Chapter 6

Do You Remember Friendship? Point Place, WI

9:30AM

(next day, the day before Eric & Paige's wedding)

Eric knocked on the hotel room door realizing that he did deserve to get it slammed

in his face. Turnabout was fair play right? He only had three hours sleep last night.

He was tormenting himself that he shouldn't have taken Jacen's advice and left

Paige and Jackie alone. Jackie opened the door. She had her hair pulled back by a

terry white headband and she was wrapped in a silk white robe.

"You bastard," she walked away but left the door.

"May I come in?"

"I don't care. You and Paige are cut from the same cloth. But I don't want to go

there." Jackie continued to do what she was doing before Eric arrived and that was

to lie on the sofa.

"I can't believe you. Paige put her personal feelings aside to get you to a hospital."

"The goody goody Girl Scout gets a gold star and now you are here. This is so

cliché. Gold star for the Boy Scout."

"Jackie, we were all really worried about you."

"I had a minor stress episode. Save it, Eric." She turned her head into the pillow.

"Fine," he started to walk away but he stopped short when he felt the paper in his top

shirt pocket, "No. Then explain your check."

He placed it on the coffee table.

"What check?" She turned back around to see the pink folded check.

"It's understandable that you don't remember."

"No. I do."

Eric paced by the small red brick built in fireplace.

"In answer to your question. I do remember friendship. How can you think that I

purposely wanted to lose it? May I continue?"

She sat up and covered herself with the plain white blanket with the rose trim border.

"Yes."

"I love Paige so much. Do you realize that I was given the most precious gift? That

was a second chance. How many people in life get those? I learned so much from

my experiences with Donna. I didn't want to lose her. I was afraid."

Jackie could tell that he had to get this off his chest, "Why were you afraid of losing

Paige?"

"I don't know. I have a tendency to screw these things up. Where's the stupid helmet

when I need it? I want to eat, sleep, drink, and breathe her. Being with Paige and

having a love that not many people on this Earth get to experience is pure magic. I

know that I probably sound like a trashy beach paperback. I didn't mean to take our

friendship for granted, Jackie. I really didn't."

He sat on the coffee table to face her.

"And that hurt me, Eric. I mean we started off as kids hating each other because we

were out of each other's cliques. Then I believed that maybe the reason that I went

out with Michael and Steven was that so WE could be the ones to have a lasting

friendship."

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I think it's great that you and Paige found each other and you are right that true love

is rare. But you thought it was okay to ignore me."

"I'm sorry."

"Let's say I believe you for now."

"Where does this leave us?"

"I don't know. Just be glad for your son. I only came here because Jacen wanted me

to so I hope you don't ground him for a year or something. It's not fair to put him in the

middle. Even if it was unintentional."

"No. He's not grounded. He was going to be but he'll just do some extra chores. Do

you know that he and Mindy had their first adolescent kiss a week after his fifteenth

birthday?"

Jackie smiled, "No. He didn't tell me that. I guess that's not godmother

conversation."

"Mindy's favorite aunt is a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She invited Jacen

to go with her. I was working a lot of overtime and couldn't drive them so Paige did.

Do you really want to hear this?"

"Yes."

She missed talking with her friend Eric.

"When they got home Jacen told me that they kissed at the gas station while she

was in the convenience store."

"It seems like only yesterday he was just a baby."

"I know and I have to act all happy. Well, I am happy, but I know how he feels about

her. And I know that she's just going to crush his heart one day. I really hope that I am

wrong about that."

"Maybe they have a love like you and Paige."

"You don't believe that do you, Jackie?"

"No. But you never know and Jacen's a smart kid."

"Who can put me in my place when I need it. Do you want to talk about the

magazine?" Eric used his quoting gesture to describe "the magazine".

"What's to say? I did it. It's over with."

"But why did you do it?"

"Attention. To feel attractive all the reasons that you see former stripper types on

Maury talking about."

"What was your Phillip's reaction?"

"Let's just say we're broken up. I really don't want to talk about that, Eric. Not

because of us. It's just because I don't want to talk about him."

"I'm sorry. I never liked that guy. He always chose business and money over a great

woman like you."

Eric thought about telling her about his colleagues bringing the magazine in and

Jacen's fight with Tony over it, but she already felt bad enough. He didn't want to add

to her pain.

"Thanks. I'm sorry with what I said to you on the phone. Who could blame you for

slamming the door in my face?" She put her hands over her face. She could cry in

front of Eric.

"Oh, Jackie," he moved to the sofa so he could hold her, "I'm sorry too. I want you to

come to the wedding tomorrow."

She gave Eric one last squeeze and kissed his cheek.

"You need to shave," she wiped her eyes.

"I know. So will you?"

"How does Paige feel about that?"

"We talked about it and she does want you there. She wanted me to tell you that you

two don't have to be friends. If you only got to know her you'd like her. She's had a

very difficult life and is misunderstood by many. She also wanted me to tell you that

she wants you to have a relationship with Jacen."

"Okay. I'll come to the wedding as a guest of the whole Forman family."

Eric smiled and hugged her again.

"I missed you, Jackie."

"I missed you too, Eric."

"Now change into clothes and pack your bags."

"Why?"

"Because you are welcome."

"You don't have a guestroom."

"It's been settled. You can sleep in Jacen's room. He is going to sleep on the sofa."

She thought about it. "And Paige is really okay with this?"

"Of course. I realize that you and Paige may never be friends. And that's okay. I'm

not naïve Jackie I know that it is going to take awhile for us to get back to where we

once were."

She kissed him on the cheek again and suddenly felt as if most of her Earthly

burdens were lifted. She ran to get her suitcases out of the closet.

"We'll get there, Eric, you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because we remembered friendship."