Chapter 3 Reuniting With Friends

• “Angie! Rika!”
• I got up to greet my friends but was instead tackled to the ground by both of them.
• Angel Michelson, the golden haired, blue eyed beauty was another one of the dancers in our elite dance group along with Rika Palmer, the brunette with hazel eyes. Angel and I have been inseparable ever since Kindergardenth, but I met Rika in Ms. Stonewall’s ballet academy when I was chosen for the elite class. I was so glad to see them in person after being apart from them for seven whole years!
• We had been chatting, calling and messaging each other through the years though, but I can hardly call social media connection as ‘keeping in touch’. We hadn’t been able to meet up and have lunches or dinners or even go to the movies like we used to when we were teens. I had missed our sleepovers and girls nights most of all.
• “You guys!” I hugged them to my sides. “How did you know I was here?”
• “Words already circulating,” Angie told me when we all pulled back and stood in a circle facing each other. “Lydia had given us a heads up this morning that you’ll be coming, but we got the official confirmation when Mrs. Spencer said she saw you coming home and...well...”
• “And my mom slammed the door in my face?” I finished that sentence when Angie looked uncomfortable saying it. “It’s alright Angie; I already know nobody’s thrilled about me showing up here. After all, I did shame the town when I ran away.”
• “Oh, how ridiculous!” Rika snapped. “Your father was wrong to arrange your marriage to Jordan without even asking you how you felt about it! And you had just graduated high school!”
• “Alright, enough about me. Tell me more about you guys!” I took their hands in mine and gave them a light squeeze, changing the same old subject. “Tell me what you guys have been up to! I’m so sorry I couldn’t meet up with you guys for seven years, I’m surprised you’re still talking to me after that.”
• “Well, we weren’t going to,” Angie told me strictly before she broke out into a smile. “But we hadn’t seen you for seven years and I guess we thought it was time you paid us back for that time when we helped you escape from your own wedding.”
• “Yeah,” Rika agreed, but she too was smiling. “How about you pay us in full this time. We demand to have lunch every day from now until your stay ends, at Jerry’s!”
• “Whoa! At Jerry’s?” I blinked in surprise. “That place is still running?”
• “Of course,” Angie said as she began pulling me towards the door. “And the food there is sure to make a dent in your pocket! So come now, we’re hungry.”
• “See you later, Ms. Stonewall!” Rika called out to Lydia and waved her goodbye. “We’ll be borrowing Kyra for awhile!”
• “Have fun children!” I heard Lydia’s cheerful reply before the door to the studio closed shut behind us and we were rushing down the stairs to my car so we could take a ride to Jerry’s.
• “It’s better to take the car,” Angie told me sympathetically. “To avoid some unnecessary confrontations.”
• Rika shook her head disapprovingly. “I don’t get why the whole town jumped onboard to blame you for it. Especially since J-“
• “Rika!” Angie cut her off with a sigh. “Why don’t we just get some lunch and catch on instead? This town hasn’t changed one bit in the past seven years and I doubt it ever will. Let’s just focus on the good stuff for now, alright?”
• “Whatever you say.” Rika shrugged and hopped onto the car with Angie riding shotgun. “Let’s go and party!”
• Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at Jerry’s Diner and as soon as we entered the diner after I had parked my car outside, the entire diner fell silent. Literally everyone was staring at me like I was the devil who had come to ruin their lives.
• Parents told their children to shush and look the other way while the adults gave me heated glares filled with hatred. I knew almost everyone in this diner. I could see Mr. Joseph, our neighbour at the back with his stake and mashed potatoes just like he used to have back when I was in high school. I could see Lillian Grey, one of my senior schoolmates in her cubicle right at the front as she tried to distract her son with the menu card while giving me a glare.
• Hell, I could even see Tom Hardly behind the counter giving me a distasteful look as he managed the cash register. There were others too, new faces that looked at the three of us with curiosity. I knew this was going to be a bad idea, but I had no idea it was going to be this bad.
• “Wow.” Rika whispered next to my ears. “You just turned into a celebrity.”
• “Celebrities are adored,” I whispered back. “That certainly doesn’t look like the case here.”
• “Just ignore them, Kyra.” Angie took my hand and led me to an empty cubicle. “They have no business poking their nose where it doesn’t belong.”
• Angie said it out loud enough so everyone could hear her and it actually worked. Out of embarrassment or ego, everyone went back to doing what they were doing before I walked in and the low hum of conversation started filling in the void created by the awkward silence a few seconds ago. We walked over to our cubicle and took our seats and waited for the waiter to come get our orders.
• “So, Miss Prima Ballerina,” Angel folded her hands under her chin and gave me a wide grin. “A little birdie told me the wedding is going to be help in two weeks or less.”
• “You’ve heard?” I blinked at them in surprise. “Damn! There goes my surprise.”
• “Of course!” Rika said excitedly. “Ms. Stonewall had kept us well informed. Just look at you! Working for Barry and Joseph’s Ballet Troup and also engaged! You have everything you’ve always wanted!”
• “Yeah!” Angie nodded her head vigorously. “It’s great to see you living your dream. Even Rika has a job at a Ballet company in Dover to teach high school kids, while I’m just stuck here in Ruthwell teaching elementary school kids!”
• “Really?” I asked them, happy that my friends were doing well. “You still haven’t moved ye? Did you tell me you were sending out applications at Dover or neighbouring cities?”
• “The applications haven’t been accepted yet.” Angie sighed. “One of the schools had looked into my application and called to confirm it was me, but they haven’t called back with an appointment yet.”
• “I really hope you get this job, Angie.” I told her as Ruth nodded. “Ruthwell is a nightmare to be stuck in.”
• The waiter came to our table then, wanting to take our order and by the look of excitement on her face, she was new to town and to all the juicy gossip surrounding me. We placed our orders and waited while our food got cooked. In the meantime, I got to know a lot about what has been going on around town ever since I ran away.
• There was one question stuck at the back of my mind that I desperately wanted to ask but I didn’t have the courage to. Or rather, I thought that I didn’t have the right to ask after all this time.
• But I guess I could ask Rika and Angie. They have had my back for the longest time and they would understand why I was asking them this. It’s been killing me ever since I set foot in Ruthwell.
• So, after gathering up enough courage, I went to ask the question to my friends but when the bell rang over the front door to the diner and some people walked in, my question got stuck in my throat.
• Because that person was none other than my best friend since Kindergardenth, Cathy McCarthy, with a toddler in one hand and a five or six year old in the other and a slightly rounded stomach that pointed to that fact that she was pregnant again.
• But what shocked me the most wasn't the babies or the wedding ring she had on her ring finger, but the fact that she was followed close behind by Jordan’s mother. The same Jordan who was once supposed to become my husband that fateful night seven years ago. And that’s when it clicked. That’s how I got the answer to my unasked question.
• The wedding had happened even after I had run away from it. And the person who had married Jordan had been none other than my childhood best friend, Cathy.