It's been said that you can never go home again. That once you leave the place where you grew up, where you spend your childhood, where you met your dearest friends, it's better to move on and forget it all in a heartbeat instead of going back. No sense opening old wounds or reliving painful memories.
Or at least, that's what Charlie had always been told.
And yet even now, as his family's car sped past a vaguely rusted old road sign that read "Now Entering Hennepin County," he was doing exactly that: going back to the place that held so many bittersweet memories for him.
He gazed out the window as the buildings and greenery flew past. There was the old barbershop his father used to own—or rather, what once was the old barbershop his father used to own, as the property was now occupied by a rather pretentious-looking coffee shop. Funny how much time changes things, he thought to himself. He couldn't help but wonder if there was anything left of the tiny little town he knew as a child.
As if on cue, the familiar brick fences and concrete sidewalks came into view. Another sign, this one in much better condition than the last, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that yes, this was indeed Hennepin County, Minnesota. The boy sighed to himself, partly out of relief, but also from regret: regret of all that he had missed. If only things had gone differently.
A sharp snore broke his repose. He looked over at his sister, predictably sound asleep. Considering this entire trip was for her to begin with, one would normally have expected Sally to be a bit more enthusiastic; then again, it was likely just a side effect of winter break being more conducive to sleeping late combined with the nearly endless drive from Glenwood. Charlie couldn't really complain; he'd dozed off himself at some point he couldn't remember. She'd surely awaken when they got to their destination.
At last, the family pulled up to the rather unassuming hotel where they would be staying for the next few days. After helping unload the vehicle of its baggage, Charlie set out on foot for the last neighborhood they'd passed, one with a rather conspicuously short brick wall facing the street. Although it had been almost five years, he still knew the way.
It wasn't long before he reached the street he was looking for. All at once, upon stepping once more onto the quiet roads of his hometown, it was as though a tidal wave of nostalgia and memories had flowed over him, crashing on and chipping away at the unforgiving rocks of his acquired cynicism. (Charlie then realized that that was actually a rather impressive, if slightly overblown, metaphor, and promptly filed it away in his mind for future use, perhaps in his next English paper or writing experiment.) He strode on past the suburbanite dwellings, some still as they were years ago, others completely unrecognizable.
Eventually, he reached his old house, the place where he'd lived for his entire juvenile life. He gazed at the old place, still as warm and inviting as ever. For a brief moment, he felt as if he could run right inside, just like he used to do, where he would find his mother making dinner and Sally writing another ill-advised essay for school. He would relax in the living room and watch his favorite TV show, before going out back to feed Snoopy before bedtime…just like it used to be. Just like it always should have been.
Realizing that he was probably causing whoever owned the house to freak out about the weird round-headed college kid staring in from the street, he morosely began to walk away, back to the hotel. But before he had taken even two steps in that direction, his ears picked up a rather familiar tone, one that they hadn't heard in quite some time.
"So the 'prodigal son' returns at last."
There was only one person Charlie Brown had met in his life who could speak with that exact mix of self-assured snark and legitimate empathy. He didn't even need to turn around, but he did anyway, barely able to hold back a friendly smirk. "Maybe so," he replied, "but where's the fatted calf?"
"Wow, how ungrateful can you get?" Lucy's face held an expression quite similar to Charlie's, although her version was more fully broken in, having had years of prior use. "I mean, what did you expect? You can't live somewhere your entire life, then suddenly move away for five, six years only to turn up again out of nowhere and expect a hero's welcome."
"Touché."
"So I take it you got dragged along too, huh?" Lucy tugged at the strings of her blue hoodie. She was only about a year younger than Charlie, and yet somehow she still seemed like the preteen girl she'd been when he last saw her. Mostly, anyway. "Probably for the best, I guess. Linus is going to be so excited you guys are here a couple days early. He really wanted to see you, you know."
"He really wanted to see Sally," Charlie corrected her, as they started walking down the street in the opposite direction. "Ever since the two started long-distance dating three months ago, she's been hogging Skype almost nonstop. She's been driving all of us crazy."
"No kidding. Linus has been the same way. Not that I'm complaining, since the only times he's really happy these days is when he's talking with her."
"Hang on a second," Charlie retorted, "since when do you care about your brother being happy?"
"Hey, knock it off." She gave him a light playful shove. "Am I not allowed to worry about my own brother sometimes? Sheesh."
Charlie started to respond, but decided against it. There really wasn't much to say. It had come as a huge surprise when Linus had mentioned wanting him and Sally to come visit for Christmas. So much so, in fact, that Charlie had been somewhat leery of the idea, since it would have meant having to deal with Miss Fussbudget here once again. And yet whatever he'd been expecting, it wasn't this.
"So who's still here?" he asked, after a minute or two of silence. "Of the kids we used to hang out with, I mean."
"Honestly? Just us."
"Seriously? What about Franklin? Pig-Pen? Or Peppermint Patty and Marcie?"
"They all left." Lucy said this with a slight hint of sadness. "Franklin and Pig-Pen moved out about the same time you did. We didn't hear about it until later, though, since they both lived on the other side of town. Then Patty and Marcie left after them. I think Patty—well, 'Patricia', as she's calling herself now—wound up in Ohio somewhere."
"Whoa…" Charlie couldn't believe it. He figured that at least a few of them would have moved away, but for all of them except the Van Pelts to just suddenly decide to move away…he couldn't imagine it. "It had to have been hard, watching them all leave one after the other."
Lucy sighed. "It really makes you think. One minute, you're all playing around as children, completely oblivious to how the world works, and then the next minute you're helping an old friend clean out their garage and load everything into a moving van." She kicked a loose rock up the street. "It'd really make me cherish my friends more, if I had any real ones left."
"What do you mean by that? What about high school?"
She looked at him nonplussedly. "Name one genuine, lifelong friend you made in high school."
"Fair enough, I guess." Charlie looked back down. He'd hoped to meet back up with all of his old friends while he was here, but that was clearly not in the cards. He couldn't help but wonder if everyone would have stayed if he hadn't left.
Lucy, as if reading his mind, said, "And no, you staying here wouldn't have changed anything. Patty's parents had talked about moving away for a while. So did most of the others'. The fact that you were the first to leave probably made it all happen faster, but they would have left anyway whether you were still around or not."
"Well…I guess you're right." Charlie noticed that they were drawing close to the Van Pelt residence. They'd somehow managed to navigate their way there without really paying attention. Just a testament to him knowing the way by heart, he supposed.
Lucy must have noticed it too, since she immediately began to walk a bit slower. "Normally I'd invite you inside for some hot cocoa or something," she said. "But Linus doesn't know you guys are here yet, and I know you guys want to keep it a surprise."
"That makes sense." He paused uncertainly. "So…I'll see you sometime tomorrow, then?"
"Tomorrow." She turned and walked up the steps. Just before she reached the door, Charlie thought he heard her mutter something that sounded like: "Good ol' Charlie Brown."
He smiled feebly, then turned and walked back the way they had come. He never knew what to expect with Lucy, but he'd enjoyed today a lot more than he'd thought he would. He almost couldn't wait for tomorrow.
Almost.