We Are The Tide

“Babe, you want me to go with you to the airport tomorrow to pick up Kenny and Pat, or should I leave you boys to have your man-date without me?” Lucy ran her fingers through John’s hair as she sat on his lap on the couch in their new house.

“If you’re going, I wanna go too! I’ve missed Kenny so much.” Sam piped in from the lounge chair across from them. The four had spent the day assembling furniture, unpacking boxes, and decorating the new house in preparation for the housewarming party they were throwing in two days as a final get together before the wedding. Most of the boxes had been unpacked, the essentials at least, and whatever was left still boxed up had been stored in the closet of its proper room. John’s studio had been fully set up and the boys had a jam session while Lucy had cooked them lunch earlier that day. Sam had tried to help, but she was a horrible cook and when things started to get messy, she quickly gave up and just watched from the island bar stool.

“Gar, they’re trying to come along for our man-date to the airport tomorrow.”

“You girls aren’t allowed on our man-date. Hence why it’s called a man-date.” Garrett included the appropriate hand gestures to further emphasize his point.

“Oh whatever Gary, just ‘cause Kenny loves me more than you, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get to go on this man-date.” Sam threw a throw pillow at Garrett sitting on the floor across from her, narrowly missing his head as he ducked out of the way and gave her the finger.

“Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me.”

“What are we, five now? You wish Gary.”

“Nuh uh, you wish, Sami.”

“CHILDREN.” Lucy yelled, the bickering between the two coming to a halt. “I think it’s time for dinner now. What do you say, daddy? It’s obvious our children need food, because they’re having a melt down.”

John laughed at all of this, shaking his head at them. “Well, we could get some fast food down the street, or if we wanted to drive to the store. How about we go grocery shopping since there’s no food in this house and we have people coming tomorrow. Then we can have a nice dinner here?”

“And Sam can stay out of the kitchen.” Lucy added.

“HEY NOW. It wasn’t that bad…” Sam cried in defense, only to be met with three eyebrows raised in disbelief. “Okayyyy, okayyy, fine by me then. I vote we get dinner somewhere so nobody has to cook and then hit up the store on the way back.”

The other three were in agreement with that plan, and after deciding on a thai food place close by, they piled in Lucy’s car and off they went.



After returning home with a trunk full of groceries, the four unpacked the car and filled the fridge and cabinets with fresh food for the coming week.

“Sam and I will be back in the morning around ten in time for the airport, and all this food better still be here. That means you Gary.”

“And you too then, John.” Garrett grumbled, pushing some of the emphasized blame onto John.

The four walked back toward the front door as the girls grabbed their purses and coats.

“You’re not gonna stay the night, love? I can’t sleep alone, and Garrett snores.” John pulled Lucy into his arms for a goodnight hug and kiss as they stood in the front doorway.

“I heard that.”

“It’s true Gary, I can vouch for that from our last sleepover.” Sam giggled as she crossed her arms, waiting for the two to stop blocking the doorway.

“I can’t, remember? You’ll just have to make-do for one more week.” She kissed him on the cheek as she pulled away, bouncing down the stairs of the front porch before he could pull her back inside. “I love you, see you tomorrow.” She blew him a kiss as she opened the car door and climbed in. The two boys stood on the porch and waved goodbye as they drove off.



It had been a long night. Sam and Lucy had spent the night having a movie marathon, enjoying their last week together.

“I’m going to miss doing this.” Sam said sadly to Lucy.

“Just because I’m getting married doesn’t mean we’re going to stop having girls night. We’ll just have to make it so that the guys have a boys night.” Sam smiled at this.

Today was the day that a few people were coming in for the wedding. Sam and Lucy were getting ready to go to the house to meet Garrett and John to go to the airport. They would be picking up Pat and Kennedy. Kennedy was also bringing his girlfriend, which no one really knew too much about.

“Hello?” Sam answered her phone.

”Where are you? I’m bored.” It was Garrett.

“We’ll be there in 10 minutes. Hold your horses.” Sam laughed.

”John’s still passed out from last night, I can’t get him to get his ass up. Pat called before he got on the plane, so I’ve been up for awhile. Kenny’s still MIA, but I’m sure he’ll call us when he gets in.”

“Have you met his girlfriend? I don’t know anything about her. I hope she’s nice.” Sam changed the subject.

“All I know is that her name is Emily and she goes to school with him in Virginia.” Garrett said.

“They’ve been together for what, almost two years now? How is it that none of us have met her yet?”

“Yeah, they got together pretty much right after he moved out there to be with Byron. He hasn’t been back since, that’s why.” Garrett’s tone of voice changed at the mention of him not being back. This would be the first time since everyone went their separate ways that the guys would all be together again. Kennedy had moved out to the east coast right after the break up, deciding to live with his older brother for a change of scenery and attending college in Virginia.

“We’re leaving now. See you in a few.” Sam said as she hung up with Garrett.

“Tess and Jared are driving John’s truck up tomorrow, right?” Sam looked around the apartment, mentally going over who would be staying where and who was getting in when. Lucy had enough on her plate, so Sam had volunteered to keep track of the travel details for everyone coming up who would be staying with them.

Lucy walked into the living room, pulling her jacket out of the hall closet. “Yes, I believe so. Sam, thank you so much for keeping track of this stuff. I would forget and we’d have people showing up and no place to put them. You’re the best. Which reminds me, John’s parents are coming up.... when? Friday night?”

“Saturday morning. And the wedding’s on Sunday... in case you forgot.” Sam giggled at her joke, earning an eye roll from Lucy as they headed for the door.



“JOHNNY, YOU BETTER BE READY TO GO ‘CAUSE PAT’S PLANE LANDS IN 20 MINUTES, AND IT’LL TAKE US THAT LONG TO GET THERE.” Lucy shouted through the house as the two walked in the front door.

Sam ran and jumped into the couch that Garrett was sitting on, eating a bowl of cereal.

“He just got in the shower like two minutes ago,” Garrett swallowed before continuing. “After I yelled at him repeatedly to get his stinky ass up and showered before you two got here.”

“Thanks Gar, I’ll take it from here.” Lucy wandered off down the hallway toward the master bedroom.

“So Gary, I think since we’ll be living together after this weekend, we should figure out how we want to decorate the apartment.”

“Well, there will be a good sound system in the living room, along with a nice television-”

“To kill zombies with, of course.” Sam smirked, cutting off Garrett.

He laughed and said, “Well duh.”

“And I’d love it if we could put your record player in the living room too.”

“Again, duh.” Garrett laughed.

“Sounds good to me.” Sam smiled, excited to be living with her best friend.

“You’re so easy.” Garrett laughed.

“That’s why you keep me around.” Sam laughed as she stuck out her tongue.

“TWO MINUTES JOHN, OR WE’RE LEAVING YOUR ASS BEHIND.” Lucy made her way back toward the living room, yelling behind her. “That boy, I swear. He takes forever and spends more time in the bathroom than I do.”

“You ready to go? We have to leave now if we’re going to make it on time to pick up Pat.” Sam checked the time on her phone, realizing it was later than she thought it was.

Just then, John made his way down the stairs, ready to go. “Alright, let’s get this party started. I’ll be in the car!” He ran out the door, leaving the three behind.

“That boy’s gonna get punched....” Lucy shot him a death glare as she shook her head, grabbing her purse and walking out the door.

“Perfect timing, though.” Sam said. Garrett nodded in agreement as they headed outside, off to the airport to be reunited with their best friends.



As they parked in the garage, John received a call from Pat saying he had just arrived and to meet him by the baggage claim.

They made their way toward the entrance of the airport.

“I’ve missed Pat.” Garrett said.

“You’ve been here 3 days. You saw him 3 days ago.” Sam deadpanned.

“Shut up.”

“You’re more of a couple than we are.” Lucy said, pointing to John and back to herself.

“Sad but true man, we need to get you a girlfriend.” John snickered, receiving the freebird from Garrett in response. John’s phone went off again, this time it was Kennedy.

“KENNEDY. WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? Have you landed yet?” John stopped to read the arrivals board, halting the group’s progress toward baggage claim. “Okay, Pat just landed too and we’re going to meet him at baggage claim. Should we just wait for you at security?” Everyone waited for John to tell them the plan as he listened intently to Kennedy. “Mmmkay. Uhh, where are we?” He looked around to see what they were by.

“I guess we’re waiting here to meet him then.” Lucy shrugged.

“I’m gonna tell Pat we’re up here so he’s not just wandering around aimlessly downstairs.” Garrett pulled out his phone, sending Pat a text.

“Because we all know that would seriously happen with Pat.” Sam giggled.

A brief moment later, the two saw Pat bouncing up the escalator, his backpack slung over his shoulder. He waved obnoxiously as he ran toward them, as though he hadn’t yet caught their attention. He pushed past Sam and engulfed Garrett in a bear hug.

“GARY!”

Sam burst into loud laughter, squeaking out an “I told you so,” in between gasping for air.

Kennedy walked up behind them and wrapped his arms around John, who freaked out and had no idea what was happening.

“HI!” Kennedy said excitedly. It took a moment before John realized what was going on before reacting with a return hug.

“You!” Lucy said with a smile.

“Hey you.” Kennedy broke away from John to engulf Lucy in a big hug. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.”

“You’re getting married on Sunday!”

“I know! I can’t even believe it!” The two stood with their arms still wrapped around each other in a hug, forgetting everyone else was with them.

A girl stood awkwardly to the side, and Garrett cleared his voice loudly to interrupt the two, breaking up the hug.

“Oh, sorry, guys this is Emily.” Kennedy said, pulling her toward him. She smiled shyly, squeaking out a nervous “hi.”

“So you’re the girl that has Kennedy’s heart then?” Lucy pulled her into a welcoming hug, putting her more at ease. “I love you already. He needs a good girl, and I haven’t heard much, but I know he’s happy, which is good enough for me. I’m Lucy, John’s fiance.”

Emily nodded, and they continued around the circle with introductions.

They gathered everyone together and made their way down to baggage claim, gathering the various suitcases from both flights and headed outside and back to the van.

The girls sat together in the back of the van, quickly getting to know each other. Sam and Lucy were as welcoming as possible, and it was hard not to love Emily. Kennedy kept looking back at them smiling, happy to see they were getting along so easily.

“How about food first before we get back to the house?” John called from the driver’s seat.

“Jimmy Johns?” Someone suggested.

There was a chorus of ‘yeahs’ from the back and John pulled off at the next exit, making his way to the closest restaurant.



“I’m stuffed.” Sam said, rubbing her tummy.

“Me too. Do we want to go back to the house and watch a movie or play a game or something?” Lucy asked the group.

“That sounds like fun.” Emily spoke up. The others agreed and it was settled.

On the way back to the house, Sam and Lucy had convinced Emily that it would be great if she stayed at the apartment with them instead of staying at the house with Kennedy.

“You don’t want to stay with a bunch of smelly boys. Ick.” Sam argued.

“I think we should get Voodoo!” Pat suggested. “I’ve been craving my Cock N Balls.”

“That sounds so good. I haven’t had that in ages.” Kennedy said.

Emily stared at them in horror.

“Voodoo is a doughnut shop. Cock N Balls is a doughnut shaped, like, well, cock and balls.” The van erupted in laughter and Emily blushed.

“It’s only a few blocks from our apartment, so we can drop your things off there Emily and walk over if you guys want to?” Sam suggested.

They went up to the apartment to drop Emily’s luggage off and walked down the block to get dessert.

There was a short line queued outside the building, and they waited their turn to get in the door.

“It’s changed since the last time we were here. It’s weird.” Kenny was looking through the window at the revolving case a few feet away, noticing the changes in the lobby.

“Well you’ve been gone for a few years, and it was probably a year or so before we split that was the last time we were here, so yeah, it’s changed.” Garrett was looking through the window again, remembering the last time they were there. John and Lucy stood in the back of the group as they all waited in line, discussing last minute wedding thoughts between themselves as Kenny and Garrett looked at the menu through the window, discussing the last time they were there, and Sam and Pat were catching up. Emily was at a loss for what to order still as they approached the door.

“NEXT IN LINE PLEASE!” A train whistle blew and they walked in the door and up to the counter to a girl waving at them.

“Hi, what can I get for you?” The girl smiled at them, tapping her fingers on the counter, with one hand hovering over the wax paper box set out in front of her.

“I know what I want!” Pat quickly interjected. “Cock N Balls please!” The girl looked over the rack behind her, pulling out a few pans before wandering away to the back. Emily’s eyes were glued to the revolving case, the more choices in front of her, the worse her decision making skills were. Kenny noticed her struggling to make a decision and put his arm around her.

“Alright, who’s next?” The girl had returned, handing over a giant chocolate doughnut into Pat’s anxious hands.

“Um, I’m going to keep looking, I haven’t decided yet. You guys order first.”

John stepped up to the counter to order his, followed by Lucy and then Garrett. While Garrett was asking the girl some questions, another girl came wandering up to the other register that shared the counter, holding a cash drawer, and her eyes grew wide as she set up her area.

“Garrett Nickelsen?” The girl said halfway under her breath.

“Uhh... yes. Hi?” Garrett turned his attention to the other girl, and she blushed in embarrassment when he saw her shirt was one of The Maine’s merch shirts.

“Hhh-hi Pat, hi Kenny, um, hi John.” The girl fumbled with loading the napkin dispenser as she greeted each of them by name. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you guys doing here? Don’t you live in Arizona? Are you getting back together or something?”

“I’m the only one that still lives there.” Pat informed her in between mouthfuls of doughnut. “John’s getting married so we’re all here for the wedding.”

“Oh, wow, John, you’re getting married?” The girl’s eyes scanned across each of the three girls, wondering who he was marrying. John nodded his head with a smile, wrapping his arms around Lucy.

“This girl right here.”

“That’s awesome, I’m so excited for you! Congratulations you two!” The girl smiled really big.

“Okay, anything else I can get for you guys today?” The girl who had rung them up brought their attention back to her.

“Yes, sorry about that.” Garrett decided on a doughnut and placed his order. “Hey, thanks for listening to our band. It means a lot to us.” He moved over to the other side of the counter smiling at the girl.

“Of course. You guys were my favorite band. Actually, you still are even though you broke up, but life happens and I understand. I’m so happy for you guys though, and it was really good to see you. Have a good day, and congratulations John!” She walked toward the back, leaving them to finish their order.

By this time, everyone had picked out their favorite except Emily. She was so overwhelmed.

“I don’t have a clue as to what to get. What’s good?”

“That’s a dumb question. Everything’s good.” Sam laughed as she ordered the Old Dirty Bastard. “The better question is what do you like?”

“Peanut butter?”

“We have two with peanut butter on them. Oreos or Rice Crispies?” The girl at the register pointed to two different doughnuts in the case, both with chocolate and peanut butter on top.

“Well, hmm. Which one do you recommend?”

“Definitely the oreo one.” She pointed to it as it came around again, and Emily nodded her head.

“That sounds good. I’ll do that one.”

“Hey, we’re doughnut twins!” Sam exclaimed.

“Do you want a box for this?” The girl held up a small pink box, pointing to the doughnuts placed out in front of them on the counter. Lucy nodded, handing over some cash to pay for the doughnuts, and the girl quickly boxed up all of the doughnuts, minus Pat’s.



By the time they got home, it was hardly nine pm. Pat dug through the box of dvds yet to be unpacked, pulling out The Hangover, a favorite among the group. They quickly set themselves up in front of the TV.

“I’m sleepy.” Sam said groggily.

“Are you kidding? You’re such a child.” Garrett laughed. Garrett made his way to the couch and Sam laid down to rest her head in his lap.

15 minutes later, they had started The Hangover. They were barely past the intro and and Sam was already sleeping.

“I have a feeling you’re going to have to carry her to the car.” Lucy laughed, looking at Garrett.

“Good thing it’s not too far.” They both laughed.

“Stop calling me fat.” Sam said, eyes still shut.

The two looked at each other wide eyed and burst into laughter.

“Shut it.” Sam said sleepily.

It wasn’t 45 minutes later that more than half of the group was sleeping and they decided rather than finishing the movie, they would go to bed. Garrett decided that he would drive the car back with the girls, so no one fell asleep at the wheel, and John would follow in the van so that he could get back.

“Are you really going to carry her?” Lucy laughed.

“I’m going to try.”

Garrett half expected Sam to be awake and to have her punch him for basically calling her fat again, but she was out cold. He picked her up, one arm supporting her neck and the other under her knees. He gently placed her in the car as Emily got in.

“I’m going to ride with John.” Lucy said.

“Emily, you can sit in the front then.” Garrett said with a comforting smile.

She awkwardly went to the front of the car and got in.

“So, what are you studying at school?”

“Oh - um, history?” It came out as more of a question.

“That sounds interesting. How did Kennedy convince you to come all the way here for a wedding of people you barely know?” Garrett laughed.

“Well, it wasn’t difficult. I’m taking some time off school and I’ve just been working. I needed a vacation.” She smiled.

It didn’t take long to get to the apartment and Garrett jostled Sam awake. “Sami, come on. We’re home.” She didn’t even twitch.

Luckily the apartment building had an elevator.