Annaka

my face.
It was Tia Evans, my fearless, rebellious childhood best friend.
“Woah! Annaka Brooks?” She was a lot taller than I remembered, and her hair was a lot shorter.
“Tia? Is that you?” I could not hide the grin sliding across my face.
“You get that from my name tag?” She pointed at it while laughing.
“No, I got it from your potty mouth.” I pulled her into a tight hug.
“Dude, what the hell? It’s been so long!” She hugged me back with a big squeeze.
It had been a while since I had one of those, and I didn’t realize how much I needed it. Tia was my “real life best friend,” if that made sense. No stage lights or special effects—what you see is what you get with Tia. I remember when we were kids she would stress out her father, Jonathan, so much when he watched us. If you took your eyes off her for a second, she was already a block away. Sure, she could sometimes be a handful, but she was always fun.
“It took you ten years to grow taller than me,” I teased her.
“Pffft! It actually only took one. I had a growth spurt after you left. Sorry, I didn’t mean to kick you out of the store,” she continued. “When did you get in?”
“Just today actually. I needed a walk after being on the road all day. Guess I’ve been soaking in the surroundings.”
“Not much has changed, as you can see.” Tia shrugged.
“That’s not always a bad thing,” I replied. “I should probably get out of here so you can close.” I made my way to the door.
“Wait, what are you doing? Like, right now? My car is just in the parking lot. Let me close up and I’ll buy you some fish and chips and we can catch up on the waterfront.”
“I like that idea a lot.” I smiled.
A little while later, we sat on a bench at the waterfront eating fish and chips from takeout plates. I looked around and it felt like stepping back in time. I looked down the same docks Tia and I played on when we were young. I still remember her dad chasing us when we’d run off. It was a fun memory for us, but I’m sure it raised his blood pressure. The weirdest part of it all was that nothing changed. The waterfront, the docks, the building surrounding it all, looked exactly the same. But there I was with Tia, both of us knowing we had a decade’s worth of catching up to do. I guess we changed even if our town didn’t.
“God, I really didn’t expect to see you tonight, dude,” Tia cut into my thoughts. “Did you run into my grandparents?”
“Yeah, I saw your grandfather earlier. He was with my grandmother on the front porch.”
“How’s she doing?” Tia asked, taking a bite of fish.
“Not how I remember her.” I paused. “I was a total stranger to her.”
Tia put her fish down. “Damn, Annaka. I’m really sorry. We don’t have to talk about that if you don’t want to.”
“It’s just Anna, now. And thanks. Today has been one of the longest days of my life.” I looked up at the sky. “Are you coming to the funeral?”
“Of course,” Tia replied, not even giving me a second glance because of my name change. I appreciated that more than she knew. “Your grandfather meant a lot to this community and to this town. Hell, half the high school will be there—all his students. Everybody knew him, everybody loved him, and everybody will want to show their respects.”
“Thank you.”
I looked up to see the stars bright and alive, not shying away from light pollution. In Halifax that was a sight we could never see.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen that.” I soaked it in.
Tia rested a hand on my shoulder. “Welcome home, Anna.” She was quiet for a minute and then turned to me with a devilish grin. “I know you’re going through a lot right now. And a real friend raids their parents’ liquor cabinet for a pal who needs a drink. You game?”
I let out a laugh. Tia was always ridiculous. I was glad to see time hadn’t changed that.
“Let’s go,” I said.
When we made it to Tia’s place, she parked the car outside of the garage and took a breath. I remember how by the book her parents were—always followed the rules very closely. Tia was one who would always bend them. It’s safe to say she didn’t really take after her parents too much.
“Feeling like a people person today?” she asked.
“Can’t say I am,” I replied honestly.
“Well, I’ll need you to distract my parents while I raid the liquor cabinet. Just be cool. Tell them about Halifax.” Tia smiled. “Since you’re a city girl now.”
I shook my head and sighed. Tia had always been braver than me. I let my imagination do most of the scheming while she was more about the groundwork. As soon as we got out of the car, Tia grabbed my hand and made her way towards the front door.
“Hey! Look who I found!” She busted through the front door, pushing me to the forefront.
Tia’s mother, Clare, turned around on the couch and squinted. “Annaka, is that you?”
“Hi, Clare,” I said with a smile. Clare stood up and pulled me into a hug as Tia made her way out of sight.
“Oh, dear,” Clare said as she let go. “I’m so happy to see you, but I’m sorry about the circumstances.”
“Thank you, Clare. I didn’t expect to see you—or Tia—tonight. How are you?”
“I’ve been good.” She smiled. “I just can’t believe how fast you and Tia grew up. Time is escaping us.”
She was right about that. “And how’s Jonathan?”
“I’ll let you see for yourself. Jonathan, come see who turned up at the door!” Clare called.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I heard as a tall black man in plaid made his way past the living room. A smile cracked his face when he