The park bench was colder than it should have been thought Justin. And why did Derrick want to talk this early anyway? "I must have been crazy to tell him I'd be here.", Justin told no one in particular. It was late afternoon when Derrick had called. Justin was rather surprised Derrick would even call him, let alone want to meet publicly. The argument had lasted for days and Justin figured Derrick would be the last person calling him. "Just meet me in the old spot.", he had begged. It was more out of curiosity than forgiveness that lead Justin to that bench. The November air was chilly and there were no signs of life left from the previous summers they had shared playing here. This had been their favorite spot. Two boys who had grown up and grown so far apart. And it all had to do with a girl. It always did. Women and money can usually be found as the culprits that start wars between the best of friendships. But if ever there was cause for such a battle, Jennifer was just cause. They had always fought for her affections since grade school. And she always knew. Life was simpler back in those days. The stakes didn't feel as high back then. But now, in the waning days of adolescence, the battle for her affections had finally done in the childhood friendship. And this had been too much for Jennifer as well. She had had enough. An ultimatum had been given and Jennifer was the kind of girl who considered herself no one's plaything. The boys would have to grow up if she was to remain in their lives. It was on this very bench when Justin had revealed his true feelings for her. And it was on this bench he had watched her walk away. In his heart he knew he would never be with her. Derrick understood that truth as well. Truth can be as evasive as anything else if we run from it fast enough. And the heart has a way of hiding the realities of life. And men will always be their own worse enemy. The memories of those past summers flooded into Justin's thoughts like a gentle wave that comes in and overtakes the shoreline. His fondest memories were the ones that included both Jennifer and Derrick. Every pleasant recollection of his past would inevitably find either one or both included in those fond images. Life itself reflected every smile and tear that had molded Justin. But patience was one trait that seemed most allusive to him. "Where is he?" Justin thought to himself. The cold has a way of permeating into every pore of a man when the darkness gives way to the dawn. The longer he waited the more intense the chill filled the air. "I'll give you five more minutes, Mr. Potter, but then I must haste my departure." Justin smiled to himself in his cleverness. His two friends found his obsession with the Harry Potter series curious but they were not fans like he was. His catch phrase "You're a wizard Harry." had gone old in a brief matter of time. It was usually in the silence and the separation that he would continue with his fascination alone. Times such as this. Perhaps the silence was in order. "A man's perspective can only be found at times such as this." his father used to say. He missed him as well. It was in that fall, after his father had died so suddenly, that Justin had become the closest with Derrick and Jennifer. Perhaps their friendship may have been the only thing that had saved him. And it was that same friendship that held him seated at the bench. But it was cold and his shift at the sandwich shop would start in an hour. It was better than nothing his mother would remind him when he felt down about it. He hated the job but he was grateful to be working. "Time waits for no one." was another favorite of his father's trusted sayings. Like his father, his phone seemed so far away as well. "Why did I leave without it?" he asked to no one in particular. The horizon was filled with the morning light as he saw his mother approach from the distance. "Justin?" she asked as she drew near. "Hey mom, just waiting for Derrick. What are you doing here?" The sadness on her face was a familiar sight to him. He recalled the months she had worn it after the funeral. But he could see compassion as well. "Justin, why don't we go home?" Her eyes held so much truth but he wouldn't allow that. He couldn't. "Mom, he'll be here. He has to." The silence was familiar as well. It was in those moments of silence that they had grown close as well. "Hon, you know Derrick can't come, right?" There was agony in her eyes as well now. That was another reflection of those months as well. "He'll be here. He was very serious when I talked to him." Her eyes slowly closed as she pondered her next words. "Justin, please." Her hand reached out to him as the memories flooded back. The truth, as evasive as it is, and no matter how far we run, will eventually find us given enough time. Slowly, like an old VHS tape pieced together, the images came back. That last night Derrick and him had ridden together. The sound of the glass breaking. The blood on the dashboard. Every horrific moment of that last car ride played out in his mind. Justin slowly felt that sadness he had pushed so far away envelope him like molasses. He felt his mother's arm wrap around him as the tears flooded his vision. His last memory of Derrick, before the crash, was the hate they felt towards each other as they yelled about Jennifer. Who liked her more and who she liked better. Justin would never be able to tell him how much he had meant to him all those years. He would never be able to tell him how his friendship had saved him when he wanted to commit suicide after his father's death. Those words of his father surfaced once more in Justin's mind. "Time waits for no one." My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.
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