Chapter 8
It
was now late May and as the days got longer and warmer, Gennie forgot completely
about the MTV application. Well, almost…today was the day when concert dates were
announced. She went over to
Stacey’s house to see what she was up to and to feel her out about going to
the show in Dallas. They sat in the
kitchen eating the cookies they’d just baked, while Megan and Alex took naps.
“So,
I saw on the internet that the Goos’ tour dates have been released.” Gennie
announced, trying to gauge Stacey’s reaction.
“Yeah,”
Stacey mumbled, disinterested, taking a big bite of cookie.
She was unsure how to act on this subject, though she knew it would be
brought up at some point.
“Well,
they’re going to be in Dallas at the end of July.
You wanna go? It’s not
looking good, my seeing them for free, you know?” She stated matter-of-factly,
though truth be told she was a little disappointed.
“Oh,
maybe. Josh or mom could watch the
kids, I suppose.”
She
thought Stacey was acting a little too coolly.
Not that she was a huge Goo Goo Dolls fan or anything. But she ought to
be more into it than this…considering the events of the last month or so.
“So,
do you want me to buy the tickets…?” Gennie inquired shaking her head as she
dunked her cookie in a glass of milk.
“Sure,
if you want... Hey, you never did
tell me all about what happened with you and Eric.” She tried desperately to
change the subject.
Gennie
wondered what was up with her friend. She’d
changed the topic awfully quickly. “What?”
she asked, puzzled.
“You
know, on your trip. I feel like
we’ve been out of touch for practically forever.
That flu was terrible and then when Josh got it he was down for the long
haul. This cookie right here,”
she held up the cookie on display “this is really the first time I’ve been
able to just snack on something without feeling sick.”
“That’s
too bad.” Gen smiled, taking another bite of delicious tollhouse goodness.
“So
did you have fun? Tell me all about
it.”
“Well,
I told you it went OK.” She shrugged.
“But
what really
happened? I can tell things have
kind of changed for you.” Stacey wanted some dirt.
“Well,
yeah. They did a little.
I met his friends, and they were all pretty cool.
His sister is…well, she’s not my type.
But anyway, his friends are great. We had fun.
His parents are really nice. That’s
about all there is to it, y’know.”
Gennie
still wondered why Stacey was getting her off the topic.
They had had this conversation before and, while there were some details
that she hadn’t mentioned, it was mostly old news.
“Gen,
I can tell something is up with you. We’ve
just never gotten the chance to really talk about it, I mean really
talk.”
“Shit,
Stace,” Gennie had to laugh, “I can tell something’s up with you too!”
Stacey
glanced at the ceiling, pursing her lips before she looked back at Gennie.
She was trying to think of a way to say what was on her mind without
giving anything away.
“C’mon,
what gives?” Gennie goaded.
“Ok,
look, you tell me your story, I’ll let you in on mine.”
They
exchanged eager looks, excited to find that they both had some juicy tidbits of
information. Before they started,
they each grabbed another cookie.
“Alright,
there really isn’t a story so much as just something I observed…”
“Yeah?”
Stacey was dying for more.
“The
thing is Eric’s old girlfriend from years ago- like, high school/college days,
was there for Laurie’s wedding.”
“Mm,
hmm…” Stacey nodded, munching on another cookie.
“Turns
out, she’s recently available. I
think she got divorced, or something.”
“Oh,
this is going to be good, isn’t it?” said Stacey, wanting to savor the
details.
“Uh,
not really. Not that
good. Not as good as you’re
thinking it’s going to be.“ she smiled.
“Go
on, go on…” She flicked her wrist in Gen’s direction.
“So,
she’s there, y’know. And Eric
is spending lots of time with her. Not that he was neglecting me, and not that I’m blaming him
for wanting to talk to her. But it
just felt kind of strange. Cause,
you know that we’ve never really been that serious…”
Stacey
cut her off, “Yeah, what’s up with that?
I guess I never did get that.”
“I
don’t know, it’s like we’re both great friends, but we’re just both
waiting for the right person. I
think we’re both a little bummed that it isn’t us, y’know what I mean?”
she shrugged. She could never quite
figure the whole thing out herself.
“So
he was with the old girlfriend…”
“Yeah,
and they danced, and talked, and…well, nothing unusual…but there was
definitely a spark. And on the way
back, he was talking about the possibility of getting transferred back home.
He had so much fun seeing friends and family again.”
“And…”
she wanted to get to the point.
“That’s
just it. Now he’s looking to move
back to Wisconsin.”
“Are
you upset?” she wanted to be supportive if she was.
“No.”
Gennie shifted in her chair, “That’s the funny part.
I don’t blame him a bit! He
obviously had a fantastic time, and I think he really belongs with this girl.
Like it was meant to be.” She said, not sure if she really believed in
fate.
“Do
you still talk to him?”
“Sure,
we still go out on the weekends, same as usual.
But it’s a little more like pals now….not that it was ever much
more.” She walked to the sink to rinse her empty milk glass.
“So what’s your story?” she asked, raising a curious eyebrow.
Stacey
sighed, “I promised Josh I wouldn’t say anything…”
Her
jaw dropped. “Oh hell, you’re pregnant again, aren’t you?” She wasn’t
mad, she was just disappointed that her friend was getting so far ahead of her
in the life experience department. Not that Gennie was ready for kids yet. But, they’d always talked when they were younger about how
their kids would be the same age and they’d be best friends too.
That obviously wasn’t happening.
Stacey’s
eyes went as wide as saucers and she started frantically shaking her head.
“OH NO, NO! Is that what
you think? No! No.
No.” Gennie had certainly
gotten the wrong idea! “Um…well…go
ahead and buy those tickets for this concert, but if you’re really lucky, you
may not need them.”
“What’s
that supposed to mean? Cause, Stace, I kind of already knew that.”
Oh, boy. Another cryptic
conversation with her best friend.
“This
doesn’t mean anything at all, but…I did get a phone call the other day.
I’m sure they call everyone.” She was trying to keep some of her
promise to Josh and not give it all away, so she clammed up.
Gennie
tried to help keep this promise, but it wasn’t easy.
“So..um…what…who…why…just nod your head, can you do that?”
she stammered.
Stacey
nodded, a guilty look on her face.
“MTV?”
A
nod.
“Have
they decided?”
She
shook her head.
“Was
it a background check?”
A
nod.
“Do
you think I have it?”
A
shrug.
“Well,
that’s better than nothing.”
“I
shouldn’t say this either, but apparently, the guys liked you.”
“What
guys?”
“THE
guys. You must not sound like a
nut.” She laughed.
Suddenly,
Josh walked in from the garage and the two friends exchanged quick guilty looks,
before bursting out in waves of laughter.