A Faraway State of Mind 3

So Thomas More was finally flying to the elusive burg, Eurekaopolis. Maggie Felton was far from his mind, even though she was picking him up from the airport. Wait. No, she wasn’t. She would pick him up downtown after work, to which he would take a train from the airport and do a bit of exploring.

But nonetheless, Thomas had other things with which to occupy himself: he’d recently bought some new music off iTunes to listen on the trip, plus the occasional interesting chat with the occasionally-interesting character next to whom he was placed on the flight. This time it was a sound producer who mixed tracks for several of the B-list, up-and-coming artists in hip young cities like Delano, Stanton, and yes, Eurekaopolis. Thomas asked him if he did jazz; he had a connection with Steinway Coleman, the dominant Centropolis figure, continuing the strong jazz history that the mid-continental burg helped engender and steer. The producer said no, he was more into modern and alternative styles, such as rip, hop, and stone. A group called “Box Wave,” based in Eurekaopolis, was his current pet project: he saw them being the next big thing over the next decade, much like the Spyders had been several decades earlier, with Peter McTrainten, Luke Limer, Ben Washington, and Hooper Moone, pioneering the way for future stone bands on the Elliptical Continent.

Of course, Thomas thought that was a bit ambitious, as he’d grown up a big Spyders fan and practically memorized all their music by high school. But he’d take it, happily distracted from some bit of bummy news he’d received right before leaving Centropolis. I don’t need to tell you where Maggie stood in Thomas’ mind at this point; I do need to fill you in on what happened after Jed last came to visit Thomas and Bosendorfer in Centropolis. Thomas somehow managed to get the courage to talk to Kristen, the server from that evening (let’s say Thomas and Bose were regulars at Jerry’s, especially when the Hot Shots were in the playoffs). The two of them managed to hang out a few times, even once going to a movie. Thomas liked Kristen a bit, if for no other reason than that she vaguely reminded him of Maggie in a couple ways, and that she was here, here in Centropolis and not some faraway magical mystical place in the vastly-unknown Southeast.

[Ahh, yes, the Southeast. Fordstate had a bit of everything: mountains, plains, ranches, vistas, even a bit of that antebellum Southeasterly charm that most places – certainly not the blah that surrounded Centropolis – don’t. It was also a huge amount of land in that province: think of Texas and maybe multiply it by 1.5 to get a sense of how big Fordstate was. Or, maybe put Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, and all the other eastern Canadian provinces together. That’s about how big the Southeast is. Although, to be fair in explaining in how “provinces” work in this world, try imagining each of them as their own nation, and the Elliptical Continent kind of like Europe, except everyone speaks the same language. Yes, that’s right; Thomas needed a passport to fly to Eurekaopolis. He’ll go through customs once he lands at the airport. But, more on that later.]

Thomas had checked his email one last time before packing his laptop for the trip, and a message from Kristen popped up with the following in the subject headline: “I want to make sure there are no misunderstandings, but...” He knew. He didn’t even have to read it; he knew. He logged off, turned off his computer and promptly packed it. Yes, that kind of bummy news.

But, no matter. He was maybe an hour from landing in Eurekaopolis, the largest burg on the continent (and maybe the entire world), seeing a friend he hadn’t seen in, what, half a decade... and eventually a couple others towards the end of the week. [Jed had called him to tell him he was helping his friend Charlie Jarvis move for grad school, but they wouldn’t be in Eurekaopolis until at least midway through the next week.]

I wish I could describe the view as the plane descended and narrowed in on Eurekaopolis. You see, part of what you might call the southeastern corner of the Continent has a huge dent known as Benton Bay, which lies immediately to the west of the city, above which the plane was flying in its approach to its destination. Eurekaopolis was built on a wide, winding river near its delta, in the center of an occasionally marshy plain. Tahana Range lay just to the north of the metropolis, ultimately dividing the fertile and quite-heavily-populated part of Fordstate (the south) from the barren, deserted land to the north. Although Thomas would later get a taste, Eurekaopolis was only the western end of one of the most-populated – and historical – parts of the entire Continent.

“You ever been to Italy?” Thomas was asked by the other passenger sitting next to him. Huh. What’s Italy? “Oh, you’re probably too young to remember.” The man who had made this query looked a bit aged, probably old enough to remember the old world, “Earth,” where the forces of the universe engulfed the entire sphere and surrounding communities. Only a handful of habitants were lucky to escape. Apparently this man was a scientist – a geologist to be exact – who was one of the lucky survivors who happened to escape and find a twin planet with sentient intelligent life extremely comparable to what he’d called “the old world.”

Thomas’ face was still blank. The geologist sighed. “Remember about ten years ago, a bunch of aliens landed on your planet and you guys let them stay?”

Ah! Yeah, Thomas remembered. It was quite a story, one that divided many of the provinces between each other, and an issue in which stories will leak out about incidents of ill relations between the races.

“Look, all you need to know is that this wonderful corner of the world reminds me so much of Italy!” the geologist continued. “The topography and the florae and the active geology!”

He was right. Fordstate, as beautiful a place as can be, was also very privy to eruptions and tremors. Well, mostly eruptions. Thankfully, a large majority of the eruptions spew their toxins to the north and barren side of the Tahana Range, thanks to the oft-prevailing southerly winds that flow from the Asciatic Ocean, which lies about 70 miles to the south of Eurekaopolis.

“So, what’re you doing in Eurekaopolis, anyway?” the geologist demanded.

“Oh,” Thomas replied. “I’m just visiting a friend. She...”

“He-e-ey! Gotta little flame you’re seeing, eh?”

“What? No, I just haven’t seen her in a few years, we...”

“Ah, looking to rekindle a little something after being away for a while.”

“What the? No, we’re... we’re just friends. It’s...”

“I don’t know, boy. There just seems something a little wrong with having a friend of the opposite sex and not wantin’ ta do ‘er. ... Well, I suppose if she were ugly you could justify not doin’ her.”

“She’s not...” Thomas groaned and sighed. He’d had enough of this crazy alien geologist. At this point he was ready for the plane to touch down and not have to speak to this man again.

“Hey – you ever heard of the Stonehenge?” the geologist piped up again, moments later.

Here we go again. The idiot geologist just won’t shut up.

“Nnooo... we have the Rockhenge. Probably similar to what you’re talking about, though.”

“Psh. The ‘Rockhenge.’ What a piece of crap. It’s just a bunch of slabs of wood stuck together. No, the Stonehenge was one of the great early projects of my race back on Earth.”

Oh, boy. Earth: what is... or was... “Earth”? The darn ol’ geologist has been on the Sphere of Life for a decade and I bet he would still call it “Earth.”

“Look, buddy,” Thomas tersely interrupted the geologist, who had continued talking and was in mid-sentence. “I’m sorry you miss your ‘Earth,’ but this is the Sphere of Life, and things are probably different here than what they were on your planet. If you don’t like it here, you’re more than welcome to leave. I’m sorry, but I’m just not interested in having this conversation.”

The geologist was taken aback, stunned. Moments later, he gathered his courage and asked Thomas the very question that would slice him: “You just got dumped, didn’t you?”

Thomas just stared at him. He said, “no,” and put his earbuds back on (he’d been listening to music for much of the flight, only finally having taken them off when the geologist first spoke to him).

“You’re lying. I know that look,” the geologist persisted. Thomas glared at him again. “Hey, I’m here to listen to you wanna talk about it. But don’t blame me for telling you the truth.”

Thomas sighed. “I had someone I was interested in back in Centropolis. But she sent me an email this morning saying no. I never even asked her. I’ve got this friend in Eurekaopolis that I used to really like a long time ago. I’m seeing her for the first time in like five years, and I was hoping not to have to relive it. But with what happened this morning... it’s gonna happen. I hate it.”

For the first time the geologist actually appeared to listen with understanding, voluntarily nodding at occasional intervals as he took in Thomas’ words. At last, it seemed, the two had reached a point of mutual understanding and things would be left at that for the rest of the flight.

Then the geologist looked again at Thomas and said, “I knew you were visiting an old flame!”

Many of you know what it’s like going through customs when you fly to a different nation from where you took off: you have to show your ID, answer a few questions, and hope and pray that nothing on your person gets confiscated because of local laws. Yeah, Thomas had apparently brought an orange onto the plane – he’d brought his own lunch but neglected to eat the piece of fruit – and Fordstate officials had concerns. Apparently there had been issues with certain brands of oranges contracting a disease known to be harmful for people should they eat an infected piece of fruit. Now, some types of oranges are immune, and Thomas was arguing – pleading his case – that the orange he had was one of those that weren’t infected. You know how security officials are, though. Just to be sure, confiscate it. Thomas generally doesn’t like that, especially when he’s sure he’s right. The result of this escalated disagreement was the officials’ inclination to search all of his bags to be sure he wasn’t illegally transporting anything else. Thankfully, everything else checked out. The officials sent Thomas on his was about 30 minutes after the original orange debate, and he was free to make his way to anywhere in Eurekaopolis.

Thomas turned on his cell phone. He’d had it off, per the regulation of not having electronics in use during a flight. Bosendorfer had left him a message. It said, “Hey Thomas, it’s me. Get back to me when you get this; I’ve got something I need to tell you.”

Bosendorfer had accepted the position in Bolton. Thomas had known about this development, and he even encouraged him to accept, even though it meant relocation (and separation). It was official, and it wasn’t yet sinking in.

Thomas immediately called Bosendorfer back, while waiting on the platform for the train to downtown. Bosendorfer picked up. It was his lunch break.

“Hey Thomas!” Bosendorfer greeted.

“Hey Bose,” Thomas replied. “I just got your message. What’s up?”

“I’m gonna take it. I’m moving to Bolton.”

“Wow, congratulations!... When are you moving?”

“This weekend, actually. They want me to start this coming Monday.”

“Wow, that soon?” Thomas was caught off-guard. “That’s pretty fast.”

“Yeah, I know,” Bosendorfer sighed. “And I wish it wasn’t right while you were gone.”

“Well, yeah. I would have wanted to help you move... or at least to say goodbye.”

“Hey. You’re not, by any chance, gonna be going all the way out to Bolton this week, are you?”

Thomas sighed. “Probably not. I mean, I know Maggie and I will visit some friends up the river, but I don’t see us traveling too far away from Eurekaopolis.”

“Hmm, yeah,” Bosendorfer pondered. “Oh well... I should probably get going, but we’ll definitely be in touch.”

“Oh, definitely! Best of luck with your packing, and we’ll talk soon.”

“Yup. Alright, take care.”

“Bye.”

Jed Berger was going to be in Eurekaopolis later next week. Last time Thomas had seen him was about six months earlier, when the two and Bosendorfer met up in Centropolis and got caught up in life. It was around that time that the wheels began to turn in terms of Thomas’ being in Eurekaopolis right now. Bosendorfer’s encouragement aside, Maggie had emailed him completely out of the blue later that evening and invited him to visit:

 

Hey Thomas!

Wow! It’s been a long time since we’ve talked! How are you? Are you still in Centropolis? What are you doing these days? I finished up law school last spring and am now working as a junior attorney in civil court cases. It’s a lot of work, but I’m hoping to work my way up to criminal cases one day.

Anyways, if you ever make your way down to Eurekaopolis you must let me know! I’d love to see you and show you around this wonderful city...

Peace,

~Maggie

;v)

“Darn,” Thomas thought. “Bosey was rather prophetic...” For Bosendorfer had encouraged him to reconnect with Maggie in spite of his unsureness. But, it erased that one doubt from his mind; she wanted to hang out again. You see, when Thomas was younger, he was still wrestling with the idea of people that he believed were his friends actually wanted to be his friends (outside of Bosendorfer, that is... he could always count on Bosey). And especially with females, he wasn’t sure, what with the whole stigma of attraction and dating and all the lust that often would accompany many kinds of cross-gender interaction.

But there was something about Maggie, her overall person, that seemed to transcend mere friendship and mere thoughts as far as he was concerned. It was she who had given him confidence to be himself and to take risks in these types of interactions. It was, in some ways, a rather critical first step in this friend-making process and his growth overall. Looking back on it, it’s too bad he had to fall for her, too...

After they’d graduated, though, it seemed as if they’d forgotten the other existed (at least, it seemed as if Maggie had forgotten about Thomas), and after a while he felt rather awkward about trying to re-establish contact. So, along with whatever feelings he’d had, he gave up on trying to contact her altogether. And, he’d mostly succeeded. Mostly. It was just that one danged email that interrupted the peace that was presumed to have been there in the intervening years (more of an impasse than a peace, really).

Maggie had given him a time that she would meet him, and instructions to call her if she wasn’t there at the time she said she’d be there. She was never the best at judging times and how long it would take to do things. Thomas had remembered her for being quasi-notoriously late for things back in college. That, and she was always seemingly in a rush. He understood, though (he was never the best at managing his time, either). He’d told her if she still wasn’t there a half-hour after she said she’d meet him, then he’d call her. She insisted, though. “OK, whatever,” he shrugged.

Downtown Eurekaopolis is a rather nice place to be, especially in the summer. Tall, trendy skyscrapers dominate the sky, and fountains and florae dominate the sidewalks. Shops, museums, restaurants and taverns abound practically on every block. There’s even a boardwalk of sorts right along the river. It’s where Thomas decided to kill some time.

The boardwalk is rather neat. It has a Ferris wheel, a few roller coasters, a couple of taverns, and several restaurants to boot. There were a few boat docks, where ferryboats and other small ships will stop and take passengers up and down the river to see other parts of the Eurekaopolis metro area.

5:00 eventually rolled by. It wasn’t the time Maggie said she’d meet him, but it was the time she would presumably be done with work. She worked at a firm on the east side of town, a few miles from downtown. But you know the life of a junior attorney just starting out: learning the ropes, adjusting to the busy lifestyle, and lots of paperwork... lots of paperwork. This would be case, especially on Friday, and especially before a mini-vacation that she somehow was able to finagle from the firm. Truth be told, Maggie didn’t get the whole week off: she was able to get Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday happened to be a holiday – Fordstate’s provincial holiday, to be exact – but on Thursday and Friday she would have to work. That would work out perfectly for Thomas, because Jed and Charlie were due in the area by then.

Maggie had told him to call at 6. It wouldn’t normally take an hour to get from the firm to downtown – 15 minutes in no traffic – but it made sense after accounting for last-minute work details and, of course, rush hour. Thomas was hungry though... he hadn’t eaten anything since he was on the flight, which landed at maybe 3 in the afternoon. It was 6:30 when he was finishing up a six-dollar hamburger from the boardwalk area. Maggie still hadn’t called; he decided to call.

“Hello?” Maggie answered.

“Hey Maggie, Thomas here. Where are you right now?” Thomas asked.

“Oh, hey!... I’m on my way... I actually left only like 15 minutes ago. Sorry!”

“It’s alright. I figured you’d have plenty of stuff to finish.”

“Yeah... yeah.”

“So how long d’ya think it’ll be?”

“I’m probably about 15 minutes away from downtown... so where ARE you, exactly?”

“Um, hmm...” Thomas pondered. “I’m... on... the north end of the Central Avenue bridge right now. I was at the boardwalk earlier, but I’ma head back there right now.” He’d gotten a bit bored, so he decided to check out the famous Central Ave bridge, which has a footbridge in the middle.

“Oh, wow!” Maggie exclaimed. “That’s a bit far, don’tcha think?”

“Ha, yeah... but don’t worry. I can get back there pretty quick. Why don’t we meet at, say, the intersection of Central and Houston Ave?”

“Um, sure...”

“You know where that is, right?”

“I... think... so...”

“Tell ya what. Let’s shoot for Central and Houston, and why don’t you give me a call when you’re in downtown.”

“OK.”

“...I’d just hate to make you talk on the phone while driving any more than you need to.”

“Sounds good, I’ll call you in a bit.”

Thomas ran down the Central Ave bridge, expecting Maggie to arrive pretty quickly. It was rather surreal. It hadn’t quite hit him, the enormity of it all, of the dream he’d had for years that would, in a matter of a few minutes, turn into reality. He’d known about his trip to Eurekaopolis for about a month since he’d booked his ticket. He’d spent an entire day on the plane, and an entire afternoon exploring the Gotham-type downtown on his own. He’d long forgotten about Kristen and the snippy customs officers who confiscated his uneaten orange hours ago. But it was surreal because it had been long enough that Thomas had finally stopped thinking about – and forgotten – the impact of seeing Maggie again. It had been so long that after she’d emailed him six months earlier he looked her up on Folknet and realized that he’d almost forgotten what she’d looked like; he would relate her appearance to others whom he’d met more recently (he has a way of comparing the appearances of new people he’s met to those he already knew). It was especially weird, considering that this instance of comparison was the reverse of what he normally does, in that he’d known her from before. It was weird, all right.

About 20 minutes had passed when Maggie called him again. She was here. Or, at least she was in downtown. Thomas was at Central and Houston. She was at Eurekaopolis Boulevard and McCormick Street. He started walking in down Houston Ave in that direction. She continued north on McCormick, crossing Main Street, Jackson, Spring, and Garden Avenue. He proceeded west on Houston, running because he wasn’t sure how far away McCormick was. He crossed Scottonburg St, Melby St, and was in the process of crossing LeBaillyopolis St when the phone rang yet again. She was here. Where? ... At McCormick and Houston. Where was he? ... At Houston and LeBaillyopolis. ... Oh, one more block. ... OK, I’ll start looking for you. ... OK, I’m at Houston and McCormick, where are you? ... I see you! ... Oh really? Great, ‘cause I don’t see you. I must be blind or something. ... Thomas kept looking around for a car with blinkers stopped in a standing zone. Nope. Maggie where are you? He started turning in circles trying to see if maybe he’d passed her. Then he heard a shout: “Thomas!” He darted his head forward. He saw a red-haired female exiting a car ahead of him about two cars away. “Hey Maggie!” Thomas replied.

This was it; it was finally happening. Five years of separation finally down the tubes. He quickly ambled over to Maggie’s car and they embraced. It had been quite a long time, and all of a sudden it was like those years ceased to exist. What distance? What separation? And the funny thing was, as this all happened it felt like nothing at all, no feelings, no longings, no significance whatsoever; just two friends meeting up in an odd corner of the world just to say hey and hang out for a bit.

 

The next five days, retroactively, were a blur. There was a lot of catching up, a lot of sight-seeing, as well as meeting new people and reconnecting with others that they used to know from the prehistoric era that was college. Although Maggie lived in Costner, a suburb on the eastern side of Eurekaopolis, they spent a lot of the time in the city and in a couple towns outside of the urban metropolis. While in the much-smaller town of Fortson, which was a bit out in the boonies east of the burg, they and several mutual friends (Thomas, of course, hadn’t seen them since graduation) made sure to get together to play Settlers of Catan. In the evening they all ordered pizza and beer and watched a couple movies. It was just like the old days.

Maggie’s sister, Elizabeth, happened to be in town the following Wednesday for the Fordstate provincial holiday. Thomas was amused that “Lizzie” called Maggie “Margie.” Apparently her real name was Margaret, but early on she decided she liked the nickname far better. During these interactions Thomas learned a bit more about Maggie’s previous years, like the fact that the Felton family used to live in Bolton for a while. They had relatives all the way up and down the river, from Eurekaopolis to Bolton and everywhere in between.

They also swapped stories about how they both ended up at Orem University: Thomas knew about the place because his uncle went there; Maggie picked Orem “just for the heck of it.” Yes, that’s how she said it. They apparently had different memories of how they first became friends. Thomas’ story, you may recall, can be found here ["http://amidthenoiseandhaste2.blogspot.com/2010/02/faraway-state-of-mind.html"]. Hers was different. Freshman year, she went to a play in which he had worked the lights. But the people who put together the program butchered his name by writing something unprintable. It had made her laugh so hard that she sought him out and asked him if his name really was that. “I don’t remember that at all,” he had said. “I mean, I remember the play, but I don’t remember anything I did after the performances.”

Like I was saying, the days blurred by. Hanging out with Maggie, Lizzie, and about five or six other friends from years back was the perfect antidote to Kristen’s message, which was still bugging Thomas anytime he had some downtime. But, the next thing he knew, it was Wednesday, Fordstate’s provincial holiday. Thomas, Maggie, and Lizzie decided to spend the afternoon and evening in downtown Eurekaopolis and the boardwalk area to celebrate. They saw the parade on Central Avenue, rode some roller coasters, and saw an outdoor movie as it was just getting dark. It finished at about 9:45. Fireworks were due to start at 10:00. Lizzie received a phone call and excused herself. Maggie suggested jumping on the gargantuan-sized Ferris wheel and watching the fireworks from there. The show began right as they got on the wheel.

“Wow, you guys have some good fireworks here!” Thomas mused.

“Yeah... I like it,” Maggie replied.

“Too bad Lizzie isn’t here with us to enjoy it... I hope she’s alright.”

“Oh, she is. Her boyfriend called her. I think he spent all of today driving from Northeast Point, and he probably just got here.”

“Northeast Point?” he asked, surprised. “That’s quite a drive.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

Suddenly Thomas caught sight of a bright green light in the distance. “Whoa! That’s pretty cool.”

“What?” Maggie asked.

“That green light on the right, there.”

“Oh... huh... yeah,” she pondered. “I guess so.”

“Where’s it coming from?” he asked.

“Oh...” her voice dropped, almost as if she were disappointed.

Thomas took notice of this. “What’s up?”

“That’s Scottonburg, Fordstate...” her voice trailed off.

“Not to be confused with Scottonburg, Scotton,” he smirked. “I get that.”

Maggie had gotten quiet. “Hey Mags, what’s up?” She sighed, pondering Thomas’ question.

“That’s where my ex is.”

“Oh.” Technically the next bunch of seconds were filled with silence, with the occasional exception of a firework going off. But there might as well have been a deluge of noise in Thomas’ head. Questions like, “who the heck are you, Maggie?” and, “how did I not know about this?” flooded his brain. Granted, the five-or-so intervening years of separation between graduation and the previous Friday left him with some things about her that he had to guess. He knew a lot of minute facts about her (her favorite games are Risk and Uno, both of which they’ve played many times as well), but nothing about bigger parts of life, i.e. family and relationships. Somehow he’d assumed she was always single when they were in college and in the intervening years, but he’d also felt like she was the type of person that could have gotten married by now if it wasn’t for her career. [Yes, being a lawyer does take up a lot of your time and energy.] The idea that she somehow was married for a few years (and somehow divorced, too), especially without him knowing, completely blew his mind on everything he knew about her.

“...I’m sorry to hear that,” Thomas finally pulled his head together to say something. “I didn’t know you’d gotten married.”

“Ha, no, ex-boyfriend. Twice, actually,” Maggie clarified.

“Oh.” He exhaled a bit. Ex-boyfriend was a lot less severe than ex-husband, not to mention the costs of wedding and splitting. She’d already had enough debt with school loans, especially with law school.

She continued. “I mean, we were together for a few years before college, then split, then got back together after we graduated.”

Oh, great, that makes me feel a lot better, Thomas thought. He wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or not.

“We went to different schools for college,” she explained. “He went to Baron College out in Delano... I went to Orem — he was our year — when we graduated we both moved back to Eurekaopolis and decided to get back together.”

“So that was right after graduation?”

“A couple months after, yeah.”

There was more silence. Thomas was still in a state of relative surprise, but he couldn’t let that paralyze him at this time. He still hadn’t told Maggie about Kristen, largely because he was on vacation and was focused on getting away from that stuff. But, in light of this new area of conversation there were many questions needed to be asked. After all, Maggie was set to return to work the next day, and he was only finding out about this now. He was due to meet up with Jed and Charlie for the next couple of days before flying back to Centropolis. After tomorrow, there was no telling when or if he’d ever see her again.

“So, then, what happened?” he asked. “Wh-why aren’t you still together?”

She sighed. “There’s... just... a lot of things.” As she finished, the door opened. “Oh hey, ride’s over. Wanna go get some ice cream?” Apparently the Ferris wheel had completed a full circle during their conversation.

“Um, sure...”

Maggie had, as Thomas had discovered, a sense for changing topics when the current one got a little too uncomfortable. It was starting to bug him a little, given that he’d learned quite a bit over the last several days about this friend he thought he knew for years, but just the last ten minutes or so had opened up an entirely new dimension that he never could possibly have conceived in his mind.

They grabbed some ice cream. Maggie ordered a chocolate swirl. Thomas just decided to grab a pop. “Thomas, you’re still not hungry,” Maggie said. Thomas shrugged. “Are you OK?” He gave the so-so gesture with his hand.

“Look,” she briefly paused and looked down before looking back at him, “I’m sorry about bringing up my ex. It’s just that...”

“It’s OK, Maggie,” he cut in. “That’s not what’s bothering me. It’s something else.”

“Oh. What is it?”

He exhaled heavily. “I didn’t really want to talk about it because I’m on vacation. I’ve been having a lot of fun, but I’ve also been feeling rather bummy for quite a few days.”

A look of concern fell across her face. “What happened?”

“Right before I left Centropolis I got an email from someone I’d had interest in back home telling me she had no interest. We hung out a couple times but I’d never even asked her yet.” He exhaled again. “I liked her a lot, actually, and I could tell that maybe she had some stuff, so I was going to take it real slow ... It happens; I just... wish I’d found out the truth some other time.”

“Oh...”

“I-I’m sorry, you were gonna say something.”

“No, it’s ok,” she tried to shake it off.

“No, I wanna hear what you were gonna say!” Thomas insisted. “... Something’s bothering you too. I can tell.”

“I’m not the only one,” Maggie smirked. He gave her a look; she relented and sighed. “I fell in love with Jacob when we first started dating. When we split after our first semester in college it was one of the hardest things for me to deal with. Ever. ... I was so happy when he contacted me after I moved back. I figured, we would never be apart again, especially once I knew I would be staying here.”

“So then, what happened this time?”

She shook her head. “Like I said, there’s just a lot of stuff.”

“You don’t have to share it if you don’t want. That... it’s not that important to me. I’m just... surprised that it didn’t work out. Knowing you, I kinda figured you’d have gotten married by now or something.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. Thomas continued. “I mean, we’ve been friends for what? 8 years?” She nodded. “I know you pretty well, and I have to say, whoever you end up with is gonna be really lucky. Anyone who blows you off... shoot, they don’t know what they’re missing and they’re not worth it.”

She sighed. “Yeah... thanks...”

“What I’m trying to say is, you will find someone... if you want.”

“Hey, you will too.”

“Ha!” Thomas snorted. “We’ll see.”

“No, I mean it!” Maggie insisted. “Why, did you recently ... oh, right. ... But, don’t let that keep you down. Just because she may not have interest doesn’t mean no one else will.”

“Heh, speak for yourself.”

“No, that situation’s...” she stuttered and sighed. “Fair enough.”

“What sucks about the real world is,” Thomas continued, “it’s a lot harder to meet people in general, let alone the kind of people you’re looking for. I don’t miss a lot of things about Orem, but the social aspect is one of the things I do miss. ... It just hasn’t been the same. (Especially meeting girls.)”

“I know what you mean...”

“I mean, how many people have you managed to keep in touch with since we graduated?”

“Outside of Helen, Teresa, Ben, Geoff, Hailey... those guys that we saw back over the weekend? Not a lot. Do...? ... Nah,” she shook her head.

“What?” Thomas asked.

“No, it’s not important.”

“Tell me.”

“Do you know Todd Ferguson...?”

Todd was another sore spot. One primary wrinkle in Thomas’ friendship with Maggie over the years was her obsession with Todd. Now, he wasn’t a bad guy — Thomas was decent friends with him as well in school — but it was more his role in the scheme of things. Needless to say, Thomas, in his jealousy, had almost completely stopped talking to Todd after this revelation came to light. He wanted to ignore her, too, but couldn’t completely. As he recalled, it rather made interactions awkward toward the end of their time in school.

Maggie’s voice shot out from what seemed like oblivion. “Thomas? You OK? You’re staring off into space again.”

“Eh, ah,” Thomas hedged, “I’m just wondering if you like him so much, how you’re not together...”

“Oh, we’re just friends,” she replied. “I mean, he’s all the way up in LeBaillyopolis... and he was in Logano for a couple years.”

Logano was another nation across the Asciatic Ocean, a popular place for aspiring musicians and other artists to further their studies. Todd was a musical renaissance man, a composer, a performer, and a conductor. He even excelled at the administrative and teaching aspects of the field.

Thomas filled her in. “Actually, he’s back home in Delano. I think he’s the conductor for the Delano City Philharmonic now... as well as doing numerous freelance projects on the side. Kinda crazy, if you ask me.”

“Yeah. I just love him. He’s awesome! I wish he could be here in Eurekaopolis.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. Then he gathered himself together and said firmly, “Tell him that.”

“Oh, but I can’t,” she hedged.

“What? ... Why not? I know that he makes you happy. You should get him to move here... or maybe you should move to Delano. I dunno.”

Maggie suddenly had a confused look on her face. “What? ... No... I mean, as much as I’d like it to happen...” Thomas displayed a half-smirk on his face. She hit a realization. “You like me, don’t you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. ... I mean, yeah I did back when we were in school... and for some time after... but... heck, I don’t know.” He got up abruptly. “I can’t even finish my pop.” He clumsily crumpled his cup and chucked it at the nearest trash can.

She got up after him. “I knew there was something strange about you all these years. You sometimes tried to talk to me, like, all the time, and when I’d say I gotta do something else, you’d stop talking to me for, like, a couple weeks. ... I never understood that.”

He turned around. “I thought you were brushing me away. I thought you’d gotten tired of me, so I went away so you wouldn’t be bothered. I didn’t know what else to do. I thought you kinda got tired of me by the time we hit graduation. That’s why I left without saying goodbye, because you wanted me to leave you alone. Well, that, and Todd.”

“So you do like me.”

“OK! Fine! I guess I do!” At this point Thomas realized that hiding anything wasn’t going to help matters. Even though they’d had a good friendship, there were certain areas their interactions never went, and this was one of them. He’d done a good job for years, but with Maggie’s questioning he had to answer. “Did, anyway... I mean, I dunno, I thought I’d moved on in the last year when I started talking to other people. I met Kristen like six months ago and after we started talking I thought maybe she was it. Part of the reason I was happy about coming here was because we could hang out without that cloud over our heads. But then, Friday morning she tells me she’s not interested, and I’ve been spending the last several days as if in rebound mode. And now that we’re hanging out and spending time together, I’m stuck hoping against hope that that one wish, that one dream will come true.”

“You mean...?”

Thomas exhaled again. “I dunno. Like I said, I’m in rebound mode. I’m going to go after the first female I see after something like that. You kinda happened to be the lucky one. ... I coulda sworn I got over you that first year after we graduated — that’s why we hadn’t talked — but it’s like I’m remembering why I liked you. It’s stupid, I know, but it’s the truth.”

Maggie put her hand up. “Wait, wait... ‘Got over’ me? What do you mean by that?”

It was the moment of truth in the hashing-out process. He had to say it, stammering and all: “Maggie. You blew me away more than anyone I’ve ever met, before or since. And yes, it does include Kristen. ... I mean, as a friend you’ve given me confidence to be myself and speak freely without being afraid. ... Look. It’s been five years, and who knows how long it’ll be after tomorrow. ... If you wanted, we can be together. You and me.”

She displayed a face Thomas had never seen, a look of what he perceived to be disgust. “Yes, I know. I get it. It’s not going to work. You’ve never...” he reacted.

“No, it’s just that...” she cut in, quietly, “you’re so far away! ... and you’re leaving tomorrow!”

He exhaled, confused. “I can’t do long distance, either. ... But that’s just an excuse. What I want to know is, what do you want? What does your heart say? I’ll move here if that’s what it takes. ... I’ll do it!”

Maggie sighed. “I’m sorry, Thomas. I ... can’t. I just can’t.”

He raised and dropped his arms. “OK. That’s... what I needed to know.” He turned and started walking away.

“Are you sure you’re OK with this?” Maggie asked with a twinge of concern.

Thomas turned back and gave her a look. “So what? It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter how I feel about it. It doesn’t change a thing.”

“Thomas, you know I still want to be friends...”

Friends. In most situations, it’s one of the most amazing words. In this sitch... not so much. Really, it’s more like a double-edged sword. And in this particular sitch, it’s a return to the status quo, the same... the inferior. Really, it’s an arrangement that Thomas was never really comfortable with, albeit largely due to the previous lack of communication on the topic. But, the only other option was burning a bridge, and after years of doing so he didn’t really want to burn this one, especially not this one.

He reluctantly looked at Maggie. “We will. I want to. ... It’s just going to be a while before that happens.”

She had a look of sadness in her face, almost as if tears would spring at any moment. “What do you mean? Why?”

He exhaled: “The whole time I’ve ever known you it’s been like this. But I also knew it would never work. That’s why I never asked. I could tell... But we were also such good friends that I didn’t want to jeopardize it... I’ve burned too many friendships and potential friendships in the past by doing that.”

“I wish you had told me.”

Thomas stared into space. “I don’t know whether I wish I did or whether I’m glad I didn’t... Look, the reason I liked you — outside of you being who you are — is that... well, the first time I remember we met, anyway... I was checking some email in the computer lab, and when I looked up, the most gorgeous female I’d ever seen was looking at me and saying hi. I was like, hey, whatever, not really expecting any conversation to spring up. But it did! And I was kinda surprised, because I didn’t remember seeing you before that. ... I thought it was a sign of some sort, because right before that... well, you know I’ve never been the greatest at talking to girls, especially with the whole dating-and-relationship stuff... but before that, I was really depressed and vented to a few friends... there had been someone else who liked me – and who I decided I’d kinda liked – who probably would’ve been perfect for me if only I had been paying attention and not being stupid. To this day I still kill myself over it. But the fact that I met you then, right after all that, I thought it was a sign. And you — just by being who you are — pierced me. Then and there I thought you were the one.”

A look of regret crossed Maggie’s face. “I really wish you had told me,” she said, slowly and weakly.

Thomas tersely cut in, almost interrupting. “Yeah, well, can’t change the past. ... and apparently, sometimes you can’t change the future either.”

She exhaled. “Thomas, I’m seeing someone right now. For all I know, he could be the one.” He shook his head, turned around, and started walking away. “... what?”

Thomas turned around. “I don’t care about that! I don’t care about that at all! ... All I really cared about was, what was in your heart, and you already told me. I get it. I already knew that for years. But it’s killed me hiding that from you all this time. I needed you to know. And I needed to know.”

Maggie was astonished. “Why are you acting this way?”

Thomas spat. “Well, how did you want me to act? ‘Thank you Maggie for telling me this, now let’s go ride the Ferris wheel again.’”

Maggie sighed. “Well, I’m sorry this wasn’t what you wanted to hear. If you’d asked me back when we were in school, I may have said yes. But as the years went on I just saw you as a friend. I mean, we didn’t even say goodbye at graduation! And then for four, five years, you didn’t once send me a message or an email to say hi.” Some lingering pain crept to the surface, evidenced by breaks in her voice. “I thought we were good friends, Thomas! Needless to say, it hurt. ... Thomas, I missed you! That’s why I emailed you earlier this year. I wanted to be in contact with you again. ... And I did it, not knowing whether you would ever reply!”

“But I did reply...! And I was so happy that you did! I started saving up right away so I could come down to Fordstate and see you.”

“That’s sweet of you.”

Thomas scoffed. “I don’t want to be sweet! I don’t want to be nice! Nice doesn’t get the girls! You guys think you want nice, but really you don’t! Nice guys are boring! I mean, come on, whoever it is you’re seeing now, if all he is is nice... you’re not gonna want to stay with him! I assume he’s got a bit of an adventurous or at least a spunky side.”

“He does. He definitely does.”

“....which proves my point exactly! I’ve been too stinkin’ nice to everyone, thinking that that’s how you get someone, but all nice does is keep you from saying the uncomfortable stuff that sometimes needs to be said!”

And for the first time in days, there was a veritable pause in the conversation. They’d spent the previous five days either chatting or engaging in some activity (like Settlers of Catan, for one) that there hadn’t even been one moment where the two of them just passed the time in silence or absence of activity.

Maggie finally broke said silence. “I don’t want to lose you as a friend.” She grabbed his arm.

“I don’t either,” Thomas replied, wrapping his other arm around her. “I just don’t know when I’ll be able to start seeing you in that way, though... Look. I want you to be happy. I really do. No matter what happens, I’m always going to care about you. I mean, you’ve been that for me. ... It’s just... I wish I never fell for you. ... Sis.”

“And that’s what I told her,” Thomas explained to Jed Berger and Charlie Jarvis at Charlie’s new place. “I just don’t know, man... I just don’t know.”

“Here, I’ll get you another beer,” Jed offered. “Hey. Why don’t you give Bosendorfer a call? He’s probably home from work now.”

Thomas hadn’t talked to Bosendorfer since that brief two-minute conversation at the airport in which seemed like it had taken place a month earlier. Bose had moved to Bolton the previous weekend, while Thomas and Maggie were visiting friends in Fortson. They hadn’t even talked on the holiday, when they possibly could have met up. But Bolton was 500 miles away, and it would have taken all day for either of them to drive to meet up with the other. So they weren’t going to be able to talk much during this time. But the two each had pretty big updates for each other, and now was as good a time as any.

That’s the great thing about best friends. I mean, ol’ Bosey wasn’t necessarily a chick magnet himself, but he knew people and he knew how to make connections, a skill Thomas didn’t exactly have over the years. But now he was on his own with his best friend in Bolton, pretty much just as far from Centropolis as Eurekaopolis. It seemed everyone he knew was moving away from him. Aside from Maggie, Bosendorfer, and Charlie (who he was decent friends with, although not quite to the level of Jed or the aforementioned two), Jed lived in Delano City, a bustling city on the southern side of the continent, and several other friends lived scattered across the lands. All Thomas had in Centropolis, it seemed, was his folks, Sam, and, *groan* Kristen. Except, Kristen doesn’t matter now. He realized how little he knew of her anyway, especially after having hung out with Maggie.

Thomas, Jed, and Charlie drove up and down Benton Bay, the one part of southwestern Fordstate that he had yet to explore this week. The views were breathtaking, as well as several stops they’d made along the way. They drove up to Memphis, a moderate-sized city, maybe 100,000 people. It was the site of where many settlers had arrived from lands across the Asciatic Ocean.

On Thomas’ last full day in Fordstate, they caught an afternoon Eurekaopolis Parkers baseball game against their rival, the Bolton Chargers. Unbeknownst to Jed and Charlie, Thomas had drank so much at the game, that, a couple drinks in at a downtown bar/club that evening he toppled over and passed out. It was maybe 6:00 in the evening.

A few hours later, after Thomas had “woken up,” if you will, Jed and Charlie sat him down.

“You need help,” Jed expressed his concern.

“Can we pray for you?” Charlie asked. Charlie was a devout Christian, preparing to study at Rodman Evangelical Seminary in Eurekaopolis, quite possibly the highest-rated on the continent. He wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to be, but he knew he wanted to learn more and explore all the opportunities that were there.

Thomas was still in a drunken stupor. “OK,” he merely shrugged. So Jed and Charlie laid their hands on him and offered up prayers. At the end, they asked him if he felt anything. “No,” was his response.

“Have you ever accepted Christ into your life?” Jed asked him, point-blank.

“I didn’t grow up with it. I’m not really a Christian, to be honest with you,” he replied.

“Look. You’re clearly in a lot of pain. How are you going to come out of it on your own?” Charlie asked.

“I don’t know...” Thomas had never really thought about it. He’d never understood the concept of having a God that would take care of him. Sure, he knew about various different doctrines of multiple faiths, but as far as personally living with any one set of rules or ideas it was completely foreign to him.

“Thomas,” Jed got down to his level. “If you’re going to go back to Centropolis tomorrow, and we’re not there to help you, what’s going to keep you going? What do you live for?”

“Friday nights, when the work week is done,” came the reply. “Money, so I can live and occasionally enjoy a few things. And friends. Nothing’s quite as good unless you’re hanging out with people doing fun things. ... oh, and girls, of course.” Thomas then let out a groaning sigh.

“That last one, that’s kinda the bane of your existence, ain’t it?” Jed intimated. Thomas looked around, pretending as if he had never said it. “It’s killing you. It’s killing you that you want something and you’ve never gotten it.”

“You’re setting yourself up for failure, Thomas,” Charlie intervened. “And even if you do succeed... well, I hate to disappoint you, but... it isn’t all what it’s cracked up to be. No matter what happens, you’ll always leave yourself wanting more.”

“So then, what do I do?” Thomas finally asked. “It’s like, I’m screwed if I do, which pretty much never happens, anyway... and I’m screwed if I don’t.”

“See. That is precisely why I think Christ would be good for you,” Charlie continued.

“What do you mean?”

“The fact that Christ died for us, that is true love. Not the stupid Yensid culture where princes and princesses spend an hour and a half of film time falling in love while fighting off demons and ogres at the same time. That’s just superficial fluff. No, God his Father sent him to be born into human flesh so he could personally relate to us and to our troublesome condition. Christ, being of God and of humanity, lived so that he could give us his wisdom so that we could live and be free of the pain that holds us back every day.”

“But you know what the greatest part of the story is?” Jed cut in. “You think about a man (and God) whose truths are considered so revolutionary that people want to kill him. So that’s what they did. They gave him the worst punishment ever: whipping and crucifixion; a slow and painful death. And he never did anything wrong. He did everything right, and yet God his Father was going to let his only Son be tortured and murdered in the name of love and for our sake. That is how much Christ and his Father loves us. That is how much he loves you, Thomas.”

“Look,” Charlie resumed. “Christ knows your pain. I don’t know how he does, but he does. He doesn’t want you living this way, hoping against hope for something superficial to happen. You’re chasing after a dream you don’t even know how to chase. You’re blind. We all are blind. But with God’s help, we can have hope. True love, true happiness is found in God.”

“How do I know this is all true though?” Thomas interjected. “I mean, you’re my friends and all, but, how am I supposed to trust in something that may never have happened in the first place? And honestly, we don’t really know for sure.”

Charlie sighed. “Look. We do live in a fallen world. You know that: every day you deal with your pain; every day on the news more and more people get killed because of wars, because of evil; every day people die in the streets due to renegade turf wars. And not just the guilty ones; the innocent ones too die for no reason.”

“There are still people who struggle with having enough to eat, let alone a place to live, let alone being able to stay alive while starving,” Jed continued. “But you know what? God still loves us. He made us. I mean, a parent will always love its child, even if the kid is sick. You don’t stop loving your kid just because he or she is struggling or dying.”

“The reason these things are true is because after Christ died, he came back to life,” Charlie explained. “Yeah. It’s not normal for a person to return to life after officially dying, but Christ did. It’s an amazing story. That’s why we believe in him in the first place. When he was alive the first time, people wanted to make him king of the land, but what they didn’t realize was that he already was, but in a greater sense. Sure, he could have busted out superhuman powers during crucifixion, but that’s not God’s way. It’s not love. It would have been a cheap shortcut if he did. It would have minimized the effect of that love. He had to endure intense human mortal pain so he could then come back to life later. That is God’s power, God’s love, God’s testimony to us that he really cares about us.”

“OK... so what does that have to do with me?” Thomas spoke. “Supposedly ‘God’ made me, but then he made everyone. Why should he be concerned with me? I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life. I’m expecting to get an eternal sentence of pain.”

“There’s a story Jesus told about a son who ordered his old father to give him his inheritance right away,” Jed explained. “So he did, and the son went away and gambled and bought superficial Sphere-ly delicacies. When he lost all his money, he realized he had to work, and that made him so miserable that he realized that he had to return home. Like you were saying, he expected everyone to hate him. But his father threw him a party anyway because he missed him and was happy he was back.”

“What? No, seriously?” Thomas asked. “He threw him a party...”

“Oh gosh, yes,” Charlie replied. “Another story: a shepherd has a hundred sheep. One day, they’re out in the open land grazing, and he realizes one of them is missing.”

“He leaves the 99 sheep to go look for the one that went away. He finds him and is so happy to have him back,” Jed cut in.

“The point is, Thomas,” Charlie explained, “Christ wants you back. He sees you as a treasure, and it pains him that you’ve been... rusting. Look, yes, you have to be accountable for the stuff you do, but if you’re open and honest about it, and about doing things differently, God will happily have you.”

“So, then, can I ask him to help me with the stuff I’ve got going on?” Thomas asked.

“Yes!” Jed exclaimed. “Most definitely, yes! I mean, when you were a kid and you needed help, you asked your parents or teachers or other adults, right?”

“Yeah...”

“This is the very same thing. Even as adults we need help. We always need help. Your girl thing, no it’s not going to go away right away, and it’s clear you’re looking for help. We get that. More importantly, God gets that. He knows. Talk to him.”

Thomas sighed. “I dunno. I mean, all the stuff you say is all good and well, but... I’ll feel like I’m talking to an invisible nobody.”

Jed sighed. “I know I can’t be there in Centropolis to help you when you’re down. But I’ve got a place I want you to check out. Thing is, you do need a community with Christ and with other people. I mean, developing a relationship with God, that’s important. But you need other people to share it with. It’s not going to grow... you’re not going to grow if you’re constantly by yourself.”

“OK. Write down the place,” Thomas reluctantly agreed.

Jed scribbled a name and an address. “I’ve found this place to be awesome. They personally reach out to you, and they don’t just hammer you with orders they claim to be directly from God. There are a lot of places that hammer that stuff. While what they say may be true, it’s not God’s way. ... This place reaches out and speaks the truth with love. I promise you, it will fill what you need.” Thomas shrugged. “Besides, it kinda sounds like you don’t have anyone left in Centropolis. You need to meet some new people.”

“Hey, God bless you, brother,” Charlie spoke up. “And we’re always here to answer any questions you have. Open communication.”

“Hey Jed!” Thomas perked up. “You heard from Emma LaPatra lately?”

“Naw, man,” Jed replied. “Last time I heard, she got married pretty quick after college.”

“How so?” Thomas inquired. “She wasn’t seeing anyone when we graduated.”

“No, I think she met someone right after. They got hitched pretty fast, though, like six months later.”

Thomas whistled in surprise. “That’s... a bit fast. But, whatever, I hope she’s happy.”

“I’m sure she is, Tom,” Jed replied. “I’m sure she is.”

Thomas and Jed left Eurekaopolis the following morning by separate planes. Jed would return to Delano City, about three hours across the southern coast. Thomas spent the next five hours flying halfway up and across the main part of the Elliptical Continent back to Centropolis, named because it was believed to be the absolute Continental center (it wasn’t; the actual center was about 50 miles or so to the northeast). He was returning to a reality where he might never see Maggie again, he could care less whether or not he saw Kristen again, and a challenge to open this new and mystical door of the unknown but one that carried potentially high rewards. He was returning to the mundane, an 8-4 job that paid him just barely enough to survive and finish paying off loans, a world where Sam and his folks and the Hot Shots lived, but not much else.

But Thomas was returning, a changed person. He wasn’t sure if it was for the better or for the worse, but the last week-plus gave him a lot of time to explore places — both physical and metaphorical — that he’d never visited nor really had the intent nor the courage to do. He was returning, a charged person. The following Sunday he checked out the church that Jed had inscribed on a piece of paper he’d given him during their final night together in Eurekaopolis. The sermon was rather stirring, and the music intoxicating. After a few minutes of hedging, he accepted a prayer invitation at the end of the service, in which he spoke his mind, had hands laid upon him, and was sent into a state of mind even more faraway and amazing than he ever could have conceived. It was then and there that he began to surrender his life to Christ. He was going through that mystical door of the unknown that potentially had high rewards. At the very least, it was better than the other “new” reality that he would have had to live.