Ashton

I heard my best friend, Christina,  say the words, just moments ago.  

  I saw her lips moving and I know she's waiting for me to say something, anything.

  But I'm sure - so very certain - I didn't hear her correctly.

  "Pardon me?" I ask, finally, so she can repeat herself. I'm sure she did not say what I thought I heard her say.

  "Ben has to go do a job, working on a bridge, in Maine. I said... I'm going with him. We'll be gone two months."

  Christina is my person. She's my bestie but also like my sister that I never had. I'm an only child and Christina only has an older brother, who lives in Spain. We met in our first year of college and we just clicked. We sat next to each in an English class we both took first year. I had plenty of friends in high school, but none that compare to what I have with Christina. And none that stood by me during my mom's breakdown.

   Christina is a little Spanish queen and I'm a blond girl from North Carolina. Her family moved to Virginia from Spain when she was six and she grew up here. I moved to Virginia Beach for college, but I grew up just two hour south, in Plymouth, NC. We are very different - physically and otherwise - but we became best friend on that cold day in September when we had our first very college class together. It was a bonding moment and we've been together ever since.

  Now she's breaking my heart, telling me she's leaving.

  "You're abandoning me for two months?"

  I'm in shock. This has to be shock. I'm not sure I have ever felt this before in my life. Well, maybe I have, but not when it comes to Christina. She's dependable and always there for me. 

  "You'll be fine. You have that big job coming up-"

  My best friend must be crazy. She thinks I'll be fine? We've been together every day since the first day of college, over five years ago. Am I being dramatic? Maybe. But we do everything together. We've never been apart more than a day or two. A year ago, I went with her to visit her grandparents and her brother, in Spain. Six months ago, she came with me to Florida for a weekend, to visit my grandmother. We don't do trips without each other.

  "Yeah but what about when I'm not at work?" I want to know, trying to figure out the logistics of this.

  Christina laughs, her dark hair falling into her eyes. "Hang out with your mom. Or Arnold."

  "That cat doesn't even like me."

  Christina sighs and pets the cat she's talking about, who has suddenly appeared by her, on my couch. He's my cat, sure. But I know he likes her better.

  We're in my apartment. She came over to break the news to me in person, though she lives directly next door. After college, we went from living in the same dorm to living in the same apartment building. I'm not lying when I say that I'm used to having Christina close by, all the time.

  "I know it feels like a long time. But we can FaceTime and -"

  "FaceTime?" I shout, waving my arms around.

  Yes, okay, I'm being dramatic.

  Christina grins. "Ashton, I don't want to be away from you for that long. But I can't imagine being away from Ben that long, either."

  Ben Williams is Christina's boyfriend. They've been together for a bit over a year and he's great. Really. I know she loves him. She's talked about marrying him. But we are young. Twenty-four. And she's only known him for a year.

  "You chose Ben," I tease her, shaking my head. "I can't believe it."

  A pillow flies towards my face and I make a sound as it hits me. Christina giggles and then covers her mouth. "I'm sorry."

  "Sure you are," I say, but smile anyway.

  I don't have a choice but to accept this is happening.

  They are leaving in three days. Ben just got word about the job and as soon as Christina decided to go, too, she told me. But three days is not enough notice. I don't have enough time to fit in a movie marathon and a shopping spree and a manicure date. There's so many things I want to do with Christina before she leaves.

  I have to work the next day, but Christina and I go shopping in the evening. We spend an hour at the mall and eat soft pretzels and I try to pretend everything is fine. The day after that is Saturday and I'm off, so I help her pack. I sit on her floor in her bedroom and watch her toss outfits towards a suitcase. My heart is aching. I'm trying to hide it so she doesn't feel bad. But I'm close to tears the entire time.

  "What are you going to do in Maine for two months?" I ask her, curious but also annoyed. "What about your job?"

  Christina folds a pair of jeans and puts them down on the bed. "The good thing about copy writing is there are jobs everyone. My boss actually got me in touch with a company there and I have an interview-"

  I stop listening. I'm a terrible friend. I don't even feel happy for her.

  "Uh, Ashton? Are you okay?" she asks, after a few minutes of me clearly spacing out.

  I blink a few times and then let some tears fall out of my eyes. "Yeah. Of course. I'm just going to miss you."

  "I'm going to miss you too!" she shouts and crosses the room to hug me. "It's only two months. We will be fine."

*

  On Sunday, we attempt a movie marathon but only get through two - and a big bag of popcorn - before Ben calls and asks her if she's ready. He's picking her up tonight so they can leave for the airport early in the morning.

  "I was trying to pretend this wasn't actually happening," I tell her, while we stand in the doorway of my apartment.

  It feels like a bad break up.

  Christina laughs and hugs me. "I'll literally FaceTime you tomorrow. I'll show you around the townhouse we are staying at."

  I know she's trying to act like this is no big deal. I can't do it. I can't pretend.

  Ben is standing just down the hallway watching this unfold. After another dramatic hug, he calls out, "You two are so weird. It's not like you'll never see each other again."

  "It feels like it," I tell him.

  He rolls his eyes. Ben is sweet and kind and good to Christina. He also tolerates me, which is a good thing, because I can get a little crazy. But in this moment, it just feels like he's ripping my best friend away from me.

  "I'll call you tomorrow afternoon," Christina tells me again, then nods. 

  "Okay," I agree, but there's nothing else to say.