I realized that with everything going on with Shane, Damon, and my therapist, I have not spent a lot of time with Amelia. Sure we go to lunch here and there, but we have not had a chance to really talk after my first day of therapy. So, today I am inviting her out to lunch and I am nervous but excited. I mean, my memories are back which is exciting and I remember how we met and all, but I am still trying to figure out how she fits into my life now. I have changed, it may not be a tremendous change, but I will never be who I used to be and I need to know if that will impact our friendship. Knowing Amelia, I doubt it, but I just need the reassurance right now.
Since it is a Saturday, I offered to pick her up and go to Panera Bread. We used to go there once a month for lunch as our girls' day to catch up with each other and gossip, and I want to pick up that routine again. It was important then and it is even more important now with everything that has happened recently.
Grabbing my clothes from the closet, I walk into the bathroom for a quick shower. The warm water is refreshing and I feel more prepared for the day. Getting dressed, I like the way my high-waisted black denim contrasts with the lacy white crop top. I walk back into the bedroom, picking up my white wedges and applying some mascara before swiping my purse, phone, and keys from the nightstand and making my way out the door.
The drive is faster than I remember. I know the way by muscle memory, but after getting lost once, I always have the GPS on just as a backup. I don't want to be late and start the day off poorly. I want this to be a good day where Amelia and I can become the friends that we used to be before everything.
Putting my car in park, I walk up to her front door and knock. A man who I faintly recall being her boyfriend answers the door. I met him a few times, and still, his height shocks me. He is just such a big guy. And that is saying something considering I am constantly near Damon and Brandon, who are both over six feet.
"H-Hi. Is Amelia home?"
"She will be right down. Come on in. Tell me what has been going on. It has been a while since we all got together."
"I know. I really need to start hanging out with you both more. I miss you guys."
"We miss you do. Especially Amelia. She doesn't shut up about how she misses your girls' day. I love her, really I do, but she is getting on my nerves."
With gentle laughter, I can't help but sympathize with him. When Amelia is stuck on something, that is all she can talk about for days, even weeks if it is something that really matters to her.
"Hopefully today will end that conversation. I am hoping to pick up our girl's day again. I miss it too."
Just then, we hear Amelia coming, her heels clicking with every step she takes. She immediately comes over and gives me a hug, a small squeal escaping her lips.
"I'm so excited you called me. I was hoping to start going back out to lunch again, but I didn't know when would be a good time for you. I am so ready to get out of here and gossip with you." She lowers her voice to a whisper. "Between you and me, I have a lot to gossip about."
"I heard that!" Duke deadpans, standing ten feet away from us.
"He hears everything, I swear. Another reason why I am happy to get out of the house."
Amelia walks over to give him a kiss as I yell goodbye from the front door. I could tell she was excited, her steps were peppy and she couldn't stop talking about what she was going to eat and how much she had to talk about. At one point, she was just rambling, I'm not even sure if her sentences made sense. But, either way, this is important to me. I want to know if our friendship will still work and as each minute passes, I am more and more confident that we will be just fine.
Around ten minutes later, I pull into the parking lot of Panera Bread. Since it is the weekend, the drive-through is packed and the front door is basically a revolving door with the number of people going in and out at the same time. My eyes look over to Amelia. This place is a little too crowded for me, anyone could be hiding.
"Maybe we should go somewhere else. I know this small diner up the road that has amazing food. I never understood why there weren't busier. Maybe it is their lack of advertisement or the fact that it is family owned and they rely on regulars to keep that feel."
Relief floods through me at her suggestion. I am glad she didn't make a big deal out of it. I mean, the food would take a long time to come out and it would be difficult to hear each other anyways. It's not that big of a deal, is it?
I follow Amelia's directions and come up to a small diner, as she said. It's '50s themed like most diners, but this one has waiters in the typical dress from that time and fun rollerblades. I will never understand how they carry food and keep their balance at the same time. That is a high level of skill I can only hope to attain.
"Do you mind if we sit at my regular booth? There is room for the both of us."
"Of course not. This place is so cool. I like how their theme is throughout the place, and not just in the decor."
I take a seat across from Amelia, looking through the menu. There are so many options, as expected from a diner, but I don't know what to get. … Which is the perfect idea for a conversation, considering I don't know what to talk about. There really is nothing new with me.
"What would you recommend to get? There are a lot of choices and I want everything."
"I was hoping you would ask that. Personally, their sandwich-soup combo is my favorite. I usually get the tomato soup with three-cheese grilled cheese. It is delicious. It is literally the only thing I get here."
I nod my head and look back at the menu, turning to the page with the combi she was talking about. Less than a minute later my mind is made up on the broccoli cheddar soup with a grilled chicken sandwich.
"Alright, I know what I am getting. I'm really excited to try this place. How did you come here the first time?"
"Funny story actually. It was my first date with Duke. I'm old-fashioned and I wanted h9im to ask me out, but he always claimed that it wasn't the right time. I was nervous that maybe he just didn't have the same feelings as me, but then one day he just took me out. We came here and then I just used this place to study and after a while, it became among my favorites."
"So you two have been doing well? Are you guys living together?"
"Honestly, we talked about it so much that there was nothing else to do. Well, there was, but we both love each other, and, Rose, I really believe that he is my soulmate. There has always been something between us and I don't want to lie to myself or deny it anymore. He is the one for me so why wait? Neither of us are getting any younger."
"Wait. Wait. Wait. Are you saying that you are living together and there could be a proposal soon?"
"I hope so. Time is ticking. I want to start a family. I already have my career."
"Oh wow. This is so exciting! I am so happy for you! Do you know when he is going to ask or if he bought a ring yet? Have you started secretly planning?"
"I have. How could I wait to start planning? If I waited, it would be years before anything would get fone. I have decided that if he doesn't ask me before this summer then I am just going to ask him myself."
"Good for you, Amelia. I am really happy that everything is working out for you."
While I can't help but be happy for my friend, I am so jealous of her. I was so close to being like this with Damon and now I barely know where we stand. Sure we had that weekend, but is a marriage proposal coming soon for me? I may not be ready to have kids, I need to sort myself out first, but I want the opportunity to enjoy being married before having little ones running circles around us.
The rest of the afternoon, we enjoy our meals and Amelia talks about her very detailed wedding plans using photos that she has taken and designed. It is amazing to be looking to our future, I just hope our cards will soon match.