I pressed my phone on again. It was 3:59.
I looked around the park. It was a bright blue sky with clouds scattered about like floating cotton candy. The weather was good enough for a short-sleeved shirt, and the wind felt refreshing as it blew through my dreads. I could smell the smoky, savory scent of a barbecue not to far away, accompanied by laughing and squealing.
I looked down at the sidewalk where a big fluffy fleabag sat in front of me. “Forty-one minutes ‘till the bus comes, Spud. You think you can make it?”
Spud was panting, his head resting in between his paws. I had really given him a work out today. We had spent one half hour jogging laps around the park, and then he spent the other half chasing lizards and hopping on fallen leaves that polka-dotted the grass and sidewalks. Looks like I had a new achievement: tiring out a puppy.
He lifted his head up to pant, and growled at a lizard who dared to peek from under a rock. I laughed and scrolled on my phone contacts. Maybe now was a good time to call Mom and have a good long conversation. She was always wondering how I was doing after finishing college.
But that's when I saw his name. Moe.
I didn't even know I still had Moe in my contacts. Instantly faded moments flashed through my head.
When I was little, Mom would take me over to his house to play with legos or toy cars when she had work. As we got older, we'd beat video games together and team up for middle school projects. He was always the first to try my culinary experiments, weather they were a masterpiece or a bust. I'd always listen to his theories about life and physics rants while lying that I understood him. (He'd deadpan and say, ‘Tiesha, you don't even know what a photomicrograph is. Quit the cap.’) He used to get on his older sister's nerves, and I would laugh at their banter until my cheeks hurt. We had been in the same class for about nine grades in all.
The last few months of senior year felt quicker than a cheetah. We started thinking about college, future careers, relationships, and still were closer than PB&J.
Then I told him I was going to college out of state. He pretended he was cool, but he was shriveling up like a dying plant. We talked less. Laughed less. I knew I would miss him so much and he would miss me, but I chose to pursue my career. The last time I spoke to him was the day I went to the airport to fly up north. We hugged on his driveway. I cried in his driveway. He smiled at me and said, “When you get big and open a restaurant and everything, call me.”
I hadn't called him in four years. Four years. Dang. I'm just the greatest best friend aren't I?
Now I was sitting in the park, with a newfoundland puppy sniffing at my feat, staring at a name and silly picture of the awful haircut he got in middle school.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I clicked call.
The phone rang four times. I cringed. Half of me prayed he picked up and half of me prayed he didn't.
The latter side one. I huffed and was about to put my phone back in my bag when it rang.
It was from Moe. I put the phone to my ear and said “Hey!”
“Tiesha! I haven't heard from you in a minute! How you doing?”
Even though he couldn't see me, my eyes widened. “Moleak! I missed you dude! I'm good! What about you?”
I heard a static high-pitched voice in the background.
“Oh I'm good. I'm still in town though. My photomicrographs made it into a documentary recently.”
“That's cool man! Turns out college is good for more than you think, right?”
The high-pitched voice seamed to be talking about something, but Moe quietly told them to wait a moment. “Yeah, we'll I dropped out so… I don't know,”
My forehead wrinkled. “You did? Why?”
“It wasn't really for me. I figured I could get closer to my career by working a job I'm that field and… I just didn't really need college. I'm doing good though.”
“Moweek look!” The high-pitched voice insisted. “I styled da pony’s hair!”
“That's nice,” Moe's faraway voice said. Then his voice came back closer. “That's Canela, by the way. She's three and I love her to death, but she doesn't get that I'm on the phone yet.”
“Oh,” I said. Moe had a daughter!? Since when!? How much had I missed out on!?
Moe continued. “I've moved to the center of town! I'm where it's hot now, all the big restaurants and companies over here!”
“That's nice man! Infact, I'm not to far away from downtown. I'm at the park with Spud!”
“Spud?” Moe's voice lowered, than it switched back to upbeat. “Uh, you said you were at the park?”
“Yeah, I'm back home for a few weeks to visit family! I'm only gonna be hear for thirty more minutes ‘till the bus comes though,” I checked the time again. 4:06.
“I'll meet you there! But I can't leave Canela alone at the house. I hope that doesn't ruin things…” He trailed off.
“Oh, no it won't! I just want to see you again, Moe. Catch up a bit.”
We said goodbye, and I let out another huff. Moe was a father. Wow. And he had his pictures in documentaries. Double wow. Just when I thought maybe we could relive a day from our old lives, catch up, he was already moving on.
My latest novel, Shook, is being published to Hive in parts! See all released chapters in this post.
Hey there! I’m Shila! I’ve loved books since I could read, and decided I would write books I wanted to see written for others! Check my children’s book Imagination on Amazon!
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(Image is AI generated.)