CHRIS IS THE FIRST TO
leave. she comes by the house that week and says, �I can�t go to your dad�s wedding this weekend. I�m leaving for the Dominican Republic tomorrow.�
�What?�
�I know. I�m sorry.� Chris doesn�t look the least bit sorry; she has a huge grin on her face. �It�s so crazy. A spot opened up for me at an eco-hotel, and there�s no way I can pass this up. They speak Spanish in the Dominican Republic, too, right?�
�Yes. But I thought you were going to Costa Rica!�
Shrugging, she says, �This other opportunity came up so I pounced on it.�
�But�I can�t believe you�re leaving so soon! You weren�t supposed to leave until August. When do you come back?�
�I don�t know. . . . I guess that�s the beauty of it. I could stay for six months, or something else will come up and I�ll go there.�
I blink. �So you�re leaving for good, then?�
�Not for
good
. Just for now.�
Something inside of me knows that this really is for good. I don�t see Chris coming back here a year from now
to go to Piedmont Virginia Community College. This is Chris, the stray cat, who comes and goes as she pleases. She�ll always land on her cat tippy-toes.
�Don�t look so sad. You�ll be fine without me. You have Kavinsky.� For a second I can�t breathe. Just hearing his name is like a dagger in my heart. �Anyway we�re all leaving soon enough. I�m just glad I�m not going to be left behind.�
That�s how it would feel to her�staying here, going to a community college, working at Applebee�s. I feel a surge of gladness that instead of that, she�s off on an adventure. �I just can�t believe you�re leaving so soon.� I don�t tell her that Peter and I broke up, that I don�t have him anymore. Today isn�t about me and Peter; it�s about Chris, and her exciting new future. �Can I at least come help you pack?�
�I�m already packed! I�m only bringing the essentials. My leather jacket, bikinis, a few crystals.�
�Shouldn�t you bring sneakers and work gloves and that kind of thing, just in case?�
�I�ll wear sneakers on the plane, and whatever else I need, I�ll get when I�m there. That�s the whole point of an adventure. Pack light and figure the rest out as you go.�
I thought we�d have more time, me and Chris in my bedroom, sharing secrets late into the night, eating chips in bed. I wanted to cement our friendship before she left: Lara Jean and Chrissy, like the old days.
It�s all ending.
Comments