CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Aspen’s fingers move over her phone screen as we ride in the backseat of Licorice, the black Escalade driven by Jake.
“Mar and Amanda are going to meet us on the hill,” Aspen relays the information I assume she read from her text. “That's the best thing about them having to drive in. They always get there before us.”
Her brown eyes brighten a little with the declaration as she shoves the cell phone in her back pocket. Jake takes a turn a little quicker than normal and I’m forced to grab on to the door handle to stop myself from sliding across the leather seat.
“Drive slower, Jake. We don’t want to get there too early.” Aspen taps him on the shoulder in a playful gesture. She loops the long scarf around her neck and pulls on the end tightly. “Do you think it will snow this year?”
I look out my side window curious to what prompted her question. Everything looks normal as people walk the streets in the same thin fleece jackets they’ve been wearing the last few weeks. “Has it ever snowed in San Francisco?” I ask. A place without snow is still hard for me to comprehend. I’ve never had a winter without it.
Jake’s eyes find Aspen in the rearview mirror. “It’s happened before.” His small grin increases as we both watch Aspen’s eyes grow more and more worried.
She zips up her thick winter coat and stuffs the scarf inside of it. “What temperature would that happen at?”
“Snow?” I try my best not to laugh at the worry in her question. “Thirty-two degrees, but it’s like at least fifty degrees out there right now. So we’ll be okay, Aspen.” Jake lets out a snort at my words but is quick to cover it up.
“It’s way too cold to be outside in this weather. I’d invite everyone to the apartment, but it’s against the stupid rules,” she references the list of outrageous things she’s agreed to when she signed her lease. “You're going to freeze,” her voice rises as she takes in my outfit for today.
The dark green sweater and skinny jeans with tennis shoes should be fine, but I did pack the blue fleece I never gave back to Trey in case the temperature goes down. “I’m from upstate New York. This is spring or fall weather.”
“Spring or fall?” her tone increases until she’s a little shrill and I start to worry.
“Heck, some years this is summer weather.”
Licorice comes to a stop and Aspen opens her door with a stiff back to brace against the cold. “Well not where I come from. You’re all crazy.” She steps to the sidewalk and waits for me to join her. “We’ll all catch pneumonia by being out here today.”
We both wave to Jake as he drives away and I don’t comment on her irrational fears for the time being as we walk up the hill together. The morning fog has settled on the city and it’s not until I’m looking at it from this height that I realize how it’s one of my favorite aspects of living in San Francisco. Almost every morning a heavy cloud sits on top of the city making it feel a bit lazy compared to the hustle of New York. There’s a peaceful part to it all.
“Oh my God, Aspen, it isn’t that bad.” Marissa’s comments about Aspen's winter coat carry the last few feet in front of us as we get closer to the spot where they’ve laid out the red plaid blanket for us to eat on.
Marissa has her normally long brown hair in a tight bun and besides her jeans she’s in a fleece. She’s lacking a scarf or the thicker winter coat like Aspen’s wearing, so it can’t just be a southern California aversion to the colder weather since they both come from the same area.
“The coat is cute,” the ever happy Amanda tries to compliment Aspen’s thick red winter jacket even though she’s only wearing a fleece as well.
Aspen tugs on the zipper sealing the coat higher. “Thanks. Finn bought it for me. We had to drive to one of those sports stores in Oakland, but it was worth it.”
I throw Trey’s fleece on the blanket and sit on one of the edges to await my sugary breakfast. I hesitated the first time Aspen forced me along for the weekend brunch meeting, but now being a part of these three feels second nature. At times I forget I haven’t been a part of this for years. The simple comradery shared between these ladies sucked me in. I haven’t had close friendships like this before. I didn’t realize I craved it until now.
“So what’s on the agenda for this week?” Amanda hands me my bag of Tahiti French Toast, the one menu item we’ve ever order from Zazie’s brunch menu.
“The same thing on every agenda. Boys.” Marissa grabs the white sack closest to her, aware that they all contain the exact same meal.
“My boy’s great. He’s building me a castle. Which one is the hot chocolate?” Aspen gives an update as she’s poking around the beverage container for her drink.
“A castle?” I ask. Sure, her boyfriend has money, like a lot of money, but castle money? It’s excessive for a guy that has always come off as laid back.
Marissa sighs and rolls her eyes. “In Dragons Reborn. The game he and Trey made. In case you weren’t already aware they’re both giant nerds, but Trey hides it better."
“Finn’s turned Pen into a gamer and she’s a tad obsessed with it,” Amanda jumps in.
“I am not obsessed.”
This wins her another eye roll from Marissa. “Really? What type of tree did you spend two hours cutting down to make furniture with?”
“Mahogany,” Aspen answers and then realizes she played into Marissa’s hand and tries to cover it up, but her huge smile gives more away. "It has a good coloring on the game graphics.”
“Uh-huh.” Marissa sounds less than impressed.
