Lane Assignments

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

One month later... March 2017

APOV

My knees are shaking and I have butterflies in my belly as I walk toward the Starbucks on First and Union in downtown Seattle. It's been nearly three years since I've seen Kate... my best friend. She still holds that title in my heart, but I'm pretty sure that I've slipped down a few notches in hers. I haven't been a very good daughter or friend since hooking up with him.

My relationships with Kate and Ray are on my laundry list of things to do this spring. Make things right with Ray. Make things right with Kate. Start running again. Finish my degree. I've worked up to jogging two miles at a stretch, getting my body used to the exercise again. And, like when I first started running, the burning in my lungs and in my legs is life-affirming. Fortunately, my drive to be the perfect student gave me enough credits to get my degree in secondary education. I just need to complete my student teaching requirement, which I'm set up to do in Montesano this quarter, and then I can apply for my teaching license. That leads me to my fourth goal: Find a job.

Of course, as Ray keeps reminding me, all of these things are secondary to getting healthy and finding myself again. He's been encouraging me to just take it easy for a year... or ten. He's in no hurry for me to leave the nest again. After all, I've done it twice and ended up sprawled on my face both times.

I've been cooking for both of us, fattening myself up on pancakes with bacon and homemade lasagna. And I've been seeing Dr. Scott twice a week, this time being honest about my touch issues, and he's been able to help me to see things more clearly... to see things as they really were.

The Starbucks is just down the street from Kate's work, 'in Seattle' magazine. It covers fashion and social trends, some more tastefully than others. Kate's been living and working downtown for almost two years now, experiencing the stereotypical urban young professional lifestyle, while I've been in Panama getting the shit beat out of me.

I spot Kate immediately as I push open the door, the bustling coffee shop feeling warm and cozy out of the Seattle drizzle. In spite of the after-work rush, she's managed to score a table in the back corner.

She looks older and so professional, like a real adult, sitting there with her latte in one hand and her phone in the other. Her blonde hair is pulled up into a French twist, and she's wearing a dark suit with a white blouse. Feeling suddenly underdressed and frumpy, I unzip my raincoat and tug on my cable-knit sweater. Here goes nothing....

"Kate!" I call out, skirting between two burly men in suits who are blocking my path.

Her head pops up at the sound of her name, and she stands, smiling broadly and opening her arms for a hug.

Kate knows just how to hug me, keeping her arms safely on my shoulders, her body angled away from mine. "Oh Ana," she whispers. "I'm so pissed at you." And when she pulls away, her blue eyes are swimming with tears.

"Kate, don't," I warn, feeling my own eyes start to sting.

She shakes her head and pulls herself together, and we take our seats. There's a cup of English breakfast tea - bag out - already waiting at my spot. "Thank you, Kate," I say. And we both know that I'm thanking her for more than the tea.

We've been texting on and off since I got back last month, so she has a general idea of what's been going on. We talk about her job and my job search, our current living situations. She's got a trendy loft apartment near Pike Place Market, while I'm back living in my childhood bedroom. I tell her about my therapy and my talks with Ray as our conversation drifts into more serious topics.