Until she remembered Taylor. And now, sitting in a booth with him at the Caboose all she could do was dread how he would react. She sucked on the end of her straw, dredging up the last bit of her Dr. Pepper. She peered at Taylor nervously.
He looked up at her. "What? Is there something on my face?"
Ashley, not wanting to feel dumb, snatched a napkin out of the napkin holder and then reached across the table and wiped a spot on his cheek close to his mouth. "Ketchup," she said quickly, wadding up the napkin and sitting it by his plate.
"Oh," Taylor said. "Are you okay? You're all...fidgety."
"I'm fine," she replied, too quickly. He eyed her skeptically.
"What's wrong?" he asked slowly. He raised an eyebrow. "No! Don't tell me! You finally got a boyfriend. Who is he? When do I get to meet him?"
"I don't have a boyfriend, Taylor," she told him.
"Are you ever gonna get one?" he asked. "You're gonna end up being a spinster at this rate. Or maybe lezzy. Oh, god! You're not gonna start dating other girls, are you?"
Ashley rolled her eyes. "I just don't want a boyfriend right now. I've got plenty of years ahead of me to do that..."
"You sure it's not the whole lesbian thing? It's okay if you want to come out. Ellen did it," Taylor said encouragingly.
"Yeah, right!" Ashley laughed. "You just want it so you can come spy on a girl-girl make-out session. You know the thought of seeing two girls feeling each other up gives you blue balls..."
"Shhh," Taylor said quietly, grinning despite the feined seriousness. "You can't let the others know."
Ashley laughed. Taylor leaned back and studied her. "But I'm for real, Ash. What's up? You're acting like someone having withdrawals from cigarettes."
Ashley frowned. "You know that exchange program I told you about back in like April?"
"Yeah," he said slowly.
"I got accepted. I'm going to France for my senior year," she told him quietly. He smiled brightly.
"That's great! You're going to France? Oh, how cool! Where are you staying? Who are you staying with? You are bringing me back souveniers right?"
Ashley sighed in relief. "I'm staying in a place called Grenobie. It's in Isere, a department. That's kind of like a state. You knew that, right?"
"Um...not really. But if you say so," Taylor said, grinning.
"Okay, and I'm staying with the de Contres family. They have a daughter my age who is staying with my parents. You know. Exchange and all..."
"What's her name?"
"Chloe," Ashley said.
"Chloe de Contres?" Taylor asked.
"Don't tell me you've already got a crush," Ashley groaned. "For all you know she could be a 500-pounder with bad breath, acne, and hairy armpits."
Taylor made a face. "Nah. I'm going out with Elese now, remember?"
"Elese?" Ashley asked. "Oh, yeah... Her. The girl whose clothing never seems to cover anything more than her nipples, crotch, and butt-hole. I hate her."
"She's got a very nice body and she shows it off a little," Taylor sniffed. "Besides, she wears more than that!"
"Yeah, sometimes she'll get modest and wear something that doesn't fit like a g-string."
"Do I sense some hostility?" Taylor teased. Ashley rolled her eyes.
"Women have worked very hard to be respected as more than a piece of flesh for men to drool over and control," she said dejectedly. "It's girls like her who set back the whole women's lib thing by at least a century."
Taylor stuck his tongue out. "Well if some lady like that had come up to me a century ago and asked me for sufferance, I'd have gladly said yes."
Ashley sighed. Just then, Beverly came up. "Want anything else, kids?"
"No, Bev. We're fine," Ashley assured her.
"Okay," the woman replied. "Holler if you need anything."
"Okay," they said in unison.
"You ready to go?" Taylor asked.
"Sure," Ashley said, stacking her stuff on her plate. "Bev! Check, please!"
The waitress came back out, and handed them their check. The two pooled their money, and left it on the table for her to get when she cleaned up. Then the two got up to leave. After they had gotten back in Ashley's car (she still insisted upon driving, due to the fact that she still didn't trust Taylor behind the wheel) Taylor sighed. Ashley looked at him curiously.
"Taylor?"
He met her eyes, a thick tear rolling down his cheek. "I'll miss you, Ash."
Ashley smiled, and gave him a hug. "I'll miss you too, Tay."
"What if I never see you again?" he asked.
"Huh?"
"What if when you come back, we're both off at college and we never see each other?" he asked.
Ashley laughed. "I'll see you!! I'm not spending the entire summer overseas. I'll be back in Tulsa in time for graduation!"
"Really?" he sniffled.
"Sure," Ashley said. "Stop crying. You're gonna make me cry."
Taylor sniffed again, and laughed. "Sorry 'bout that. I just know Tulsa will never be the same without you here."
Ashley smiled sadly. "Thanks."
"C'mon. Let's get home. I don't want to sit here in the parking lot forever. People might start to get the wrong idea," he said. Ashley laughed, and pulled out of the parking lot.
Martha sniffed. "He...was...so...sweet."
"Yeah," Ashley said, dabbing at her own eyes with the sleeve of her button-up flannel shirt. "You about finished with my hair?"
"Still gotta figure out a way to get it all piled on top of your head. You have more hair than anyone I know..."
"Oh, yuck. This should be fun..."
"Tell me more," Martha encouraged. "I want to hear how this impending wedding came about..."
