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“Oh my god.” I rushed over to a clothing rack. “Who am I?” I pulled a pair of neon shorts out. They had a tropical leaf design on them, and came down to my knees. We affectionately called these monstrosities, Jams.
“My brother loved those things. Now, I think he would just look like a younger version of your dad.” Russ tossed his head back in laughter.
“Look at all the costume jewelry.” I pointed to a table covered in bright plastic earrings and necklaces. “My mom would have loved to find this back in the day.”
I moved from table to table, letting my mind travel back through my childhood. Every piece had a memory attached, and most of them were attached to Russ. I never really saw it back then, but it seemed like the universe had been trying to tell us something all along.
“What about Popples?” I held up a TV tray. “I think I had this same tray. I’d watch cartoons and eat breakfast on it.
“I had a Masters of the Universe one.” Russ smiled.
“I remember you had one of these. Remember what an upgrade it was from my Dad’s Atari?” I pointed at the classic Nintendo. “We thought we were really something when your parents bought that. Now it’s vintage.” I cackled at the thought.
“I can only imagine in ten years what we’ll say about stuff we have now. What do you think phones will be like by then?” Russ held up his flip phone.
“Who knows. I mean, you can’t find pay phones anymore.” I shrugged as we rounded the final area in the tent.
“You go ahead to the next tent. I need to take Taco over to the woods so he can potty. I’ll meet you there.”
“Ok.” I wandered next door, and didn’t even pay attention to where Russ was walking. If I would have looked, I would have seen that he stayed in that tent.
After a few minutes, he caught up to me. He was smiling, and carrying a small bag. “Got you something.” He held it out. “I remember how upset you were when you lost this.”
I opened the bag, and there in the bottom was a card, with two necklaces attached to it. I lifted them out. They were silver, and each contained half of a heart. One was painted pink, the other blue. When you put them together, they spelled ‘best friends.’
“You remembered this?” I pressed my lips together to keep them from trembling.
“Of course. I felt terrible when you lost it.” He nodded as I rubbed my fingers across the metal. When we were ten, I showed up at Russ’s house donning my new best friends necklace. I’d saved up and bought it, and brought half to him. I wore the pink half of course. Russ laughed at me because according to him, boys didn’t wear necklaces. I told him he was my best friend and I guess he took pity on me, because he started wearing it.
One afternoon we went boogie boarding, and I forgot to take the necklace off. I lost it in the ocean. We looked along the shore, hoping it would wash up, but it never did. I was heartbroken.
“I can’t believe that they had this exact one.” I blinked tears away as I looked up at him with more than lust. My heart was pounding in my chest, and dare I say this was turning into something more.
“Want me to help?” He reached for the necklace. After securing it around my neck, he placed the blue one around his.
“I’ll never take this off.” I rubbed the half heart where it rested against my chest.
“Me either.” It was barely a whisper, but I heard him.
“What’s next?” I looked around. We’d seen about everything that was here.
“How about we grab some dinner on the way home, and eat on the beach?” Taco perked up at the mention of food.
“Sounds good.” I reached for Russ’s hand, and intertwined our fingers. We walked together back to the truck, and this time he drove.
The ride back to his house was quiet and contemplative. I played with the small heart charm, and stared out the window for the most part. Memories flooded me of our childhood, and all the times I’d missed the signals. He’d been telling me since we were kids that he cared about me, saw me for more than I was, loved me for me, and I brushed him off. I’d never really noticed until he tossed it in my face. I glanced over at him sitting behind the wheel, one arm resting on the open window. Taco had his head resting on his thigh. “I was an idiot.” I sighed.
“I know.” One side of his mouth curved up. “We all are at one time or another, but you’re not anymore.” He glanced at me before going to back to the road.
“I’m sorry.” I frowned.
“I know. I’m enjoying your apologies.” He laughed. “You can apologize more after dinner.” He winked before looking back at the road.
“I think those might be joint apologies.” I laughed.
“What am I apologizing for?” He looked confused.
“Breaking my vajayjay.” I scoffed. “It hasn’t seen action like this since… well, since never.”
“Maybe I just don’t want you to forget about me after you leave.” A flash of something darted across his face, but was gone before I could tell what it meant.
“That’s not going to happen,” I murmured as we turned onto Ocean Blvd. There was a burger joint a little farther down that we both loved as kids, and I couldn’t wait to experience it as adults. Seeing Russ through different eyes was like reliving all those missed moments over the years in one day. How was I ever going to leave after tomorrow?
