by Cece Peters
“Well…. I guess I wanted to try for a fresh start, to just get away from everything and everyone I’d known,” I said, looking down at my glass, leaving out how I’d been so lost after he moved away that my last two years of high school were miserable and that I’d wanted to move away in an attempt to forget him.
“Well, Krista came here, too,” I continued, “so, I still had a piece of home with me. And after getting my B.A. in English here and not sure what I wanted to do for a job, I decided to go for my Masters at Lincoln University, which is less than thirty minutes from here, as I knew if nothing else that I could teach at the collegiate level. Lakeview just happened to have an opening in their English department as I was finishing my degree; since I obviously knew the faculty, I had an “in” and got a job there. I have been teaching composition and writing ever since. I sometimes toy with eventually working my way up to Department Chair or even Department Head, but I would need to get my Doctorate for that. And I’m not sure I want to go through the schooling for it, at least not right now. Maybe someday,” I added with a shrug of my shoulders.
“Krista stayed here, too,’ I continued. “She teaches fifth grade at Lakeview Elementary. We shared an apartment for a few years after graduation while I completed my Masters and she started teaching. Then each of us bought our own houses. We live just a block apart. The last time I was in our hometown was when I helped my folks move a few years ago; I spent two weeks helping them pack up the old house. I missed the last two class reunions, too, as they happened during the summer months when I was teaching; but I keep up with most of our old friends on social media.”
“I loved your house, so many memories. Great second story window access, too,” Matthew said with smile as he raised his eyebrows suggestively. Just the mention of my bedroom window almost brought me to tears again. I quickly pushed the memory down and forced a smile on my face. Even though Matty was always welcome at my house, and in fact came home with me after school and sporting events many days, in the summer between the sixth and seventh grades, he had taken to sneaking into my room at night by climbing up the trellis below my bedroom and crawling through the window. He would have been perfectly welcome ringing the doorbell and using the front door, but the window became another one of the things we liked to keep just between us.
“So, how are your folks?” I asked in an attempt to bring the conversation back to him. I was never close to Steve and Nancy Boyd. While my parents provided an inviting home with an open-door policy where my friends were always welcome, Matthew’s house felt like a corporate office complex with minimal decorations and hallways filled with closed doors. The Boyd’s always smiled politely at me, but I got the impression that they disapproved of my friendship with their son. Somehow, they always made me feel that I just wasn’t good enough to be with Matty, even if it was just as a friend. I knew they envisioned Matthew going on to play football at a prestigious school before joining his dad’s firm and marrying a gorgeous woman of equal stature. I was a quiet, simple girl who wasn’t impressed by their wealth; I’m sure they wondered why Matty was friends with me at all, much less best friends.
“Oh, same old pair, I guess,” Matty replied with a roll of his eyes. “I see my dad around the office, of course; he’s now Vice-President, just one step away from heading the entire company. My mom is completely wrapped up in her charity work and social circle, although she does expect me to attend weekly dinners with her and my father. My dad is always out schmoozing clients, and they have frequent parties at their house for their friends along with my dad’s colleagues. And when he isn’t working, he is golfing. So, they are pretty much the same as they were when you knew them, only on a larger scale. At least in their minds,” he added with a sarcastic grunt.
“What do you do in your free time?” I asked Matty hesitantly. I was honestly afraid of the answer; I did not want to hear about him dating and partying. For years, I had held onto my idealized version of him with me as the only girl in his life, and I didn’t want to let that go. Which was silly, as it wasn’t like I hadn’t dated or gone out, myself. But I also didn’t think Matty had held on to memories of me the same way I had of him.
“Well, I work a lot,” he replied. “Not just at the office, but I also travel quite a bit, visiting corporations and organizations, such as the Miller Sports Foundation, where my meetings this week are, to see if they want to partner with us on our youth initiatives. I am honestly not home that often; I have a small apartment not far from the office so that I can walk to work. Pretty much everything I need is on my block: grocery store, pharmacy, bank. The rest I just order online. There are lots of little restaurants and cafes in the area, so it is easy for me to grab food or coffee whenever I like. I would love to take advantage of the beach more, but even though it is technically close by, the California traffic makes it a pain to get to. It’s been months since I’ve actually been there,” he confessed.
“Bummer,” I said, feeling silly for using such a childish word. But I was feeling like a kid again talking to Matty. “My parents live near the beach in Florida, so it’s one of the benefits of them retiring there. They live on the Gulf Coast; the water there is so clear and warm, much calmer than on the Atlantic side. I try to get down there a few times a year, including at Christmas. Plus, there is so much to do in Florida, not just the beaches but the theme parks, attractions, dining, shopping. If I wasn’t so rooted here with my job, I’d seriously move there myself.”
“That sounds amazing!” Matty said with a big grin. “The weather in California is nice and all, but there are so many people. It takes ages to drive anywhere; and when you do get to where you are going, it’s hard to enjoy it as there is always a huge crowd. To be honest, for me, the weather is really the only good thing about living there.” I perked up at that bit of info, noting that Molly was not considered a good thing. Speaking of which:
“There you two are!” Molly exclaimed as she rushed towards our table. “I thought you guys had just up and left completely, which would have been so rude!” With a bit of nervous laugh, Molly sat down next to Matthew and said, “So, what’s the gossip? What are you two talking about so intently? I hope Leah isn’t telling you about all of the scandalous trouble we got into during college!”
“Just old times,” I said, wondering if Molly believed we had spent any time, scandalous or otherwise, together in college or if she was just being her usual bitchy self. I decided the latter was likely correct.
“Not just old times; the best times” Matthew replied. “As hard as my last two years of high school were, I am remembering how amazing the first two were, as well as how awesome middle school was. I am so glad I came and reconnected with Leah. Although I still can’t believe she’s here!” Matty gave me a genuine smile, which I reciprocated, fully aware that Molly was looking at us with annoyance.
“Aw, isn’t that cute?” said Molly, making no attempt to hide the distain in her voice. “Well, babe, I am actually going to head out with a few of the girls, if you don’t mind; I’ve made my rounds and am done with this crowd. So, if you want to come along, you can; or I could drop you back off at the hotel?” The tone of her voice made it clear she would rather leave Matthew behind to go party with her friends.
“Actually, I think I will stay here and keep catching up with Leah, if that’s all right? Leah can give me a ride back, I’m sure; right Leah?” Matty asked.
“Of course,” I said, not able to suppress my huge grin. “I’m assuming you’re staying at The Roosevelt?”
“Yup, only decent hotel in this town,” Molly interrupted, looking a little irked that Matthew was staying because of me. “Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind me leaving, then, I guess I’ll see you later back at the hotel, Matt?”
“Sure, see you la-,” Matthew was cut off as Molly swooped down and planted a full-on kiss on his lips. I turned away and tried not to gag. And no one has ever called him Matt, at least not during the five years that I had known him growing up.
Who did Molly think she was? “Matt” - give me a break!
“Okay, you two; have fun catching up and don’t say anything bad about me!” Molly got up, steadying herself on her too-high heels before walking back towards the country club.
“Oh, Molly! Never, ever would we say anything bad about you!” I exclaimed with a look of fake concern on my face that she would ever think such a thing, suddenly feeling embolden to match her bitchiness. “Have a great time out with the girls; bye-bye!” I waved her off and listened to the click-clack of her heels on the decking as she headed back inside the country club. She turned back to look at us one more time, and I gave her another loud, “Bye-bye, Molly” before turning my full attention back to Matthew.
“I’m not sure I want to know what is up between you two,” Matthew said with a nervous laugh.
“Oh, just college drama; no big deal,” I answered, determined to steer the conversation away from Molly. Now that she was gone, I was feeling more confident. She had ruined enough of my life during my college years; I was not going to let her steal the joy of reconnecting with Matty away from me, too.
Matthew smiled and signaled the waiter over. “Let’s get something else to drink, at least to wash away the taste of these horrible Sally Schnapps.”
As we sipped on our new beverages – white wine for me, a beer for him – Matthew and I started filling in more of the blanks from our years apart. I briefed him on our friends from high school, many of whom never left our hometown of Springville or had moved back after their own college graduations to work and start families. I avoided talking about my own junior and senior years of high school as I just did not want to relive them. I could tell that he wanted to hear more about my high school experience from after he had left, but I think he sensed that I did not want to talk about that time in my life. For me, those years had been miserable as I dealt with the aftermath of Matty moving on top of the already turbulent emotions of being a teenager.
Matty told me about majoring in accounting in college, at the insistence of his parents, so that he would be able to join his dad’s company after graduation. However, he dreaded the thought of spending his days crunching numbers; so, when he was hired at his dad’s firm, it was to run their charitable arm, much of which was centered around children. His dad had been furious, of course; but Matty had stayed strong and told his dad that if he didn’t like it, that there were other companies interested in hiring him.
“That’s why I’m out of touch, I guess,” Matty said. “I know most people are on social media, but because I work with children, I’m not allowed to be on any of those sites.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” I replied, relieved to hear that it was why he wasn’t online. “But too bad, as you’ve missed out on keeping in touch with people.” Like me, I thought silently.
“Yeah…. but we are both here now, and we can catch up all we want. Who needs the internet; I would rather see you in person, anyway. Cheers!” Matthew said raising his beer bottle. I clinked my wine glass with his bottle and smiled.
“Yes, we can definitely catch up now,” I replied. “We have sixteen years to make up for.”
CHAPTER TWO
“Hey, Leah, let me in!” Per usual, Matthew had climbed up to my second story window and was rapping at the glass, which nearly caused me to wet my pants. Seriously, could he never call first? Or just use the front door? As he did whenever he rode home with my family? But no, the window it always was. Not that I minded, really. It always gave me a thrill when he showed up unannounced. Even though it always took me a moment to calm down from being startled.
I rushed to the window and pushed it open; I had stopped locking it long ago when it became clear that these late-night visits were going to be happening regularly, but it was still only able to be opened from the inside. I told myself that I didn’t wait anxiously every night to see if he would come, but that was a lie. I thought about him coming over every night, always happy when he did and sad when he didn’t; and if I was away from home, I worried I would miss him. Because, you know, he never called first.
Matthew climbed inside to my bedroom effortlessly and was not the least bit winded, the benefit of being a member of pretty much every single sport our high school offered. Football in the fall, basketball and swimming in the winter, baseball and tennis in the summer. It was exhausting just thinking about it. My only workout was cheerleading, and that was before cheering became the sport it is now. Back when I was a cheerleader, we just yelled and jumped around a bit. Only one girl on our squad even knew how to do a backflip; and half the time she missed and landed on her hands.
“What are you doing? Homework two weeks ahead of time?” Matthew kicked his sneakers off before plopping down to sit on my bed. He knew my parents and sisters weren’t home, so he could make as much noise as he wanted. Not that it would have mattered as my folks adored him; and looking back now, they had to have known about him climbing through my window to my bedroom. I feel like, as an adult, I would catch on if a boy was consistently climbing into my teenage daughter’s second story bedroom window. Which showed just how much they trusted Matty and me together.
“Well, some of us aren’t geniuses disguised as dumb jocks who can do our homework five minutes before class; I have to work ahead just to get by, and finals are coming up,” I responded with a fake look of defeat on my face before tossing a highlighter in his general direction. Our sophomore year was nearly over, and I had a lot of work to do to prepare for the end-of-semester exams.
“Ha!” Matthew said, laughing and reaching out to effortlessly grab the marker before it hit my bedroom wall. “You’re a genius; you just won’t admit it.”
“We both know that is a lie,” I responded before pretending to ignore him to refocus on my work, knowing full well that he would draw my attention back with talk of the day.
However, while Matthew usually started jabbering straight away, on this evening he was quiet. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye to see him staring down at the floor silently. I brought my head up to look at him, waiting for him to speak. “Matty?” I finally asked quietly. “What’s going on?”
“So, my dad got that promotion and is being transferred. We’re moving before the start of next school year,” Matthew replied quietly without bringing his eyes up to meet mine.
And with that, my heart sank. No, it broke. I had known that Matthew’s dad was up for a big promotion at his job that would require their family to relocate to the company’s main headquarters in California, but I had never actually thought he would get it. Or take it if he did. Matthew hadn’t, either.
“I don’t know what to say,” I responded as I looked down at my open textbook. “I can’t believe it.” I felt a lump rising in my throat and tears coming to my eyes, blurring the words on the pages of my biology book.
“Yeah, neither can I,” Matthew said, still not looking up for the same spot he had been staring at since he sat down.
And with that, for the first time in five years, we both sat in complete silent, no jokes or petty arguing, no teasing or tossing things at one another. My secretly held hopes and dreams of a future with Matthew, which I had held inside for so long, seemed to shatter inside of me. I had never let Matthew see my intense feelings for him, but I could not hold back any longer. As the tears started to fall from my eyes, I pushed my chair back, stood up, threw open my bedroom door, and ran downstairs to the kitchen. I turned on the water faucet with the intent to wash my hands in order to drown out the sound of my crying; but instead I just stared as the liquid poured out into the stainless-steel basin and swirled down the drain.
Suddenly, Matthew was behind me, leaning down to rest his chin resting on my shoulder, his arms wrapping around my middle. “This won’t change anything between us. We will still be the best of friends no matter where we live. We will call and write. We can even visit each other; it’s only a three-hour plane ride. It’s worse for me, Leah; you get to stay here with everyone. I’m the one
who has to move and make new friends. You’ll be fine. You’ll probably be having so much fun here that you’ll forget about me while I’m struggling just to get by at a new school.”
I let out a harsh little laugh, thinking what a joke that was. Matthew was popular, he made friends in every single situation he had ever been in. He had moved to our town at the beginning of sixth grade and had quickly risen the ranks of the popular kids. He was a star athlete, standout student, had loads of friends, and constantly had girls throwing themselves at him. I was the one who had a hard time feeling like I fit it. Being an introvert meant I preferred to be by myself more than with others. Sure, I had plenty of friends and seemed to be in the popular social circle with the same group of kids that Matty was in; but I always felt like an outsider looking in. I hated parties and going on road trips to games. I liked staying home and reading. Or just hanging out with Matthew. By ourselves.
Matthew had a quiet side to him, too, though, which is one reason we gravitated towards each other. Sometimes it seemed that we spent more time in each other’s silent company than we did talking. Not that we didn’t talk, of course. But we were able to communicate with one another using fewer words than we could with our classmates. So, while, yes, I liked to be by myself, I preferred to be alone with Matty more than anything.
And now those times were going to end. We were sixteen years old the day Matthew found out he was moving. And it was back before cell phones and the internet, so there would be no texting or emails or social media. Considering we never phoned one another as it was (we lived kitty corner across the street from each other, so we always knew when the other was home) calling likely would not happen, especially long distance. And the chances of him writing letters seemed slim to none. Matty was my best friend, yes; but he was also a teenage boy who was about to be thrown into a whole new life. He was leaving in three months; and I knew deep down that my chances of talking to him, much less seeing him after that were unlikely.