Jasmine pulled up to the corner café’ in her sparkling black Tesla. Before grabbing her Brahmin satchel from the passenger seat, she looked at herself in the rearview mirror. She took a minute to apply some foundation to try to conceal the less fashionable bags that had settled under her eyes. At 38, she was looking older. The stress was to blame. Her black dress stuck to her body on that humid afternoon. The cold air from the café’s interior shocked her like an ice cube against bare skin, feeling both refreshing and freezing at the same time. Jasmine weaved her way between small coffee tables and chairs, busy executives and college kids, all hunched over books and laptops in the bustling space on that hot summer afternoon.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.” Traffic was crazy and I got out of the office late.” Jasmine was breathing too heavily to have walked such a short distance. Her marathon training days had long been gone. She pulled out the metal chair across from her friend.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve got plenty of charts to catch up on. Enough to get me to age 40, at least,” Claire said from the table. She looked up, the bags under her eyes not concealed at all.

“Claire, did you work today too? You look exhausted,” Jasmine said.

“Yeah. It was a 20-hour shift. Let’s get through this before my brain falls out.”

Jasmine looked at her friend and frowned genuinely. “You should really take some vacation time.”

Claire was quick to respond. “I can’t right now. I’m the attending for the residents coming through and Dr. Vanderbilt is away for a conference.” She coughed, creating an uncanny barking noise.

“Of course. I’ve got the papers here. Don’t fret, we’ll go through them all. Trust me, it’s not that bad. One door closes, another opens.” She gave a half smile and winked as she sat the papers titled “Dissolution of Marriage” in front of Claire. Claire’s green scrubs were a starkly jovial shade for the somber meeting.

A screaming baby sat in a high chair a few tables down. His mother stood up, walking around the table to pick him up and comfort him. Jasmine and Claire looked at each other, their thoughts synonymous, the pain and regret, both unspoken but shared. 

Claire looked out the window they sat beside. Across the street, before the setting sun, she saw the place she’d essentially lived in for the past 10 years and given more of herself to than she had her own husband. Her heart wrenched quietly as she observed others just like her coming and going from that monstrous hospital. Ambulances with their flashing lights came and went from the Emergency Room entrance.

While Claire was in her reverie, Jasmine had to excuse herself to answer a few phone calls. “Sorry, clients. And my sister. She knows I can’t go hiking on the weekends. When am I supposed to sift through all these new cases? Here, let’s go through the papers.” Her left ring finger still had a band of lighter skin around it, 3 millimeters wide, where her diamond ring used to sit. Jasmine handed Claire a ballpoint pen, which Claire didn’t reach for.

The bell on the café’ door jingled as a group of kids ages 17 to 22 walked in, wearing brightly colored swim trunks, tank tops, and flip flops, their faces sunburned. They were laughing loudly as they walked up to the counter.

One of the young men, tall and thin with bright blonde hair, called out, “Hey Jess, you coming to the bonfire with us tonight? It’s gonna be awesome! I’m really sad you weren’t at the beach today. I know you had to study for that chemistry test – overachiever. Who takes chemistry in the summer?” He rolled his eyes, teasing his friend.

Jasmine and Claire’s eyes met again, the two quietly reliving the early days of their friendship when they’d met in college. He came closer, easing his thin frame into the small space between Jasmine and Claire’s table and his friend’s table. He was so close that the back of his shorts touched Jasmine and Claire’s table.

The girl, Jess, looked up with a wide smile. Her strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes sparkled like glitter. Jess had been at the café’ all Saturday afternoon studying. She closed her textbook, gathered her bag, and said, “I’m in!” She stood forcefully, like her body was a living exclamation mark. She grabbed her backpack but must have forgotten to take her book with her. Jasmine and Claire looked over and saw on the table Preparing for the Medical College Admissions Test. A book was left on the chair too – Introduction to Law.

Claire’s beeper buzzed in that moment. The call back number was for Jim, her husband. She still knew it by heart.

“Jasmine, I have to go. I’m sorry to have bothered you with this. Still send me a bill. And come to the beach with us tomorrow.”

Jasmine’s phone rang and she answered it promptly. More legal talk.

Claire closed her laptop, gathered her belongings, and walked out of the café’. She reached for her cell phone to call Jim. She hadn’t spoken to him in a month. Maybe something was wrong, that he would call her. After hitting his number on speed dial (he was still on speed dial, as she hadn’t let go yet), she heard him, louder than usual. “Hey.” He sounded right there. Because he was. She turned around and saw him standing behind her, looking as loving as the day she’d met him. At the same time she spoke, “I’m coming on that trip with you,” he said, “Come on the trip with me.” They embraced, heading home to pack their bags. Together. ~