Page 26 of Old Acquaintances

I saunter back, listening to the water behind us. Tucker kicks a pebble on the driveway. A curtain lifts in the house.

“Seethis. I missed this. I love seeing guys back to normal,” Johnny says with a smile.

Of course he wants me and Tucker to fight. It’s part of his comfort zone.

But, this isn’tnormal, I want to say. We usually peppered insults just to add spice, but we could typically make it through a conversation without drawing blood, especially during the last edition ofThe Adventures of Ella and Eli. We ended on such a different note than how we began. That was a time when I wanted to know everything Tucker had to say. Now, all I can think about is what he did.

Ordidn’tdo.

I watch him straighten up and grab the handle of his luggage.

I’m afraid I’ll want to watch Tucker do everything this week. I want to see how he acts here with the friends we haven’t shared in years, if he can still easily slip into conversation with them or if it’s awkward for him to be around me. I never understood how no one else found his silence a big deal. My parents, my sisters, his parents, our friends. They acted like it was nothing. We weren’t friends. It shouldn’t be a big deal.

Johnny comes to collect my luggage. He explains, “Y’all aremy best friends. Whatever happens from here on out, I want you to know that.”

Tucker balks. “Whatever happens…do we die tonight?”

“Youmight,” I snarl.

“Hey, you’ve done enough damage. You’ve kneed my dick so many times you’ve probably killed any chance for me to have an heir.”

“Just looking out for the next generation.” I stick my tongue out.

Johnny ignores us. “Things are about to be different, guys. I’m getting married!” He grits a scared, false smile. “And we’re growing up. We’re changing.”

He continues, “I want this last trip to be special. I just want to have one more chance to say thatwhatever happensbetween us, you’re my best friends and that means something.” He turns to me. “Ells, you’re the person I feel the most comfortable in the entire world. And the person I trust the most is you, Tuck.”

“Same, man,” Tucker offers. He adds, “Aboutyou.”

I stifle an eye roll before considering his words. Our childhood ended forever ago, but whatever little bit is left gets chipped away with every milestone.

Leaving school. Moving. Getting engaged.

Johnny and I talk on the phone weekly, but it’s just a catch up, and we will rarely ever be two best friends alone in a room together. As I blink against the sun, heaviness sinking into my heart, I realize that I made peace with that knowledge a long time ago. Our connection evolved, as it should, and we’ll never be as close as we were twenty years ago.

Between Tucker and I, my accident was our milestone. Behavior shifted our relationship. I never considered how I’d reconcile with what came next for Tucker: marriage, children. Even if we didn’t speak anymore, those mile markers weigh heavier in my mind than the prospect of Johnny’s future everdid.

My arm brushes against Tucker’s side, not realizing he was so close.

Johnny says, “Please try to put the past behind you this week. For your sakes. You two have way more history than I have with either one of you.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever shake her,” Tucker replies. “She’s in my mother’s will.”

I flash my eyes to him. “So, the next time you’re going to talk to me is when you deliver Lori’s collection of vintage perfume bottles?”

“That’s what she’s leaving you? I thought you were getting the Beanie Babies.” He turns around and walks, leaving me staring at his back.

That’s probably all I’ll see now. The back of him. The sight of him moving far away.

“Ell?” he calls out.

I stare at him.

“Ella?”

“Coming,” I sigh, grabbing my suitcase. I follow the stone-laid pathway, past fountains and large, full trees to the front door. When Johnny opens it for me, I hear voices call out, “Happy Birthday!”

Chapter Ten

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