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They came back every year to this same spot. This little coffee shop on a corner of Main Street, in the small coastal town where their families vacationed for the summer. Ally had gotten there two days ago and she couldn't wait for Betty to arrive. Their holidays didn't line up perfectly this year, but they had still rented a cabin together. Betty was supposed to get here in time for lunch, so they had agreed to meet at the coffee shop. While she waited, Ally sat with the sun warming her back, as she looked around the little shop. She remembered the day they had met…. They were little girls. Ally had begged her mom to take her to the coffee shop because they had the best donuts. The family had been in town for 3 days already and they hadn't stopped in yet. Finally, Ally had gotten her mother to agree, and they went, just the two of them! They walked into the shop and the smell was amazing. The place was full, but they got donuts and tried to find a seat. Ally saw a spot there next to another mom and daughter. "Mommy, can we sit with them? We can make friends!" Ally pulled on her mom's hand. "Well, I suppose we can ask." They walked over. "Hi, would you mind if my daughter and I sat with you? It's rather full and my daughter wanted to make friends with your daughter." "Oh, of course! We just got here for our vacation and I would love for Betty to make some new friends." So the moms visited while the two girls got to know each other. “I'm Ally!" She waved. "I'm Betty! I like your shirt." She took a bite of her donut. "Thanks, it's Bambi. It's one of my favourite Disney movies." She pointed to Bambi and smiled. "What's your favourite Disney movie?" "Oh, Mama doesn't like those movies so I haven't seen many.” Betty sighed. "Well, stay my friend and we'll change that." Alley laughed at that memory now. She looked around the coffee shop filled with so many memories. They had grown up in this place. They had gone from exchanging letters to emails, to calling and texting over the years. No matter the distance, their friendship only grew. Ally remembered the summer both girls got dumped on vacation, Ally at the start and Betty near the end…. "Men are officially stupid," Ally sighed as they grabbed their chocolate peanut butter milkshakes and headed out of the coffee shop. "On that one, I agree." Betty signed just as heavily. "But, you know what helps?" "What?" Ally looked out at the beach. "Chocolate and amazing friends." Betty lifted up her shake, and Ally tapped her drink against her friend’s. "I'll drink to that." They laughed together. Ally once again realized she’d been lost in a memory. She took a sip of her shake. Coffee was overrated and it was summer; milkshakes were way better. Before another memory flooded her mind, Betty walked into the shop. Ally waved and Betty's smile was so contagious that some of the other people, who had been vacationing here just as long as the girls had, smiled too. They knew this was the first time the two friends had seen each other in a year. Ally got up from her seat and smothered Betty with a hug. "Go order your lunch, Gus is waiting to make mine." Alley sat back down. "Still starting with dessert, I see?" Betty teased. "Please, this is my drink; a donut will be dessert. Plus, I'm on vacation." Ally stuck out her tongue. "Now go order." Betty laughed and headed off. A few minutes later, Betty returned with her own milkshake. "And you judged me." Ally objected. "I never said it was a bad idea," Betty defended herself. "Sure…. Hey, you know what's crazy?" Ally tossed her straw wrapper at her friend. "Hey." Betty giggled. "What's crazy?" “This is year six that we've been coming here alone." Ally pointed out. "No way! Are we really that old? It feels like only yesterday that we were calling our parents every day with another question about these trips." Betty sat in shock. "We are 26 and 27 this year. So yep, it's been that long." Alley smiled and took a nice long sip. Gus brought out their lunch."Have a good visit girls; I know it will be too short. Don't forget, my wife and I are just a few doors down if ya need anything." He smiled and walked away. "So, what should we do in our few short days together?" Betty asked starting into her salad. "We could go for a walk?" They always went for walks, sometimes on the beach, some days in the big garden, other times to the little garden. "And it might not be a bad idea to get that in today; it might rain tomorrow or the next day. "Oh, then we can curl up and read.” Betty clapped her hands. "Ya like we didn’t see that coming!” Ally teased. With lunch done, the two girls headed out, stopping by the cabin to drop off Betty's bags. They decided to walk through the garden and then go to the beach for a bit. Ally had brought her newest jean picnic blanket, which they sat on to enjoy the sounds of the beach. They caught up on life, soaking in every moment they could. The next day it did in fact rain, so the two girls curled up on opposite ends of the couch, enjoying their books. After a while, they switched to their different stitching projects; Ally quilted and Betty embroidered. Finally, they each made a warm drink of choice, and just existed together. Soon evening rolled in and the rain stopped, so the girls went for a stroll to watch the sunset. They both liked sunrises more, but sunsets were easier to see when they were going to spend the night chatting anyway. "Hey Betty, let's walk this way." Ally led her friend down a familiar path. "Hey! Isn't this where our parents rented cabins when we were kids?" Betty started trying to find the old cabins. "Ya, before somebody bought too many of them. But that's not why I brought you here." Ally stopped in front of one cabin. "Remember this one?" Betty stared hard at the cabin. "This is that sweet storybook-lady cabin isn’t it?" When the girls were young, there had been an older lady who lived at the campground most of the year and made her home seem like a fairytale. Looking at it now, the place had faded, but the right people could bring it back to the girls’ childhood memory. "Yep, this is the one. The lady passed away last year and her son had to sell it." Ally explained. "Oh, how sad. She was such a sweetheart. And who knows if the new owners would keep her legacy alive." Betty sighed. "Well, maybe..." Ally pulled a set of keys out of her pocket. "You didn't?!" Betty couldn't believe it. "I did. I could afford it. He wanted the place gone so he gave me a good price. So, we have a vacation home to share if you wanna sign some papers. We won't have it till next year. He wanted one more summer with the cabin. So we have time to make arrangements. Come on, he gave me the keys so we could look it over while we’re together." Ally smiled so brightly she thought her face might break. "Ally, this is amazing! Of course, I'll own this with you. Then, we can always come back to this place every year, no matter what happens." Ally opened the door for her best friend and the new journey they were about to start. “That was my thought. No matter what, we can always come back to this same spot." Did you like what you read? Do you want to get notified when I post a new story before my Facebook or Instagram followers do? If you do, click the Login/Sign Up button at the top of the blog post and you will become a site member and get notified when I post a new story every Friday! Or you can follow me on Facebook or Instagram and get updates later on in the day!

Nancy is a normal six-year-old with friends and parents who love her. She doesn’t have any siblings but she doesn’t mind that…or at least, she didn’t mind until she was six. Then... "Mommy? When do I get a baby sister like Susie?" Her mom has to catch the glass she nearly drops. "Oh baby, we aren't going to have any more kids. Just you." She pokes Nancy’s nose. That night Nancy hears a thump under her bed. "Who's there?" No answer. "I'm not scared, you know! I'm the bravest girl in the High Queen’s Court! She made me a knight at recess today! So you can't scare me." "Oh, a knight, eh?" A voice comes from under Nancy’s bed. "I didn't realize I was in the presence of such greatness." Suddenly a little monster, with wings, three eyes, a long tail, orange fur with purple spots, and hands that seemed to float, flies out from under her bed. "Eep!" Nancy pulls her blanket up to her nose. "What's this? I thought you weren't scared." The monster flies close to her face. "I'm not! You startled me! And Mommy says there is a difference!" Nancy folds her arms, trying to prove a point. "And to prove it, I'm going to call you Bubbles. Because no one is scared of bubbles!" She smirks and waits for him to answer. "A name? I've never had one of those before." He plops down on the foot of her bed. "Well, if you promise to be nice to me, you can stay and maybe you can be my friend. But Susie is my best friend. So don't try to take her place!" With a sharp nod, Nancy curls up under her blanket and falls asleep. The next morning, Nancy tries to tell her mother all about Bubbles, the monster under her bed. But her mother responds with a simple “That's nice, dear” and comments on her active imagination. When Nancy tells her friends at school about him, some laugh and others tell her it sounds cool. So, she decides to keep Bubbles a secret. A few years go by and Nancy is nine, getting ready to go to summer camp for the first time. "Bubbles, are you sure you can't come with me?" "Nope, I belong in your room. Besides, you'll have fun with your new friends. And isn't Susie in your cabin?" Bubbles sits on her bed, waiting for her to be done packing so he can move to his favourite spot on her shoulder. "Yep! Or at least, that's the plan! Our moms marked us down as cabin buddies!" Nancy closes her bag. "Okay! I'm ready!" She flops down on her bed, and Bubbles curls up on her shoulder. "I'm going to have fun this week, right?" "Of course you are! Camp is so much fun! There is candy and swimming, staying up late and meeting new friends. You'll be sad to leave, trust me." Bubbles smiles and does a flip in the air, causing Nancy to giggle. "Okay, okay, I'll have fun and I'll come back and tell you all about it!" Nancy catches Bubbles as he flies back toward her. More years go by and now Nancy is twelve years old - somewhere between a kid and a teen. One day after school, her mom sits her down to talk. "Nancy, your father and I have news." "Okay, what's up?” She notices her parents aren't smiling. This has to be bad news, she thought. "I got a new job,” her father starts. “It's in a different city.” "Wait, a different city? Do I have to leave my friends? This isn't fair!” Nancy starts shouting. "Wait, Nancy! You and I won't leave till school is out, and you'll still get to go to your summer camp. Then you'll start at a new school in the fall." Her mother smiles at her. Nancy doesn’t care. She doesn’t want to move. She gets up and runs to her room, burying herself in blankets and hiding her face in the pillows. She can’t stop herself from crying. Suddenly, something lands on her shoulder. "Hey kid, what happened?" As Nancy slowly sits up, Bubbles plops down beside her and lets her pet him. "I'm moving, Bubbles. Away from my friends, my school, everything." She can't look at him. She stops petting him and picks at her blanket. "Not right away, right?" Bubbles sits his hand on hers. "No, I have till the end of the school year." Nancy still looks away. "Well, alright then. You and Susie can create a school bucket list and see how many things you can get done before the end of the year." Nancy smiles a bit, but Bubbles knows Nancy too well, "Come on kid, what else is it?" "Will you come with me? You never come to camp; can you leave this house?" She finally looks at him. "Oh kid… of course, I'll come with you. I'm your monster. I belong in your room, wherever that is." Bubbles floats up and flips, and Nancy holds out her hands. He lands perfectly, she brings him close to her face, and they share a little hug. "And this time when I pop out from under your bed, I won't scare you." He winks. "Hey, I wasn't scared, I was startled!" Nancy strikes that same sassy pose that she did all those years ago, then sighs. "Alright, I should go and apologize to Mom and Dad." The school year goes by too fast for Nancy. Soon she and Bubbles are packing up her room and saying goodbye to the space. Nancy cries more than she thought she would. But they move. Her new room is bigger. Bubbles likes having more space to fly around. Nancy dares to hope that maybe things in the new city will be okay. However, Nancy decides that starting a new school at thirteen is the worst. The kids are mean, and she has no friends. She misses Susie. "Come on kid, it can't be that bad," Bubbles says after a few months of listening to her complain. "Bubbles, it's been months and no one likes me! I hate it here." Nancy paces around her room. "Maybe you should join the school play or one of the sports teams and make friends that way,” Bubbles suggests. “If nothing else, it would give you something to do." Bubbles sits on her shoulder, getting her to stop pacing. "I mean… I guess I could give it a try. Thanks, Bubbles." Nancy does join the school play and the choir. While she doesn’t find a new best friend, she does get out of her shell. She finds a group of kids to spend time with at school, and that makes the days a bit easier. Once Nancy gets to high school, she finds her friend group growing, thanks to the much bigger choir and drama club. Even though she feels like she belongs more in her high school, she’s still a teen…. "Bubbles, is something wrong with me?" Nancy asks. Bubbles sits on her shoulder as she tries to read for her assignment. "What do you mean kid?" He’s been looking over her shoulder reading the book too. "Well, I'm seventeen and none of the boys in the club or choir seem to like me." She sighs and closes the book. "What do you mean? Didn't a bunch of those kids come over last week for a bonfire?" He flies down and sits on the book. "Not like that, Bubbles…” She sighs and stares at the ceiling. "Oh! You mean in the lovey-dovey kinda way!" He laughs. "It sounds weird when you say it that way." She sighs again. "Okay kid, come on, stand up." He flies over to her mirror. Nancy reluctantly follows. "What do you see?" She looks at herself for a moment and speaks quietly. "Someone I don't like. I'm ugly and awkward; no wonder no one likes me." She looks down, feeling defeated. "You know what I see?" Bubbles gently lifts her chin to look back in the mirror. "I see a girl with big dreams, who has a heart of gold. She has a smile that brightens everyone's day. She has a beauty that goes past the skin…and I wish she saw it too." Her smile returns. So what if she doesn’t get a boyfriend in high school? She has Bubbles, her closest friend. Nancy catches him in her hand and hugs him. "Thanks, Bubbles." More years fly by. Nancy is packing the last few odds and ends in her room for college - the box her parents called “the last-minute box.” "I can't believe I leave for college tomorrow, Bubbles! We're going to have so much fun!" "Hey, kid." Bubbles tries to get her attention. "It's the next big adventure!" She puts one last item in the box and tapes it shut. "Kid..." "I know it could be hard with a roommate and all, but we will make it work - I know it!" She's ignoring him and he can tell. "Nancy, come on, stop." He lands on the box, not letting her ignore him anymore. "No..." She fights back tears. "Nancy, you know I'm not coming with you." Bubbles takes her hand and leads her to the foot of her bed. "I...I know, but you'll be here when I come home for breaks, right?" She can't look at him. "I think you already know the answer to that one, kid." He rests in her hand, looking tired now. "You know…I think when we moved, I knew you weren't real. Then things were so hard, I didn't want to give you up." Nancy gives him a tear-filled smile. "I know." Bubbles speaks softly. "And now, it feels like giving you up is letting my childhood die." She didn't even try stop her tears. "Oh kid, even grown-ups are kids at heart; you just have to learn how to let your child out every once in a while." He gives her a small flip, Nancy giggles, and he plops down in her hand again. She blinks her tears away. "Alright, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. How do we do this?" She brings him toward her face, sharing one last, long hug. After a moment Bubbles breaks the silence, moving to ride on her shoulder. "Let's go to the window." Together they walk quietly to the window. Nancy slowly opens the window, wishing more than anything that she could stop time. "How will I do this without you?" Her voice is tight. "Aw kid, all my ideas were yours anyway. You're gonna be just fine. I know, just know it." He gives her one last flip off her shoulder. "So long, Bravest Knight of the High Queen. May your bravery serve you well." He flies off into the night sky. "Goodbye, my friend." Nancy lets herself fall to the floor and cry for a while. She knows she is going to miss him. Did you like what you read? Do you want to get notified when I post a new story before my Facebook or Instagram followers do? If you click the Login/Sign Up button at top of the blog post and you will become a site member and get notified when I post a new story every Friday! Or you can follow me on Facebook or Instagram and get updates later on in the day!