When our taxi arrived at my Aunt and Uncle's house later that day, I was at the same time extremely excited and nervous about maybe seeing Faith and also afraid that I wasn't, and never would again. Jeff and Chloe could tell, and they asked me what was wrong. I brushed it off by giving them a big smile and telling them that it was really great to see them again.
Later at dinner, I ate my too much food, another result of my restlessness. Mom and the others chatted eagerly about everything and nothing, but I couldn't really hear anything, because all I could think about was different ways in which my meeting with Faith would play out. I really had to mentally slap myself.
'Don't get your hopes up, you idiot!' I muttered through clenched teeth.
All of a sudden, everyone was looking curiously at me. 'Something you wanted to say, Buffy?' my mom asked. 'Um…No, mom. It's nothing, really. Just thinking about…Stuff. You know.' I knew she understood what I meant, and that's why she decided not to dwell on it.
Instead, she turned to Aunt Chloe. 'This food is delicious, Chloe! Did you make it all yourself?' she asked her. A smiled grazed both Chloe's and Jeff's lips. 'No, that would have taken me forever, and the food would start to decompose before I even finished it all.' They all shared a long laugh, and I pictured Faith doing the same thing for the millionth time that day.
I continued staring into the wall across the room, as I conjured up another memory. I broke it off soon, though, only because I suddenly wondered why I was sitting here not doing anything instead of going out to look for Faith. It was all I wanted to do, really, but I felt that I should at least give Jeff and Chloe one night with my mom and me.
The others were still talking about the food, and my mom asked Chloe, 'Now tell me, where did you get all this delicious food?' Chloe answered eagerly, 'We ordered it from this excellent restaurant in town. The new owner even delivers. His daughter is working for him this summer, and she is just so great. Top service, I tell you. She even took interest in listening to me ramble on about the wonders of ordering take-out.' Jeff smiled and touched his wife's hand. 'Honey, that was probably just out of hospitality. I could see the poor girl fidgeting.' Chloe smacked his arm, feigning annoyance. He just smiled at her.
'Maybe I should thank her personally for being of such help to us the next time we order,' Chloe suggested to Jeff. 'If only I could remember names, then it would help me a great deal. Do you remember, Jeff?'
Jeff closed his eyes to think a moment and then spoke up, 'Faith. Her name's Faith.' My head shot up the second he said her name, and I could feel my heart race as if it were the heart of a mouse. I had managed to drop my fork onto the plate, and they were now all staring at me, wondering what exactly had made me act so strange from the moment I arrived there.
I watched as realization struck my mom, and she grinned at me. Before any of them had time to ask me what was wrong, I shot out a string of questions.
'How old is she?! How does she look?! Where does she live?!' Chloe and Jeff each wore an expression of surprise at my sudden outburst.
'Well, she told me she was 21, and to tell you the truth, she's drop dead gorgeous. Her hair is dark, thick and wavy, and her eyes are big and dark brown. Why do you want to know, anyway, Buffy? Do you know her?' Chloe wondered.
'No kidding. That girl could easily win the Miss World contest,' Jeff stated, winking at Chloe. Upon seeing the look on her face, he quickly added, 'But she doesn't stand a chance against you, my beautiful one.'
Chloe shook her head and turned back to me. 'So, Buffy?'
'She was my best friend five years ago,' I simply stated. It felt unreal. Faith had been in this house earlier that day. She had been in the same house that I was now just a few hours ago. She was really here. A grin spread across my face, and I felt suddenly light-headed and extremely energetic. I seriously wanted to jump onto the table and dance my skin off to the song playing in my head.
I settled with giving Chloe a more detailed answer. 'Wow, this is such a shock. I thought she'd moved away for sure, but she's not…Wow. Do you…do you know where she lives, Aunt Chloe?' I asked, my body and my mind itching to go do something. Anything but stay here and not seeing Faith! I knew that she used to live in the apartment above her dad's grocery store, but when they'd driven past the building, it had been halfway torn down.
I waited impatiently for Chloe to answer as I could see her thinking. 'I don't know where she lives, but she should be working at the restaurant right now. Why don't you make your way into town and see if you can find the girl, ok? We understand how important this is to you, so there's no need for you to feel bad about leaving on the first day here. The three of us will talk about the old days, which is something you probably don't want to hear about, anyway.'
I leapt up from my chair, and to both her and my surprise, I gave her a quick peck on the cheek. 'You're the best!' I told her before turning to make my way out of the house.
I turned on my heel as it came to my mind that I had no idea whatsoever where this restaurant was. 'Where is the restaurant exactly?' I said.
'Do you know where the movie theatre is?' Jeff said. 'Yeah, and…?' I answered him, waving my hands to indicate my impatience. He smiled and finally said, 'Well, the restaurant is right across the street. You can't miss it.' I told him thanks, and heard my mom wish me good luck, just as the door slammed closed behind me.
