If We Ever Meet Again
Before
“You have to come with us,” Maggie whined as she leaned back against the glass-tabletop on her friend’s desk and looked at the woman she’d known since they were toddlers and the tall blonde now standing before her had thrown an orange crayon in her head…
“I can’t,” Ellie laughed slightly, shifting the bag on her shoulder as she did and signing her name on the sheet the receptionist had left on the counter. “I have to work,” she told her friend, motioning towards the large stack of papers she’d been forced to take home with her. “I can’t just up and leave in the middle of everything.”
“It’s my 25th birthday!” Maggie exclaimed loudly. “You have to be there,” she insisted. “We can’t celebrate it without you.”
“You're probably going to have to,” Ellie smiled sadly. They’d been at each other’s birthday parties since they first got to know each other all those years ago and she desperately wanted to fly away with all of them, but she knew what her boss was going to say if she asked to take a week off in May. It was one of their busiest time of the year, didn’t matter if two of her closest friends were turning 25 within days of each other.
“No, you have to talk to that boss of yours,” Maggie continued to pester her as she moved towards the elevators in the tall skyscraper whose fancy glass walls gave them a perfect view of downtown. “Beg if you have to,” she added quickly “You are coming with us to Slovakia if I so have to drag you there myself,” she said seriously, causing the other woman to laugh just as the elevator arrived with a ping and the metal doors slowly parted, allowing them to step inside.
“I’d like to see you try,” the taller of the two said, laughter coating her words as she pressed the button for the lobby, her blonde locks brushing against the back of her navy pea coat. “And I'm serious; she is not going to let me take a whole week off just because you and Tim are crazy enough to want to celebrate your 25 by watching a bunch of hockey games.”
“Beg,” Maggie ordered with a growl. “We’ve already paid for the tickets,” she pointed out, knowing her friend’s reluctance to throw money around. “You have to at least try,” she added with a sigh, leaning back against the wall of the lift as they slowly traveled downwards.
“I’ll try,” Ellie relented. “But, I'm not promising anything,” she reminded her as she saw the familiar spark in her friend’s chocolate eyes. “I’ll ask, that’s it.”
“I know you,” Maggie reminded her smugly. “You’ll succeed and then we’re going to have an amazing vacation, celebrating Tim and I, as well as drinking cheap beer and screaming ourselves hoarse at the games,” she added with a wide grin.
“So how did you get those tickets anyway?” Ellie wondered as they passed the fifteenth floor, ignoring her friend’s last comment. “You never said.”
“Don’t ask,” Maggie shook her head quickly, avoiding her friend’s gaze.
“Okay,” Ellie looked at her strangely before she too shook her head slightly. She’d learned the hard way that sometimes it was just better not to ask when it came to her friends…
Reaching the lobby, the doors parted with a familiar ping and the two women stepped out on the granite floors, heels echoing in the empty atrium considering what time it was. Sending a polite smile at the lone security guard standing by the doors, Ellie swiped her card and let Maggie step outside first before following her out into the cold January air, snow crunching beneath their feet.
“So you’ll ask?” Maggie checked after a short moment of silence as they walked towards the underground garage at the other end of the block.
“Yes,” Ellie rolled her eyes, not bothering to repeat that it wasn’t a promise and she was most likely not going to get any vacation as she knew that such a statement would fall on deaf ears anyway. Her friend never listened to anything she didn’t want to hear…
“That’s all I want,” Maggie said with a satisfied grin, all but hugging her friend as she did.
“No, all you want is for me to beg for time off,” Ellie corrected her with a dark look.
“That too,” Maggie replied cheekily.
“Shut up,” Ellie nudged her in the side with her elbow. “You should be thankful,” she told her friend frankly as a particularly cold gush of wind passed them. “I'm giving you a ride, and you live in the opposite direction of me,” she pointed out with a smile.
“I'm your best friend,” Maggie pointed out simply, shrugging her shoulders slightly.
Shaking her head slowly, Ellie didn’t argue and shifted the pile of folders in her arms before punching in the code to the parking garage.
There were times when she wondered how the two of them had managed to stay such close friends during the years, but she knew that she wouldn’t trade it for the world, no matter how dissimilar the two of them were.
Even if that meant she was going to have to literally beg her boss for some time off…
“I can’t,” Ellie laughed slightly, shifting the bag on her shoulder as she did and signing her name on the sheet the receptionist had left on the counter. “I have to work,” she told her friend, motioning towards the large stack of papers she’d been forced to take home with her. “I can’t just up and leave in the middle of everything.”
“It’s my 25th birthday!” Maggie exclaimed loudly. “You have to be there,” she insisted. “We can’t celebrate it without you.”
“You're probably going to have to,” Ellie smiled sadly. They’d been at each other’s birthday parties since they first got to know each other all those years ago and she desperately wanted to fly away with all of them, but she knew what her boss was going to say if she asked to take a week off in May. It was one of their busiest time of the year, didn’t matter if two of her closest friends were turning 25 within days of each other.
“No, you have to talk to that boss of yours,” Maggie continued to pester her as she moved towards the elevators in the tall skyscraper whose fancy glass walls gave them a perfect view of downtown. “Beg if you have to,” she added quickly “You are coming with us to Slovakia if I so have to drag you there myself,” she said seriously, causing the other woman to laugh just as the elevator arrived with a ping and the metal doors slowly parted, allowing them to step inside.
“I’d like to see you try,” the taller of the two said, laughter coating her words as she pressed the button for the lobby, her blonde locks brushing against the back of her navy pea coat. “And I'm serious; she is not going to let me take a whole week off just because you and Tim are crazy enough to want to celebrate your 25 by watching a bunch of hockey games.”
“Beg,” Maggie ordered with a growl. “We’ve already paid for the tickets,” she pointed out, knowing her friend’s reluctance to throw money around. “You have to at least try,” she added with a sigh, leaning back against the wall of the lift as they slowly traveled downwards.
“I’ll try,” Ellie relented. “But, I'm not promising anything,” she reminded her as she saw the familiar spark in her friend’s chocolate eyes. “I’ll ask, that’s it.”
“I know you,” Maggie reminded her smugly. “You’ll succeed and then we’re going to have an amazing vacation, celebrating Tim and I, as well as drinking cheap beer and screaming ourselves hoarse at the games,” she added with a wide grin.
“So how did you get those tickets anyway?” Ellie wondered as they passed the fifteenth floor, ignoring her friend’s last comment. “You never said.”
“Don’t ask,” Maggie shook her head quickly, avoiding her friend’s gaze.
“Okay,” Ellie looked at her strangely before she too shook her head slightly. She’d learned the hard way that sometimes it was just better not to ask when it came to her friends…
Reaching the lobby, the doors parted with a familiar ping and the two women stepped out on the granite floors, heels echoing in the empty atrium considering what time it was. Sending a polite smile at the lone security guard standing by the doors, Ellie swiped her card and let Maggie step outside first before following her out into the cold January air, snow crunching beneath their feet.
“So you’ll ask?” Maggie checked after a short moment of silence as they walked towards the underground garage at the other end of the block.
“Yes,” Ellie rolled her eyes, not bothering to repeat that it wasn’t a promise and she was most likely not going to get any vacation as she knew that such a statement would fall on deaf ears anyway. Her friend never listened to anything she didn’t want to hear…
“That’s all I want,” Maggie said with a satisfied grin, all but hugging her friend as she did.
“No, all you want is for me to beg for time off,” Ellie corrected her with a dark look.
“That too,” Maggie replied cheekily.
“Shut up,” Ellie nudged her in the side with her elbow. “You should be thankful,” she told her friend frankly as a particularly cold gush of wind passed them. “I'm giving you a ride, and you live in the opposite direction of me,” she pointed out with a smile.
“I'm your best friend,” Maggie pointed out simply, shrugging her shoulders slightly.
Shaking her head slowly, Ellie didn’t argue and shifted the pile of folders in her arms before punching in the code to the parking garage.
There were times when she wondered how the two of them had managed to stay such close friends during the years, but she knew that she wouldn’t trade it for the world, no matter how dissimilar the two of them were.
Even if that meant she was going to have to literally beg her boss for some time off…
♠ ♠ ♠
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