Cheryl Gibbs walked into the coffee shop and ordered her usual fare. "Black coffee, one sugar," she instructed. Cheryl smiled to blunt the curtness of her words. It was not so much that she daily desired the coffee and slice of zucchini bread. It was that a set routine made her feel at ease.
The people at the coffee shop knew her well, they were already preparing her order before she spoke. In nearly six years Cheryl had never deviated from her regular order. There was, of course, the one time she'd walked in and sent the place into a screeching halt with a change in her order. The girl behind the counter stared blankly at Cheryl as if confused by the unexpected turn of events. To everyone's seeming relief, things quickly returned to 'normal' the next day.
While she waited for her slice of bread to be gently warmed, Cheryl took a seat at the first available table. The little café was never completely full, but Cheryl was meeting her best friend and wanted to be sure there was an available seat.
"Hey, girl!" Evelyn Jones' voice rang out from across the café. "Did you order for me?"
Cheryl shook her head. She could feel the other regulars looking her way, probably wondering about the two very different friends. Where Cheryl was quiet and reserved, Evelyn was bold and brassy. She loved Evelyn. They had been improbable friends for as long as Cheryl could remember.
"What are you doing this week?" Evelyn sat down opposite Cheryl. She grabbed a handful of sugar packets and poured them all into her already sweetened Grande coffee. "Nicole is coming home for a quick visit." Evelyn took a taste of her coffee and grabbed another handful of packets. Nicole was Evelyn's daughter. She was a no-nonsense young woman who'd declared Cheryl an adopted aunt from the time she could talk. Nicole was the hairdresser of choice for celebrities of color anywhere on the Eastern side of the United States. She was a hairdresser, not stylist, Nicole clarified. She took care of every aspect of the hair: its health, its growth, its looks.
Cheryl smiled. "I don't have any plans at all this week," she said. "I can't wait to see Nic again."
Evelyn smiled into her Grande. "I'm glad to hear that. Say..." Her voice took on that faux innocent tone that Cheryl knew from experience meant trouble. "Did you get your invitation to the class reunion?"
"Class reunion?" Cheryl pretended she didn't know what the other woman meant. Evelyn had joyfully announced almost a year earlier that a committee of old classmates was being formed for the express purpose of planning a twenty year class reunion. "Umm, no," she lied. "They must have forgotten to send me one." Cheryl concentrated on sipping her coffee. Evelyn could read her eyes as easily as she did the term papers that crossed her boss' desk.
"Imagine that." Evelyn pulled an envelope from her jacket pocket. "You know, I thought that something like that might happen so I had the committee give me an extra invitation to deliver to you personally. I've had it a couple of weeks now." She placed the ivory colored missive in front of Cheryl with a flourish. "The reunion is this week and it's formal." Evelyn held up her hand. "And before you say that it's too short notice, there's a reason I waited until now to give you the invitation. I knew you would try to come up with some previous engagement for that same night."
Cheryl put down her cup of coffee. "Shame on you for using my love for Nicole that way."
"Nicole is coming! She's going to do our hair. I mean, what's the point of having a superstar for a daughter if you don't take advantage now and then?"
"Evelyn, I love that you thought of me. But I am not going to that class reunion. I don't own any formal wear. Besides, I don't know those people. And none of them know me."
"You're right," Evelyn nodded. "Most of them don't know you. All they remember is the girl everyone thought was retarded," she said bluntly.
"Everyone but you," Cheryl marveled. She did not take offense to Evelyn's words.
"Yeah, so you owe me." Evelyn grew serious. "Come on, Cher. Before these people die, I want them to meet the wonderful person who agreed to be my friend since ninth grade."
Only Evelyn could make it seem like Cheryl had done her the favor of being her friend. The truth was, Cheryl had been so painfully shy in high school that she'd been unable to respond to the simplest of social interactions. But Evelyn had somehow seen past that to the girl inside wanting desperately to reach out to anyone. And one day, to Cheryl's everlasting surprise, bold, extroverted Evelyn grabbed her hand - literally and figuratively - and made high school a not so lonely and frightening place. Even after more than twenty years of unflagging support and affection, Evelyn's friendship still seemed too good to be true.
"I can't." Cheryl hated the shaky quality of her voice at that moment. "I'm not ready for that."
Evelyn reached across the table and grasped her friend's trembling hand. "Calm down, calm down," she soothed. In silence she held Cheryl's hand and visibly slowed her breathing, encouraging the panicked woman to match her rhythm. "Have I ever pushed you beyond what you could handle?"
Cheryl reflected on their friendship as she struggled for calm. Over the years Evelyn had certainly pushed her out of her comfort zone. And each time Cheryl had panicked, dug in her heels and sworn that Evelyn's request was just too much. And each time she'd been proven wrong. Cheryl realized that the monumental leaps of faith she had thought herself to take weren't so monumental in hindsight.
"And haven't I been beside you every step of the way?"
"You think I can do this?"
"I know you can. And don't worry. I'll be there right beside you just like I said. So," Evelyn flashed a mischievous smile, "wanna be my date to the class reunion?"
Cheryl took a deep breath and leaped. "Okay, it's a date."
