My Silver Mate

[Opportunity]

[Samara]

I glanced at the time on my phone and sighed. It was well after four already and Heather still hadn’t come home. I wouldn’t necessarily blame her, but the once piping-hot pizza was now cold. I leaned back against the couch and sighed loudly once again. I wasn’t paying much attention to the movie I had put on earlier as my mind drifted. Heather and I had been best friends since pre-school. We had been inseparable since then. It made sense that instead of staying on campus, we had clubbed together to rent an apartment close to the college in Oakville. I sighed yet once again as my eyes gazed over at the front door. Why hadn’t she come home? Or was it possible that Wesley had shown up? Plans changed but I would be annoyed if that was the case. I turned my attention back to the movie and tried to catch up on what was going on.

“Oh! I am so, so, so, sorry!” Heather exclaimed when she breezed into the apartment thirty minutes later. I wasn’t even surprised to see not only Wesley but Ben coming in behind her. I sat up a bit and switched off the TV as I watched them. Heather carried two large pizza boxes while Wesley had two cases of cider. Ben was empty-handed but as he closed the front door behind him, I could tell that he was hesitant. “Girl, you would not believe the drama I faced today!” Heather went on as she set the pizza boxes on top of the one that was already on the coffee table.

“Oh?”

“So, I was getting ready to hand over my shift to Belinda…when Mack came in,” I frowned at that. Mack was the owner of the pet store, and he rarely visited the store.

“Really?” I asked, as I forgot about the fact that my best friend-s***h-roommate had ditched our lunch ‘date’.

“I know, right? So…Belinda and I were doing a cash-up when Mack just waltzes in…like he owns the place,” I rolled my eyes when she giggled. “But guess what?”

“What?”

“He wasn’t alone!” she giggled again as she opened the first box and tore off a slice of the pepperoni pizza. Since I hadn’t eaten the one I had ordered, I helped myself to a slice. Wesley and Ben joined us, and I happily accepted the blackberry and vodka cider from Wesley.

“Who was he with?” I couldn’t help but ask as I got sucked into the story. I had conveniently forgotten that it was now after five and this had happened almost four hours ago.

“Some guy…a really cute guy,”

“Hey!” Wesley exclaimed, but Heather ignored him as she grabbed my free hand.

“You were right, Sam! He is gay! He introduced us to his husband! His husband!”

“He is married?!” Mack wasn’t that much older than us and while I always had a feeling he was gay, I was surprised to hear that he was actually married. He always seemed like such a loner.

“I know right, apparently they got married last summer and…girl, let me tell you…Belinda and I were in shock!”

“I bet,” I remarked as I took another bite of the delicious cheesy pizza.

“Anyway…I couldn’t leave then, so I started sweeping the floor while Mack and Kyle told us about their wedding and their honeymoon, and…he is so sweet. I mean, Mack is all right, but Kyle? He is adorably sweet,”

“Huh,”

“Anyway…then Mack dropped another bomb on us,” she paused for dramatic effect, and I couldn’t help but notice that both Wesley and Ben were happily smirking. They already knew this story. Of course, they did. I forced the wave of annoyance to the back of my mind as I waited for her to get to the point. “They are expanding the store because…get this…Kyle is a veterinarian!”

“Oh, woah, that is cool,” I admitted. Now I wasn’t as hurt by Heather coming home so late. She loved animals and while she had been hoping to get a part-time job at the local vet, she had been out of luck. That was why she had gone for the next best thing – the pet store.

“I know, right?! I am so excited! But there is more!” of course there was. “Not only are they expanding the store, but they are also moving it…to the vet! Which means…I can work between the store and the vet!” she finally finished and even I had to admit that it was extremely cool, and I was happy for her. “I mean, I spoke to them, and Kyle said that he can’t make any promises, but he didn’t mind if I shadowed his clerk and stuff,”

“Congratulations Heather, that is pretty amazing,” I said before I finished off the slice. She was beaming with happiness, and I couldn’t stay mad at her.

“Thanks! Anyway, when they left, I headed straight to Wesley and I got to talking and…I am so sorry for not even letting you know I was going to be late,” she apologized sheepishly, and I smiled.

“It’s ok,” I lied. Ben finally took a seat next to me and wrapped his arm across my shoulders before he kissed my cheek.

“Still mad at me?” he questioned softly as Wesley and Heather started talking about the upcoming camping trip.

“Maybe,” I whispered, but the truth was, I wasn’t angry anymore and I loved Ben. “No,”

“Yes!” he exclaimed as he leaned in and pressed soft kisses all over my face. “Best girlfriend ever,” he said, and I laughed.

“You are such a loser,” I teased.

“Ah, but I am your loser,”

“So, are we set?” Wesley then asked us and that same wave of excitement from this morning rushed over me.

“We are set!” I said firmly. We were more than set and I couldn’t wait. It was going to be so much fun, especially since we hadn’t been able to go camping lately because of the weather.