"Don't forget your hanger."

At the end of the night it's the four of us capering out of 7-11 and climbing into the vehicle, laughing. The permutation's slightly different from other winters, other summers, but oddly enough the one I'd always wanted.

Years later and it's still us.

She giggles and I laugh. Because really, you never know.

...

-"Can you take two inches off?" I ask.

"Can you show me that?" Lauren, the business major, looks at my hair with concern. "I was never very good at science."

-"They have peanut butter hot chocolate at that 7-11," Kelsey says.

"SHUT THE F*&K UP!" Mike shouts.

-"We could just hang out and drink cheap wine," Kels suggests. "And then buzz at his apartment..." (O, Chekhov!)

Oh, friends. You have no idea how much I've needed you. Or how well you've loved - and love - me.

...

I feel so much calmer.

"Don’t write too much this break—I’m serious. Just a little tiny bit each day. Writers need down time too."

Well-said.

And I know that soon enough, I'll have plenty to say.

On to the next adventure I go.