At first I thought it was an illusion designed to make me feel more horrible than I already did. But no, it wasn't an illusion. Charlie was actually there.

She was wearing a pair of dark blue shorts, a white shirt, and a sports coat that made her look like a newscaster. She had on that pair of bright red flats she wore when she played private investigator to Sam's lesbian ex-girlfriend, and carried a bag she bought from Malaysia.

Charlie first looked at me with an expression that gave away her surprise. Then her eyes and the rest of her features hardened when she finally recognized who was in front of her. But I guess something in my face gave away so much of what was burning inside me because her face softened again. Even though I hadn't said anything yet, she peeled herself away from her group of friends with a promise to catch up with them later.

I felt her long, slender fingers grab my right arm a little too tightly, and I felt my body move to wherever she was taking me. I hadn't even said anything yet, but I found myself back in Starbucks with her, with two cups of coffee in front of us.

The first two words that came out of my mouth when I looked at the face of an old friend, someone I thought I already lost, were: "I'm sorry." The warm gesture that followed my apology wasn't something I expected, really. After all, I expressed my ill thoughts about her friends to her face and made a total fool of myself. I really didn't expect her to be this forgiving, but she knew me. She knew that I hardly apologize for all the stupid things I say or do. She knew me, and she knew that my apology didn't come from nothing.


To be continued...