“Come on,” Van says, gently prying us all apart. “Let’s take this into the kitchen. If we’re going to eat and get ready and be at the church by one, we need to get moving.”
Vanessa is like the mom of our group. Always has been and clearly always will be. She’s the one who is always practical and calm. She keeps us all in line even when I’m sure at times it’s like trying to herd cats—which is kind of how she’s gently maneuvering us with soft nudges and prods.
In the kitchen, Van is putting a platter of waffles on the table. Everyone’s coffee is already poured, and all that’s left for us to do is sit.
Which I gladly do.
“Okay, tell me everything about this trip,” I say excitedly. “How did everyone get a month away? What are we going to do with ourselves? Any big plans?”
“No, no, no,” Loren says, reaching for the syrup. “We can talk about that later. We need to know that you’re okay with the funeral today.”
“I still can’t believe Mrs. Serrano asked you to give the eulogy,” Roxie adds. “I mean…yikes. That was a bold move.”
“Were you able to come up with anything?” Loren asks. “I mean, that had to be really, really awkward.”
“Guys…ease up,” Vanessa tells them as she takes her seat. “Our girl wrote a beautiful eulogy that is sweet, with just a hint of brutal honesty.” Looking at me, she smiles. “I’m seriously so proud of you. I know I couldn’t have done it.”
“You also don’t write for a living,” Roxie reminds her.
“Okay, but just because she writes for a living doesn’t mean writing about her ex was easy,” Vanessa counters, and I feel like I’m watching a tennis match. “There’s a lot of emotion there—good and bad—but I think because Liv’s comfortable writing, it probably helped.”
“Especially because she writes fiction,” Loren adds with a snicker and a look of total amusement. “Did you have to enhance the eulogy with a little fiction? Come on, you can tell us. This is a safe space.”
I laugh—maybe a little too loudly—because she’s not wrong. I totally had to embellish because most of my memories of Matt aren’t great. There was no way I could write an entire speech where I told the truth, so I had to add some flourish so I wouldn’t, A.) Offend Matt’s family, and B.) Look and sound like a total bitch. Honestly, I still can’t believe I’m going to have to stand up in front of a bunch of people and say it all out loud.
All three are staring at me and I realize I haven’t answered Loren’s question. In order to buy myself another minute, I shovel a large forkful of waffles into my mouth.
“That’s an admission of guilt if I ever saw one,” Roxie says matter-of-factly. “Livi, no one would blame you. If anything, we’re all shocked that you said yes to Mrs. Serrano.”
“Does anyone ever say no to Mrs. Serrano?” Loren asks thoughtfully before shrugging and sipping her coffee.
“I tried once,” Vanessa admits. “It didn’t go well.”
That opens the floor to sharing stories about Matt’s mom and I’m thankful for the reprieve. While enjoying my waffle—which is so damn fluffy and delicious—I listen to the banter between my friends. We’re all the perfect combination of love, snark, and sass. We know when to be serious, we know when to lighten the mood, and we know when a bitch has gone too far. We were thrown together in sixth grade when Mrs. Marino, our English teacher, made us work together on a report on Little Women. The assignment had us reading the book together, creating a collaborative book review, and then staging a scene from the book as a skit.
To this day, it’s still the greatest school assignment I ever had.
We were all avid readers but had wildly distinct personalities. Roxie was the outspoken one. She had the most opinions on everything, from her thoughts on the book to how we presented our skit.
Loren—who we all affectionately refer to as Lolo—was always making jokes.
Always.
She never took anything seriously, and if it weren’t for her, that assignment might have turned into something boring. I always considered her the female version of Matt—without the whole man-whoring dick thing going on—and she constantly reminds us all not to take things too seriously.
And Vanessa? Well, she’s an old soul and I swear she was mothering us even back then. She made sure we read everything in a timely manner, wrote our reviews honestly, and performed our skit in a way that would make our parents proud.
Yes, she actually said that at age eleven.
Then there was me. I was quiet and reserved—a people-watcher. I still am to a certain extent. I didn’t mind putting in the work, but I loved watching how the four of us were putting it all together.
That project brought us together, our love of books was one of the things that kept us together, and the bonds we have now after all these years are why we’re still together. I couldn’t imagine my world without these women in it.
“Are we going to get to hear the eulogy before the funeral or do we have to wait and hear it with everyone else?” Roxie asked. “I’m fine either way, but I kind of like the element of surprise.”
Loren huffs loudly, slamming her hand on the table for emphasis. “Don’t tell her that! How am I supposed to know how to react? What if she says something that makes me want to…you know…laugh even though it’s not supposed to be funny?”
“I don’t think anything’s going to make you laugh out loud,” I assure her. “I went for simplicity.”
