I was admiring the Winterfest tree when his voice startled me.
“Kid-free weekend, huh?”
My instinct was to hug him, but I didn’t. I figured a contactless friendship would be good for now. “They live with me now, so Ali has them on weekends.”
He nodded. “They’re so big.”
“Too big.” I was aware we didn’t have much time as I didn’t want to take him away from his duties for too long, so I got on with my agenda. “So, how’ve you been? What have you been up to?”
He had a bashful-looking grin as he turned his gaze to the ground. “Well… Ok, I’m just gonna tell you the whole story instead of trying to be vague and brief.”
I got nervous and excited about this story he considered hiding from me.
“So, I came to your house, right?”
I nodded.
“That was the end of…kinda like an…awakening I had. I was in a funk before. Felt stuck, you know? I was bored at work and my life wasn’t going anywhere… When I realized what I’d done to you, I knew I needed a fresh start because I was holding onto to something I should have let go of long time ago. So I moved.”
I gasped.
How had I not noticed he wasn’t living across the street anymore? Maybe that was a good thing and meant my attention was where it needed to be.
“I don’t have a family, and that house was much too big for me. Plus, my parents died there… But I realized I was staying for you, and I figured maybe not seeing you every day would help me let go of the past and move forward with whatever comes next. It would probably help both of us.”
I nodded slowly as I processed everything. It was still so wild to me he had all these pinned up feelings our whole friendship. Well, I guess I did too, but he was in much worse shape than me. Denial is a beast. How did I never see it?
“I got a new job too,” he said.
“Oh nice! What are you doing now?”
“I’m a lab technician at this scientific research company.”
My head jerked back in disbelief. “Science?? I’ve never known you to like science.”
He chuckled. “I’m trying new things, ok? Besides, I think it will suit me. It’s a sterile environment, so at least my urges to clean will come in handy.”
“Ha! I didn’t think of that! So true. Good for you, Dwayne. I’m glad to hear you’re doing well. Oh! Where did you move to?”
“Newcrest.”
“Cool. I hear it’s nice over there.”
“It is. I’m liking it.”
“Kinda sucks, though. Who’s gonna tell me about Willow Creek’s crazy laws now?”
“Ohhhh snap. You’re right. Well, you’re a long-time resident now. I guess you’re supposed to know the law. But you can call me when you change your hair again. Can’t have you getting arrested and stuff.”
I missed that playful banter. I suppose it didn’t matter where he lived since we didn’t hang out that much anyway. Maybe now that I’ve got myself together and have my weekends free, we could see each other more often. Or not? I needed to be alone when I worked on myself, so maybe he did too. But Dwayne was always straightforward. If hanging out with me was going to be a problem, he’d let me know, right?
