Page 15 of Act of Brotherhood
“Leave my gray drinks alone. They’re full of good things your body needs. They give you energy along with so much more. You’ll thank me one day when we’re older.”
Clara stopped pigging out on food and glanced away. “You’re going to feel really foolish when you learn we’re totally immortal and eating all of this isn’t bad for our health.”
More and more over the last year, Clara had begun to make odd comments such as the one she’d just made. They all seemed to revolve around living forever and being more than human. At first, it was amusing; lately, it was disconcerting.
“Is everything okay?” questioned Nicolette, worried for her friend.
“Sure. Why wouldn’t it be?” asked Clara, glancing up from under hooded lashes. “Tell me you’re going to go nuts and eat something other than cucumber slices.”
Nicolette touched her friend’s knee as her gut told her there was more to the story. They’d been friends far too long for secrets. She turned on the sofa, tucking her legs partially under her. “Are you having some sort of existential crisis that I should know about?”
Clara shook her head.
“Are you thinking about your mom?” asked Nicolette, her heart aching for her friend.
Clara’s mother had passed away when the girls were thirteen. Nicolette had been by her friend’s side the entire time. It hadn’t mattered that Clara had been adopted. Her mother was her mother, biological or not, and she’d been a huge part of Clara’s life.
Of both the women’s lives, really.
Nicolette had been raised by her uncle, never knowing either of her parents. He’d been her everything ever since she could remember. Even though she knew she hadn’t come to live with him until she was nearly four, she had no real memories prior to that. He was amazing, but he wasn’t the same as having a mother.
Clara had been adopted around the age of four as well. Her adoptive parents and Nicolette’s uncle had been friends, and had encouraged the girls’ close relationship. Clara’s mom had been fun-loving, full of life, and spontaneous. She’d always cheered Nicolette’s free spirit.
She’d also explained the finer parts of menstruation when that time came about. Something her uncle had looked horrified about when the topic came up. To this day, he liked to pretend she was not an adult female. To him, she would forever be six.
When Clara’s mother passed suddenly, it felt as if the world had come crashing down. No one really said what had truly happened. All Nicolette knew for sure was that Clara’s mother had been murdered. The killer was never found, and no one talked about the crime. Clara’s father worked in law enforcement, and even he remained tight-lipped about the ordeal.
Clara had been so strong through it all. Even though ten years had passed since then, they never let a Mother’s Day go by without doing something special and wild in honor of Clara’s mom. For the last one, they’d gone skydiving. It had been a blast.
Clara set the box of candy on the end table. “I think about Mom every day. She’d have liked us living together now. She’d also be at us about finding men to settle down with.”
“She totally would,” said Nicolette, smiling warmly as she teared up. “What did she used to call it? It wasn’t dating.”
Clara put her hands on her knees. “Mating. She’d tell us that one day we’d grow up and meet our mates.”
“That was very strange, but she said it with so much conviction that I’d have agreed to anything she said back then,” said Nicolette with a nod. “I remember her telling us that we each had one perfect person who was made just for us, and us for them. The notion was beautiful and very fairy-tale worthy. It’s a nice thought. Wish it was reality. So far, I’ve dated a string of losers.”
“Cody isn’t a loser,” said Clara defensively. Cody was a friend to them both.
“That’s true, but Cody doesn’t count. I mean, I know we went on a few dates, but things never blossomed romantically between us. A friendship did, and I’m thankful for that. He’s a good friend. A close friend. But not a friend with benefits. We tried to go down that path and it felt wrong. Though, he’s got a rockin’ body. We’ve both seen it enough every time he’s crashed on the pull-out sofa then walked around in nothing but his boxer briefs.”
Clara grinned. “He does have a killer body, doesn’t he? Tell me again why you didn’t hit that?”
Snorting, Nicolette shook her head. “I don’t know. Looking back, I see the error of my ways. At the time, there was something overwhelming about him. Like he was too much, and I wasn’t ready for everything he brought to the table in the dating arena. Plus, it felt weird. Like I’d be betraying someone else. Stupid, I know.”
“You were scared of real commitment,” stressed Clara with a knowing look. “He started as a friend, and you were freaked because if it progressed to something real and didn’t last, you’d lose that friendship.”
“It’s weird, but I haven’t talked to him in over two months. I know he has a habit of vanishing for a few weeks on and off, but this is long, even for him. He’s supposed to give a water-safety demonstration at my school for the kids this coming week. I hope he remembers. I should call him and check in.”
Clara tugged at her lower lip. “He’s probably catching waves out in California or off the coastline of Australia. You know him. He travels nonstop and is a total surfer boy. That guy loves the ocean. I think the two of you didn’t work as a couple because you burst into flames in full sun and that guy lives for the sunniest spots on earth. And if he promised to give the water-safety demonstration, he’ll be there. He may like to hang ten, but he’d never leaveyouhanging.”
Nicolette sipped her energy drink and tried to avoid snorting it as she laughed softly.
The look Clara gave her was so full of unspoken emotions that Nicolette found herself leaning in the direction of her friend.
Clara leaned too, and the women put their heads together, each silently drawing strength from the other, as best friends should. It was totally possible to have a female best friend and not be jealous or catty with one another, like so many movies and television shows attempted to portray women as being. Since Nicolette was an only child, she didn’t know what it was like to have a sibling, but she had to believe having a sister was like this.
Clara grunted. “I love you, but that T-shirt you’re in is so old it’s threadbare. It might be time to retire the thing.”
