Anna answered on the second ring, her voice bright with surprise. “Twice in one week? Are you having a crisis or did you accidentally call me?”
“Neither,” Meg laughed. “I have good news for once.”
“Oh my gosh, really? Actual good news? Hold on, let me sit down.” Meg heard shuffling sounds and what might have been Anna dramatically settling into a chair. “Okay, I’m ready. Hit me.”
“I had coffee with Natalie and Paige this morning.”
A beat of silence. Then: “You what?”
“Coffee. With my old friends. For three hours.” Meg found herself grinning at Anna’s obvious shock. “Remember them? Natalie Rodriguez and Paige Campbell? They still live here, and we?—”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Anna’s voice pitched higher. “You actually reached out to people? And then you actually went? And you stayed that long?”
“Is that really so hard to believe?”
“Meg, you haven’t taken a three-hour lunch break in your entire adult life. You barely take three-minute coffee breaks.” Anna sounded genuinely amazed. “What happened? Did they hold you hostage with friendship?”
Meg laughed, settling back against the bench. “It was... easy. Like we’d talked yesterday instead of years ago. Natalie’s teaching high school English now—she just won some state award for innovative curriculum. And Paige has this event planning business that’s expanding like crazy.”
“And you didn’t check your phone once during this three-hour coffee marathon?”
“Only when it rang with a work call, which I ignored.”
“You IGNORED a work call?” Anna’s voice climbed another octave. “Who are you and what have you done with my sister?”
“Very funny.” But Meg was smiling. Anna’s shock was actually helping her appreciate how significant this morning had been. “They invited me to First Thursday Art Walk next week, and I said yes to that too.”
“Art Walk? Meg, that’s like... voluntary fun. With no agenda.”
“I know. Weird, right?”
They were both quiet for a moment, but it was the comfortable kind of silence that had become familiar during their recent calls.
“I’m really happy for you,” Anna said finally, her voice softer now. “I mean that. When’s the last time you did something just because it sounded fun?”
Meg thought about it. “Honestly? I can’t remember.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” Anna paused. “How do you feel? About reconnecting with them?”
“Good. Really good.” Meg watched a family walk past, the parents pushing a stroller while their toddler ran circles around them on the sidewalk. “It reminded me of who I used to be, I guess. Before everything got so... structured.”
“You mean before you decided friendship was inefficient?”
“I never said that!”
“You didn’t have to. You stopped calling, stopped visiting, stopped making time for anything that wasn’t directly related to climbing the corporate ladder.” Anna’s tone wasn’t accusatory, just matter-of-fact. “We all noticed.”
The words stung because they were true. “I thought I was being focused. Goal-oriented.”
“Definitely. But that’s what makes this morning so amazing. You let yourself be vulnerable to friendship again. That’s huge, Meg.”
“It didn’t feel vulnerable. It felt... natural.”
“Even better.” Anna’s voice carried a smile. “So what’s the plan? Weekly coffee dates? Girls’ nights? Please tell me you’re not going to overthink this back into the ground.”
Meg laughed. “Art Walk next Thursday, then dinner. Paige apparently has photos from senior beach week that I need to see ‘preferably while drinking mimosas.’”
“Oh good grief, those photos. I hope you’re prepared for your questionable fashion choices to be immortalized forever.”
