Bathtubs and Dust Bunnies (Or, Mary Anne Has a Great Idea)
Mary Anne picked at the edges of Kristy’s bedspread and leaned over, observing as Kristy disappeared beneath the bed.
“What are you looking for?” she asked.
“I know it’s here!” replied Kristy, her legs kicking and her voice muffled. And then she emerged again with a small box that was covered in dust.
“What is that?” asked Mary Anne, scooting back on the bed and wrinkling her nose in disgust.
Kristy smiled triumphantly and swept the dust off of the box and onto her carpet.
“This? Is our eighth grade year compiled into a time capsule.”
Mary Anne grinned and brushed her hair away from her face. She could only vaguely remember eighth grade year, when they had all been caught up in the Babysitters Club. She had dated Logan, and Kristy hadn’t dated Bart, and Stacey and Dawn had gone back and forth between the outside world and home, and Claudia had struggled with school. Life had been normal then, and innocent. Sometimes she wished that she could return to that time, but now, after a year of college, she wondered how it had even existed.
“What do you have in there?” asked Mary Anne, slipping off of the bed and sitting across from Kristy. Now that she thought about it, she and Kristy had changed a lot in the past five years. Kristy no longer hid herself beneath baggy clothes and messy hair. In fact, as she leaned forward to pull things out of the box, Mary Anne couldn’t help but admit that Kristy was actually beautiful. It was a beauty that she never would have anticipated back when they were in eighth grade.
“Here I have a copy of Wuthering Heights,” said Kristy, pulling it out of the box and reading the book jacket.
“Kristy!” exclaimed Mary Anne, grabbing the book, “That’s mine! I have been looking for that for years. Why did you take it?”
Kristy shrugged and leaned back into the box, allowing her hair to cover her face. “I, um, needed it for the time capsule.”
Mary Anne smiled at Kristy and handed the book back to her. “You can keep it. I have a newer copy.”
Kristy pulled an old notebook out of the box and passed it to Mary Anne. When Mary Anne opened it up, she saw familiar handwriting marching across the page.
“The BSC notebook!” she exclaimed, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
“Yeah. I thought we might want to look back at those jobs one day and laugh about them. The awful thing is that I can’t even remember some of the kids’ names.”
Mary Anne brushed a tear away before it could trail down her face and mess up her make up. “Don’t worry. I don’t remember them, either. But I do remember Jenny! She was such a little terror. I guess she’d almost be in middle school now.”
Kristy leaned back against her hands and stared out the window. “Isn’t it weird how everything has changed? I hardly ever see Stacey, even though we go to the same college. The only two of our old group that I still talk to are Claudia and Abby. Even Bart has moved away. The only person that I still spend time with is you.”
Mary Anne pulled her knees to her chest and rested her cheek on her kneecap. “We all used to be so close. Now I only ever talk to Dawn a few times a month, and mostly just to coordinate holidays and other family events.”
Kristy leaned forward and touched Mary Anne’s knee. “Don’t worry, Mary Anne. I’m still here for you.”
Mary Anne smiled as a tear trickled down her cheek unheeded. “You’ve always been here for me.”
“That’s what best friends do,” said Kristy, suddenly embarrassed. She pulled a Kristy’s Krushers hat out of the box and put it on the ground. “Oh my god!”
“What?” asked Mary Anne, sitting up and leaning forward to see what Kristy had found.
“Do you remember this?” asked Kristy, holding up an old glass Coke bottle.
“Um. We drank Coke out of it?”
Kristy shook her head emphatically. “No, actually, we didn’t. This is the bottle that I used to teach you how to play ‘Spin the Bottle’ before ninth grade year. Do you remember?”
Mary Anne’s face turned pink. “Oh, yeah, because Logan and I never, you know, got that far.”
“And you were worried about playing it at Cokie’s party, but you were going with Darryl, and you had such a crush on him. So you asked me how to play, and I showed you.”
Mary Anne looked down at her fingers. She really didn’t remember the story that way. All she could remember was knowing that they would play Spin the Bottle at Cokie’s party, and that, for the longest time, she had wondered why she couldn’t just kiss Kristy. They had been best friends since they were tiny; they had even taken baths together. But they had grown up, and the innocence of their affection had been corrupted by the outside world. Mary Anne had started to miss the intimacy that she and Kristy had shared, and when she had told Kristy about her Spin the Bottle fears, she had known what Kristy would do. They were best friends, after all.
“You kissed me,” whispered Mary Anne.
Kristy scooted to sit next to Mary Anne and entwined their fingers.
“I kissed you.”
“And you haven’t kissed me since.”
Kristy squinted at the sunlight that fell across the floor. “I . . . know. But Mary Anne, you’ve always had a boyfriend. And I’ve had sports, and guys. And I didn’t want things to change between us, or to get weird.”
Mary Anne stroked Kristy’s wrist with her fingertips. “Our friendship was never normal, Kristy. And I’ve always loved you.”
“Love?”
Mary Anne nodded and turned to look at Kristy. “Yeah. Just love, nothing weird or sexual. But love all the same. So I don’t see why we can’t do whatever we want.”
“You’re right,” said Kristy, and she didn’t even sound upset that the great idea hadn’t been hers. Then she kissed Mary Anne softly, just a brush of her dry lips, and Mary Anne knew that she and Kristy would be all right. This year had been hard for them, being apart, but this summer would be just like every one before it. They would be together, and their time would be precious.
“I’m glad we’re back home,” whispered Mary Anne as she rested her head on Kristy’s shoulder. They sat like that as the sun faded in the sky and sent red and orange beams streaking across the carpet. There, with the remnants of their life spread out around them and their love enveloping them, they couldn’t tell the difference between the past and the future. All they needed was right now, together. Their love would never change.
“What are you looking for?” she asked.
“I know it’s here!” replied Kristy, her legs kicking and her voice muffled. And then she emerged again with a small box that was covered in dust.
“What is that?” asked Mary Anne, scooting back on the bed and wrinkling her nose in disgust.
Kristy smiled triumphantly and swept the dust off of the box and onto her carpet.
“This? Is our eighth grade year compiled into a time capsule.”
Mary Anne grinned and brushed her hair away from her face. She could only vaguely remember eighth grade year, when they had all been caught up in the Babysitters Club. She had dated Logan, and Kristy hadn’t dated Bart, and Stacey and Dawn had gone back and forth between the outside world and home, and Claudia had struggled with school. Life had been normal then, and innocent. Sometimes she wished that she could return to that time, but now, after a year of college, she wondered how it had even existed.
“What do you have in there?” asked Mary Anne, slipping off of the bed and sitting across from Kristy. Now that she thought about it, she and Kristy had changed a lot in the past five years. Kristy no longer hid herself beneath baggy clothes and messy hair. In fact, as she leaned forward to pull things out of the box, Mary Anne couldn’t help but admit that Kristy was actually beautiful. It was a beauty that she never would have anticipated back when they were in eighth grade.
“Here I have a copy of Wuthering Heights,” said Kristy, pulling it out of the box and reading the book jacket.
“Kristy!” exclaimed Mary Anne, grabbing the book, “That’s mine! I have been looking for that for years. Why did you take it?”
Kristy shrugged and leaned back into the box, allowing her hair to cover her face. “I, um, needed it for the time capsule.”
Mary Anne smiled at Kristy and handed the book back to her. “You can keep it. I have a newer copy.”
Kristy pulled an old notebook out of the box and passed it to Mary Anne. When Mary Anne opened it up, she saw familiar handwriting marching across the page.
“The BSC notebook!” she exclaimed, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
“Yeah. I thought we might want to look back at those jobs one day and laugh about them. The awful thing is that I can’t even remember some of the kids’ names.”
Mary Anne brushed a tear away before it could trail down her face and mess up her make up. “Don’t worry. I don’t remember them, either. But I do remember Jenny! She was such a little terror. I guess she’d almost be in middle school now.”
Kristy leaned back against her hands and stared out the window. “Isn’t it weird how everything has changed? I hardly ever see Stacey, even though we go to the same college. The only two of our old group that I still talk to are Claudia and Abby. Even Bart has moved away. The only person that I still spend time with is you.”
Mary Anne pulled her knees to her chest and rested her cheek on her kneecap. “We all used to be so close. Now I only ever talk to Dawn a few times a month, and mostly just to coordinate holidays and other family events.”
Kristy leaned forward and touched Mary Anne’s knee. “Don’t worry, Mary Anne. I’m still here for you.”
Mary Anne smiled as a tear trickled down her cheek unheeded. “You’ve always been here for me.”
“That’s what best friends do,” said Kristy, suddenly embarrassed. She pulled a Kristy’s Krushers hat out of the box and put it on the ground. “Oh my god!”
“What?” asked Mary Anne, sitting up and leaning forward to see what Kristy had found.
“Do you remember this?” asked Kristy, holding up an old glass Coke bottle.
“Um. We drank Coke out of it?”
Kristy shook her head emphatically. “No, actually, we didn’t. This is the bottle that I used to teach you how to play ‘Spin the Bottle’ before ninth grade year. Do you remember?”
Mary Anne’s face turned pink. “Oh, yeah, because Logan and I never, you know, got that far.”
“And you were worried about playing it at Cokie’s party, but you were going with Darryl, and you had such a crush on him. So you asked me how to play, and I showed you.”
Mary Anne looked down at her fingers. She really didn’t remember the story that way. All she could remember was knowing that they would play Spin the Bottle at Cokie’s party, and that, for the longest time, she had wondered why she couldn’t just kiss Kristy. They had been best friends since they were tiny; they had even taken baths together. But they had grown up, and the innocence of their affection had been corrupted by the outside world. Mary Anne had started to miss the intimacy that she and Kristy had shared, and when she had told Kristy about her Spin the Bottle fears, she had known what Kristy would do. They were best friends, after all.
“You kissed me,” whispered Mary Anne.
Kristy scooted to sit next to Mary Anne and entwined their fingers.
“I kissed you.”
“And you haven’t kissed me since.”
Kristy squinted at the sunlight that fell across the floor. “I . . . know. But Mary Anne, you’ve always had a boyfriend. And I’ve had sports, and guys. And I didn’t want things to change between us, or to get weird.”
Mary Anne stroked Kristy’s wrist with her fingertips. “Our friendship was never normal, Kristy. And I’ve always loved you.”
“Love?”
Mary Anne nodded and turned to look at Kristy. “Yeah. Just love, nothing weird or sexual. But love all the same. So I don’t see why we can’t do whatever we want.”
“You’re right,” said Kristy, and she didn’t even sound upset that the great idea hadn’t been hers. Then she kissed Mary Anne softly, just a brush of her dry lips, and Mary Anne knew that she and Kristy would be all right. This year had been hard for them, being apart, but this summer would be just like every one before it. They would be together, and their time would be precious.
“I’m glad we’re back home,” whispered Mary Anne as she rested her head on Kristy’s shoulder. They sat like that as the sun faded in the sky and sent red and orange beams streaking across the carpet. There, with the remnants of their life spread out around them and their love enveloping them, they couldn’t tell the difference between the past and the future. All they needed was right now, together. Their love would never change.