I didn’t mean to spit all over Marilyn’s lunch.
It’s just the way she’d been talking about the solstice and — well, you’d have to meet Marilyn. She’s always so sunny. So bright. Such an Eternal Optimist. She cracked me up.
“Sorry,” I said, suddenly contrite. I waved a hand toward her lunch tray. “I’ll buy you a new sandwich.”
Marilyn brushed my hand away. “Oh, I didn’t see a thing. Besides, I’m sure a few germs are good for the immune system.”
And with that she took a huge bite of her sandwich. The one I’d just guffawed over, accidental specks of saliva and all.
That’s Marilyn. A silver lining to everything. Even germs.
“As I was saying,” she continued, ignoring my previous outburst, “tomorrow’s the Solstice. My happiest day of the year!”
As if Marilyn could have a ‘happiest’ day. Every day was a super-happy one for Marilyn.
I tried to pretend I hadn’t just dismissed her enthusiasm for the Solstice with a huge ill-timed laugh-out-loud. Chortling with a mouth full of food was not a good thing. I’d have to try to remember that.
“So, what’s so happy about the Solstice?” I was feigning interest. My way of apologizing.
“Why, it’s the shortest day of the year, of course!” Her lively features lit up, green eyes dancing.
“So the worst, darkest, shortest day of the entire year is worth celebrating?!”
“Of course!” Marilyn took a sip of her non-diet Coke and followed it up with a bite of chocolate-chip cookie. I kept my eyes on that oversized cookie as it continued to disappear. Only Marilyn could eat junk food and still look like – well, that other Marilyn.
“Because, silly, once the Solstice is over, the days start getting longer again!” Marilyn sat back with a self-satisfied grin, patting a few crumbs from her mouth with a napkin.
Of course there was that small upside to the downside. I could see her point. Sort of.
I narrowed my eyes slightly. “So, are you planning any particular, er, celebration for this momentous celestial event?”
Those green eyes twinkled with mischief now. “Oh yes! Yes indeed!” Her gaze swept the cafeteria, and even from my side of the table I could tell they landed on – Trevor.
Trevor, the object-of-her-affection since second grade. Trevor, myopic, glasses-wearing nerd who’d never taken his nose out of his Advanced Quantum Physics text long enough to notice Marilyn, though every other boy in the entire class knew her birthday, her bust size, and her favorite flowers all by heart. Just how Trevor had remained unaware of Marilyn’s interest for nigh onto a dozen years now was one of the true mysteries of the universe.
I leaned forward. “Really? You’ve got something planned – with Trevor?”
Marilyn turned that hundred-watt smile my direction. “He’s coming over.”
My eyebrows carromed up. “He is?”
She nodded, eyes demurely fixed on her now-empty cafeteria tray. “I finally asked him why he didn’t like me. And he told me he’d always liked me.”
This was magnitude 9.5 earthquake news. It was the-aliens-have-landed-and-they’re-friendly good news.
“So Trevor’s coming over tomorrow to help me with my algebra homework.”
I leaned farther forward. “Marilyn, you finished your algebra homework two days ago.”
That beatific smile lit up the dingy cafeteria.
“Exactly. Why waste the longest night of the entire year?!”