AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’re going to where it started,” Libby answered.
That could be anywhere. Every first she’d had happened in this town and most of them with these women.
Before she could protest, the Jeep slowed. They’d only been driving for a few minutes when Penny pulled onto the side of the road.
“We’re here,” the bubbly blonde called and engaged the brake.
That didn’t take long.
She looked between the front seats and stared at a familiar rectangular one-story building.
A simple structure comprised of brick and cement. It wasn’t flashy or any wonder of architectural design.
It was better than that.
It was the place that changed her life.
Baxter Park Elementary School.
The elementary school where Libby Lamb, Penelope Fennimore, Charlotte Ames, and Harper Presley had been seated at the same table in Miss Miliken’s kindergarten class. It had been years since she’d driven by the building, tucked in the heart of the Baxter Park neighborhood. She rarely had a reason to head down this street. She stared across the baseball field at another building she hadn’t seen in ages—the Baxter Park Assisted Living Center.
She surveyed the landscape. It was as if time had stood still. She recognized every inch of the place. She drank in the metal monkey bars, the twisty slide, and her favorite—the swings. Metal chains and black, bendy rubber seats. So simple, yet it was where she’d formed a bond with her best friends.
“Whitmore and most Denver private schools had Fall Break last week. Public school is off this week. The playground is ours, ladies,” Penny explained.
“I’ll bring the bonbons,” Libby chimed.
“I call my swing,” Charlotte trilled as they hopped out of the Jeep and set off for the metal structure with four swings hanging there like they’d been waiting for them.
“And we don’t need to scare off any kids to get our usual spots. Bonus,” Libby called.
“That was H’s job. You were so good at scaring the hell out of the bigger kids,” Penny remarked as they trotted up to the playground equipment they’d visited every school day from kindergarten through fifth grade.
“Somebody had to be the tough girl,” she replied, setting her tote on the ground, then gingerly touching the metal chain as each woman took their designated spot. Just like old times, Penny and Libby snagged an end swing while she and Charlotte snapped up the two in the center.
She settled herself, then pumped her legs and built a little momentum. Swinging in an adult-sized tutu—commando, no less—was surprisingly easier than she’d expected. For the first few minutes, the only sound came from the creak and whine of the old structure as the women glided through the air.
Libby slowed to a sway, then broke the silence once her feet were planted on the packed dirt. “You don’t always have to be the tough girl, H. It’s all right to let your guard down every now and then.”
“I know,” she answered, twisting from side to side like she used to do back when her legs dangled. “I appreciate this walk down memory lane, but why did you guys bring me here?”
“We’re pretty sure you need a reminder,” Penny answered.
“A reminder?”
Charlotte pointed to the end of the building. “Do you remember what’s in that part of the school?”
Of course, she did.
“The auditorium? What’s so special about it?”
“You,” Penny answered.
“Me?”
“I double-dog dared you to do the talent show, right here in this very spot, when we were in second grade,” Penny continued. “After recess was over, you marched up to the auditorium and wrote your name on the sign-up sheet posted on the door.”
She stared at the building, recalling how she’d had to push onto her tiptoes to reach the sheet. She’d been practicing writing her letters correctly, and she’d made sure that her name was printed perfectly.
