"Hey, Roger. Hey, Maggie," I greeted Mr. and Mrs. Davis as I walked through the living room, towards the stairs. "Becca upstairs?"
"Yeah, in her room. See if you can put a smile on her face, huh? She looks like she has to face the guillotine in an hour," Maggie said.
I nodded my head. "I'll do my best." I climbed the stairs and hung a right. "Becca?" I asked, knocking on the door.
"If you're feelin' lucky, come in," was the reply
. I opened the door and stood in shock. I'm well aware that Becca is a slob; I roomed with her our freshman year in college. But her room looked like the aftermath of a natural disaster. "My God!"
"Yeah, well, this is what happens when I wait until the last minute to pack."
"I'll say. Bec, how come you're leaving three weeks before the semester starts anyway? I mean, why so soon?" I asked, removing a couple of articles of clothing from the desk chair and sitting in it.
"Because Sarah wanted to leave right after the New Year. And since I'm her assistant, I have to go too. Take or leave?" she asked, holding up a white, short-sleeved blouse.
"Take. You know, you're probably gonna have to do some shopping when you get there. Tulsa has real winters, ya know."
"My tan's gonna fade."
"You'll get over it."
"That's it. I'm not going." Becca flopped dramatically onto the bed. She winced in pain and sat up. Tossing a clothes hanger onto the floor, she flopped back down again.
"Okay, what gives?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me. I know the reason you're reluctant to go is NOT because of a fading tan. So, I'll ask again. What gives?"
"Oklahoma. TULSA, Oklahoma."
"Oh, Becca." I got up and sat down next to her on the bed. "Whatever it is that happened between you two, it can't be that bad. Besides, Tulsa is a big city."
"Not big enough."
"Bec, I know we're not as close as we used to be, but you can still talk to me. You know that, right? You're a great listener and always there for everyone, but you know you can lean on your friends too, right?"
"I tried that once. I ended up making out with one of my best friends while his girlfriend was upstairs sleeping."
"Oh, my... I had no idea!"
"How could you? I didn't tell you."
"So, what happened?"
"What do you mean, 'what happened'?"
I rolled my eyes. "Just what I said. What happened?"
"Nothing. We haven't spoken in three years."
"Three years!?! Becca, how could you?"
"Like I had a choice. He had a GIRLFRIEND, Lisa."
"Oh, will you just stop making excuses and admit it already?"
"Admit what?"
"That you love him."
Becca just sat there, frozen. She didn't move. She didn't blink. Nothing.
"You know you do," I said, my voice gentle. "If it hadn't meant anything to you, if he didn't mean anything to you, you'd have no problem going to Tulsa."
She blinked. "I know," she whispered. Becca stood up and walked over towards her dresser. She removed something from one of the drawers and tossed it to me.
I held up the grey sweatshirt. Three black letters were on the front: O-R-U. "He gave this to you?"
Becca nodded her head. "That night, just before I left."
"Take it," I said firmly.
"Huh?"
"Take it," I repeated. "At the very least, it's an excuse to see him."
"Oh, yeah... I know I haven't seen or spoken to you in three years, but here's your sweatshirt back."
"Why not? Go and see where it takes you, as long as Nick doesn't mind, anyway."
"Nick doesn't control me or my actions."
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. Something told me this wasn't one of Becca's feminist kicks.
She cleared her throat and made a lame attempt to imitate Nick's deep voice. "Face it, Rebecca. You and I both know you're not comin' back. Your work is more important to you, and this is a great opportunity. I wish you all the best."
"Scumbag," I muttered.
"Yeah, well, I know how to pick 'em, don't I? Jerk didn't even bat an eyelash."
"You're better off without him. Besides, he was always jealous 'cause you're smarter than him, anyway. I will say this, you can do better." I tossed her the sweatshirt. "Take it," I instructed her one final time.
She opened one of the suitcases and placed Isaac Hanson's sweatshirt inside.