For Better, for Worse, Forever by Lurlene McDaniel

quiet. The scent of chalk and white paste sent a wave of nostalgia through April. She’d never thought she would miss the place, but suddenly she did miss it. She’d been an excellent student and had received high honors. Once she’d even dreamed of becoming a TV journalist.
    “I wish you could see my campus,” Kellisaid, seemingly oblivious to the spell of the building. “It’s majorly cool, while this place is so rinky-dink.” They’d stopped in front of the trophy case. “Look, there’s your name.” Kelli pointed to a tall silver award won by the debate team in April’s junior year. April’s name was etched in the metal.
    “That was fun,” April said with a wistful smile.
    “Immortalized for all time,” Kelli said brightly.
    April figured that once she was gone, the trophy and photos in the yearbook would be all that remained of her. “I think you should go to the twenty-fifth reunion,” she told Kelli.
    “Sure. We’ll go together.” April didn’t answer, but headed for the parking lot and the car. “Hey, wait for me,” Kelli called, jogging after her. “What’s the rush?”
    “No hurry. Just thought of somewhere else I’d like to go.” April drove slowly and turned down a side street. “Have you been by your old house?”
    “Not yet.”
    “Would you like to?”
    “I guess,” Kelli said halfheartedly.
    The quiet tree-lined street was just as Aprilremembered it. “The last time I drove down this street was that day last year when you left for college.”
    “I think I knew then that I wouldn’t be back to live here. My folks were barely speaking.”
    April pulled up to the curb and shut off the engine. The old brick house looked well kept. The shutters and front door had been painted blue, and a stranger’s car was in the circular driveway. “I missed you from the second you rolled out of the driveway.”
    “You were making plans to marry Mark.”
    “I wish I could have had more time with him.”
    Kelli stared out at the house for a long time before sighing. “It seems like a million years ago that I lived here.”
    April heard the emotion in her friend’s voice. “I know what you mean. When I got back home, everything seemed out of sync. It was as if I didn’t belong here anymore.”
    “I really
don’t
belong here. And I guess my parents’ split is for the best. They’ve been unhappy together for so long. I think they just stayed together because of me. Still, it’s weird.”
    “What’s weird?”
    “Seeing the house, knowing that someone else lives in it. Knowing I don’t have a home anymore—just a college dorm room halfway across the country.”
    “I didn’t mean to make you sad,” April said softly.
    “I’ll get over it. I mean, you were ready to start a new home with Mark last summer. Isn’t that the way things are supposed to be? You grow up, move out, get married, and make your own life.”
    Yes, for some people
, April thought. She switched on the engine. “Let’s get out of here. It’s almost time for supper, and Mom will be miffed if you don’t eat with us.”
    “Has her cooking improved?”
    “Not much.”
    Both girls broke out laughing, and April sped back toward her house, anxious to dispel the gloom that had fallen over them both.
    Dinner would have been subdued if not for Kelli’s animated chattering. April’s father asked questions about college, and Kelli told about her campus, her classes, her aspirations.
    “I have to declare a major by the time I’m a junior, and right now I’m leaning toward a degree in public relations. I like working with people, and I’m getting good grades in a couple of advertising classes.”
    “You’d be good at PR,” Hugh told her.
    “Maybe April and I can go into business together someday.”
    April’s mother caught April’s gaze with a questioning look that asked,
“Haven’t you told her?”
and April flashed her a look that said,
“Not yet.”
    But once dinner was over and April and Kelli