Peyton Sawyer stood over the kitchen counter slaving away on the dinner she had been preparing. She spread a small amount of tortilla chips across a Lizzie McGuire plastic plate. The blonde ladled homemade nacho cheese sauce out of a fondue pot and drizzled it across the chips. She then topped them with seasoned meat, tomatoes, and a dollop of sour cream
"Dinner time!" Peyton yelled, her voice echoing throughout the house.
Immediately, she heard footsteps scrambling down the stairs.
She felt a pair of arms wrapped around her. "Looks wonderful hon."
"Thanks Jake," she said planting a kiss on his lips. "Now sit."
"Yummy!" a small voice squealed. A little girl with long blonde hair braided into two pigtails came into the kitchen and sat down.
"Hey Jen," Peyton said.
The family sat down at the table and dug into their meal, tacos, with nachos. Beers for the adults and juice for the kid.
"So Jenny how was school?" Jake asked. He took a bite of a chip drenched in cheese.
"Boring. But recess was fun."
The adults laughed at this comment. That was exactly what every child liked about school…recess.
"Do you like anything besides recess?" Peyton asked.
"P.E."
"Oh well that's good," Jake smiled.
"Yeah, and today at recess I kicked a homerun in kickball and the boys all think I am really cool now 'cause I'm the only girl who has ever got a homerun," Jenny smiled a toothy smile. Clearly, she was very proud of herself.
"Are you sure you're the only girl who has ever gotten a homerun in kickball?" Peyton asked. She scooped a pile of refried beans onto her soft tortilla shell.
"Yes mom," Jenny said exasperated. "I'm the only girl who has ever got a homerun."
"What about years ago when you weren't even born?" Peyton laughed. She loved putting Jenny's mind to work.
Jenny put her finger to her chin and pondered. "I never thought about that."
The parents smiled. Jenny was their pride and joy. She was the one thing that they would do anything for. After finally receiving full custody of her when she was two, Jake finally gave her the stable and happy home he had always wanted for her. Peyton had been right by his side. She was there every day helping him with Jenny. Their relationship was complete. Except for one thing…they still had to get married. Months later, wedding bells rang and Peyton and Jake made it official.
"So Jenny are you excited for tomorrow?" Jake asked.
"Yes!" Jenny exclaimed. "I feel old. I like feeling old."
"It's not your birthday until tomorrow Jen," Peyton grinned.
"Yeah I know but I still feel older."
"Whatever you say."
The conversation was interrupted by the loud ring of the telephone.
"I'll get it," Peyton said pushing her chair away from the table heading for the phone. When she looked at the caller ID she didn't recognize the number it read.
"Hello?"
"Hey best friend!" A voice squealed from the other end.
"Brooke?" Peyton asked. She could recognize that voice anywhere. It just surprised her because she hadn't heard from Brooke in a couple of years.
"Yes! Of course! I got engaged," Brooke cut straight to the chase.
"I know Haley told me. To Ryan something or other," Peyton hadn't remembered the name.
"It's Campbell," Brooke shrieked. "He's so great! And hot too."
Peyton laughed.
"I know I saw!" she said. "Haley showed me in Nathan's Sports Illustrated Magazine. Have you talked to her lately?"
"Actually I was going to call their house tonight. Tell them the big news."
"Brooke they already know," Peyton giggled. "Haley was the one who told me about it."
"No not that silly. I'm coming to visit you guys in like a month."
"Really? Awesome. For how long?"
"Oh just for the weekend. Introduce everybody you know."
"Oh fun," Peyton said. It would be great to see Brooke. They hadn't seen each other in five years. But for some reason she had this feeling that things would be awkward between them. She decided to change the subject. "Have you talked to Lucas?"
Brooke stopped short. Lucas. She had forgotten Lucas. He should have been the first person she called. It would have been better to get it over with. "Does he know?"
"Um yeah he knows. Haley talked to him and she said he thought the whole thing was a load of shit." Peyton told her the truth. She figured she might as well not sugarcoat it.
"Great," Brooke sighed. "I guess I need to talk to him."
"Yeah, well I'm going to let you go. I will talk to you later," Peyton said.
"Okay. It was good talking to you Peyton," Brooke said. "I can't wait to see you again."
Peyton sighed as she hung up the phone. She loved Brooke. They were best friends in high school. But they hadn't seen each other for five years. And throughout those five years they had slowly grown apart. Brooke got fame and fortune and Peyton got the love of her life. Peyton was so happy to finally talk to Brooke after all those years. But Brooke was so caught up in her own perfect little life that she hadn't even remembered or even cared to ask Peyton how she was. And she hadn't even given her the chance to say she was good, Jake was good, or that Jenny was turning seven tomorrow. Oh well, Peyton thought. She couldn't change Brooke. Brooke would have to change by herself.