Page 3 of Semantics

“You can have a girlfriend and still want to fuck someone else,” Arlowe replied.

“Well, I don’t.”

“Did you want to fuck someone else while you were with Eline?” Sarai challenged Arlowe.

“No.”

“Then, maybe you should call her and tell her that you’re in love with her, denying it to yourself, and that you want to be together.”

“Like I said, I’m graduating in May. Five more months, and I’m out looking for a job. She lives here, and I know I won’t be able to afford to fly back and forth. She can’t either. And even if I could afford that, it’s not like I’m going to be able to just get time off from work whenever I want to see her. I’m going to miss her, and yeah, it’ll be hard, but I think it’s for the best. She can find someone here. I can find someone where and when I’m ready, too. I didn’t exactly expect to come here for a few months and meet her, you know?”

They hadn’t known each other all that long yet, but Violet could tell that Arlowe was only putting on a brave face and that she really loved the local woman, whom she’d met not long after they’d all arrived. Still, she felt like she should give this to her and not call her out on it.

“So, can we now pick on Enya for something?” Arlowe asked the group.

“What? Why me?”

“Because you like Briana.”

“Briana is ten years older than me and settled down in Ireland. Oh, and she’s about to marry a man.”

“She’s in Ireland because of him, but she’s an American, at least. So, you can tell her how you feel, suggest she move back home, and marry her instead.”

Enya laughed and said, “As if that would ever happen. It was one week in Ireland. And yeah, I like her, but it’s not like anything happened. She’s engaged and didn’t tell me that she’s into women, too, when I told her I was gay, so there’s also that. It was, like, two months ago, and we haven’t talked since, so I don’t even know that we’re going to be friends.”

“Eline and I haven’t talked since it ended, either. I think that’s probably a good thing. Cut the cord, you know?” Arlowe said before she finished her beer. “Another round?”

“I’m good,” Sarai replied. “I just got a text from Gabi. She wants to know if she can come back to Amsterdam for a weekend and hang out.”

“She’s got a crush on you,” Enya teased.

“She’s eighteen. I’m twenty-two. Seems like not a big deal, but it is. She’s sweet, but I’m not into dating someone who’s just out of high school. Besides, she lives in Paris.”

“Yes, but you and Enya both seem to be forgetting that the women you met while here are both Americans. Gabi is only in Paris because her dad is some kind of big shot diplomat or something. She can move home whenever, and you two can be at least friends and hang out,” Arlowe noted.

“Because the US is such a small country,” Violet joked.

“Yeah, but neither of them would need a visa or have to become citizens or something,” Arlowe replied.

“True,” Sarai said. “But again, she’s eighteen. I showed her around here for the weekend, and it was whatever. I think she just forgot that we’re all leaving this week.”

“Maybe she wants to see you one more time before we go,” Violet suggested.

“Maybe.” Sarai shrugged. “Oh, well.”

“So, this is it,” Enya said. “We’re all about to go home, and we won’t be able to hang out like this.”

Then, no one said anything at all because it must have hit them at once that this was the last time their group would get to hang out together before they all went home. Violet was leaving the following afternoon, wanting to get home to have as much of the winter break as possible before she had to go back to school for the spring semester. Enya would leave the day after. Arlowe was heading out then, too, and Sarai would be leaving the day after them. Tonight was it.

“Hey, what are you all going to do after you graduate? I was thinking about maybe taking a short vacation or something; like a week before I start whatever job I can get, if I’m lucky. If not, I’ll keep doing freelance stuff for a while. Maybe we could all get together somewhere and celebrate graduation before we join the workforce officially?” Arlowe suggested.

“I’ll be working already,” Violet replied. “I have a summer internship. Then, I’m back in school.”

“What if we did something before you started your internship?”

“It would have to be a four-day quick thing over a weekend or something because I start right away.”

“Okay. Anyone else?” Arlowe asked.