"Can you believe that all of these people are actually online?" Pacey remarked.
"Listen Pacey, aren't you glad I emailed you that link? So have you talked to anyone yet? Is there anyone you are especially happy about talking to?" Doug asked his brother.
"I have something to confess to you Doug," Pacey sighed. "It isn't bad, but there is something I haven't told you yet."
"You better not need me to bail you out of anything Pacey because I am so over your hijinks," Doug began in an exasperated tone.
"No, no, no it's nothing like that Doug. I just wanted to tell you about that girl who literally ran into me my first day here."
"I knew it! You're dating her aren't you? You are always so fast and quite frankly I don't see how you get the girls that you do," Doug chuckled.
"We're not dating," Pacey said firmly. "It's just that it was kind of the beginning of a reunion and it was weird and I don't know why I didn't tell you about it," Pacey was rambling.
"Oh, so who was it?"
"Joey."
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"Oh, I know why you didn't tell me," Doug replied.
"Really? And why would that be? Since you are the expert on this apparently," Pacey inquired.
"You like her, don't you?"
"It's complicated Doug. You know what she has been through and I am just trying my darndest to be a good friend to her. You know? A shoulder to cry on. Someone to have lunch with… to go to the movies with… someone to talk to," he sighed. "And it doesn't matter if I like her. I don't think she likes me that way anymore. You should see her Doug. She is one woman fighting the world. It's amazing."
"Well, Pacey. I can't help you out. I know bits and pieces, but only what Bessie tells me when we run into each other. Do the right thing. I know you will."
Beep… beep
"Hey Doug, I've got another call coming in. Hold on one second," Pacey said, not waiting for a response before he clicked over to his incoming call.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Pace. Sorry to bug you. Is now a good time to talk?" Joey rushed the words out of her mouth.
"Just hold on one second, okay?" Pacey said clicking out of their conversation and turning back to Doug. "I have to go bro. I have to take this call. Have a great night and we'll talk more later," Pacey said, not waiting for a response because he was sure Doug was going to say something about how his baby brother probably had a lady friend on the phone. "Sorry about that Jo. What's up?"
x x x x x x x x x x
It had been a week since she had accepted the friendship inquiries of Dawson, Jen and Jack. They had exchanged email addresses and abbreviated life stories. So much had happened since they had drifted apart and Joey was so happy to have the chance to catch up.
She knew Dawson was out in California living his dream. He informed her that he was single and was not sleeping with the female leads of his films (as had been reported by a tabloid earlier that year). Despite the money he had he was still living in an apartment and trying to keep things simple. This did not surprise her at all and it warmed her heart to think that Dawson really hadn't changed as she had feared with his success.
Jack was a high school teacher and football coach. He had moved to Kansas after receiving an amazing job offer. He didn't have a boyfriend, but was actively seeking one, which made Joey smile because she could picture that in her mind. He is still close with Jen which didn't surprise Joey at all. She was just sad that they had managed to stay close, but she couldn't hold onto the close relationships from her past.
She was not surprised to learn that Jen lived in New York. Nor was she surprised to find out that she worked at a local radio station submerged in the music scene. The most surprising thing about Jen was that she had a daughter who was two and a half years old. The picture Jen sent of Aimee melted Joey's heart and made tears well in her eyes. With the full head of rich blond curls Aimee was the spitting image of Jen and Joey could tell how proud Jen was of her daughter.