Second First Chance

16. Reunited

"In true love, the smallest distance is too great and the greatest distance can be bridged"

-Hans Nouwens

For the next couple of weeks, David worked every shift that he could get and when he wasn't working, he was texting Sofi. FaceTime only worked some of the time because of awful service. He actually hung out with Chad Hight one night, which was weird at first. David got a call from him on one of his few days off asking if he was busy.

"Hey David, what are you doing tonight?" Chad talked to David like they had been friends for years. Chad was friendly with everyone, but it didn't mean everyone was his actual friend.

"Not much," David said, "I am going to talk to Sofi and then go to bed, I guess." David shook his head at how lame that sounded. Here he was talking to the president of the junior class and he was talking about going to be early like an old ass man.

"Well, you have plans now. Nathan, Lauren, Maddox, Alex, Talia and me are going to do go carts, mini-golf, and to eat. Don't give me that crap about being the odd man out. We all know Sofi would be with you if she was here. Also, it's not like we are going to a hotel room to spend the night. It's just a night of fun. You will be able to text Sofi all night and if she calls, you can talk to her as much as you want." Chad had a way of talking you into anything. Luckily, he never used those powers for evil.

"Ok, I'm in. When are we going?" David hadn't gone out since the party and even then, it was just being Nathan's babysitter. A night out of the house and not at work would be good for him. Sofi would be back in a few days so he could use the distraction.

"We are meeting at my house at 6:00 and then heading out not too long after that. You know Nathan, he is going to be late, so I figure we'll leave my house around 6:30. That will have us getting to Kountry Karts at 6:45." David was laughing inside about how Chad sounded like a camp counselor planning out the day.

"Ok, well, I will see you tonight." David tried to sound more exciting than he really was. When he pushed the red "end" button on his phone, sent a text to Sofi. She knew about Chad and Talia, both from Alex and from him that night. She couldn't believe it. When he sent a text, he figured she would be even more surprised by the text he had just sent.

"so im going out w/ chad talia & the crew 2nite" He waited to see "delivered" under the message he sent. Once it changed from "Delivered" to "Read," he knew she would be responding soon.

"srsly? When did u all become bsf? the last i heard u and chad only talked bc of talia."

"ikr? he seems to b wanting all of us to b a part of his clique. ive never been 1 to b in the most popular crowd and i never really wanted to."

"well...I guess u better get used 2 it."

David and Sofi texted for about an hour after this revelation. David wanted to FaceTime, but she, again, said there was no service. He didn't know how much longer he could make it without seeing her face. When they finally had to stop talking, David got in the shower and got ready to go out for a night with three couples. He didn't like the fact that he would be the only single person in the group, but now he knew what Talia felt like all those times she was dragged along when they went out and she was alone. At 5:30, David was finishing getting dressed to go out when his mom knocked on his door.

"Come in," he called out as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Hey, honey, are you going out tonight? I thought Sofi wasn't home yet. Is it just the guys?" She had a bad habit of asking questions without waiting for answers to each.

"Yes, I am going out. Sofi won't be home for a couple of days. I am going out with Nathan, Lauren, Maddox, Alex, Chad, and Talia." David responded to her questions in the order she asked and just as quickly.

"Chad who?" It occurred to David that he hadn't told her Chad and Talia were dating. Even she knew about the Hight's. Since they were one of the wealthiest people in their small town, it was hard not to know about them.

"Chad Hight. He is dating Talia now." It was as much as a surprise to him he wanted to say when he saw her mouth open. "They started talking to each other right after prom and now they are together."

"Wow, I would never have guessed. So what are you all doing tonight?" He could tell she was just curious and not trying to pry or be nosy. His mom had given him a lot of freedom since he got his license. So far, he had not given her reason to regret that decision.

"We are doing go karts, golf, and getting something to eat; nothing spectacular."

"Ok, well, be careful tonight and be home by 12:00. Don't forget you have to work tomorrow so make smart choices."

"Yes, ma'am," David responded as she walked out of his room. She has barely stepped into the hall when she came back in.

"I almost forgot why I came in here to begin with. We are thinking about getting a DJ that usually does big events like proms for your party this year. Would you want that or do you want it to stay low key?"

"I don't want you to spend a lot of money, mom. If that DJ is expensive, then please just stick to whatever we've done in the past." David hated it when his parents spent money. While they weren't poor, they also weren't rich.

"Ok then, we will go with the new DJ." His mom smiled as she turned to walk out of his room a second time. "I love you, sweetie," she said as she walked down the hall.

"I love you, too, mom."

David pulled into Chad's ridiculously long driveway at 5:55. At least he wasn't late. It would be embarrassing to end up being late after he and Chad had talked shit about Nathan always being the one to hold things up. David was able to park much closer than he had at the party a few weeks prior. As he walked up the steps, he was in awe of the house he was about to walk into. He was impressed by Sofi's and this was twice as big. When he rang the doorbell, the front door burst open and David saw the most wonderful thing he had ever seen—Sofi was home early! She jumped into his arms and kissed him like it was the last thing she would ever do. When they came out of their embrace, David looked down at Sofi and his life instantly made sense again.

"Baby, when did you get home? I was going to pick you up from the airport."

"Well, my grandmother was talking to me a couple of days ago and she could see in my eyes that I was sad. She knew I was happy to spend time with her, but she knew my heart was hurting not being here with you. She convinced my dad that our trip be cut short so I could get back to you. Lauren, Alex, Chad, and Talia picked me up a few hours ago."

A revelation came to David almost instantly. "So when Chad called me earlier, you were already here?" David thought about the hours she was home that he missed out on and was sad, for a second, but being with her made everything ok again.

"Yep! I was going to have Chad bring me to your house and then we thought surprising you here would be so much better." David had to admit, this was a great surprise—perhaps the greatest surprise. He was holding the love of his life again, nothing could be better.

"So," Chad began, "we are all here. Is everyone going to drive their own cars?" David contemplated riding with Chad and Talia so he could hold Sofi the whole way.

"Do you want to ride with them?" David didn't want to appear biased to one choice or the other so he didn't say anything else for fear of influencing her decision.
"While I would like to have the back seat together where we could talk and hold each other since you won't be driving, I think having privacy is the better choice." He didn't question her decision. She could have said they were going to walk and he would have agreed just so they could spend that time together.

They walked to his car, he held the door open for her, and, as she was about to turn to get in the car, she leaned up, kissed him, and told him how much she loved and missed him. David wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up. Sofi wrapped her legs around his waist, they kissed, and he told her how his life was complete now that she was back.