Chapter 13

This is the last chapter of that story. A big big thanks to the ones who waited between each update, and wondered me to going on. We're in November and the end sets in summer. I'm sory about that.

XXX

Lying in the grass, I watch the flames rise slowly. I close my eyes, think of my cotton dress. I doze, wonder why it is wet only on the left side. Joel and Nicky disagree. He thinks the wood purchased from homedepot is great. She thinks it was a mistake to go there for the campfire, that he never does anything right. Their chatter is like a lullaby we recite to ourselves before falling asleep. Still, Nicky's loud voice quite wakes me up:

"So, why has there been no casual thursday since November,?"

"Because ever since Ice came into our lives because of Ingrid, there's been bad vibes," Joel replies.

"I didn't even get expelled, moron," she replies with a laugh.

"All it takes is one missed date," I say, thinking of the few casual thursdays canceled in November.

"Ingrid is tired and you've been super depressed for five months. it's a little long...", Nicky observs, her eyes meeting mine.

"She's right, you're...moody," Joel adds.

"The both of you are mean, but I love you anyway."

"Next Thursday is the 4th of July." Ingrid's serious voice contrasts with her banal remark. We all look at the bottle of beer in his hand. We laugh. This laugh releases something in me. I wonder since when I have not laughed so much.

"Why do you say that?" asks Nicky.

"To do a casual thursday."

I sit down, I grab the bottle that Ingrid hands me:

I drink.

"Today is casual Friday wear," Nicky says. Ingrid looks at me: "Ceci's dress is all wet."

I laugh again, that laugh we have after smoking pot.

In front of us the flames grow. They are reflected in the water of the river. Beside me there is a pine-scented tree, which is not a pine. I want to remember this detail all my life. I want to remember Ingrid's laughter, Joel and Nicky's chatter, the feeling that pulls us together because when we're, life is a little easier.

I know it won't last long, not long enough: Ingrid and I, our little group, the conversations about nothing. I just hope that these moments will represent, in my life, the God I don't believe in, that they will allow me to remember that something beautiful is always possible. I will never know why Daya is in prison for twenty years and not me, but I know that this moment, with this campfire that permeates my hair and my dress belongs to me. I hope thinking about it will help me during the dark days.

XXX

They left when Nicky started to sigh, when Joel added a log to the fire hoping it would change something.

Jumping into the river, they looked at each other, then put their clothes on a ratchet before going into the water.

"A sunset swim is so ridiculous," smiled Piper as she doused Alex.

"You've been waiting for this since a long time." Alex splashes Piper. Then, Alex's lips tasted deliciously salty on hers.

After making love, she falls asleep happy because she has found the word she was looking for,fullness. Alex's wet skin against hers, the song of an owl in the setting sun, their intertwined bodies, light on the bank. That's fullness.

It is laughter that wakes her up, a choir of laughter. She thinks her friends look happy. Then, without knowing why, she thinks of Lina: her little face asking her for a new story, her straight hair, her smile when she says "See you tomorrow." Lina lives with a foster family, but seeing Piper every day means something to both of them. She doesn't want kids, she knows that. Yet she imagines a place for this little girl in her life. It's been a strange six months for Alex and her. Yet they are here, in a confortable silence, like a single person listening to the waves of the river rolling.

XXX

It's Friday, but no marie juana. They are on the balcony, sitting next to each other, in the summer evening. This is the first time since their return.

When Ceci, who was checking the apartment once a week, called to tell them that their two green cards were in the mail, she answered her in Spanish. Ceci and she never speak Spanish. She asked her if she was sure, several times, thanked her for the good news, crying. She imagined her daughters lawyers, journalists, Presidents. Above all, she imagined them free.

When they got back, the furnitures were covered in a thick layer of dust, Diablo's plants were almost dead. It was gloomy. She went back to work, the girls resumed their activities. A week after they returned, she was angry to Diablo about a forgotten bottle of milk. When he told her with a smile that it didn't matter, she realized it, and laughed.

Now they are there. She thinks about the upcoming holidays, the new year and its challenges. But, she can't help thinking that life offers them a new chance. She hopes that this delicious joy will stay with her for a long time.

XXX

Thanks for reading, and hopefully you enjoyed.