I yelled at Connie to hurry up. We were finally getting a weekend away. Before we had married our respective husbands at least once a month the two of us would go away for a weekend and go wild! Of course we were a lot younger then. But there were times when I missed those days. The responsibilities and at times, the frustrations, that come with being a mother and a wife could be almost too much to bear. And lately I had been looking back with much longing at mine and Connieâs wild and carefree days. Hence now the suggestion and finally the doing of our weekend away. Finally she raced out the door of her house carrying her bags and waving frantically to the forlorn looking family shuffling out behind her. She looked stunning in a white tee shirt and denim shorts. Her red hair flew wildly around her as she bounced into the car.
âHey,â she smiled and leaned over to kiss my cheek. âAre we ready?!â
We both giggled like schoolgirls as we embarked on our âadventureâ. We had decided to stay at the beach. It wasnât exactly paradise, but both of us kept in the back of our minds should anything go wrong with the kids or the husbands that we were only an hour or soâs drive away.
âListen to what I have,â I laughed as I put a CD into the carâs player. The speakers vibrated with âourâ song as we called it. Connie dissolved into hysterical laughter as we both screamed the lyrics as loud as we could. We bobbed our heads and Connie did some impressive ass wiggling even though she was seated. The song took us back to the first time we had met. We had been 15, and in love with the song and the singer. It was what had made us friends, how simple it was back then. To form a bond over a man whoâs big brown eyes and smiles sent shivers down our spines and aches into our adolescent groins! But the bond had grown and strengthened over the years, and now 20 years later, we remain the best of friends. And no matter how old we get, or what stress or joy we seem to be experiencing, there is something about our friendship that makes everything okay.
I looked over at Connie and smiled at her.
âWe are going to have the best time this weekend. And promise me this now - no work talk, no husband talk and no kid talk okay? I know then it leaves very little to say, but we could always catch up on what the âold girlsâ are doing. â Referring to the old girls meant our old college friends with whom we shared superficial friendships with. You know the types, we hear when THEY have something important going on in their lives but never other times. Then again I donât think I could have another friend as long as I lived that could compare to Connie. All my relationships dulled in comparison to the one we shared. âYou know Paula has just had her third nose job, and to be honest, it looks bigger than it did before! Donât ask me how it just does!â
We were still laughing as we pulled up in front of the cottage we had rented for the weekend. It was so pretty. All white with roses climbing along the rails of the veranda. It looked just perfect for the relaxing weekend we had in store.
I moved all our bags into the house and then flopped on the huge couch that sat in the lounge.
âThis is me,â I sighed as I leaned back and closed my eyes. âWake me when itâs time to go home please!â
âOh no you donât! Weâre going for a walk along the beach. NOW!!â Connie grabbed my wrist and swatted my backside as I began to complain.
As we wandered down the shore line Connie and I reminisced about our previous holidays together. Tears rolled down my cheeks as Connie reminded about our backpacking through Europe. We had been 19 and decided that before we went on to further study we would get some âlife education.â We packed up our worldly belongings and spent nearly a year travelling. We knew no other language beside English, but managed, or so we thought, to get by on what little we knew. However when we entered Germany we were met with great suspicion from the border guards there. The seemed to think we were prostitutes and apparently we did little to deny it. Of course we didnât now what we were answering yes to, and we kept smiling and nodding our heads in the hope that being polite, and yes okay maybe a little bit flirtatious with them we might get through quicker. How we managed to get out of there alive Iâll never know. Iâll never forget the look on Connieâs face when she realised what was going on. And it was that look now that had me in hysterics. I was trying to imitate it but couldnât quite achieve it. I turned to Connie to get her opinion, but it was then that I realised that Connie had gone extremely quiet, which for either of us when we were together was highly unusual. She had a distant look on her face as she stared above her at the quarrelling seagulls. With a friendship like ours I knew instinctively something wasnât right.
âSpill it girl. Whatâs on your mind?â I placed my hand on her arm and looked searchingly at her face. It was very rare that I saw Connie anything else but calm and relaxed about whatever was going on in her life. I knew this was going to be a biggie, and as Connie turned to face me she inhaled deeply and I could see the tears begin to well in her eyes.
âI decided to come away with you for more than just the fact we have such a laugh together. I need to get my head around something, and I knew eventually it would all have to come out but I just wanted some space to me first before I went blurting it out to everyone. I needed to get my head around it. I wanted to tell you earlier but I guess I was ashamed.â
I was still confused and had no idea what was wrong, but the rate the words were tumbling out of her mouth I knew that she just needed to let it all out and eventually it would begin to make sense to me.
âFucking David!â She spat out. âHeâs been cheating on me for a fucking year!â She began to sob and I mean really sob. I had never in all our time as friends seen Connie so utterly distraught. I caught her around the waist as she began to crumple into the sand. I was so shocked to see my friend like this, and felt that anything I said would be so useless in a situation like this. So I just held her until her body stopped shuddering, and her breathing returned to normal.
She looked at me an laughed, embarrassed by what had just happened. But she should never have felt like that. I helped her to her feet and as we began to walk back to the cottage she filled me in on Davidâs affair. Several times she stopped as fresh tears fell. I felt for her but still didnât know the words to say that would bring her comfort. All I could do was listen to her, and it seemed it was all she needed.
We sat on the couch, and at her suggestion opened a bottle of wine. I couldnât believe what I was hearing. I had grown close to Davis over the years, and never in my life could I imagine him doing this to Connie. So I could scarcely begin to imagine the pain and confusion Connie was feeling.