"I can't believe you're graduating college already," Anna mused aloud as she pulled the new boxes of cereal from their shopping bags and put them atop the fridge where they belonged. Her mom's kitchen stereo, perched in the window, buzzed and popped with the news in the background. Mom liked to listen to her CDs on it, but when she wasn't around, Anna and Cassie liked to turn the radio to news stations to listen as they talked.
Right now, Anna wished they hadn't. Apparently police were still trying to solve the bizarre serial murders that had been going on in the area, despite no leads and no luck. Anna got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that got worse the more she heard about it.
Cassie hit the power button and the radio faded to silence. Anna glanced over but Cassie was already turning to get the other bags. The glimpse she got of Cassie's face was stony. At least Cassie sounded like herself when she replied, "I know. Time flies when you're drowning in papers."
Anna went to join her in unsheathing the milk, and took the opportunity to nudge her side at the same time. "You think maybe you should've eased up a little on your classes?" she asked. Okay, yes, sometimes she got accused of being the mom friend. Anna took it as a compliment. It meant she looked after her friends. Like Cassie. At this point, the battle was over, but there was still hope for her not overdoing it in the future.
Probably not much though, going by the sudden intensity Cassie gave off. "No way. A shot like this seemed way too good to be true, I wasn't going to waste it on a handful of classes before they could pull the rug out from under me and make me go home with nothing to show for it." Cassie nodded, full of determination and - Anna's heart swelled - the amazing, beautiful pride she took in her own accomplishments. Anna loved her for it. Among other things.
When Cassie turned to look Anna in the eye, Anna wondered if she'd heard her and the world seemed to freeze. Instead Cassie said, "Believe me, I worked hard for this."
Anna impulsively reached out and touched Cassie's arm, needing to affirm. To let Cassie know how happy she was for her, how proud she was too. "I know you did. I was here, I saw you." She cracked a grin. "I had to stop you from pulling your hair out the night before exams, remember?"
"Thanks for that," Cassie said wryly. Then sighed. "Ah, I'm gonna miss this place." Chuckled. "I never would've thought I'd miss Ohio."
Anna, who had never lived anywhere but Ohio and couldn't imagine living anywhere else, settled for a, "Yeah."
Cassie shot her a look Anna had little trouble interpreting. "And I'm gonna miss you. That's really the only… bad part. I mean, thank God I won't have to get by on two hours of sleep anymore. And I can't wait to see my parents and go home. But…"
"Cassie?" Anna asked. She could barely hear her own voice. For the moment, that seemed unimportant.
Cassie smiled painfully and Anna felt her hurt with her, as bitter and sharp as she'd felt any of her own. She could understand. If nothing else, they were practical girls. "But… what are you gonna do?" Cassie finished simply, closing the door on a question with no answer, her eyes glistening. Only a little.
Anna felt a tear break off and slid down her own cheek as she cupped Cassie's face and kissed her, wordless.
Between the two of them, there wasn't anything else to be said.
