Far too much time passed since the last time I saw Billie. FAR too much. True, getting my life together and spending time with my children preoccupied me, but I still think I could have squeezed in a few visits. They were toddlers when she saw them last and did not know who she was. That’s totally my bad. I’m still getting the hang of this whole deepening my friendships thing, ok?
We greeted and settled on the couch. Billie apologized for the temperature and said the heating had been out in the whole building. Hopefully, the landlord will fix it soon as there was a blizzard going on. My children did not seem impressed by my oldest, wisest, and closest friend, but she laughed it off and told them they could play video games in her son’s room. It’s just as well, seeing as we have so much to catch up on. Most of it is probably not for their ears, anyway.
She jumped right in too, starting with the news of her son. He moved out immediately after his birthday and got an apartment with Darius Clemons, Laurant and Diamond’s son. I knew that bit because I ran into him at the bowling alley. What I didn’t know was he had a girlfriend with whom he eloped days after I saw him. He doesn’t come home at all, and Billie is worried, hoping he knew what he was doing. She met the girl only a handful of times and didn’t have a high opinion of her. And she was quite convinced their relationship was mostly physical. But the one thing that comforts her is at least her son did the honorable thing and married her. One fear she harbored throughout his life was that he’d turn out like his father: a lying, cheating snake.
I gave her the rundown of what transpired with me since we last spoke, beginning with an apology for not checking in more often. I’ve never been that way, so I knew she didn’t expect me to be at her house every weekend or whatever. But I explained what I’ve been learning about intimacy and how I want to be a better friend. I think she appreciated that, especially because she’s all alone now.
I got through the divorce and my job before the kids began trickling in. First came Luca, of course. He sat quietly next to Billie and turned on the television, acting like he wasn’t listening to what I said. Good thing I had passed the emotional parts of my story. Minutes later, Alessia came in not so quietly, interrupting us and asking to get food from the stalls.
They weren’t hungry, so I knew that was just her attempt at an exit strategy. Billie thought it was absurd, and no one should be out in that weather. She thought I was crazy for visiting her that day. But I thought about it, and I don’t think my child was simply looking to leave a boring situation. This was their first time in the city and their first snow experience. As treacherous as it was, I think she simply wanted to get out there and enjoy it. I knew the stalls would be closed, but she didn’t so we bid Billie goodbye and went downstairs.
Just as I suspected, there was not a soul in sight. Before she could get disappointed about her failed city excursion, I suggested another location that would be warm and fun…I hoped. We went to the karaoke bar in the fashion district. Yes, the same bar where my parents hosted my teen birthday. I’d never done karaoke before, but I’m a little bit of a shower singer, so a small part of me grew excited at the prospect of singing with someone. Hopefully, one of my children. When I suggested we sing together, Alessia gave me a resounding NOPE and ran off. It was kind of funny how fast she disappeared. That only left Luca, and he looked like he wanted to disappear. But he reluctantly agreed! His only requirement was that I didn’t pick anything embarrassing. I think that officially makes me a mother of teenagers.
The beginning of the song was kinda slow, which did not help Luca’s situation. He mumbled his way through the verse, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. For his sake, I was glad our audience was not large. Well, at the time no one listened to us. But when we got to the chorus, I kicked it up a notch, hoping to get Luca more involved. It’s true, it could have had to opposite effect, but I wanted to have fun too.
I saw him smiling in the corner of my eye, so I turned up even more. By the end of the song, he was totally into it, and we crushed it…as well as one can crush a song when one half of the duo can’t sing, that is.
(Please enjoy a snippet of their performance!)
