November 5
Knock knock
This is where you chime in with “who’s there?”
And then I get to say “It’s your very apologetic best friend who misses you and just wants you to pick up your phone.”
Ronin… please pick up
November 28
Happy Thanksgiving
December 4
I saw a store today that sells ONLY Godzilla merch and it made me think of you. If you come to visit sometime, I’ll take you there…
December 25
Merry Christmas, Ro. Miss you.
Chapter Five
MELLIE
PRESENT DAY
Sunlight filters through the navy curtains hanging in my bedroom, not doing an adequate job of shielding me from the bright rays as I struggle to open my eyes. My head is pounding and my mouth tastes like stale beer and sour cream and onion potato chips. I find myself regretting that last drink I shared with Evan once we got back home from the diner—our parents asleep and us feeling like teenagers again, sneaking alcohol after hours as we sat on the front porch.
I groan and roll over, flipping my pillow over my face. My mental to-do list runs through my head as I lay in bed, pathetically hungover. I’m almost thirty years old, and my body is rudely reminding me that I cannot handle drinking in this capacity like I used to.
Today I need to go cookie shopping with my mother, and maybe try to get some holiday shopping done for myself. I’ll have to shop around town and find something for my parents, Evan, and Bree.
Maybe Ronin? That last one is still undetermined.
The first year after moving away from home, I’d stumbled upon one of the many indie gaming stores in LA. I’d never seen a store like it in all my life, and as I had perused the fully stocked shelves of games, toys, and collectibles, I felt like I belonged in that city for the first time. Fond memories of playingD&Dwith Ronin surfaced as I had checked out the dedicated playing space of tables covered in battle maps. In a moment of habit, I’d reached for my phone to text him, only to quickly remember he wasn’t speaking to me, and the briefly quelled isolation rose again.
I had left the store after purchasing a mini wizard figurine that reminded me of one of Ronin’sD&Dcharacters, determined to send it for his birthday as a last ditch effort to get him to talk to me.
The gift had gone unanswered, and I haven’t given him anything since. Thinking back to that rejection is a harsh reminder we are barely back on speaking terms now.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll get my cookies baked so they’ll be fresh for the party at Double Shot. My heart leaps into my throat as I realize Ronin might be there working the bar again. There’s a strong chance I’ll run into him every time I stop by, and I’m not sure if the thought terrifies me or thrills me.
I groan again, yelling into my pillow and letting the muffled scream work some of the tension out of my body. The pillow flies out of my hand as I throw it across the room, and it hits the wardrobe with a soft bounce. Apologies to the residents of Narnia.
“Okay, time to get up.” I pull myself to a sitting position before I rub my eyes and stare blearily around the room. A knock sounds at my door, and it swings open after a pause to show my mother standing in the doorway.
“Oh good, you’re up!” Mom’s voice is way too chipper for the early hour and I grimace. She pushes into the room, striding over to the curtains and yanking them open. Bright sunlight streams in and I cover my face. “Oh, stop that. You’re oldenough now that you should know better than to drink so much. It’s just a little hangover, Amelia.”
My mom looks down her nose at me, trying to hide her smirk and failing spectacularly.
“I’m already up! No need to blind the injured.” I fling myself dramatically off of the bed and trudge into the hallway to use the bathroom.
“Such theatrics,” Mom mutters behind me as she leaves my room.
I freshen up and shovel down the hearty breakfast my father prepared. Doing my best to appear as human as possible, I don my beanie and shove my sunglasses on my face as we leave the house.
Mom and I head to the only grocery store on downtown Main Street. The holiday festival is in full swing, with twinkling lights of various colors strung from tree to tree. Elaborate holiday displays are in many of the storefronts, an unspoken competition between the shop owners to be the most festive in town. Spoiler alert—Miss Lucy at the souvenir shopalwayswins. She takes her decorating very seriously.
