Three young women gather at the end of summer to say their goodbyes. Long-limbed Sophie is dressed for a tennis match and has plans to meet X at the courts right after this. She likes to keep busy. MJ sips from her cappuccino, licking foam off her top lip and evaluating the guys in the room. Believe it or not, she’s the nerd of the group. Last but not least is Claudia, late as always. She breezes into the café, spewing apologies in advance.
“Lose track of time working on the book?” MJ asks, scooting over to make room at the table.
“Not exactly,” Claudia says, taking a seat. Sophie hands her the smoothie they ordered in anticipation of her tardy arrival. “I spent all morning looking at pictures of puppies online! Eli found a great shelter near us, and they just got a new litter.”
MJ and Sophie shoot each other knowing looks. Claudia is a writer and has been working on her first novel for over a year. Now that she’s graduated and is moving in with her boyfriend, she’ll supposedly have time to polish the manuscript and get it sold and published. But every time they ask how it’s going, she’s got a new distraction.
MJ changes the subject. “Ten hours till takeoff.”
“I still can’t believe you’re going to ENGLAND.” Sophie shakes her head and crosses her legs, drawing the attention of a few males nearby. “I’d give anything for a glamorous trip like that.”
“Uh, I am going to be studying. I’m not sure spending seventy-five percent of my time in the dorms or the labs is all that glamorous.”
“Well you’re both moving to new places while I’m stuck at home, so it all seems exciting to me.”
Claudia rolls her eyes. “Trust me, there’s nothing glamorous or exciting about the Midwest.” She has been openly unenthused about the location of Eli’s job from day one.
“Hey! Maybe you both could visit me sometime.”
Sophie and Claudia smile politely. Even at the prestigious ad agency she’ll soon be working for, Sophie is starting at the bottom of the totem pole. She has already mourned all the new shoes, bags, and dresses she won’t be able to afford. There’s definitely no transoceanic trip in her future. And Claudia has known since age nine that she would be a starving artist living in a cardboard box. Living with Eli only means a bigger, nicer cardboard box. Unfortunately, no matter how big or nice, cardboard boxes don’t fly.
“That’d be nice,” she says at the same time Sophie mumbles, “Yeah, maybe.”
They all smile at each other.
“It’s going to be a lot harder to keep in touch,” MJ says. She doesn’t mention how she has been fighting off tears for the past two weeks worrying about losing her friends. After a hard battle for scholarships, MJ can finally afford her dream of studying at a certain prestigious British university, but lately she’s been having second thoughts. She did a term abroad before, but spending one to two years away from everyone she knows is a little different.
“We’ll be alright, girls,” Claudia reassures her friends. “We’ve done this for the past four years of college.”
After a moment’s hesitation, MJ and Sophie nod. To ease everyone’s minds, they move on, discussing lighter subjects like movies, music, politics, parents.
Before they know it, it’s time to go. They stand and head for the door. Just outside the café, they take turns hugging each other, then step back. Just as she’s about to wave and walk away, Claudia feels something on her shoulder and gasps. MJ and Sophie start laughing.
“Shit!” She means it literally. “Is it a sign that on the day we’re all embarking on a new phase of our lives, I got pooped on?”
Sophie and MJ glance at each other. “Nah!”
MJ offers the napkin from her cappuccino. Claudia sighs and wipes the bird poop off her shoulder. They say goodbye once more, this time following through. As they walk away, they all believe they have done a good job portraying confidence in their futures. They have grown up with high expectations and succeeded so far; why should things change now? Since childhood they have firmly placed one foot in front of the other, always following the right path. And yet they can’t help wondering, Where, oh where, are we going?
