“Excuse me, I’m here for a reservation?”

“Of course. What’s the name?”

“Katie Foster.”

He checked online for my name. “A table for two?”

I nodded silently, fiddling with my purse.

“Just follow me this way.” He led me to the table. “Would you like to order now?”

“I’ll just have two waters,” I whispered, barely audible. “I’m waiting for someone.”

He nodded. “Of course, miss. I’ll bring them out right away.”

I tapped my foot as he walked away. I anxiously glanced around the restaurant. With the dimmed lights, quiet chatter, and the centerpieces on the table, it created a very romantic atmosphere. I tugged at the edge of my dress, trying to bring it closer to my knees. I don’t know why I wore such a high hemmed dress. Just because some silly, paranoid voice in my head told me to dress nice? I shook my head. It’s just Amelia, I repeated over and over again in my head. There’s no need to act nervous. But still I played with my hair, checking in my phone camera to make sure my makeup was perfect.

Footsteps walked up behind me. My heart beat faster and faster. I turned to see Amelia, standing there in a hoodie and leggings. Her brown hair was tossed up in a ponytail, and it looked so soft I wanted to reach up and touch it. Her blue eyes gleamed. They were the same color as a cloudless sky, and I couldn’t help but get lost in them.

“Katie?” Her soft, sweet voice snapped my mind into focus, clear as a bell.

“Amy!” My smile was bigger than it had been in a while. I stood up and threw my hands around her, holding my old friend close. I buried my head in her shoulder. She smelled like roses, sweet and elegant. We stood there for a moment, me just holding on as tight as I could. It must have been a minute before she started to tense up. I let go awkwardly, pulling the skirt of my dress down. “Long time no see.”

She smiled. Now, when Amelia smiled, it was like the whole world smiled at you. Her eyes lit up, her nose scrunched up just a bit, and she got these dimples on her cheeks that were just perfect. She looked awkwardly at my dress, and then at her own outfit.

“It’s so good to see you . . . should I have worn something nicer?” I watched her eye at all the other fancy patrons in the restaurant.

“No, not at all! You look beau- you’re fine.” I stopped before I could embarrass myself. “Please, let’s sit.”

It was just as we were sitting when the waiter came back with our waters. “Here you go.” He placed them at the table, and I could see him raise an eyebrow at the difference of our appearances. “And here are your menus,” he handed one to each of us. “I’ll return in a few minutes.”

I nodded, not able to tear my eyes away from Katie. The way the light hit her hair formed a halo at the top of her head. 

“So,” she picked up her menu and glanced it over. “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah.” My voice came out breathy and soft, and I could tell she couldn’t hear me. I cleared my throat. “Yeah, it has. How’s college?”

“Good.” Her lips pursed as she read the menu, and even though she wasn’t one to wear makeup, her lips shimmered with lip gloss. “I’ve already had several computer companies reach out to me with job offers.” She looked up to catch me staring. “Aren’t you going to look at the menu?”

I blushed, realizing my menu still sat on the table, untouched. “Yeah, whoops.” I giggled, even though nothing she said was funny. I hid my face with the menu, berating myself over looking like such a fool in front of her. 

“How’s the acting career going?”

I peeked at her from behind the menu. “Oh, it’s actually going pretty well. I’ve been declined a lot of times, but I’m still trying. I have several auditions lined up this week.” 

She nodded. “Good, good.”

An awkward silence hung in the air. Thankfully, the waiter returned, and ordering broke the awkward tension.

The rest of the evening flew by. We laughed, we talked, and we caught up. Multiple times she would catch me spacing out. I loved watching her eyes as she talked, the way they sparkled when she spoke about something she was passionate about. I tried to make her laugh as much as possible, because when she tossed her head back and laughed, it was like music to my ears. I couldn’t believe how much I missed my friend.

When we were finished, I insisted on paying for the meal. We walked outside into the chilly air, and she gave me her hoodie to wear over my dress. She was wearing a long sleeve shirt underneath the hoodie, and insisted that I take it. I agreed, loving the smell of the clothing. I also eyed her shirt, taking notice of how tight fitting it was on her.

We walked up to her car. “So I guess you have to go now. . .” I started to take off the hoodie.

She put a hand on my arm. “No, keep it.” I started to protest but she covered my mouth with her hand to keep me quiet. “I insist.”

My heart stopped. Adrenaline rushed into my head, and the only thing I could think about was her hand on my lips.  “O - ok.” I whispered against her hand, my face beet red.

She grinned, removing her hand. I felt the cold absence of it right away. She walked closer to the car and opened the door, her smile fading. She looked back at me. “We’ll stay in touch this time, right?”

I’d never noticed it before, but the light of the moon helped me see it: a ring of silver, at the center of her blue eyes. It made her seem mystical, like an elf, or a fairy, or a goddess. “Yes,” I murmured, unable to take my gaze away. “I’d love that.” 

“Good,” She replied softly, returning my unwavering gaze. 

We walked closer to each other, and I encircled her in a warm embrace. We stood there together, underneath the moon, for what seemed like forever. I didn’t want her to let go. I didn’t want her to leave me. I wanted it to be like this forever. But all good things have an end. Nothing is perfect, and not everyone gets their happy ending. I let go sadly. 

“Goodbye Amelia.”

“Goodbye Katie.”

And just like that, she got into her car and drove away. Gone, like a cool breeze passing by on a hot summer day. I slowly walked back to my car, sitting down behind the wheel slowly. Something wet dripped on my bare leg, and I reached up to feel my wet face. I’m crying. Why am I crying?  I wiped the tears away and hugged the hoodie, sitting in silence in my car underneath the mood. I thought of all the fun we had in high school. 

We met through the school’s drama club. I, of course, had gotten the lead role. She was in stage crew, preferring to stay behind the stage. However she was our director’s right hand man, and was in charge of everything. One thing she was mainly in charge of was personal props. And I had a lot of those. So we talked often, and before we knew it, we formed an unbreakable bond. We spent almost every day together, going to each other’s houses after school to study. I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, so she would help me study. We spent hours lying on her bed, studying, talking, sometimes just lying there in silence. We told each other everything, the good and the bad. We had a couple fights, but working through those fights made our friendship stronger. When I heard that she received a full ride to an amazing tech school in California, my emotions swirled together in a mix. Never before had I been so proud, happy, disappointed and upset at the same time. We parted tearfully, promising that we would keep in touch. And at first, we did. We would call each other every night, laughing at each other’s jokes and telling stories. And then it started to slow down. Before I knew it, we were only calling once a week. Then once a month. Next it was just texting. After that came the rare, “hey how are you?”Finally it ended where there was no communication at all. 

It was about a year later when I was scrolling through my pictures. There was this one picture of us that I stopped at. We were laughing on the stage, during dress rehearsal for our last show. I was in a midnight blue gown, with sequins that made a wind pattern shimmering like stars. My makeup was to the tea, and my hair was up in the most elegant hairstyle the stylist could do for me. However, I was far from the prettiest girl in that picture. Amy, in her black jumpsuit and wearing no makeup, was laughing so hard. The spotlights shone in her brown hair, and her dimples were bigger than ever.

After looking at that picture I immediately called her up. I knew I couldn’t go another day without arranging to meet up with her. We arranged to meet in a city near her college.. Yes, that did mean that I was the one who had to drive halfway across the country to see her; but I would fly around the world and back for her.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I recalled the memories of so long ago. I wanted to drive after her, and beg her to stay with me, but I knew that would never work. Wiping the remaining tears away, I began the long drive home, wishing that the universe didn’t have to be so cruel.

It was our cruel fate to stay apart.