
“You’re doing the robot dance?” Kasey asked, laughing.
“Yep. I’ve been practising. What do you think?” I mustered up the sensation of the SlimFX Magic Suit stuck like cling wrap around my body and put it to good use.
“Two can play at that game.” Max summoned his inner robot and gave me a run for my money and the others tried to outdo us, but Max was a clear winner. I hoped he’d keep this memory with him to help him through the tough times ahead.
Worried I might get spasms from tensing my muscles for so long, I relaxed back into normal dancing. Selena wiggled up next to me and whispered in my ear.
“So, I guess you’re not going on your weekend away with Grant tomorrow night after all.”
I shook my head. “Nope. I have more important plans, actually.”
Chapter 20
Reunion
“The end of separation is meeting again.”
– Turkish proverb
I stepped into my red shimmery dress and fed my arms under the straps, smiling at the rewarding buzz of the zipper as it slid up my back with ease. I’d wanted to wear this to my birthday dinner last night, but since it became a casual fun fest on the beach instead of a flashy soiree at a gourmet restaurant, it hadn’t exactly been appropriate. It was very appropriate tonight however, for the occasion of my high school reunion.
I slid my feet into matching red shoes and put the earrings on that Selena gave me. One last push of the bobby pins secured my chignon and I pressed my lips together in front of the mirror, then grabbed my evening bag and headed for the car.
I arrived at the venue and clicked my heels up the steps, entering through an open door into the foyer. A voluptuous woman I didn’t recognise was handing out nametags. “I know you, you’re Kelli Crawford, right?”
Crap. I had no idea who she was. I’d only been out of high school eight years, surely that wasn’t long enough to forget a face? Unless she was someone my teenage snobbish self had ignored. I cringed at the memory of who I used to be. “Yes, hi, how’ve you been?”
She must have sensed my confusion because she quickly revealed her identity. “Don’t worry, you’ve no need to recognise me, I didn’t go to the school. I married Cody Baxter, did you know him?”
Yep. He was one of Will’s arch enemies and instigator of the whole Kick Me post-it note craze. “Yeah, I did. Well, I’m very happy for you both,” I replied. Poor woman. “How did you know who I was?”
“Your photo on the cover of Beautė magazine last month.”
“Oh, right. Thanks,” I said, wondering if she noticed that the cover shot had been Photo-shopped to death. My jaw line had been sliced and chiselled to the point w
here if I really looked like that, I wouldn’t have room inside my mouth for a set of teeth.
I pressed my sticky nametag onto the right side of my chest, up high enough near my shoulder to prevent the usual chest-staring from guys with the excuse they were just trying to read my nametag. I almost considered slapping it on my forehead, then they might at least look me in the eyes.
I wandered into the balloon-filled function room, my eyes searching for one person only, finding everyone but him. What if he wasn’t coming?
I’d never thought of that until now. It would make sense, I mean he wasn’t the most popular guy in school, far from it, so why would he want to revisit the past? But Will did say I was wearing this dress the night we met up again, so it either had to be tonight, or I’d have to wear this dress every night until I found him.
I weaved my way through the crowd, stopping here and there to greet people I recognised, until my eyes travelled to the far corner of the room. Near a table of drinks stood a guy with his back to me wearing a light grey shirt over black pants and cropped brown hair. His head tipped back as he downed a drink and then he turned around.
It was him. It was my Will. Well, he wasn’t mine yet, but that was just a technicality, it would only be a matter of time. Or not. Who said it was important to take things slow, anyway? Probably someone who’s still living with their mother in a run-down weatherboard house outside of the city and spending Saturday nights at the video store. In the dusty Classics section. Tut-tutting those who dared wander among the Adult titles.
My eyes fixed on the target, I waltzed over and stopped in front of him. “Hi Will.” A smile sliced across my face and his eyebrows rose.
“Kelli? Hi, how are you?” He tucked his hands into his pockets.
“I’m great, you?”
“I’m great too.”
“That’s great.”
“Yeah, it is great.”
Oh c’mon, Kelli! Two nights ago you were practically ripping him out of his Superman costume and now you can’t even hold a decent conversation? I opened my mouth to ask him a question, when a guy came up and slapped Will on the back. Why did guys always hit each other to show their affection? No nice soft hugs, they just whacked and nudged and slapped each other silly.
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