This, That, and the Other

They’d been best friends since elementary school. They were often called the “Four Musketeers” because they were always together. Some of the meaner, cliquish girls referred to them as the “Four Stooges” because, well, they were always together, but not part of the in-crowd. But that didn’t bother them in the least. They were BFFs.

Jayne, the sassy one, was the first to leave when her father took a new job in a different city at the beginning of their senior year. There was a big going away party and lots of tears right before Jayne moved away. But they all promised to stay in touch with one another.

After they graduated from high school, Elizabeth, the smart one, headed off to her Ivy League college. There was a big party and a lot of tears right before she left. But they all promised to stay in touch with one another.

Monica, the level-headed one, stayed close to home, having enrolled in the local community college, while Ellen, the funny and big-hearted one, got a job as a checker at the town’s largest grocery store. Monica and Ellen hung out together for a while, but then slowly drifted apart.

Three of the girls, Elizabeth, Monica, and Ellen would get together when Elizabeth came home from her Ivy League college for holidays and they would call Jayne on the phone to reminisce and share their new experiences. And they all promised to stay in touch with one another.

Five years after high school graduation, Jayne was married and pregnant with her second child. Elizabeth was attending a prestigious law school. Monica was an English teacher at the local high school. Ellen was an assistant manager at the grocery store. And they had all pretty much gone their separate ways, rarely in touch with one another.

Twenty years after high school graduation, Jayne was newly divorced and a single mother to two teenagers. Elizabeth, a high powered lawyer, was married, had a daughter, and was considering a run for Congress. Monica, married but childless, was head of the county’s teachers union. Ellen was still single and still an assistant manager at the same grocery store.

Two years later, Jayne was planning to move back to her home town with her kids so she could be closer to her aging parents. Elizabeth had lost her run for Congress and decided to give up the high pressure life as a big city lawyer. She was moving back to her home town with her husband and daughter and would be starting a new job as a public defender.

Elizabeth called Monica and said she was coming home. Monica let Ellen know. Ellen called Jayne’s mother and found out that Jayne, too, was heading to town. When Ellen found out that Jayne and Elizabeth were returning to the town of their youth, she and Monica organized a reunion of the Four Musketeers.

And that’s where this picture was taken.

The four girlhood friends — Jayne, Elizabeth, Monica, and Ellen — all grown up and so happy to be together once again. Truly they were Best Friends Forever.

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Written for Sadje’s What Do You See? prompt. Photo credit: Gemma Chua–Tran at Unsplash.