A Melody Of You

Emma

"Cheers!"

I laugh as I cheer with my friends with a shot of soju in hand. We drink up and let out satisfied sighs.

"Limit is three," I say. "I drive tonight."

"You need a boyfriend to drive you home already," Lisa says as she pours herself another shot.

"I can drive you home," Mario says.

I shake my head with a smile. "That's alright, dude. I can take care of myself."

"That's right," Cindy says. "You don't need a man to be happy, Emma."

"Says the girl that just got herself a boyfriend," Lisa says. "Didn't you have a boyfriend in high school, too? Is that right, Emma?"

"He's dead!" Cindy says. "Don't you dare talk about that bastard!"

"Cindy holds grudges," I say. "Please don't be on her bad side, guys."

"Noted," Lisa says with a scoff. "Emma. How did you put up with her in high school?"

"To be fair, the rest of the people at our school sucked," Cindy says. "She was the most tolerable." I laugh at her and give her a middle finger. She returns it with narrowed eyes filled with tease.

"You know," Mario says now with his friendly smile. "She was always so determined in our program. She always got straight A's and even if our friends left us, she worked even harder. I'm proud of you, Emma."

I wave his words away and give his arm a small slap. He laughs and gives me a quick side hug as Lisa nods in agreement. "It's true. In college, she studied very hard. I always thought she was so easygoing, but she turned so cool and tough when it came to her studies. I admired you so much, Emma. Now that we get together to celebrate your promotion, I just want to say to remember me when you're rich and famous."

I laugh loudly at their comments and wave their words away. "You three are...my only good friends. It's thanks to your company that I had the strength to continue."

We let this moment sink in. It's funny. I have a single friend from each important era of my life. I have my first best friend in high school with me. While we had our fights, she seemed to have come back to my life later on as we grew older. I have the only friend who showed genuine friendship to me even if people would turn their back on him for sticking by my side.

Then I have my lifelong partner whom I met in college. One time, I accidentally made plans to meet with the three on the same day around the same time. So I wondered what would happen if we all met at the same place. Then I made our little group. We found this group as a time to let loose and find some rest from a hectic day.

While they all have a special space in my heart, my sister was right. I met my lifelong best friend in college. Lisa has been there the longest and always comes back no matter how busy or dark life gets. She is the only one who could be considered as my Cristina to Leanne.

So I give her a warm blink from across the table and she returns it with a wink. Cindy takes another shot and says, "So what I'm hearing is that Emma will be paying for our food every time we get together?"

"What do you mean?" I say with wide eyes. "You get paid more! You should pay for us tonight!"

She scoffs in disbelief. "What?! How? I did not get a promotion. You did!"

"But you're a lawyer!"

"So? I still have bills to pay. You still live with your parents."

"You punk! Do you want to fight?! How's your marriage plans going?"