Better Off Friends

Stacey got up to get me some water. I watched her move across the room, greeting everybody, being the perfect hostess.

I realized there was a line of people there to talk to me. I felt like it was a funeral for my football career, with people offering their condolences. Even though the guys kept telling me I’d be fine, I was the one who was speaking to the doctors. They’d confirmed it was going to take several months to get back to somewhat normal, and even then it would be hard for me to pivot and switch directions easily. The best hope I had for senior year was track. Ru

I was itching to run so I could clear my mind. And if there was a time in my life when I needed to get focused, work out issues, it was now.

I smiled politely and thanked everybody who came up to me and told me they hoped I felt better and that I’d be back to ru

All I could do was sit there. Stacey had disappeared, probably talking to someone else in the kitchen.

I really needed that glass of water.

“Hey there,” Macallan said, setting a glass of water and a plate of brownies on the end table. She sat down next to me. “Enjoying your audience?”

“Oh, I am so happy to see you.”

“You’re happy to see my brownies.”

I’d been hesitant when Stacey brought up the idea for the party. In the middle of me giving her reasons for why it wasn’t a good idea (I wouldn’t be up to it, I didn’t want people feeling sorry for me, they’d see me in a few days, I didn’t want a big deal made out of it), she cut me off with “Macallan will be there. She thinks it’s a great idea.” She didn’t say it in a way that led me believe she resented Macallan. She had always understood about my relationship. She knew how things were with us.

Well, she didn’t know everything about us.

But Macallan knew Stacey loved her double-fudge brownies.

“This is fun.” Macallan tried to cheer me up.

“I guess.”

“Oh, pardon me.” She sighed exaggeratedly. “Everybody wanted to get together to celebrate that your surgery went well, and they’re happy to see you. It must be so hard to get up in the morning.”

“Actually, it is hard to get up in the morning.” I gestured at my leg brace.

She stood up. “I think I’m going to talk to anybody or anything that isn’t so negative. That wall looks tempting.”

I reached out my hand. “Please don’t go.”

Stacey came bounding for the couch. “You made it!” she said to Macallan.

“Yeah, I brought you these.” Macallan gestured to the brownies. I grabbed two more before Stacey took the plate.

“Yu-um!” Stacey exclaimed. “Thanks so much!”

“You’re welcome.”

They looked at each other, neither sure what to say next.

“Um …” I stammered.

“Hey!” Stacey said brightly to Macallan. “I hear you’re going to the dance with Alex. That’s so cool!”

“Yeah, it should be fun,” Macallan offered.

“Awesome!” Stacey looked like she was going to explode from either happiness or nerves. I could never read her right.

“Is that food?” Keith came over, then stopped in his tracks when he noticed Macallan next to me.

“Macallan made brownies!” Stacey exclaimed. She held them out to Keith, who clearly had no clue what to do next.

“Relax,” Macallan said. “I didn’t poison them.”

He took a bite.

Macallan continued. “However, I knew you’d be eating them, so I put in a secret ingredient….”

Keith stopped chewing.

Macallan stood up and faced Keith. Every nerve in my body was on edge.

She shook her head. “Keith, I work too hard on my food to waste it on you. Plus” — she leaned in so she was only inches from his face — “you and I both know I don’t need to bake to do damage.”

She turned on her foot and went to the kitchen.

Keith was flustered. “Man, that girl. She just … I think I’d be madly in love with her if she didn’t scare me so much. But maybe that’s why I like her. Not like I like like her.” Keith gave up trying to make sense of what happened and walked away, first toward the kitchen, then thinking better of it and heading in the opposite direction.

Stacey laughed. “Wouldn’t they make a fun couple?”

I came so close to blurting out, Wouldn’t they WHAT? but stopped myself.

Apparently my disgust was evident without words. “Calm down!” Stacey’s eyes were wide. “I was just joking.”

The doorbell rang and Stacey excused herself, leaving me alone at a party that was in my honor.

I thought about what Keith had said. About how Macallan scared him.

I knew exactly what he meant. Because she also scared me.

She scared me because I loved her.

On a scale from one to ten, how much of a pain was I after my injury? And please be honest.

Do you think I would hold back on you?

Unfortunately, no.

On a scale from one to ten? Thirteen.

Fair enough.

Now I have a question for you. On a scale from one to ten, how a

Infinity.

It’s fu

I always thought the idea of a winter dance was silly. It was only three months after homecoming and three months before prom — did we really need another reason to fret over dates, dresses, and the drama that follows such occasions?

But when a cute college guy asked me to go? Well, who was I to stand in the way of tradition? Plus, we all know how much I loved my distractions.

Alex took me out to eat the weekend before the dance. It was a nice change to have a guy pick me up instead of my having to constantly take Levi around. While I was more than happy to help him out, it was still a chore.

I kept glancing over my menu at Alex. He was only a couple inches taller than me, but he was lean, with broad shoulders, dark hair, and dark eyes — almost the exact opposite of Levi. I couldn’t understand why he would want to hang out with me, a high school girl.

“Hey.” Alex smiled at me. “Do you remember when we were little and we went up to Door County with our moms?”

My heart warmed at the memory. Our moms had been really close. So, in a way, Alex was my first guy friend. My warm-up to Levi.

“Yes, but as I remember, you weren’t that excited to be hanging out with a girl. Ew!” I scrunched up my face.

“That’s because I was an idiot.”

I did remember that week in Door County when I was six and Alex was eight. We’d gone swimming, went for walks among the cherry trees, and picked our own cherries — our hands and mouths stained red, our bellies full.

“I remember your mom had this huge hat.” He held his arms out wide. “That hat was epic.”

That hat. I can still picture her in that black and white striped hat. It flopped nearly over her shoulders.

“Well, Mom and I have the same pasty white skin tone. Don’t you remember how burned I got?”

“Yes!” He shook his head. “Your mom took you outside and sprayed you with vinegar.”

“That stung so much! But it was better the next day.” I’d smelled for a bit, but once the vinegar had evaporated from my skin, it hadn’t been so awful. “Mom had some strange home remedies, but they worked.”

Alex looked at me thoughtfully. “Is it okay that we talk about her?”

“Of course.” I knew it would be a disservice if I didn’t celebrate the time I’d had with her.

At least that was the attitude I tried to have. I still would have my moments when I’d get sad. But I would’ve been worried if that hadn’t happened.