Once You Were My Friend

May 2023 (Six Months Later)

Standing by the table was Em and Tamo as they spoke to a few guests. They had just given the thank you speech and shared the story of how Tamo had proposed. Everybody laughed at the intended moments and gave positive interjections each time he said something beautiful about Em. Tamo had proposed to Em over the long weekend after New Year. Em loved Nami so much that she insisted on having their party when she was flying home during her interim, granted it was a few months later. Booking The Bourbon in Midtown had a waiting list anyway. Nami stood by the railing, overlooking the city, watching the cars pass below and the light fixtures look tiny like ants. She could see The Empire State Building a few blocks away. The sun hasn't quite set yet as the clouds blanketed the sky in a kind of mist. She had spent her first week back in Jersey after flying in from Amsterdam. She was glad to be home and so was her mother. Ichika had been very doting in the last week, the same way she had always been. Takeshi had been doing business in Japan and they had spoken over the phone a couple of times. Things felt better with her parents ever since Sebastian had taken her all those months ago. She made a conscious effort to please them and accept their gestures - being away from home did that to her.

          At the local grocery store, she was serendipitously met with Sebastian as he spent most of his weekends in Red Bank. She was helping her mother with groceries, the same as he was with Carolina. He'd almost pushed the cart into her as they both weren't looking where they were going, like an unspoken gravitational pull.

          Their mothers were catching up as the two of them stood opposite each other, taking in their presence after being away from each other for six months as if they were gathering each other's thoughts where words could fail them. The rules of engagement seemed to blur. She felt relieved to see him and a kind of dejection all in the same. He reached out to hug her and she hugged him with one arm. She could smell his perfume. He had this smile on his face that looked happy to see her, though slightly restrained.

          "So, you're back then, for good?" He asked.

          "It's a little up in the air at the moment."

          He nodded then he looked down into his cart. Inside was a loaf of bread, some fresh vegetables and a couple of tin cans of tuna. She followed his gaze too. He rubbed the back of his neck and then said, "it's good to see you."

          "Yeah, good to see you too."

          There was a pause between them. Sebastian wanted to say more but he couldn't find the words. Last time they were in the same room, he told her he loved her and now they stood as something they didn't know what to label. Friends? That term alone cheapened the kind of bond they once shared. They had kept in touch while she was in Amsterdam, but sometimes he found it hard to elucidate things over text or even through phone calls. This was the first time they've spoken in weeks. He knew she was flying in, but he wasn't sure of the logistics, realising that he would've lost those privileges long ago.

          "So, you've been staying here?"

          "Yeah. It's only been a week or so. I'll leave for New York in time for the engagement party."

          "Ah," he said. "About time he proposed."

          She chuckled, "yeah."

          Carolina and Ichika then joined them, talking about a mutual friend Nami didn't know. Carolina said to Nami she should come over for dinner later. Nami politely declined but Carolina insisted. She felt awkward. She wasn't sure this was something Sebastian wanted either. Were they allowed to spend time with each other this way? She would look to Sebastian and he knew what she needed. He said, "another time, mamă."