After sitting at his laptop for a little while checking emails and then choking the lunch more down because his father was getting difficult again, Kyle finally decided to deliver the purse. Maybe the owner had already placed a search notice and probably also knew where she forgot the accessory, because she didn't seem very drunk yesterday. He then wondered if Erica was drinking alcohol at all last night. She wasn't exactly in his vicinity for the whole event. Besides, he had other conversations to focus on as well. Despite everything, his eyes kept wandering to her. In hindsight he regretted it.
"So what's up, you mangy purse thief? Apparently you got the hot goods. I knew it was only a matter of time before you got into the gang scene too." When he rang his friend's doorbell, Wendy answered the door with a strange accent and phrases. Her clothing also indicated a major change in style. So in contrast to last night, she showed a little more skin and with the shoes she almost reached his height.
"Um, I didn't steal that thing." Casually chatting with her felt odd, too, since he almost always heard her in the background when he was on the phone with Stan. Once in a while she answered the phone of her boyfriend, but it was always just a brief exchange. When he met her again, she treated him normally. He was probably the only one who made too much out of simple things.
"Ignore my fiancee." Now the man from the house pushed his way into the picture. With a slight grin, this languished at the woman next to him.
"Is she drunk?" The redhead inquired because he couldn't think of any other reason. Actually, he didn't think of Wendy as someone who would indulge in excessive drinking during the day. Or at all.
"What? No, she just has some free time now and wants to apply to the theater play in town. She finds the role of the criminal interesting." Stan explained to him and this tried to take the eyes off his partner to give him some attention as well.
"Oh, and did you say fiancee? My congratulations. It's about time." Kyle congratulated the two, because he was of course mirthful for the couple. He often went through the subject with his buddy, but unfortunately this always got cold feet in the end. Until now.
"Hm, yes. You were right. If you sort it out among yourself instead of making it public, then you're not under so much pressure. And she said yes anyway, so it was a win-win situation." And his friend definitely seemed happy and content to say that one could get a little jealous.
"But the wedding isn't anytime soon, is it?" It wasn't that he disliked taking days off to see his friends, but he did like to plan as far ahead as possible so that he could use his free time better.
"Oh, no. We agreed on next year. My fiancee can spend a little more time on the planning." You could see that this fact calmed Stan down a bit.
"And my fiance can enjoy some stress-free time." She added, and that's exactly what Kyle was thinking. Who would want to organize a party at short notice? And then at such an important event. He would probably panic alone because his mother would call more often to remind him. At least his cousin got to go through something similar two years ago. He still couldn't understand how this guy was allowed to marry before him. Probably because this did some things better than he himself would like to admit.
"Okay, I get it. Here, take this thing and I'll go away again." Because he really didn't feel like watching the newly engaged couple making out.
"Oh man, don't be so prudish." Wendy intervened and stopped him by standing in his way.
"A bad boy like you has surely seen worse." She glared at him with a mock glance and then winked. Should he say she was not really good at acting?
"See you guys and have a nice afternoon." With that, the woman said goodbye back in her normal tone and he finally entered the house with the fiance staring after her for a little longer.
"Do you think she gets the part?" Kyle asked casually, to keep the conversation going and not wanting to wait for the other to realize after she drove away that one had a guest.
"She'll definitely get a role, because the play is pure rubbish and I don't think many will apply. It's about a housewife who seeks revenge after seeing her husband getting killed on the street and has to delve deep into the underground and shit in the process." It was explained to him while Stan gestured for a seat in the dining room. He simply put the bag on the table so that it wouldn't be forgotten.
"It can't be that horrible." Although he had to admit that the plot didn't sound very exciting.
"Oh but it is. In one scene, the woman has to reach into the toilet after a drug dealer was shot on it. Apparently to visualize how often in life you have to reach into shit to get ahead or something like that." His host offered him something to drink and then seemed to look for another thing. The redhead gratefully accepted the coffee, which apparently was already ready when he got here. Smelled better than what his parents used to buy.
"Hm, she probably took the script with her, but she already worked out her lines and also memorized them. Well, I've already prepared myself for when she comes home as prostitute number three. That was probably the smallest supporting role. I just hope they don't give her that car that honks twice to scare someone." Stan joked more and sat down in the chair across from him at the table. There was a short silence in which he drank something and his eyes went back to his handbag.
"And? What do you think?" He was suddenly asked.
"Hm? About the play?" A little confused, he looked back at his counterpart, having no idea what could be meant.
"No. I mean about Cartman?" Stan specified himself.
"We talked once. What am I supposed to be thinking?" Actually, that was a cheap excuse, because he already had thoughts about her. But certainly not what his buddy wanted to hear. What should he say? That he met a pretty woman in the supermarket, whose cleavage he deliberately stared at and would have liked to talk to. But luckily he didn't, because it later turned out to be Cartman. His first impression stuck because he still found her attractive. Only the character of Erica made him ponder. In fact, he wanted to leave it alone.
"Just a little curious." Was answered to him with a shrug.
"Oh come on, you're not just asking to make small talk. Hey, how's the weather in South Park and what do you think of Erica?" His friend had to smile for a moment on that.
"Oh god, you sound like a schoolboy. Shall we put a piece of paper in her purse where she can mark with a cross yes, no or maybe?" The other asked amused, but he rolled his eyes at that.
"Very funny. What do you think of her?" Kyle threw out the same question, because even though Erica lived outside of South Park, the two apparently still see each other regularly.
"Good at being pretty. She knows all the fashion stuff." Stan scratches himself more out of habit, under the now invisible hat, because he wasn't wearing one anymore. At least not in the summer phase here. Nevertheless, the statement did not really reach him, because what was that supposed to mean.
"But?" He tried to ignore that.
"Sometimes she can be really exhausting." His counterpart probably continued to search for words.
"Sooner or later you will certainly experience that too." Apparently his friend didn't realize from the phone call beforehand that he thought it would be better not to see her anymore.
"Actually, I didn't intend to.." Embarrassed, he looked away and, oddly enough, back in the direction of the purse.
"You didn't intend to talk to her again." He clearly heard that his buddy didn't like this decision.
"Not really. I just think it's better to keep it to this one conversation." Although mixed signals came from Erica at the bus stop, he thought she was probably more uncomfortable around him. He felt the same way, albeit for different reasons.
"Don't get me wrong, I won't ignore her if I see her." I just don't push myself on her if it does happen again. The probability was likely rather low, the redhead thought to himself.
"Chatting over it once at night on a seedy corner where you weren't quite in your right mind was enough to settle this?" That came across very clearly and reproachfully, but he wanted to avoid to make Erica remember of this time and above all, don't make her cry again. Even if he wasn't quite sure about that, he didn't have to torment her any further. He also didn't believe that his interlocutor could know that she didn't have any alcohol the whole evening either.
"How do you know that she doesn't also .." But his sentence was interrupted.
"Cartman hasn't been drinking since..." Stan took a long gulp of his soda to keep himself from talking and his eyes wandered to the purse as well. It took him a moment to realize that some things were probably not meant for his ears.
"Since what?" He asked anyway, because it interested him a bit.
"Nothing. She just doesn't drink alcohol anymore. Should be healthier. I think she gave up smoking too." The black haired one tried to deviate from the subject and he probably shouldn't press further because if he really wanted to know he'd have to ask the person in question himself instead of squeezing everything out of his friend.
"Good for her. Yes, healthier." Kyle added after a sip of the black broth.
"In any case." Said the person opposite and they both stared at the accessory on the table, somehow lost. He really tried to search his brain for other topics, but everything that came to his mind didn't want to come out so easily because he was now personally next to Stan. Inside he wondered when he became a guy who couldn't speak freely about everything. No matter how he twisted and turned it, some things were easier to cut into on the phone. Nevertheless, he was glad to see his best friend again. Then he remembered that someone had crossed his path earlier. Or at least in his parents' front yard.
"I met Heidi this morning. Not exactly sure, but I think I have a date with her today." He said and his friend almost choked on his drink.
"Everything ok?" He wanted to know and Stan nodded, but still coughed hard again.
"Dude .. but she can't leave anything out either." Now his buddy sounded a little bad-tempered.
"What do you mean?"
"She sees you once at the class reunion and she's already hitting on you." He really heard it in a sour tone that he couldn't classify himself. Finally, the conversation about Erica was just more relaxed.
"Well, she didn't hit on me." Anyway, he didn't think she was interested in him that way.
"She invited me more for an informal chat. She even asked if you two would like to come along." Kyle figured that the women would help if the conversation was a bit on the limb like it was a few moments ago.
"Do you really want to see me naked at that age?"
"Excuse me?" With this statement he had to look confused directly at his friend again.
"I mean, we're not swingers." Stan pointed out, yet he didn't get the meaning and felt like he was missing a piece of the puzzle.
"I don't think Heidi suggested anything like that." He'd be damn sure if she'd mentioned stuff like that or anything in that direction. After all, he was no longer interested in such experiments.
"So should I cancel her or..." Because his buddy surely knew more about her since he met her through Wendy more often. At least he assumed the women were friends too.
"No no. Just go." He was told this with an 'do what you want' face, which he thought was a bit childish since they weren't at school anymore. Maybe there was a problem here too. No, it couldn't be that their school days only welded them together, otherwise he would hardly have turned up for the class reunion.
"Ok." He finally answered curtly and maybe he should talk about something else after all. The two of them hadn't seen each other for ages and that's all he could think of.
"Does it smell of paint in here?" He noticed after he finally finished his coffee and the smell of it had faded a bit.
"Yes, we are renovating a bit. You can do that from time to time so that everything doesn't always stay the same." After this been said, Stan sighed again.
"Sorry, if you want to go out with Heidi, then of course you're free to do so. Maybe I'm a little against her because I'm on Cartman's side." Then the black-haired groaned again in annoyance, because apparently things fell out of his mouth again that shouldn't have been uttered.
"Wow, now I'm going to start something I don't really have the right to talk about. I should really make myself some coffee too. Do you want another?" With that, Stan got up and headed for the kitchen.
"Sure, why not." Kyle said yes, while more question marks formed in his head, because what was the problem between Erica and Heidi. The two seemed quite friendly to each other at the class reunion. At the same time he noticed that none of this really helped to stop thinking about this woman.
"You're doing this a bit on purpose, aren't you?" He inquired as the other came back to the table to take his empty cup and refill it.
"Hm, what?" His friend probably didn't know what exactly he meant when he came back to him with fresh coffee. Apparently this made the cups a little too full, whereupon the black-haired guy came now very slowly to the table. Kyle saw that this wasn't going anywhere soon and took the cup that was meant for him.
"That you don't stop talking about Erica. Do you maybe have a crush on her?" He could get silly too, when they both sat back on the chairs safely and with their hands not burned.
"Oh yes, of course. We've been secretly dating for years, but Wendy and Butters must never know." At first Stan wanted to play along and put his slightly scalded finger in his mouth after coffee was spilling over it, but as Stan finished speaking, he realized that he gave too much away again. Oddly enough, this irritated the redhead that Erica wasn't single. He shouldn't care. On the other hand, he wondered why she should stay alone when she is so successful. After all, it was the same for you in better days, the inner voice whispered to him unbidden.
"Damn it! Can I tell you her whole life story right now? I always forget that you didn't noticed some things." His counterpart now said apologetically why information always slipped out of him.
"So she really is with Butters together." He just said and actually everyone should have seen this coming, just as the blond boy had always been glued to Cartman.
"Well, not really. What's going on between the two is so complicated. She has already explained it to me, but I don't think I understand it. I mean he likes her and she likes him. That's the basis of a relationship, isn't it? Maybe she doesn't want Butters around anymore because he's stayed with her all these years. After all, he was the one who saw everything. The good and bad sides. Despite everything, he still seems to be in love with her. Or maybe that's why. It's probably also because I can't really compare their relationship to Wendy and I."
"You probably don't need to understand that either." Kyle added to this thread, but had to admit that he kind of envied his friend for holding on to this love for so long and now they were engaged. He didn't think he could muster that energy for anyone. Maybe he shouldn't have just let past partners go, but clinging or fighting was probably not his thing. In his basketball career he always thought that it wouldn't be a bad thing not to pay attention to one or the other woman, because he didn't have the nerve for such in-between numbers. If he then had a relationship, he always made it too clear where this sport stood for him. After his ex-girlfriend packed up and left, he figured life would be much better on his own anyway. Unfortunately, it didn't take long to realize he was wrong. But just because he stood still for a few months, time went on for others. The woman he allegedly adored found someone new and he preferred to withdraw more because even getting to know someone turned out to be difficult when everyone was only looking at him as the failed basketball player.
"Is it that late already? Heidi wanted to be 8 p.m. At the house." They both actually managed to waste the time with chatting. When did something like this happen to him lately? They both only needed a little bit of a start and had to get used to being together again so genuinely. Then the conversations about everything and the world worked again as if by themselves.
"Go on then." Stan didn't sound too happy about his possible date, but this let him go. At the door he remembered what he had almost forgotten the whole time.
"By the way, next week I have to look after my parent's house. Would you like to come by? Just like in the old days, hanging out in front of the telly and eating junk food. We can also watch some bad movies." He didn't really hope that his friend would have time for it. Although Wendy was the planner in this household and seemed more active work-wise, but his buddy also had a job and other commitments.
"Yeah sure, dude." But the black-haired man agreed to the invitation in one breath without having to think too much about it. The news probably put Stan in a better mood, which also brought a small smile to his face.
"It was really nice of you to come here." He heard as he was about to step out of the front door. At first he wanted to joke, but saw that the moment didn't seem right and he also knew what the other meant.
"I know I always say I could come back sometime. But then somehow rarely do it. Now I have to do it next week or my mom will spank me." How could he explain to his best friend that living away from this place made him feel so much better. Only just because they were getting older didn't mean less weird stuff was happening in South Park and he just didn't want to be involved anymore.
"At that age it would be really embarrassing for me too and I probably should have snitched to your mother earlier that you don't come over to play anymore." Complained his friend played offended, but both couldn't help it and laughed about it. Felt almost the same as back in those days, Kyle thought and said goodbye for today. After all, it was him who agreed to the meeting with Heidi and he still had to walk to his parents' house. He didn't want to be late, but he also wasn't feeling that well for running. Besides, he did not think his date would take it bad because a few minutes didn't matter if it was really just a casual conversation.