#FlashFictionMagic: Washed Ashore

Fern moved out in the beginning of August, but before school started, she swung by the old neighborhood one afternoon to take Grace to the lake. One thing she was determined to do as she drew new boundaries with Dave was to make sure Grace knew Fern was still there for her. It had been a privilege to have a role in raising this girl, and Fern didn’t want their relationship to end just because Grace was going to high school and Fern was in the next town. 

As they strolled around the lake, Grace did most of the talking. “So, needless to say, I’m relieved Darcy is in my homeroom because otherwise I might be stuck with just Ben and Jeff, and sometimes they are really obnoxious.” Girl talk, Dave called this, when Grace started dropping the names of her classmates and inflating the sense of drama surrounding ordinary circumstances. Fern hid a smile as Grace mentioned Ben. His name came up a lot lately, and Fern was sure Gracie had a crush. It was sweet. 

They came to a little gazebo overlooking the water and stepped inside to enjoy the view. “I remember I was separated from my best friend in high school,” Fern said thoughtfully, leaning on the wooden railing. “Her name was Gretchen. I wonder whatever happened to her.” 

“You lost touch with your high school best friend?” Grace seemed aghast, and Fern again resisted the urge to chuckle at her naivete. 

“Well, you know, people grow apart. A lot of times you’re friends for a season, and then things change.” She shrugged. “For me and Gretchen, middle school was our season.” 

“Is that what happened with Dad?” Grace asked, and Fern felt a pang of annoyance. But when she looked at Grace’s guileless face, she knew it wasn’t an accusation, just an honest question from a straight-shooting, insightful kid. 

As she thought about how to answer, Fern glanced down to the shore below the gazebo. Bobbing against the rocks were two sneakers, not from the same pair. Had they washed up there, or been thrown? It seemed so random, that these two totally unrelated shoes could wind up together simply because of the whims of the water. Fern had to wonder where their true matches went and whether the wind would ever change enough to send them back out into the water to find them. 

She turned to Grace. “I don’t think that’s the same thing. I got a new job, and I had to move to be closer to the job.” This was the official explanation, the one she’d given her mom and her sister and Dave himself, the unemotional version of the story of her biggest life change in ten years. The truth - that maybe it was time to look for the match that was meant for her - was something she kept to herself, along with the first date she had set up for next week and the fact that Dave had kissed her back in June. 

“I wish your job was closer to home.” Fern saw for the first time that she had been right to want to reassure Grace. Well-adjusted though she was, she was still a kid whose life was changing pretty drastically all at once. . 

“Well, I’m always a phone call away. And we can still hang out sometimes.” 

Grace linked her arm through Fern’s as they descended to the path once more. “Good,” she said. 

As they continued their stroll, Fern listened to more of Grace’s girl talk, but all the way around the lake, her eyes kept watching for any more shoes at the water’s edge. If she saw one of the missing ones, she thought she’d go back and reunite it with its pair, and somehow things would feel more settled. As it was, though, there was only the sound of water lapping the rocks, her favorite kid telling the story of her teenage life, and the empty space beside her where, at two different times, a best friend had walked who wasn’t here now.