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“No. I start my new job next week. I might make it up there for a weekend visit. They talked about coming up here to stay with me for the weekend. Now that I have an extra room and all. I just need to get a bed for it.”
“Are you excited about your new job?” I ask, pulling out onto the road.
“Yes. I already know everyone from my internship, so that’s helpful, and I’m excited to make a difference. It might be a small one, but that’s why I chose social work. It doesn’t matter how small the difference, just that I’m making one.”
“You’re going to do great.”
“Thanks. It’s surreal that this is all happening. Look at us, college graduates about to be thrust into the world of adulting.”
I laugh. “We’ve been adults since we left for college. Technically,” I add.
“You know what I mean.” She swats playfully at my shoulder. “What about you? Are you ready for everything headed your way? Fortune, fame, playing football with the big boys.”
“I’m ready.”
“So confident.”
“I’m good at what I do.” I shrug. “No shame in knowing that, or admitting it.”
“I can see it now. Cooper Reeves, the guy I knew when. Soon you’re going to be this big hot-shot professional football player. Women are going to be throwing panties at you left and right and you’ll forget about all the little people.”
She’s teasing, but her words hit home. “It won’t be like that.”
“Sure,” she says. I can hear the smile in her voice.
“I could never forget you, Reese. You know that, right?” I wish I wasn’t driving so I could look her in the eye. In fact, glancing in my rearview mirror, I signal to move her car to the side of the road. I hit the button to engage the flashers and turn in my seat as much as the seat belt will allow and face her.
“What are you doing?” She raises her eyebrows in question.
“I need you to see me when I tell you this. I need you to look me in the eye and hear what I’m saying.”
“O-kay,” she replies hesitantly.
“Never. Never will I ever forget about you. You will never be anything less than my favorite person on this entire planet.”
“Just earth?” she asks. There’s a sparkle in her green eyes.
“Reese. No matter the time or distance, you will always be my best friend. I’m not going to be here, we’re not going to get to see each other every day, and that’s killing me. I need you to tell me that you understand that me leaving for my job, to follow my dream, that changes nothing between us.”
She nods, and her eyes well with tears. “I’m really going to miss you, Coop.” Her voice cracks on my name, and so does a little piece of my heart. I hate I’m the reason for her tears.
“You have no idea, Reese’s Pieces. You have no idea.” Turning back to face the road, I check my mirrors, turn off the hazards, and pull back onto the road once it’s clear.
“When you get to Indy, I’m going to need you to send me some Defenders gear,” she says after several long minutes of silence.
“You gonna watch my games?”
“What kind of crazy question is that?”
“How will Hunter feel about that?” I hate bringing him up during my time with her, but he’s always there lingering in the back of my mind.
“Hunter knows how close we are. He’s good with it. Trust me.”
“You’re going to come to a couple home games, right? And training camp?”
“Depends on my work scheduled for camp. That’s during the week, so I doubt I can make it.”
“There are weekend days for fans and family to attend.”
“I’ll just have to see what work is like. And as far as home games, not all of them, but I definitely want to see you out on that field in your Defenders gear. You’ll know I’m there. I’ll be cheering the loudest. I have to make sure I’m living up to my title of Cooper Reeves’s number one fan.”
“You’ve proven that to me hundreds of times. But I’m not going to turn down your cheers or you being in the stands. The first home game I need you there. Will you come?”
“Yes. I’ll work it out, and I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she says as we pull into the diner.
For the next two hours, we sit and talk and laugh, and we’re just… us. Just Reese and Cooper. Two best friends enjoying time together. It’s been too damn long since it’s been like this, just the two of us. There is always someone tagging along, and I didn’t realize how much I missed time with her. How much I miss her. Miss us.
Mentally I’m kicking myself in the ass for not doing more of this sooner. Now, I’m leaving. The new tenants are taking over the house tomorrow. We all have to be out of there today. My life is about to flip upside down, and she’s not going to be there.
