Life Overnight

“Should I send it?”

Silence.

“Ami?”

I shake my head as I tune into the present. “Yeah, send it.”

“You didn’t even read what I put!”

“Oh my god, Lili, you’ve rewritten that one-worded message for the past hour. ‘Hey’ sounds perfect. Just send it already.”

I open my notebook and pretend to study my English notes. I know a good best friend would be better to help with messaging a crush for the first time, but Lili’s indecisiveness has diluted the excitement. She probably wants to tell me I feel this way because I’m a Virgo, to which I would laugh and roll my eyes. I know this girl all too well, which is how I know I’ve been silent for too long. I snap my notes shut, rotate myself to face her, and then we lock eyes.

“He’s going to reply. The worst that can happen is he isn’t interested. If that’s the case—and it won’t be—you’ll find a guy in college and you will fall in love and you will raise puppies and babies together.”

Lili lets out a laugh. “Well then I’m sold.” She sends the message, and we’re silenced by the automated swoosh sound that comes after it. Once a few minutes have passed, I secretly begin to grow nervous for her. After thirty minutes, I put on my best poker face and suggest we go downstairs for a snack.

“Leave your phone behind.”

“What if he responds?”

“Then maybe we’ll take forever to respond too. C’mon, play hard to get.”

She smiles and we walk arm-in-arm downstairs. The smell of grilled chicken welcomes me with open arms as I reach the last step, and I am relieved that Mom is nearly finished with dinner—I need an excuse to linger downstairs and distract Lili. We set the table together, and I can feel her stress fade away as Mom strikes up a conversation.

“What did we learn in school today?”

“Well, it wasn’t really a part of the lesson, but this kid told our chemistry teacher that bad eggs float in water, and good eggs sink. So during our lunch break, our teacher bought some eggs and had us conduct an experiment when we returned to class. Just for fun, since it’s the last week of school.”

“And was the kid right?”

“It wasn’t a very good experiment,” Lili cut in. “Our teacher bought the eggs right before the experiment, so my guess is they were fresh. We should have compared those eggs to some that have been in the fridge for a while.”

“Some science teacher you guys have,” Mom sticks her tongue out. “Well enough with the boring stuff. Let’s talk about boys!”

“AMELIA!” Lili shrieks.

“I didn’t tell her! She just knows things!” I defend myself.

“Shut up and tell me already!” Mom folds her knees up to her chin and scoots her dining chair closer to us.

“I messaged Jack today.”

“JACK?” Mom yells. “Jack-your-crush-since-second-grade-JACK?”

“That’s the one.”

“What did you say?”

Lili and I shared a look and then burst out into laughter.

“She said, ‘hey’,” I belt out between laughs, not being able to catch my breath.

“That’s it? Oh my god, Lili! Did he at least say something back?”

“I haven’t checked, my phone is upstairs. But it’s been almost two hours.”

“GO CHECK!” Mom and I demand in unison. Lili races up the stairs two steps at a time. When she returns, her pace isn’t as speedy. Not a good sign.

“Can you believe this text?”

Mom and I snatch her phone and read Jack’s response to ourselves:

Hi, I know this is Lili Reyes. I don’t know how you got my number, but I’m just not interested. Sorry you wasted your time. Good luck on the French final tomorrow, and even better luck with college this fall!

I reread his message over and over—it must have been twenty times. Each time I reread his message, Lili’s tiny text bubble containing a simple ‘hey’ shrinks half in size.

“I don’t even take French,” Lili laughs. Her awkward attempt at a joke is painful.

“He got all that from hey?” Mom fakes a gag. “What a jerk, Lili. You don’t need him!”

I grew mad for Lili. What a rat, that Jack. I felt my face flush. Lili masked her embarrassment well, but I wanted nothing more than to give Jack a piece of my mind. I turn to find my mom preoccupying herself by filling a glass with water, an old carton of eggs in hand. I look at Lili, whose face is unreadable.

“Shit, every one of these eggs has floated. Did you say that meant they were good or—”

“They’re bad!” I interrupted Mom. “We should throw them at that jerk’s car!”

“We only have four,” Mom fakes a pout, “so we’ll just have to stop for some more!”

Lili’s face lights up as we strap our Crocs on and race to the car. I don’t even fight her for the shotgun seat—it’s her special moment. We stop at a gas station down the street and, to my pleasant surprise, there is a refrigerator shelf stacked high with eggs. Lili runs off with two cartons without paying; my lunatic mother is waiting in the driver's seat, a little too eager to be an accomplice in this case of teenage rage. I slap a twenty dollar bill on the counter and point in Lili’s direction, informing the cashier that I am paying for the eggs she ran out with. As I wait for my change, I notice the cashier’s long eyelashes and amazing smile. He is adorable, but boys are the enemy today, therefore I must ignore him.

“What’s the rush?” he strikes up a conversation, and I am flattered.

“Breakfast for dinner,” I lie. “We’re crazy.” Lame.

He hands me my change and I give him a simple wave goodbye, then again when I turn to open the door with my backside. I run to the car, and Mom takes off before I can even get the car door completely shut.

*****************

“For legal reasons, Mom, Lili, and I did not go to Jake Rivera’s house that night. We did not egg his car with four bad eggs, nor did we egg his car with two dozen more fresh eggs.” I announce rather proudly.

Lili is silent. For the first time in 65 years, she has nothing to say.

“Do you remember that, my dear Lili?”

Silence.

My granddaughter, Ana, grabs my hand in attempt to lighten up the mood. “I thought this was the story of how you met Grandpa Alex,” she plays with my brittle hair and begins braiding random strands.

“Who do you think sold us the eggs?”

Lili’s granddaughter, Luna, laughs a hearty laugh. She reminds me so much of Lili. I turn back to my sweet best friend and attempt to talk to her again. “The girls want to know all about our lives. Can you believe they’re getting married this weekend?” Silence. “They do everything together, these silly girls. Just like us.” Lili turns to me and smiles. I grab her hand and stroke the back of it with my thumb, feeling her deep wrinkles and thick veins. It seems as though they appeared overnight. “There are many more stories where that came from, girls. Just wait until I tell you how Grandma Lili met Grandpa Luis.” 

Lili breaks her silence with a gasp. “Who are you?” tears well up in her eyes. Her fear and confusion are strong, and it agonizes us both.

“It’s me, love. It’s Ami.”

“Ami? I’m not supposed to see Ami until Thanksgiving. How is she?” Lili settles down a bit.

I hold back my tears. “She’s great. She misses you very much.”

“Tell her I miss her too. It’s been too long since she’s called me. Will you tell Ami not to be a stranger anymore?”

“Of course I will,” I kiss the top of her head as a single tear rolls down my cheek, then onto the crown of her head. “Of course,” I reassure her once more.