Page 50 of Friends are Forever
Reva raised both hands in surrender. “All right, all right.”
Their laughter filled the night air, as rich and vibrant as if they were sitting right beside her.
When they finally said good night—after promising, yet again, to text first thing tomorrow—Reva sat back in the rocker, the house quiet except for the creak of wood and the far-off chirp of crickets.
The stars blinked awake overhead, dusting the velvet sky with light.
Reva tucked the tablet back onto the side table and picked up the envelope Charlie Grace had made her promise not to open until she was fully settled. She ran her thumb over the soft paper before sliding her finger under the flap.
Inside was a single sheet, handwritten in Charlie Grace’s looping script.
* * *
Emergency Reunion Protocol
1. If missing friends becomes unbearable, text “Code Red.”
2. Immediate response required: video call, meme exchange, or flights booked.
3. No apologies allowed for crying.
4. Laughter is mandatory.
5. Wherever we are—wherever you are—friends are forever.
* * *
Tears pricked her eyes, blurring the neat lines of ink.
Reva folded the paper carefully and slipped it into the pocket of her jacket—the same worn one she’d chosen to wear at the town’s goodbye party. Somehow, the fabric still smelled faintly of smoke and wildflowers.
She stood, stepping off the porch into the cool night.
The stars above Georgia looked different than the stars above Thunder Mountain. But they were still stars. Still part of the same great sky.
And she was still Reva Nygard—still stitched to her people by bonds too strong for distance to sever.
She had roots here now, sinking into the rich Georgia soil, twining alongside those old pecan trees.
But her heart? A big piece of her heart remained in the Teton Mountains.
In the distance, Lucan whooped as he caught another firefly, his joy echoing across the fields.
Kellen called from the other end of the porch, holding out a hand. “Come inside, honey.”
Reva smiled and turned back toward the house—her house, her new life—her heart so full it was a wonder it didn’t lift her straight off the ground.
As she crossed the porch threshold, she paused and looked back at the night sky one last time.
And in a voice soft and sure, she whispered the words that had carried her this far—and would carry her for many years to come.
Charlie Grace, Lila, Capri.
They truly were friends forever.
