Chapter eleven

On the way home we all talked about the movie and our favorite scenes. All three of us seemed to have a lot of the same humor, and we probably laughed more while recapping the movie then during the actual thing.

We decided to go for lunch at a small bakery about a block away from Dan and Phil's flat. They had sandwiches, pastries, a salad bar, and all sorts of drinks. I decided on a sandwich, so did Phil, and Dan got a salad.

"Since when did you become mister healthy?" I asked Dan amused.

"Since I started actually caring about this working out stuff" Dan replied.

"Oh, and what about the twenty pancakes you had this morning? Your digestive system's just going to ignore those?" I teased.

"It wasn't twenty, but no, and that's another reason, I have to counteract those" he explained pointing his fork at me.

"Or since he got a girlfriend and actually started caring about how he looked" Phil shot in in an offhand sort of way. I figured Phil didn't get to make fun of Dan very often, so he was taking this new opportunity with great satisfaction.

"Humpf" Dan huffed disapprovingly.

"Is that so?" I asked amused "Have I made you self-conscious Daniel?"

"He's always been self-conscious, but he's pretty good at covering up. You and I are about the only people who get to see this guy without a shirt on unless he's going swimming. Now I don't really matter that much, you on the other hand do. Plus, I'm not the one he's trying to get to sleep with him" Phil interjected before Dan had a chance to answer for himself.

This comment brought on a giggle from me and another huff from Dan.

"Well, you're not denying it" I directed my statement at Dan who was now concentrating very intensely on his salad.

"No, I'm not ok? He's hit the nail basically right on the head" he admitted.

"We're talking about this later ok?" I asked, but I didn't really ask, it was more of a "We're talking about this later whether you like it or not".

Dan grunted a halfhearted "Fine" and we all continued eating in silence. Since there was no conversation going on I let my thoughts wander free. Suddenly I remembered something I had forgotten to do.

"Oh my goodness" I exclaimed "I totally forgot"

"What?" Dan and Phil asked at the same time, both of them looking up at me with curious expressions.

"I have to go talk to Anna; she must be sitting there not knowing what's going on. She was strongly in your favor as well" I explained motioning to Dan "she'll be thrilled"

"I'm glad. Have you talked to all of your friends about us?" Dan asked uncertainly.

"Of course I have, that's what friends are for. I was so confused and everything I really needed my friends, plus I wanted their opinions"

"Out of curiosity, were there any of them who were on Benjamin's side?"

"Nope, I mean they all understood what I was going through, because of the history we had, but they all seemed to take your side"

"You have some very smart friends" he complimented.

"I do, don't I? Anyway, I better go do that, as I said she'll be thrilled" I said getting up, giving Dan a peck on the lips, gathering my jacket, leaving the bakery and heading in the direction of my apartment.

I burst in the door, hung my jacket up, slipped off my shoes and dived into my purse to find my phone. I had Anna on speed dial, so all I had to do was press 5 and then call. I waited while it rang; she picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hey, sorry, I almost didn't hear it then" Anna's usual cheery, but a little flustered voice flowed down the line.

"Hey" I greeted back "What's up?"

"Nothing much" she sighed "What's up there, I haven't heard from you since Tuesday, what happened with Benjamin, and have you talked to Dan yet?"

"Well, here's the thing. A lot of things happened on Wednesday" I explained, but I didn't continue, I was going to see how long I could draw it out.

"Don't just say that, come on; you've got to tell me!" Anna insisted, getting impatient.

"I'm kidding; of course I'm going to tell you, that's why I called. I just like to torture you" so I told her about my confrontation with Benjamin, and how he was not out of my life, and then I told her about that night when I explained everything to Dan and we got together.

"Wow, that's amazing babe. How's the relationship been going so far then?"

"It's been great, he's amazing, a bit jealous some times, but that's just good for my ego, so it's not really a problem. We've gone out and stayed inn, I love the start of relationships when everything's new and exciting. And I must admit, the sex is good" you could clearly hear the excitement in my voice. It wasn't easy to hide, and it was really true.

"Well, that's always good. That definitely happened faster than the last time" she teased.

"Hey, it's not like we just met either. The last time was my first time, now I'm older, he's older, I think I like him more than I ever liked Benjamin and we were pretty close quite a few times when Benjamin and I were together before we went all the way" I defended.

"That's a good defense you have, but honestly I have no problem with you having sex, really. You know I'm just teasing. I completely agree with you, you're definitely more mature, I don't know how that happened so fast, but it obviously has"

"See this is why I love you Anna. We always agree, and you always understand me. Actually, now that I think about it, I think maybe Benjamin slowed down my maturing. I mean it does seem logical, and there is lots of evidence of it"

"I love you too, I know, we always agree. It sounds plausible to me. In any case, I'm happy for you babe" she reinforced.

"Thanks. But I've been taking up the spotlight for a while now, and you know how I hate that. How are you doing and what about your relationship?"

"I'm doing very well. Classes are exhausting, but they're also getting more interesting. And when it comes to the relationship there's nothing new really, we're doing just as well as we've been doing for a while now. I mean the distance is very hard, but you know he comes to visit as much as possible and I travel home whenever I can" Anna studied in Trondheim, a city about halfway north in Norway at a university called NTNU, while Kristopher, her boyfriend, studied at the university of Oslo, and we had all grown up right outside of the capital.

"I can't imagine, but I'm really sorry that it's hard for you. Hey, didn't you guys just have your three year anniversary though?"

"Yeah about a week and a half ago, he sent flowers and a card, it was really sweet"

"Naw, he's always been so romantic"

"I know, I love it" she paused for a little bit "I love him" she admitted.

"Really?" I asked excitedly "Have you both said it?"

You might think of the words 'I love you' as three ordinary words that you say to all your friends and family who matter to you, but Anna had never been like that. She had never thrown those words around; to her they were sacred and reserved for that one person, 'the one' if you will.

"Yeah, we have. It's amazing Sarah. You know how skeptical I am to the world"

"I know"

"I never really thought I'd find him, but he's been there now for the last three years and I can't imagine there's anyone else, if you know what I mean?"

"I know exactly what you mean darling. You're in love, that's amazing news. I always knew it would be the two of you"