“So, Alison,” said her father, “your mother tells me you picked a college.”
“Yes, I did: Washington State,” she answered. “It was one of two schools that offered me a scholarship.”
“Better not tell Lia,” said her mother. “I think she planned on having you as her roommate at University of Idaho.”
“She’ll have to say something,” her father said, “I heard Lia saying the two of you would be looking for an awesome apartment near campus.”
“She never mentioned that to me,” said Deborah. “I just have to go to Washington State. I’ll have to find an apartment there, I guess.”
“Freshmen at Washington State are required to live in the dorms,” her father said, “at least when I went there.”
Deborah’s smile faded. The dorms. That would mean sharing a room and having to hide her bedwetting from a roommate. “It’s too late to change.”
“It’s not that bad,” said her father. “I met some friends I still hang out with in the dorms in college.”
“Are you worried about your nighttime problem?” asked her mother.
“Mother!” She couldn’t believe her mother had told her father.
“What problem?” he asked. He was probably just trying to find out to protect his daughter, but Deborah didn’t want him to know too.
“She’s just having stress about getting ready to graduate,” said her mother. “I just have been washing the sheets a bit more.”
She saw her father redden a bit. “Oh,” he said. “So what do you think of the Cougars?” He obviously tried to change the subject.
“Sounds like fun. I heard if University of Idaho loses to the Cougars they have to walk all the way back to Idaho from Washington.”
“Watch out,” said her mother. “I recall seeing Washington State people walking back to their campus a few times. Idaho State sometimes wins.”
“One of the problems of a mixed marriage,” said her father. “My parents warned me about dating across school rivalries.” He put his arm around Deborah’s mother. The whole scene embarrassed her. Her real mother died when Deborah was still young, so she never remembered her father and mother flirting with one another. She just sat and ate her meal while her parents ignored her.
After lunch they drove home. Deborah changed into comfortable jeans and a T-shirt and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening working on her Spanish. It was hard reading through the entire Spanish book and her notes and remembering enough. She also looked over the conversation Lia and she had practiced until she could do it with her eyes closed. She still had no idea what she was saying, but at least the words were right.
She was about to put everything away in her bag and enjoy the rest of the evening when her cell phone rang. She flipped it open. “Hello?”
“It’s Lia,” said Lia, “You ready for our Spanish conversation?”
Deborah said her first line from memory. “Yes, I’m ready.”
“Well we got to plan for Saturday,” she said. “I’m going to find a cute yet cool apartment in Moscow. It will be cool living right near campus and…” She went on and on.
“Moscow, Idaho might be a bit too far for me,” said Deborah. “I hate to disappoint you, but I am going to Washington State.”
“What?” asked Lia. “I thought we would be going to school together.”
“We’re still best friends,” said Deborah. “I don’t want to fight over the cute guys with you, so we’ll have to be on separate campuses.”
“But I’ll be alone. You’ve been my only friend since kindergarten. Who else will I be able to hang out with?”
Deborah sighed. “We’ll make new friends, and besides: we won’t be that far apart. Washington State and University of Idaho are a little over seven miles apart. We go farther than that to go to the mall.”
“It just won’t be the same without you, Alison,” said Lia. “Well get rest for our Spanish conversation tomorrow.” She heard a click as Lia hung up.