Chapter Three
"I can do this?" Joyce responds in an amused tone, her southern drawl just the same as it always was. "Why, thank you for the encouragement. Who might I ask is calling?"
"Oh, no, I… um." Max stammers as she flushes in embarrassment. "I was talking to myself, I just…" She takes a deep breath and just decides to start over. "Hi, Joyce. This is Max Caulfield."
Joyce gasps and is heard shifting about on the other end of the line. "Max! Oh, darling how are you? What's it been now, four years?"
"Heh, yeah, sorry about that." Max raises her free hand to brush the back of her neck as she thinks. "Being moved away from everything I knew at the age of thirteen was tough. But, being moved away from Chloe was the hardest part. I wanted to call so many times, but I just… couldn't."
"Oh, Max. You don't have to explain yourself to me. I know you and Chloe were practically attached at the head. You did everything together. I saw how it affected my little girl when your family moved away and I can only imagine how it affected you. Are you doing OK up there in Seattle?"
Max lets out a little sigh as she shifts uncomfortably in her chair. "I'm OK, yeah. Everything is going fine, it's just… I don't really know how to explain it." She looks around for inspiration on how to lie about what she needs to ask for, her eyes landing on a poster in her room about how to make your dreams come true. "I had this crazy dream that Chloe died before I had a chance to reconnect with her. It's such an awful thing to think about. So, I thought, maybe I could fly down there after school tomorrow and spend Spring Break with her, you know? Maybe even go on a road trip to Portland or something."
There's an abnormally long pause on the other end of the line, but Max can hear Joyce breathing so she knows the line didn't cut out. She nibbles her lip nervously and squeezes her thighs together as the suspense builds her anxiety, wondering if she went about this all wrong.
"Well, Max, that certainly is a big request, and quite out of the blue. I would be fine with you flying down here and visiting, but Chloe is eighteen now and she's a strong willed girl who does as she pleases. If yall wanna go on a road trip that's between you and her, but there's… well, I should let you talk it out. Chloe is up in her room right now. Would you like me to go tell her you're on the phone?"
Max can feel her heart thump and her throat catch as she barely rasps out her response. "Yes, please, that would be wonderful, Joyce."
Max has to stand up and walk around, her nerves commanding movement as she waits for the phone to be passed to Chloe. She rushes into her bathroom to flip the light switch on and sees her nerve wracked expression in the mirror. Her hands hurry to pluck up the glass she keeps in there, fill it with a little tap water and swallow it down just to try and lubricate her throat.
What if she's pissed at me? What if she says no and won't even talk to me? What if she already has important plans with Rachel and doesn't want me flying down there for Spring Break? Oh, God, I'm freaking out right now! Calm down, Max. If you act crazy she definitely won't want to see you!
After a clattering of sounds from the phone on the other end brushing and banging into something an excitable young voice loudly speaks into the receiver. "Max, is it really you?"
"Chloe? Yes, it's me. I… finally found the booty in Seattle. I'm ready to spend it on rum and a bigger ship to sail the high seas with my First Mate!"
Chloe laughs hysterically for quite a few seconds before she can answer. "Holy shitballs, you're still the biggest dork ever. Still playing Pirate Captain Calico Max, huh?" Calico Max being their cute play on the early 18th century pirate Calico Jack. "You know, I actually still have that green pirate towel from when we were little."
"That's so cool, Chloe." Max smiles as she feels the warmth of nostalgia wash over her as she remembers their pirate adventures. "It's so good to hear your voice."
"Uh, really Max?" Chloe's tone suddenly shifts into agitation. "Because you haven't called in over four years. Seriously, where the fuck have you been? I thought we were best friends."
Max lets out a heavy sigh as she realizes how clumsy and stupid her last statement was. "Chloe, I'm so sorry. I want to explain myself, but I want to do it in person. Would it be OK with you if I flew down there after school tomorrow and maybe spent some time with you over Spring Break?"
Chloe lets an awkward silence fill the space as she takes in what was just said. "Really? That's sudden. You're being hella sketchy, Max. I need you to be straight with me right fucking now."
Hella? Oh my God, I got it from her. Chloe uses the word. Now it all makes sense. And it doesn't sound lame coming from her, it actually sounds really natural and cool. Ugh, stay focused, Max! Try the dream lie, but tell her something true first. She's pissed and you need to appeal to her heart to heart.
"OK, Chloe, I'll tell you the truth. When my parents moved me away from Arcadia Bay I thought I would never see you again. It hurt so fucking bad!" Her voice quakes under her emotions. "Every time I picked up the phone to try and call you it made me cry, so I just gave up. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough back then. But, last night I had a dream that you died before I had a chance to reconnect with you, and that hurt even more. I just… I really need to see you. Please, Chloe…" She shudders, her emotions real even if everything she said was not.
Chloe's tone is much softer this time, taken aback by the tender emotions laid upon her. "Jesus, Max… I didn't realize how much it affected you. When you never called I thought you just didn't give a shit. It never occurred to me that… I'm sorry, Max. I shouldn't have grilled you like that. Of course I wanna see you again! Tomorrow after school, you said?"
Max takes a shaky breath to try and steady herself. "That's what I'm hoping for, yes. I'm seventeen so I have to ask my parents for permission first. If everyone is OK with it I'd like to fly down tomorrow after school, sleep over at your place, and on Saturday morning begin a road trip to Portland. Or, maybe even go all the way to Seattle so you can meet my friends and see where I've been all this time. Um, do you have any close friends you want me to meet? The road trip doesn't have to be just the two of us."
Chloe gasps as the thought strikes her right away. "Oh my God, you're like a mind reader! Rachel would love to go on a road trip to Portland with us! You two would really like each other, too. But, I should warn you about some uh… girl-on-girl action ahead of time. Is it cool with you that I'm dating a girl, and if we mack out in front of you? I don't want to ruin the trip for you and make you feel all weird and shit being a third wheel."
Max sighs as a warm blanket of relief falls over her, all her plans falling into place. "Of course I'm OK with it, Chloe. I've been living in Seattle and people are super chill up here. I've seen girls make out in public before, that doesn't bother me at all. Besides, you're my best friend, even if unfortunate circumstances took me away from you for four years. I'll support whatever makes you happy."
"Alright, alright, don't get too mushy on me. You have a cell phone, right? Let's trade numbers real quick, then you go get permission from your parents and just text me updates. Don't send me any emojis though. I don't like them."
Max giggles and skips through her room back to her desk, writing down Chloe's cell number and sharing her own, then concluding the call so she can add the new contact. She immediately texts Chloe asking to be reminded what her exact home address is, but also to confirm she plugged in the number right. After receiving the address she smiles and tucks her phone into her pocket, then glances down at her mission list.
Get permission from mom and dad. That could be really hard. I've never traveled alone and my parents treat me like such a delicate flower. Of course, I apparently go back to Arcadia Bay in August to attend Blackwell for senior year, so I know they let me go eventually, but how hard was it for them? I didn't get enough details from my future self.
Max opens her binder to fetch a blank piece of paper and pulls a pen from her drawer to start writing down ideas. Her face scrunches up with thought and determination as she spends a good thirty minutes creating an epic presentation that will earn her a ticket to Oregon. When she's finally satisfied she folds up the paper and stuffs it in her back pocket just in case, then marches downstairs to find her parents.