Betsy harrumphed. “I feel like squealing may ensue, so I’m going to exit stage left now.” She started unzipping her dress as she walked toward the hall.
Molly turned to Jocelyn. “I’m guessing you’re moving to be closer to Malachi?”
Jocelyn nodded, her complexion fairly glowing with contentment. “The long-distance thing isn’t working anymore. I want to be with him all the time, not just a few days a month.”
Amanda clasped her fingers together in front of her. “I can’t believe you’re leaving. What about us? We’ll never see you again.”
I frowned at Amanda. “She’s moving a few hours away, not dying. Of course we’ll see her again.
Jocelyn’s smile held a hint of sadness. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. I plan on driving down at least once a month, and you all can come up to see me too.”
“But things will be different. Our group won’t be the same.” Amanda picked at her dress, not meeting anyone’s gaze.
“There are such things as Facetime, Skype, and Zoom,” Molly soothed. “We’ll set up a computer during our sewing sessions so Jocelyn can still be with us.”
Betsy returned wearing a tee that saidPlease don’t interrupt me while I’m ignoring you.“Have we passed the 90210-drama phase, or do I need to give you guys five more minutes?”
Jocelyn stood at Betsy’s side and wrapped her arms around the snarky Argentinian. “I’m going to miss you, too.”
Betsy patted Jocelyn’s arm in athere, theregesture.
Jocelyn let her go and turned to me. “Now, what’s this about Drew? You guys finally stopped dancingaroundeach other and started dancingwitheach other?”
“You should have seen the looks that passed between them earlier.” Amanda cackled. “I thought I would need to call the fire department to put out the heat of their gazes.”
Betsy fell onto the sofa. “I’m not sure why the three of you are making such a big deal about them. We all knew they’d get together months ago.”
“And I’m not sure if I should thank you or be offended,” I said dourly.
Betsy shrugged like she couldn’t care either way.
“I want to know when you finally saw what we all did.” Molly gingerly lowered herself onto the sofa, making sure not to crush her gown.
“There wasn’t a single moment. Not like I’d been in a dark room and someone all of a sudden turned on a light. More like the gradual lightening of dawn, a little at a time, until I recognized what stood before me.”
“A new day,” Molly sighed.
Jocelyn squeezed my hand. “A new beginning.”
“A brighter tomorrow,” Amanda added.
Betsy crossed her arms. “Don’t expect me to chorus in on this nauseating display. You guys can be sickeningly sweet on your own.”
Amanda, Molly, Jocelyn, and I all looked at each other, our thoughts in harmony. As one, we converged on Betsy, smothering her in a group hug she groused about.
Some things did change. Like new relationships or new addresses, but other things would never change. Like us. We’d always stay the best of friends.
20
Drew
The Earth’s dome overhead darkened in shades of navy and grey, the high watt LED lights spilling their brilliance onto the football field. Only seconds left on the play clock, and the results of this last play would be the difference between the kids leaving the game with their spirits resembling the darkening sky or the bright lumens of the broad-beamed floodlights.
I’d called a time out, and the team huddled around me. If there’d been any sort of chill in the air, their breaths would’ve been seen in the circle. As it was, the panting from eleven kids filled the small space in front of our scrunched bodies.
Sierra wedged her hand above her face mask to wipe at the sweat beading on her forehead. Her flushed cheeks and obvious fatigue attested to the amount of game she’d played.
I glanced back at Tommy on the bench. His throw wasn’t as accurate and he didn’t have the power in his arm that Sierra did, but he was fresh. I could call a short pass or even a running play. Get our man out of bounds to stop the clock. Maybe we’d have a chance.
