Dina sat in front of her laptop and waited for the connection to go through. It had been almost three months since the last time she had checked up on Meredith, the longest it had ever been since her friend had moved to Australia to live on a pig farm with her second husband. For over twenty years, they had been inseparable, even living together for a short spell after college was over but now they had finally settled in their new lives, almost ten thousand miles apart.

It was a Saturday evening on Dina’s side of the world, and one bright sunny morning, oceans apart. The thirty-nine-year-old beautician who shared her apartment with two cats she hardly ever saw was in her favorite blue pajamas and sipping an improvised cocktail with the things she had found in the fridge. The concoction was bitter and not at all what she wanted to drink to unwind but it had to do. “Mental note, get more booze tomorrow,” she said. waiting impatiently for Meredith to answer the video call.

It was taking way longer than usual. Despite living in the middle of nowhere, Meredith’s internet was usually faster than Dina’s for some strange reason. The beautician finished sipping her drink and was about ready to get herself another when her friend finally showed up on the screen, accompanied by her youngest son, Trevor, who was only two.

After failing to conceive with her first beau, a real estate agent she had fallen madly in love with after going to an open house just for fun, Meredith had given birth to three gorgeous children, - two girls, and a boy - from her second marriage. Nicholas wasn’t as handsome as Jim and was somewhat daft, but he was a wonderful man through and through and an even better parent. As long as he drew breath, he would keep everyone in his family as safe as possible, and that included all the animals, or at least those whose ultimate fate was not to be turned into meat. 

Meredith was wearing a short summer dress with a floral pattern and her long blonde hair was wrapped in a double ponytail behind her head. Leftovers of a recent dye were still visible along the roots but the color was already starting to fade. Her son was surprisingly active in her lap, often reaching out to grab her nose as if it were one of his favorite toys.

“Hey, Mer, finally!” Dina said, stretching on her rotating chair. “I was wondering if you were going to answer or not.”

“Hello, Dina. Apologies, but I was in the pantry and it honestly slipped my mind you were calling today. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

“That’s okay. How are things down there?”

“Everything is great, thank you. Sometimes, it gets too hot here but this year it seems we’ve been blessed with the most wonderful weather you can imagine. I bet you would love to be here at this time of the year. Speaking of that, have you finally decided when you’re dropping by for a visit?”

No, she hadn’t. Meredith constantly made sure to remind her that her farm was ready to welcome her but the traveling expenses were too much of an impediment for the time being. Dina’s diplomatic response to her invitation was always the same as well, something like,

“Still saving for it. It will happen sooner than later, I promise.”

“I hope so,” Meredith started rocking her son back and forth in her arms. “So, tell me, what’s new? Have you been seeing anyone since the last time we spoke?”

“No,” Dina shrugged. “I told you I’m not looking for a relationship right now. I like my life the way it is without having to worry about a man’s needs.”

“Hmm, it seems to me you’ve been out of the game for too long and that’s not good. You’re not getting any younger, you know?”

“Hey, you’re two years older than me!”

“True, but I don’t need to look anymore. I have a perfect family and an almost perfect life out here. I could live without all the spiders, though.”

“Have you had any more problems with poisonous ones recently?”

“No, only white-tailed ones but I’ve seen more of them than I would like in the last couple of weeks. I know they’re not dangerous but I still don’t like to see them crawl on the walls.”

“Yeah, I hate spiders too.”

“But you still hate cockroaches more, right?”

“Ugh,” Dina shivered. “Why did you bring that up now?”

“Ah, I forgot. You make the funniest of faces when you’re repulsed.”

“Was it that bad?”

“I took a screen capture and all. Here, I’m sending it to you now so you can see for yourself.”

Dina adjusted herself in her seat and opened the image attachment. Meredith’s perfect timing had captured the moment in which her eyes were half-closed and her lips were more crooked than a rusty crowbar. If there was an award for awkwardness, that picture would be a top contender.

“You’re right, I look atrocious. Thank you for the nightmares, Mer.”

“You’re welcome, dear, but going back to your love life...”

“What about it?”

“You say you’re not available but is that really it or are you still hung up on Victor?”

“Victor who? Nah, I’m all over him now. It took a few more months than I wanted to but he’s ancient history now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I don’t lust over cheaters, Meredith. It’s his loss I’m no longer a part of his life and not the other way around.”

“You can’t imagine how good it is to finally hear you say that. He was a nasty piece of work and yeah, you’re better off without him, that’s for sure! Still, don’t tell me Europe has run out of good guys already. You need to put yourself out there again and find a couple to fool around with.”

“A couple?” Dina scoffed. “I thought you wanted me to settle down like you.”

“I never said that. Yes, if settling down ever becomes a real option on the table, I would love to see you walk down the aisle one day. It’s my turn to be the maid of honor, damn it!” Meredith chuckled and immediately regretted her poor choice of words when her son looked confused at her.

“Perhaps you’ll get that chance, but don’t expect it to be anytime soon.”

“Okay? What about the salon? Is it still profitable after all these years?”

“Yes, no issues on that front. I lost a few regulars in the last couple of months but things have been stable, nonetheless.”

“Lost them how? Did they find someone better to do their nails? Because if they say they did, I’m not buying it!”

“Oh, it was nothing like that. Two of them moved abroad just like you did and one of them passed away. It was Mrs. Peabody. You remember her, don’t you?”

“Our old English teacher?” Meredith rolled her eyes. “How could I forget? That woman deducted five points from my essay simply because I forgot to add a comma in the last paragraph! I never forgave her for that but I can’t say I’m pleased to know she’s gone for good. What happened to her? It wasn’t the virus, I hope.”

“It was. The infection spread too quickly and since she already had a compromised immune system, there was nothing the doctors could do. I got sick too at around the same time but my symptoms were negligible.”

“Still, why is the first time I’m hearing this? You should have told me, Dina.”

“And worry even more the germaphobe in you? There was no point in doing that. I stayed home a couple of days and that was it. Nothing happened and here I am to tell the tale.”

“Okay. I’m pretty sure I’ve dodged it so far and I hope that continues.”

“Considering where you live, I’m not surprised, but enough about me. I want to hear from you. Did anything exciting happen since our last conversation?”

“No, not really. I mean, I spent two days thinking I was pregnant again, but it ended up being a false alarm. Nicholas wasn’t too happy about it.”

“He wants another one?”

“He wouldn’t mind another boy to even the score. Hell, if he had his way, we would be at six already!”

“Six? Nah, that’s overkill! Tell your husband your hips weren’t made for so much suffering.”

“I tell him that every day but that doesn’t stop him from trying his luck. If the next time you see me I’m chubbier than usual you already know why.”

“Where are the twins?”

“Out in the back with their father. Harriet asked about you the other day.”

“Did she? Why?”

“She remembered the lady with the funny nose and wanted to know when I would talk to you again.”

“Ah,” Dina grinned, reminiscing about that one time she had too much to drink before calling and her nostrils got more red than Rudolph at Christmas. She didn’t remember Harriet being on the call, though.

“You may go call her if you want but I think she’ll be disappointed today.”

“That’s okay. This is great, Dina. I really missed talking to you.”

“Me too, sweetie. We always had the best of times when we were together but then you had to get married again and move out there. It’s not the same without you here.”

“It’s not the same without you either, which is why you really should come to visit when you can. If money is the only issue, I don’t mind paying for the trip and then we can settle the score.”

“Well, that’s new,” Dina thought, but the idea continued to not be to her liking. Money was always messing up friendships one way or another and she didn’t want to risk another unfortunate situation so she dodged it once again, this time less tactfully.

“I’d rather not talk about that again right now if you don’t mind.”

“Okay. What do you want to talk about then?”

Dina crossed her legs and tapped the edge of the keyboard. For a moment, the connection fluctuated, and Meredith’s face became slightly wobbly like an Impressionist painting. The beautician looked distantly beyond the rectangular screen and said,

“You know, there’s something that’s been on my mind lately a lot and I don’t know why.”

“Oh? What is it?” Meredith’s eyes twinkled, her curiosity piqued.

“Do you remember the games we used to play in college?”

“If by games you’re referring to the times I used to hypnotize you in the dorm and out of it, the answer is yes. I remember them too well and they were always fun.”

“They were, weren’t they? You became quite good at it after a while.”

“That’s because I had a great subject to practice with. Funny you mention those days because I thought of them recently, too.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. I was looking at some pictures of our senior year and there was one that caught my eye instantly. You were wearing that see-through white dress you hated and acting a little out there at Eleanor’s party. Ring a bell?”

“Vaguely, but what do you mean acting a little out there? I wasn’t entranced then.”

“I’m pretty sure you were. You were under far more times than the ones you remember, Dina.”

“Are you for real?”

“Why would I lie about this now? Yes, Dina, it was easy enough to confuse your mind, and you liked it so much that we played a lot before we graduated. Eleanor’s party was one of those times, I’m sure.”

“Strange... that’s not what I remember at all.”

“What do you recall about that night?”

“Not wearing that dress for once. I went with red, Mer. I even bought the new outfit for the occasion.”

“Yes, you did,” Meredith momentarily stepped away from the camera’s view to fetch her son’s favorite firemen’s truck. “... and sometime between the moment we left the dorm and arrived at her house, you changed and spent the rest of the night telling silly jokes about birthdays and funerals.”

“I did not!” Dina gasped, her memories clearly telling a different story, one that was quite boring and not worth reminiscing about.

“Yes, you did. It was quite the riot but I’m not surprised you have a different recollection of the events. You were always too good at filling the blanks when you went too deep.”

“Wow! I thought I had heard it all but I guess I was wrong.”

“I guess you were, Dina. Do you miss those moments?”

“I think so, otherwise we wouldn’t be talking about it now. It’s a shame we can’t do that again now.”

“Who says we can’t?” Meredith winked. “I think I still know how it’s done. Hypnosis works from a distance too. Want to try?”

“Right now?” Dina asked, her cheeks suddenly giving old Rudolph a run for its money.

“We could if hubby weren’t home but perhaps we should save it for tomorrow when he’s not. I’m not sure he wouldn’t understand.”

“You never told him about what you used to do?”

“I tried once or twice but he was never very open to the idea, so I left it at that. Nicholas’ games are more of the bodily type, if you know what I mean,” Meredith laughed out loud.

“Your three children that could have been six made it quite clear, thanks,” Dina laughed with her. “Now that’s one offer I’m tempted to accept.”

“Great! If you can be online at around the same time tomorrow, we can work something out. I’ll have the twins look after Trevor for a while and we can have some fun.”

“I don’t think they’ll be too happy to babysit the little one.”

“You’d be surprised. Harriet always frowns at first but she loves to be in charge and Jessica is the same. It will be okay.”

“That’s good. In that case, yes. Let’s do it again, for old times' sake.”

“I like the sound of that. I’ll probably need to practice a bit in front of the mirror tonight but I’m sure I’ll manage. I just need to know if there’s anything special you’d like to try so I can start mulling some ideas.”

“Hmmm, no, not really. Surprise me the best way you can. I trust you, Meredith.”

“Exactly the words I wanted to hear. I love surprises so I’ll give you one you won’t forget... or not,” she smirked. “I wonder if any of your old triggers still work.”

“What triggers? I never had those, right?”

“Oh honey, you have no idea...” Meredith waved her right hand in front of the screen in a counter-clockwise motion and watched her friend’s head tilt slightly to the right, eyes unblinking. It was a promising sign for what was to come.