When Elsie and I were teenagers, she used to shoplift cans of beer for us from the local gas station. She was well liked by everyone in town, unlike me, and nobody ever suspected her. She could walk straight out of a place with the cans in her pockets and nobody ever batted an eyelid.

We’d take the beers to the lake and sit there for hours, talking.

It was strange to think that now we’d be drinking in public, sitting together at a bar. I never had the chance of knowing Elsie as an adult and it made me feel strange.

I was relieved when I got her text. Glad that she wasn’t blowing me off.

I arrived at the bar way ahead of time and got us a quiet table in the corner. Away from the live band that was playing.

Elsie was fifteen minutes late and I stood up when I saw her at the door. She looked different now…very different than she did in the morning. This evening, she’d put in an effort to dress up.

Her cocktail dress was short and, in those heels, her legs looked long and slender. The dress fit her like a glove and I watched the way her hips swung as she walked. Her arms were bare. She’d left her hair open and she was even wearing makeup.

Did she do this for me?

I tried not to think that way. Tried to stop my mind from going there.

Elsie approached me and I held out the chair for her.

“I’m happy you could come,” I told her as she sat down. She hadn’t bothered with a greeting or a hug. Fair enough.

She watched me closely as I took the chair across from her.

“You look beautiful in that dress, Elsie,” I tried, but she didn’t accept the compliment.

“You think I’ve changed?” I asked, smiling weakly at her and she gritted her teeth.

“I’ve seen your face in papers and on TV over the years. I’ve watched you get old,” she told me, just as a waiter appeared.

“I’ll have a dirty martini, please,” she placed her order, dragging her gaze away from me. I ordered a Scotch and turned to look at her again. Her small mouth was pursed. It was going to be difficult conversing with her like this.

At this rate, I would never be able to bring up the job. I needed to try a different approach.

“How about I give you an explanation for what happened ten years ago?” I tried.

Elsie was glaring at me, and now she sat back in the chair.

“You can try,” she said, and I nodded.

“Okay, well, I had to leave in a hurry because I got the apprentice job I’d applied for in California,” I explained. Elsie narrowed her eyes at me.

“And why didn’t I know about this job?” she asked.

“I didn’t want to tell people because I didn’t think I’d get it.”

“So, you’re telling me that I was just a part of the general public?”

“No, Elsie, I didn’t want you to think any less of me. If I didn’t get the job, I would have been embarrassed,” I was speaking softly to her, hoping she would see the earnestness in my eyes.

“And what about after? When you got to California. Why couldn’t you call me then? None of us had any idea where you were. Your parents were worried sick!” Elsie leaned over the table, she was hissing with anger.

I nodded.

“I know. I should have called someone, but I got caught up with work. I was new to that place. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t think my parents would care,” I explained, and Elsie rolled her eyes away from me.

“That was the problem with you, Jared. You always played the victim card. My dad is an alcoholic, my mom is having an affair. My parents don’t care about me. I’m just a rebel child making my way alone in the world. Bullshit!” Elsie barked. A couple of people turned to look at us from the other tables.

I clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes at her.

“My father was an alcoholic and my mother had multiple affairs. I didn’t make up any of that,” I said, in a deep, growling voice.

Elsie’s nostrils were flaring, and her cheeks were flamed. She crossed her arms over her heaving breasts and looked away from me.

“I always cared, Jared. No matter what everyone else said about you, I stuck by you through everything.” Her voice had grown soft again.

I couldn’t say anything to that. I knew she was right, but it was difficult for me to admit weakness. I drank my Scotch in silence and Elsie had her cocktail. I gestured to the waiter for another round and neither of us spoke till the second drinks arrived.

“Elsie, I’m sorry,” I said, to break the cold silence between us. She snapped her head back to look at me.

“That’s ten years too late!”

“I know.”

“You had ten years to call, to write a letter…to send word, anything! The first thing I heard about you was four years later in a news article. You were working for some big construction company. You were on their sales team. I had no idea how that even happened. How you got there!” Elsie’s softness had gone again.

I couldn’t blame her. I never gave her a chance to vent before.

“Why? Why did you just disappear, Jared? Why didn’t you ever get in touch with me?” Her voice was strained as she glared at me. The tip of her nose had reddened. Just the way it used to when she was about to cry.

I didn’t want to make Elsie cry. That wasn’t why I was here.

But how was I supposed to tell her the truth about my disappearance? I’d vowed to myself that she would never know. I didn’t want to spoil the memory of our friendship.