 Elder Quad
It Started With a Cat
Packing. What a task.
I sort of had it in my mind of how we would meet, but I never thought it would be this soon. Packing was hard because my mind was elsewhere. I couldn’t find anything I needed and it didn’t help that I had waited until the last minute to finally start the process. I was scrambling, an occasional swear escaping my dry lips if I couldn’t find what I needed at the exact moment I needed it. Everything wasn’t where it was supposed to be even though it really was. My brain was not functioning properly, that was obvious.
Finally I was done, after two hours. I took a breath and grabbed my two bags. Phew. That was one of the hardest two hours I’ve ever had to endure. My mind was racing. And it seemed that my watch was on hyper speed now. It was time to leave. My heart was beating about a mile a minute. “Steady,” I breathed, steadying myself by grabbing the kitchen counter. I had no idea this would bring me so much stress. I was excited, that was all. What else could it be?
Well, for one, I could get there and have absolutely nothing to talk to them about and totally ruin our friendship. For two, I could get there and make a complete idiot of myself which would lead to them thinking I was too strange to be called a friend. “No, stupid, they’re not gonna think that. They know you and you know them. It’ll be the same as the internet, but you’ll get better reactions.” That talk seemed to calm me down, even though it was a cheap shot. I was confident now. I was ready.
I checked my watch and nodded. It was time. I slung one of my bags over my shoulder, my carryon, and grabbed the other by the handle. As I closed the door and heard the click of the lock, I knew there was no going back. Why would I? This was what I wanted. And I knew I wasn’t the only one. The other three were probably going through the same thing right about now, but in totally different areas of the country. One of which wasn’t even in the country.
The smell of the brisk autumn day gave me buoyancy as my brown hair blew in the breeze around my face. I hailed a taxi and I was finally on my way. The airport was packed. Naturally, we decided to meet on a Friday so we’d have the entire weekend to spend together. And it seemed like the rest of the country thought the same. “Brilliant…” I muttered as I went through baggage. I was in a sea of people and it felt like I was the only one who was sweating profusely, which in fact I was not. It seemed that every there was awaiting something to occur that was making them nervous. For some reason, this calmed me down.
I made it through the throng of persons and finally sat down in my assigned seat on my plane. In four short hours I’d be at my destination, seeing their faces in the flesh for the very first time. The plane ride was excruciating. And it didn’t help that they were out of airline peanuts. How was that possible? It baffled me, only because it would have given me something to do. I stared out of the window the whole ride there, which ended before I could say a word.
Once out of another ocean of citizens, I hailed another cab and told him my location. It was a hotel about thirty minutes away from the airport. We would all be staying there. They had plenty of rooms so we would be able to decide whether we all wanted to stay together, double up, or stay separate. That could be an awkward decision. But I wasn’t too worried about it. We knew each other. We’d want to be together.
We were here. The front of the hotel looked down upon me and I suddenly felt very small. No, I would not feel like this anymore. There was nothing to be scared of. I summoned my courage and walked through the doors. Immediately I saw them. The three of them were sitting together in the lobby, chatting animatedly as they watched the door for me. They all broke out into the biggest smiles I had ever seen. I dropped my bags and went running. We all embraced in the biggest hug I had ever felt.
And I knew. We were sisters from the start. We were put on this earth to find each other and that’s exactly what we did. I literally cried from all of the happiness that was flowing through my veins. I had built up this moment in my head for so long, but I had never imagined it to be this wonderful. They were perfect. They were mine and I was theirs. I knew we’d be inseparable after this. We’d do whatever it took to stay in touch and see each other. It was perfect. And to think that it started with a cat.
They say that blood is thicker than water. In some cases, I have found that friendship is thicker than both. |