Chapter Text
It’s been a little over a week since Cady and Regina finally sat down and talked, after months of watching each other from across the coffee shop. Regina comes back to the cafe, three days a week, just like she said she would. They make small talk now at the counter, Cady asking how work was going and other things, not just asking for her order. Regina starts using her real name again, not Rachel, which confuses the hell out of some of the other baristas.
On Cady’s breaks, she sits at Regina’s booth with her, and the two talk. It’s never really that deep, just about whatever small things they had going on. Regina usually tells her a story about work, or Cady tells her something her mom had done the night before.
On the days that Regina doesn’t come to the coffee shop, she texts Cady, wishing her a good day in the morning and asking how her day had gone in the evening. It’s nice, Cady thinks, to have someone to talk to regularly other than her mom. Sure, she can always reach out to Damian and Janis if she wants someone to talk to, but… things were different. They avoid talking about their lives too much, for what they felt was a good reason. They’re both wildly successful, Janis as an artist, Damian making his Broadway debut a few years back. Cady is just… here, in Chicago, living with her mom, attending therapy, and working as a barista. It had been especially hard a few years ago, and they eventually ran out of things to talk about. They still call about once a month, getting vaguely caught up in each other’s lives, but it was always very vague. Not a lot of detail. Safer, that way. Less likely to make Cady upset, thinking about what could have been. At least, that's what it feels like to her.
Somehow, it doesn't feel that way with Regina. Regina never tiptoes around the truth, but it’s not braggy, either. She tells Cady about the latest drama she’s dealing with internally at work, or her latest dilemma with designs. Cady is a bit shocked to see just how much can happen in the course of a single week, but she quickly learns that Regina’s job is really stressful.
Yet, she still made time, three days a week, to spend her mornings sitting and watching Cady, for the last five months, and she's continuing to do it again. It makes Cady’s chest warm, but also makes her stomach twist in knots. It’s sweet, but also terrifying. The reality of their past, despite the long talk they’d had, and the apologies given, is still very present for Cady, and presents itself in the physical reactions her body has to these realizations. She’s on edge for a few hours once she pieces it together, feeling like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
But it isn't going to. Regina had been honest with her during their talk. At least, it really seems that way. Regina tells her more stories about the ten year gap between then and now, about short relationships she’s had with other women. Most of them were nothing more than one-night stands, but she mentions a longer-term relationship with a woman named Rebecca in passing, alluding that it hadn’t ended well. Cady doesn’t really push for more information, easily sensing it’s not the most comfortable subject matter for Regina.
To Cady, it feels like Regina really is trying. Trying to be honest, trying to be authentic, trying to do whatever she can to make up for the past.
One of those things seems to be getting Cady reconnected with Gretchen and Karen.
Regina brings up the idea a couple of days before, suggesting the four of them go out to dinner. Cady is interested, but admitted that she didn't have anything fancy to wear, and she knows Regina and her friends tend to have more expensive tastes.
Regina promises her they’ll pick somewhere on the more casual side, and so Cady agrees. Regina tells her a few hours later, after consulting with Gretchen and Karen (both of whom are thrilled at the idea of seeing Cady again), that they’ve picked out a Chinese-Japanese fusion and hibachi restaurant that errs on the more casual side. She also promises that the three won’t get too dressed up, which Cady hasn't even really asked for, but definitely appreciates.
That brings Cady to now, a couple of hours before Regina is supposed to pick her up, staring at the options in her tiny closet and feeling very overwhelmed.
“I really don't think this is a good idea,” Dr. Heron says from the doorway, leaning against the frame.
“I know, Mom,” Cady sighs. “I’m doing it anyway.”
“I just don't want you to get hurt.”
“I know. And I appreciate you and love you. You know I do.” Cady sighs again. “But this is Gretchen and Karen.”
“ And Regina,” Dr. Heron is quick to remind her.
“I know how you feel about Regina,” Cady tells her, “and you know what I'm going to say back. So why do we keep having the same conversation over and over?”
“Sweetie…”
“Mom, please . Just help me pick something out, please ?” Cady's voice is almost small now.
Dr. Heron looks at her daughter for several long moments, before sighing and stepping towards the closet. “Alright. But I still don't think this is a good idea.”
“I know,” Cady says, and they leave it at that.
Regina arrives right on time to pick Cady up, exactly at 6:30pm. She texts Cady a quick Here message, but the redhead is already downstairs waiting for her.
Cady is a bit shocked to see Regina’s new car. It makes sense that she wouldn't have the same Jeep she did back in high school, especially as a city businesswoman. No, now she has a sleek Lexus, black with leather seats. Regina greets her with a smile as she gets in.
“Hey,” Regina says as she puts the car in drive. “How was your day?”
“Good,” Cady replies with a smile of her own. “Slower day at work, which was nice. Then I just came home and got ready for this.”
“That does sound like a pretty good day. I saw Gretchen and Karen earlier today at work. They’re super excited to see you tonight. They still can't believe how close by you were.”
“I’m really excited to see them too,” Cady admits. “A little nervous, but it's okay.”
“It'll be a great time,” Regina tells her. “I promise.”
Cady smiles and relaxes into her seat. “Your car is really nice.”
“Thanks,” Regina says with a grin. “I live close enough to work that I don’t use it often, but it’s handy to have.”
Cady nods. “Yeah, my mom still has her car but doesn’t use it super often. We’re close enough to campus where she can walk to work most of the time, but it’s useful for, like, grocery shopping and emergencies and stuff.”
“Does your building have a garage?”
“Oh, God, no. It’s just street parking,” Cady shrugs. “We were lucky enough to get in-unit laundry, but that’s about it.”
“Hey, that’s no joke. In-unit or bust,” Regina says.
The conversation is light, gentle, through the rest of the ride. Cady really appreciates the way Regina can just… make a conversation easy, even if there’s heavy tones underneath. She doesn’t ask Cady if she drives (she doesn’t, she never got her license, and never really goes anywhere other than work without her mom), she doesn’t make Cady feel bad for the cramped space she lives in, she doesn’t try to compare their lives. It’s nice. They just talk , back and forth, about literally whatever , and it feels good.
There’s a little part of Cady that is still waiting for the other shoe to drop. She’s waiting for Regina to snap, or start screaming, or anything , really. But Regina’s been nothing but kind for the last week; hell, the last (nearly) six months, at this point. She has no reason to believe that it’s going to happen, but that little voice in the back of her head won’t shut up .
It’s a trauma response. She knows this. She spent the better part of the last ten years learning how to move on from what happened in high school and now… now half of the problem is sitting a foot away from her, driving her to dinner with their old friends. Yeah. It’s enough to make Cady’s stomach twist and her heart pound, no matter how much she tries to tell herself that everything is fine .
Because it is. It has to be fine. She has to be fine. She needs this. She needs to be able to actually move past what happened and start to feel like a whole person again. It’s been over ten years since she felt that way. She’s desperate, the pain of the past constantly clawing inside her.
Despite the turmoil in her brain and in her heart, Cady is doing her very best to just keep the light conversation going with Regina. It’s a skill she mastered a long time ago, a defense mechanism. She hasn’t had to use it much lately, because honestly, she has been doing better. She’s grateful Regina happened to walk into her life now, and not, like, two years ago, or something. She wouldn’t have been ready back then. Regina would have walked into that coffee shop and Cady would have frozen up the way she did when she saw that boy. All of her progress would have unraveled in a second .
But now, right now, she is okay. She’s doing better. She trusts that Regina is being honest with her. At least, the majority of Cady believes that. She knows it’ll take a long time to get past the trauma response, but that’s okay.
If the last ten years have taught Cady anything, it’s the value of patience in recovery. Nothing happens overnight.
The restaurant is in a different neighborhood than their apartments and the coffee shop, a bit further away from the university campuses. The restaurant is nice enough to have a valet, which makes Cady a little nervous.
“I promise, it’s still on the casual side,” Regina assures her when she sees the look on Cady’s face after they’d gotten out of the car and handed the valet the keys. “A lot of places around here have valets, since there’s such little street parking.”
Cady nods, desperately waiting to believe Regina. She fidgets nervously with the hem of her sweater, unable to fully calm herself. Regina puts a gentle hand on Cady’s shoulder.
The touch does help ground Cady, who gives a little nod of thanks. “Have you been here before?”
“Once, a couple months ago. Gretch and Kare have been a few times, though. They’re, like, big foodies now. They’re always trying different places.” She smiles softly. “They take me along sometimes, but a lot of it is their date nights.”
Cady nods again. Gretch and Kare . That’s new. “I’m sure they liked the chance to find a whole bunch of new places in Chicago.”
Regina laughs, leading Cady into the restaurant. “Yes and no. They warmed up to it eventually, but Karen was pretty upset that they wouldn’t get to finish their ‘New York Food Tour’, which they’d been at for nine years. But they weren’t ever gonna actually finish it, you know? New restaurants open and close all the time in big cities.”
“Yeah, the pizza place down the street from our apartment has been, like, five different places since we moved here. My favorite was when it was a smoothie shop. Those were so good.”
Regina smiles as they approach the host stand. The host looks up with a grin. “Party of two?”
Regina shakes her head. “No, actually, we have a reservation for four, under the name Karen? The other two might already be here.”
“Oh, you’re Karen Shetty’s friends! They just got here ten minutes ago, right this way!”
Cady gives Regina a look. “They know Karen by first and last name?” she whispers as they follow the host.
“We have got to get you back on social media,” Regina laughs. “She’s massive on Instagram. Chicago’s restaurant industry rejoiced when we all moved here.”
Cady hums. The idea of social media makes her stomach twist in knots, but she doesn’t say anything. It’s not like she’s got much of a life worth sharing, and she definitely doesn’t need help comparing herself to others.
They follow the host over to a table. Gretchen’s face lights up when she spots them. She hasn’t grown in height much since high school, but she looks incredible . And far more happy than Cady remembers. “Cady!” she exclaims, causing Karen to turn to face them as they approach.
Karen looks great too. Cady has to remind herself all three of the former Plastics now work for a fashion design company; Regina’s company, at that. Of course they all look like they walked straight out off a runway, even in “more casual” clothes.
Karen does look happier too, a bit less confused than Cady remembers. She’s got a huge smile on her face, eyes as kind as they’ve always been. Gretchen and Karen stand up, each girl embracing Cady in a big hug.
“Oh, it’s been so long!” Gretchen exclaims.
“We’ve missed you so much!” Karen says with a smile.
“I missed you guys too,” Cady tells them both, and, really, she has. They were always kind to her, even after everything happened. She hasn't forgotten her last day of school, the hugs they shared, and the things they said. They might have been Plastics, but they also cared a whole lot about Cady Heron.
They all sit down, big smiles all around. Their waiter comes over quickly, almost as soon as they’re in their seats, asking what everyone would like to drink. Everyone orders alcohol, except for Cady, who goes last, and just orders a water.
“You don’t want a drink?” Karen asks, tilting her head slightly in the way Cady remembers well. Gretchen nudges her under the table, but that’s also obvious to Cady. She’s a bit shocked at how well she remembers their little mannerisms, or how little those have changed in ten years.
Cady shakes her head. “I can’t drink with some of the meds I’m on.”
“Oh, okay!” Karen replies.
“Have you been to this place before?” Gretchen asks Cady, quickly trying to shift gears.
Cady shakes her head. “We don’t really go out much, my mom and I, and if we do, it’s just places in our neighborhood. I haven’t really been in this area much, despite living here for ten years.”
“You’ll love it,” Gretchen tells her. “Their noodles are to die for.”
Regina nods. “Whatever you end up getting, also order a side of hibachi noodles. Trust me, you’ll want them.”
Cady shrugs, opening the menu. “Sure. Sounds good.” The prices make her cringe internally. Sure, she’s got savings and stuff, but still, she’s an hourly barista. If this place was more casual, she’d hate to see the prices at the places her friends considered upscale .
To their credit, most of the other people around them were dressed fairly casually. A few couples were clearly out on date nights and were a bit more dressed up, but she also saw plenty of people in jeans and casual shirts. It definitely wasn’t upscale, even if the prices felt like they were to Cady.
“Wanna split a boat, babe?” Karen asks, looking up at Gretchen.
“Sure,” Gretchen replies. Cady flips to the sushi portion of the menu, and tries very hard not to react to the prices. Yeah, definitely not something she could justify getting. She flipped back to the entrees, scanning through for some of the lower priced items.
“Do you know what you’re getting?” Regina asks Cady.
Cady shrugs. “I’m torn between the Pad Thai or the fried rice.” Both of those look like some of the cheapest entrees, but they both also do sound really good.
“Oh, the Pad Thai is so good,” Karen tells her. “I had it the first time we came here. Delish .”
Cady smiles and closes her menu. “Sounds like I’m going with the Pad Thai.” She looks at Regina. “What about you?”
“I was looking at the special rolls, but I don’t know. Not really feeling sushi. Maybe the mango chicken.”
“Oh, that sounds good ,” Gretchen says, reading the menu. “Oh, they also have mango shrimp!”
“I do love shrimp,” Regina hums. “I’m kinda picky with it though. Like, it has to be good shrimp, you know?”
Cady nods, but she doesn’t really know. Sure, she knows the difference between shrimp that’s gone bad and shrimp that’s safe to eat, but she has no idea what classifies as good shrimp.
Their waiter returns with their drinks, and takes their orders. Gretchen ends up getting a dumpling appetizer for the table (“You have to try at least one! They’re so good!”), before they all place their orders, Regina deciding against the shrimp risk and going with the mango chicken. The waiter hurries off, and Cady notices he’s acting a little… nervous.
Right, Karen’s big on social media for her foodie posts, or whatever. They know her by name here. They’re probably looking to impress her.
“So, how long have you been in Chicago?” Gretchen asks Cady, stirring her drink with her straw.
“Oh, pretty much since I dropped out,” Cady shrugs. She notices the way Gretchen tenses up when she mentions it. She waves her hand. “Don’t worry about it. It happened, it’s my life, I don’t mind talking about it.”
Gretchen relaxes. “Oh, okay. I just didn’t want to… I don’t know, say something wrong or whatever.”
Cady waves her hand again. “Promise, I do not mind and it does not bother me. But, yeah, my mom got a job out at UChicago after we left Evanston and we’ve been here since. It really worked out for me, honestly. Being a teenage dropout living in Chicago opened up a bunch of programs and stuff for Chicago residents to get my mental health on track. Which I did! And then I got my GED a few years back, finally got a job, and now I’ve just been doing that for a few years.” She’s both a little shocked Regina didn’t tell them this already, but also relieved she didn’t. She can tell by the look in Karen’s eyes, especially, that all of this is new information to them.
“Oh, I’m so glad!” Gretchen smiles. “Regina said you work in a coffee shop?”
Cady nods. “Yeah, near campus. The bosses are great and it keeps me busy, so I’m doing pretty well there.”
“A good boss can make or break a job,” Karen nods, very seriously, before looking at Regina. “We have the best boss!”
“I told you, Kare, please stop calling me your boss,” Regina sighs, sipping her drink. “It makes me feel weird .”
“I mean, isn’t it true though?” Cady asks. “At least, from what you’ve told me.”
“ Technically ,” Regina huffs. “Doesn’t mean that I love the reminder. Makes me feel like I’m in high school again.”
“Regina’s way better than she was in high school,” Gretchen insists. “No offense, Regina.”
Regina laughs. “No, no, feel free to offend. I was a shitty person. But hey, eight years of therapy does wonders .”
“Cheers to that,” Cady chuckles, sipping her water.
“You know what? You’re right.” Regina raises up her drink. “Cheers to therapy.”
Cady shakes her head with a smile, raising up her water. “Cheers to therapy.”
Karen and Gretchen do the same, Karen far more enthusiastic than Gretchen. The latter of the pair still seems nervous, like they’ve branched into dangerous territory. Cady decides to redirect, asking the pair, “So, Regina tells me you guys are together now.”
Karen lights up like a Christmas tree. “Yes! Gretch and I celebrated our four year anniversary a couple months ago.”
Gretchen nods, reaching over and taking Karen’s hand. “We sure did!”
“There’s gotta be a great story here,” Cady says, leaning back in her seat.
“Well, I mean, we technically started dating four years ago, but like, it started way before that,” Karen begins, before Gretchen elbows her slightly.
“Kare, she doesn’t need to know all that…”
“They were hooking up as early as senior year of high school,” Regina stage-whispers to Cady, who nearly chokes on her water.
“No way ,” Cady says, at the exact same time Gretchen exclaims, “ Regina! We were not !”
Regina gives Gretchen a pointed look. “Then how would you describe what I walked in on?”
Gretchen is quiet for a moment. “Making out,” she mutters.
“We did that a lot,” Karen supplies helpfully. Gretchen pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs.
Cady bursts into a fit of giggles, unable to control herself. “Oh my God, I missed you guys.” She's grinning really wide now, the biggest she's smiled in months, maybe even years.
Gretchen, despite her embarrassment, smiles back. “We missed you too, Cady.”
Between the three former Plastics, they eventually manage to weave the tale of how Gretchen and Karen finally got together. They did start making out a lot in high school, during their senior year, when all three of them had gotten a lot more subdued .
“Things were… different, after you left,” Regina admits. “We didn't talk about it that year, but I was finally starting to really process… what I'd done, you know? And I wanted to be better.”
“And she was better,” Gretchen tells Cady. “It took a few more years to really get to a place where I’d describe her as mostly good- ”
“Hey!”
“-but,” Gretchen continued, ignoring Regina’s outburst, “she got there, and we were all very proud of her when she did.” She gives Regina a pointed look. Regina smiles and rolls her eyes, but there's no bite. It's playful. There's no animosity left.
It's refreshing, to Cady, who, years ago, had wondered if Gretchen and Karen would ever be able to free themselves from the clutches of Regina George. In a way, they hadn't, but they weren't really in her clutches anymore. They were actually all friends now, and from what it seemed, good for each other.
The appetizer comes, and they pause the story for Karen, who needs to take pictures of the food. Gretchen makes Cady try a dumpling, and, yeah, they are really good, and Gretchen insists she take another one. There's only five dumplings total (which seems criminal to Cady, given the cost), so she doesn't want to at first, but then they all insist, so she finally does.
The story continues on, how all three girls went to NYU together and shared a triple dorm. How living with Regina was a lot , which even Regina would admit, and how Gretchen and Karen would sometimes stay in B&Bs for a couple of nights to just get away from Regina for a little bit.
“My bitchiness founded their relationship, so, they should be thanking me, honestly,” Regina says. She jumps when someone kicks her under the table. “Damn, Gretch, I didn't know your legs reached that far.”
“No, no, that was me,” Karen says with a smile, not looking up from her phone. The whole process of Instagramming a meal is much more involved than Cady thought.
Regina cackles, grinning at Cady. “I know it's time to reel it in when Karen’s kicking me under the table,” she says in another stage whisper.
Cady laughs. She likes Regina’s playful way of filling her in, making sure she's included. It's very Regina, but, like, in a good way. Something she never thought she'd be able to say.
Gretchen finally continues the story. How things escalated in the B&Bs, but it took them several more years to actually talk about their feelings. How, realistically, they were basically dating without ever putting a label on it. How they spent all of their time together, never even considering the idea of anyone else, once they'd ended up in this dynamic.
“Then one day, Regina snapped,” Gretchen laughed. “Told us to get our heads out of our asses and talk about our damn feelings.”
Regina chuckles. “Yeah, that sums it up. I was so tired of watching them make heart eyes at each other without ever saying anything.” Her voice drops to the stage whisper again. “They still make heart eyes at each other. They're just normal about it now.”
“We are far from normal,” Karen says, just as the food arrives. She pauses again, taking pictures of not only the sushi boat, but Cady and Regina’s meals too. When she's done taking pictures, she says, “Anyways, yeah. We’ve been in love ever since!” without even looking up from her phone, hard at work again.
“Wow,” Cady grins. “That's a really cute story, honestly. I'm so glad it worked out for you guys.”
“Me too,” Gretchen says, looking at Karen, who's just put her phone down. They smile at each other, before Karen turns to beam at the other two.
“Let's eat!”
The Pad Thai is really good. It's better than the stuff from the place near Cady’s apartment that her and her mom order takeout from a few times a month. She can understand why it costs a more than the takeout. It's worth it. The hibachi noodles, which her friends had insisted she get, are absolutely divine .
Cady finds herself finishing all of her food, not realizing until it's all gone. It shocks her a bit. She's eaten smaller meals since high school. Between her depression itself and the eventual cocktail of various medications she took each day to combat said depression, Cady's appetite was pretty much shot. She wasn't sure the last time she ate a full portion of anything from a restaurant without ending up with leftovers.
“What did you think?” Karen asks, once they're all done. She's got her phone in hand.
“It was so good ,” Cady says with a grin. “Like, seriously. I didn't realize how much I'd had until it was all gone. I don't know the last time I did that.”
“...ate a full meal?” Regina’s voice is immediately concerned.
“One that sized? That plate was huge!” Cady exclaims.
The other three exchange looks. It wasn't really that big of a plate.
Cady just shakes her head. “My meds suppress my appetite as one of the side effects. I don't really eat that much. But that was so good , it beat antidepressants . Put that in your review thingy.”
Karen blinks. “I’ll think on that.”
“I'm glad you liked it!” Gretchen says, trying to shift away from the uncomfortable air that filled the table. “What about you, G?”
“Mine was really good too,” Regina replies. “Definitely a good choice with the chicken.”
“Noted!” Karen taps away on her phone. “Oh, Cady, do you want me to tag you in the post? I don't have to, but I usually tag Gina and Gretch, soooo….”
Cady shakes her head. “Nah, I deleted my Instagram years ago.”
Karen looks up, tilting her head. “Really? I could have sworn I’ve seen your name…” she looks back down, tapping on her phone again. “Look, see, right here! Cady Heron!”
She shows her phone to Cady, who reads the username at the top screen. “That says Camy Herod.” The account itself is empty, aside from a username and display name, so there's no other signs of the account owner for Karen to go off of.
Karen yanks her phone back. “No, no way. She squints, before showing her phone to Gretchen.
“Sorry, babe. She's right. That’s not her name.”
Karen sighs, putting her phone down. “ Stupid -” she begins, but both Regina and Gretchen cut her off at the same time.
“You are not stupid!”
“Stupid Instagram ,” Karen repeats, giving them both a look. “I know better than to say that about myself around you two.”
“You better not be saying it when we aren't around either,” Regina says pointedly.
Karen sighs. “I don't .” She turns to Cady, who's looking pretty confused. “I found out I have dyslexia in college. I use a special font on my phone so I don't mix up my letters, but it doesn't work in all apps. Like Instagram.”
“We have been campaigning for Instagram to add a dyslexia-friendly font option for two years now,” Gretchen informs Cady. “We’re finally starting to get some traction with it.”
Cady nods. “That makes sense. The dyslexia, I mean. I assumed that, back then, but I didn't want to say anything, because I thought everyone knew. Like, literally, it was the first thing I learned about you. Damian introduced you by telling me he once saw you put a d in the word orange. ”
“ Ds and G s do get mixed up easily,” Karen sighs, and then shakes her head. “Apparently my teachers wanted me to get tested in elementary school, but my parents said no.”
“Why?” Cady asks, stunned.
“I don’t really know,” Karen shrugs. “We never really talked about it.”
“Karen's parents aren't, um, the most understanding of our relationship,” Gretchen admits. “We don't really talk to them often.”
Cady frowns. “I'm so sorry. That sucks.”
Karen shrugs again. “Their loss. I'm happy.” She takes Gretchen’s hand and squeezes it. “And I'm also dyslexic!”
Regina laughs. “That she is. But she's got such amazing and creative ways to get around the barriers. Like, she writes all her captions in her notes app, where she can use the right font, and then just copies and pastes it into Instagram when she's sure there's no errors. That's genius!” Cady notices the way Regina smiles at her friend, genuinely so proud of her.
Karen smiles back. “Yeah! I have a bunch of little workarounds like that! The goal is to not have to use them, one day, when I can actually use the font everywhere.” She looks back down at her phone, typing away again. “I'm glad I asked before tagging you. Poor Camy.”
“Poor Camy,” Regina repeats, chuckling to herself.
The check comes, and Cady’s heart leaps into her chest. Before she can move to even look at it, Regina hands the waiter her card immediately. “Put it all on this,” she says.
“I can, um, Venmo you,” Cady says after the waiter walks away. “My coworkers taught me how to use that one.”
Regina shakes her head. “No, my treat. For all of you.”
“If you're sure…”
Regina nods, smiling around the table, lingering on Cady for a bit longer than the others. “I'm just really, really happy to have all of us together again.”
Cady smiles back. “Yeah. Me too.”
“We have to do this more often,” Gretchen says, reaching a hand across the table to Cady.
Cady takes it, and smiles at Gretchen. “I’d love that. Genuinely. I really, really missed you guys.”
“I've got a reservation on Saturday for brunch I could definitely add to, if you wanna come,” Karen offers. “It's not somewhere we’ve tried yet, but I've heard good things!”
Cady shakes her head. “I work Saturdays.”
“ Every Saturday?” Regina asks.
Cady nods. “Sundays and Thursdays are my days off.”
Regina frowns. “That blows.”
Cady shrugs. “I don't mind it. Saturdays are usually slower, since people don't have classes or work for the most part. It's usually a chill shift. Besides, I like having Thursdays off. Those are therapy days. Would much rather relax than deal with the general public on therapy days.”
“We’ll have to swing by on a Saturday sometime,” Gretchen says, trying to quickly move past the concept of a whole day being dedicated to therapy.
“She makes a mean flat white,” Regina stage whispers across the table, and Cady finds herself laughing again.
It's incredible, really, how at ease she's managed to be throughout dinner. It's been ages since she felt this way. She's not even sure that she ever felt this relaxed with this particular group of people before. Back then, before it all went to hell, hanging out with the Plastics was a marathon of social stamina. Cady had always been a bit out of place and awkward, even back then, and their high school hangouts usually left her feeling drained.
Tonight, however, she was happy, happier than she had been in a long, long time.