She’s gonna see me.
It doesn’t matter how many people are squeezed together under here. She’s gonna spot me. It’s just how the universe works.
Her almond eyes widen the moment she catches mine, and my stomach drops to my knees. She smiles and I think I’m smiling back, but I’m not sure. The sides of the pan crumple under my fingers because she’s waving now and beckoning me toward her, and I guess Iamsmiling back.
I swallow a ball in my throat and start walking her way until Terrica’s brown hand circles her arm.
I stop.
Meechie slaps her wrist excitedly and points toward me. I see my name falling from her lips, and Terrica’s excited smile melting into a neutral one.
“You’re tough,” I mutter to myself, taking another step under the pavilion. “Fuck whatever they think.”
I hear Rich and I want Rich just like I wanted him yesterday while I dealt with Uncle Kenny on our back porch, but today I’ll have to fly solo. So I take my time strolling toward them while I practice all the ways I’ll dodge whatever intrusive questions Meechie will ask because our friend group was built around all the things most girl groups are typically built around: oversharing and gossip.
“I can just say me and AJ didn’t work out…but then she’ll want more because she’s so fuckin nosy,” I mutter to myself, shaking my head. “Or I…I can just tell her to mind her own business like Rich would probably tell her.”
“Girl!” she yells as soon as I stop in front of them. “You look… refreshed.”
She stares at the embroidered bodice on the lemon-colored sundress I found on the clearance rack at Ross when me and Aunt Faye stopped to browse between cleans yesterday. It looks like a polyester version of one of my House of CB dresses I left back in New York.
I give her a tight smile. “Thanks.”
“Why you ain’t tell me you were back home?”
I glance at Terrica, but her eyes are elsewhere even though her hand is still wrapped around Meechie’s arm.
Marking her territory.
I nod to myself.
Noted.
“I…you know, it was a spontaneous thing.” I shrug. “But…I’m here. I figured Terrica had told you.”
Terrica glances at me, shrugging. “I did. Guess she wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth.”
Meechie rolls her eyes at her. “Well, you just fell off the face of the earth. I figured you’d at least hit me up with the wedding details. You knew I wanted to be a bridesmaid. We were supposed to go to Vegas and do the whole bachelorette thing. You know we love Drai’s. You said you’d put the details in the group chat, but then one day you just up and left it…”
Each word feels like a dagger to the chest and Terrica doesn’t even care. She even lets Meechie stare at my empty ring finger.
“I—yeah. We did say that.”
Terrica chokes out an awkward cough.
Meechie frowns, tilting her head. “So what happened? What’s going on?”
All of my vague responses don’t make her stop, but Meechie never really understood context clues. Aunt Faye always said there wasn’t much going on in her head, but most people weren’t drawn to her for her intelligence anyway.
“I…” My eyes dart between her and Terrica. “I left New York.”
“Well, yeah, clearly. I mean you’re here, but when are you gonna go back to AJ?”
Ugh. She knows I left him.
I narrow my eyes at Terrica, but she looks off to the side.
Meechie sucks her teeth. “You know how you and AJ do, besides I know he’s gonna invite some of his teammates to the ceremony and I’m tryna see what that’s like?—”
