renamed it. It was the kind of place I normally wouldn’t have set foot in except they had the best breakfast food in the known universe.
Aaron looked for a parking spot while I rushed inside. Not like I was in a huff or anything; I just needed to use the bathroom. It felt like my spleen was floating.
Rocky intercepted me at the scantily-clad-hostess station. She’d been hyperemotional lately because her boyfriend, Bryan, was getting ready to ship off to a military base in Idaho. Because really, if there was going to be an invasion, it would obviously begin in the land of the potato.
I couldn’t blame her for being upset, though; I would havefelt the same way if Aaron had been about to up and leave the state. And to make matters worse, Rocky and I were both so busy that I hadn’t been able to do the supportive-best-friend thing as much as I wanted.
“Hey,” I said, but that was all I got out before she threw her arms around me and started sobbing on my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m so pissed!” she wailed. For once, the patrons weren’t staring at the Legs or the Eggs. They were staring at us. “Bryan stood me up.”
I glanced over her shoulder and saw Elle in our usual booth. She tossed her hair and gestured us over, bouncing in her seat. Great. My weekly double date was being hijacked by a Barbie-brained bimbo.
We needed privacy. I tugged Rocky toward the girls’ room.
“We’ll be out in a second,” I said to Aaron, who’d just walked in.
He gave Rocky a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “I’ll get you a Coke.”
I got Rocky some toilet paper to wipe her eyes with and persuaded her to dislodge herself long enough for me to go potty all by myself. I felt like I deserved a sticker.
When I finished, she was still sniffling and shaking. I tried to stroke her arm comfortingly with my elbow while I washed my hands. I learned quickly that the elbow has negative comfort value, but it was the thought that counted.
“So what happened?” I leaned back against the sink and heldmy hands up like I was in a television medical drama. I wasn’t really
that
big of a geek; public restrooms just freaked me out. When my brother was little, he used to lick the sink porcelain, and I’d had a complex ever since.
“I don’t know,” she said between hitching breaths.
I handed her a paper towel. She buried her nose in it and honked.
“Well, you have to know something.”
“We got into a fight last night. He said … he wants me to go to Juilliard, and it seems silly to be together long-distance for a year and then break up because I’m going to be in New York and he’s going to be in Idaho protecting the potatoes from the forces of evil.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I thought the exact same thing. Really. Why Idaho?”
“But
I
said it was stupid to break up over something that
might
happen in the future, and as long as we’re happy
now
, we should enjoy it. So he says, well, I’ll think about it. He’ll freaking
think
about it. And then he doesn’t show up? He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago; he won’t return my calls; he’s not at home. It’s like he’s totally avoiding me.”
Now she was angry. And when Rocky got angry, she paced. This was not a problem in a gymnasium or something equally spacious. It was a big problem when you were stuffed together into a public bathroom the size of a phone booth and you had a phobia of white porcelain.
“I mean, I’m a good girlfriend, right?” she said, throwing her hands around wildly. “It’s not like I’m smothering him. I just don’t understand what the heck he’s thinking.”
“I don’t get it either.”
“And what’s with that girl? Elle? She said Aaron invited her, and I didn’t know what to think.”
It took me a minute to catch up with the abrupt topic change, but then I figured she probably just wanted to get her mind off the whole Bryan thing. I couldn’t blame her.
“Her dad is Aaron’s mentor. And she
Aaron looked for a parking spot while I rushed inside. Not like I was in a huff or anything; I just needed to use the bathroom. It felt like my spleen was floating.
Rocky intercepted me at the scantily-clad-hostess station. She’d been hyperemotional lately because her boyfriend, Bryan, was getting ready to ship off to a military base in Idaho. Because really, if there was going to be an invasion, it would obviously begin in the land of the potato.
I couldn’t blame her for being upset, though; I would havefelt the same way if Aaron had been about to up and leave the state. And to make matters worse, Rocky and I were both so busy that I hadn’t been able to do the supportive-best-friend thing as much as I wanted.
“Hey,” I said, but that was all I got out before she threw her arms around me and started sobbing on my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m so pissed!” she wailed. For once, the patrons weren’t staring at the Legs or the Eggs. They were staring at us. “Bryan stood me up.”
I glanced over her shoulder and saw Elle in our usual booth. She tossed her hair and gestured us over, bouncing in her seat. Great. My weekly double date was being hijacked by a Barbie-brained bimbo.
We needed privacy. I tugged Rocky toward the girls’ room.
“We’ll be out in a second,” I said to Aaron, who’d just walked in.
He gave Rocky a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “I’ll get you a Coke.”
I got Rocky some toilet paper to wipe her eyes with and persuaded her to dislodge herself long enough for me to go potty all by myself. I felt like I deserved a sticker.
When I finished, she was still sniffling and shaking. I tried to stroke her arm comfortingly with my elbow while I washed my hands. I learned quickly that the elbow has negative comfort value, but it was the thought that counted.
“So what happened?” I leaned back against the sink and heldmy hands up like I was in a television medical drama. I wasn’t really
that
big of a geek; public restrooms just freaked me out. When my brother was little, he used to lick the sink porcelain, and I’d had a complex ever since.
“I don’t know,” she said between hitching breaths.
I handed her a paper towel. She buried her nose in it and honked.
“Well, you have to know something.”
“We got into a fight last night. He said … he wants me to go to Juilliard, and it seems silly to be together long-distance for a year and then break up because I’m going to be in New York and he’s going to be in Idaho protecting the potatoes from the forces of evil.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I thought the exact same thing. Really. Why Idaho?”
“But
I
said it was stupid to break up over something that
might
happen in the future, and as long as we’re happy
now
, we should enjoy it. So he says, well, I’ll think about it. He’ll freaking
think
about it. And then he doesn’t show up? He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago; he won’t return my calls; he’s not at home. It’s like he’s totally avoiding me.”
Now she was angry. And when Rocky got angry, she paced. This was not a problem in a gymnasium or something equally spacious. It was a big problem when you were stuffed together into a public bathroom the size of a phone booth and you had a phobia of white porcelain.
“I mean, I’m a good girlfriend, right?” she said, throwing her hands around wildly. “It’s not like I’m smothering him. I just don’t understand what the heck he’s thinking.”
“I don’t get it either.”
“And what’s with that girl? Elle? She said Aaron invited her, and I didn’t know what to think.”
It took me a minute to catch up with the abrupt topic change, but then I figured she probably just wanted to get her mind off the whole Bryan thing. I couldn’t blame her.
“Her dad is Aaron’s mentor. And she
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