8
"It's not University Park. But you know, Brandywine would've been closer to home," Missy pressed her lips together, "God, that place was wild. Rush week? You missed some crazy parties. I don't know how I graduated."
Jessica turned the steering wheel, and they parked and saw students walking along the crisscrossing paths.
"Maybe I'm getting old," Jessica shook her head, "But they're all on their cellphones!"
Missy rubbed lint off the screen protector, "I'm glued to mine."
The girls got out of the car, and Missy pulled out her cigarettes only to be upbraided by a passing lecturer.
"Some things have changed," Missy fumed, "I won't switch to vaping, though. Some things are just better as they were."
The Blue Apple Cafe's doors were thrown open and students ate ice cream on the lawn shaded by trees.
"The logo reminds me of Franprix," Jessica pointed, "Tim and I went and got orange juice made from this little machine that makes it fresh on the premises."
"Franprix?"
"In - in Paris."
They purchased ice creams and sat outside, listening to the students who got up in time for class.
"I didn't understand anything they said," Missy crunched the cone of her ice cream, "Did you?"
Jessica shook her head, and the air was hazy with summertime and promise. Missy dabbed at her lips and crumpled her paper napkin.
"I wasn't up to telling you this until now, but I saw Jenn last week."
Jessica turned, and froze.
"Where? What is she doing?"
"I was babysitting Brianna's boy, at Turk's Head Festival," Missy nodded, "And on stage comes this long-haired dude with a guitar, totally at peace. And Jenn comes up on stage - if she saw me, she hid it well - and she sang and the whole crowd clapped."
The girls looked at their feet, and Jessica finally turned to Missy.
"How'd she look?"
"Beautiful. Happy, healthy. Made me think about a lot of things… "
The same lecturer hurried by, shooting another glance at Missy. Jessica cleared her throat.
"When she broke up with your ex, I bumped into her at Duffer's. She was handing in her apron - "
Some students stopped and stared, but moved on, and the girls felt a mingled sense of disappointment and relief.
"Did she see you? Did you say anything?"
"She wished me good luck," Jessica shrugged, "She said at least Tim was more manageable. And that I'd had enough experience living with a spoilt brat to know when to call it quits if he got out of hand."
"Ouch."
"Yeah, well, she was hurting. I never thought I'd see her in Westchester again. But life moves on. Frankly, there are bigger and better things going on in the world now."
"Everyone has a reality show," Missy rolled her eyes, "If I had Instagram back in the day, maybe I'd have made it without his help."
The girls stood, and headed for the carpark. Jessica untangled her car keys from her earphones, while Missy clutched her cigarettes and lit up.
"Thank god," Missy blew smoke out the window, "Can we stop at a gas station?"
Jessica nodded, and drove into Glen Mills. Missy watched the blur of a house hidden by trees and shrubbery pass by, and she raised her eyebrows at Jessica.
"I know, I know."
The gas station came into sight, and Jessica drove up to the petrol pump. Missy was ripping the plastic off a packet of cigarettes while Jessica paid at the station.
"You can't avoid them forever," Missy buckled her seatbelt, as Jessica twisted the keys in the ignition, "I want you to call, and I want you to visit them tomorrow."