The next morning, with the remedy in her system, Allyson rejoined the land of the living. “Did I do karaoke with Josh last night?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Well, kinda,” Liz said with a laugh. “You sang a couple words and then started dancing around the stage, and he just kind of took over the song.”

“Oh my God!” Allyson said, leaning forward on the couch, putting her head in her hands. “That’s what I thought, but I was hoping it was the hangover making it up.”

“’Fraid not.”

“Ugh. It was a fun night, but I can’t do that night after night.”

“I don’t think anyone over 25 can.”

“I was thinking we could do some stuff around here today. Then, there’s a community movie they’re doing at the Rose Bowl if you want to go. I think they’re showing Legally Blonde maybe.”

“Oh we have to go!”

“Bend and snap! Oh my God, the bend and snap! Works every time!” they repeated along with the movie.

“I never get tired of this movie!” Allyson said to Liz as they gathered their blanket off the turf. 

It was the perfect chill day and night they needed after going out with JC. They had one more day and night to recover and prepare before Allyson’s birthday celebration.

“Oh you’re kidding me!” Allyson said, the annoyance in her voice obvious.

“What is it?” Liz came running from the kitchen, still drying her hands from the dishwater.

“Look at this,” Allyson said as she tossed the phone to the side of the couch near where Liz was standing.

Liz’s eyes got bigger as she looked at the phone, the towel now draped over her shoulder.

“Right! How many years has it been now?”

“Are you going to go?”

“I know I shouldn’t, but I kind of want to. Maybe it’ll reassure me I made the right decision.”

“I can answer that for you. You did. There is nothing Paul can say or do to change my mind on that. But if you want to go, I won’t stop you.”

“It’s lunch – a late lunch, but lunch still – so that makes it less formal.”

Liz threw her arms in the air; she was staying out of it. “I can’t tell you what to do.”

“Fuck it. I’m going. Maybe it’ll help me get the closure I obviously don’t quite have yet, considering I still question how things ended.”

Paul and Allyson were high school sweethearts and dated for part of college also. It was a good relationship until it wasn’t. The foundation fell apart pretty quickly once the first crack formed, but there was never a real ending.

Allyson saw the writing on the wall and the couple had called it quits on relatively good terms and tried to remain friends. It worked for a while. Then, one day, Paul fell off the radar. For seven years, Allyson had not heard from him.

She knew, generally, what he was up to, thanks to some remaining mutual friends, but they had not spoken in nearly a decade.

Since that day eight years ago now, Allyson questioned whether she was right to end the relationship and if she had done something in their post-breakup friendship that led Paul to disappear without a word.

Allyson brushed her hair and looked at her outfit: slightly longer jean shorts, a cream tank top and black gladiator sandals. It was cute, but not too cute, and her makeup was minimal. She was not convinced Paul deserved more effort than that.

She grabbed her Guess purse – it looked like Coach, and she didn’t correct anyone who thought it was – and headed out into the living room. Liz offered to drive Allyson to the restaurant and pick her up, but Allyson only accepted the drive over.

“Are you good?” Liz asked as they were five minutes out from the restaurant. “I can still turn around.”

“I’m good; a little nervous, but that’s just because it’s been so long, I think. I’ll be fine.”

“OK. Well, I’m going to go into the office for a bit. Let me know if you want me to come pick you up, OK?”

Allyson nodded absentmindedly.

“OK?” Liz asked again.

“Yes, OK. I think I should be fine to get a cab, though. And I have a key. Don’t worry. Take care of your stuff.”

As the clock turned to 4:30, Liz pulled off the main road and stopped to give Allyson time to get out of the car, fix her shirt and get to the entrance. Paul was already there, dressed in a casual pair of khakis and a light pink polo shirt, looking like a typical frat guy, never mind that he was 30.

“Hey,” Allyson said, accepting Paul’s awkward hug.

“It’s good to see you,” he said. “Thanks for meeting me. I know it’s been a while.”

“Been a long while,” she said, raising her eyebrows in suspicion.

“So what have you been up to?” he asked as they sat down at a patio table and ordered drinks: a fresh mint lemonade for Allyson and a Pabst for Paul.

“I went back to school for my MBA and actually just graduated a couple weeks ago.”

“Wow,” Paul said. “You always were the academic type.”

“I guess so. So what about you?”

“Well, you remember Lydia?”

“Lydia from back home?” she asked confused

“Mhmm.”

“Sure. Who could forget that red hair.”

He laughed a little. “Well, we reconnected a few years ago, and she told me about an acting studio out here, so I moved. Then, about the time I moved out here, she moved to New York, go figure. But I’m an actor.”

“Oh great. So the classes worked?”

“Sure did. I’ve been in a couple commercials and have an audition tomorrow.”

“Any commercials I’d have seen?”

“Probably not. They’re all local.”

“Ah, OK,” Allyson nodded. She knew he was trying to make himself sound more impressive than he was.

Allyson wasn’t as nervous as she thought she would be, but it was just as awkward as she expected. How do you have a comfortable conversation with someone who you were so close to at one time, but haven’t talked to in seven years?

“So what do you like about LA?” Allyson asked, feeling like she was interviewing a new hire.

“The parties are aaawesome!” Paul said, throwing his head back.

Allyson let out an uncomfortable laugh, knowing he was progressively getting more drunk as the happy hour prices kicked in. She started to giggle a little more to herself thinking his parties probably did not include singing – well, “singing” – karaoke with JC Chasez.

Eventually, an hour and a half had passed, and Allyson was trying her best to wrap up the evening. By that time, though, she could not let Paul leave in his car. I’ll drive him home, she thought. Why am I so nice? He probably wouldn’t do that for me?