“BRO!!”

Without warning, Reed plants a hand on the pharmacy counter and vaults himself over it. His massive tail swings around to maintain his balance, sliding across the countertop and knocking several display trays of health pamphlets and legal brochures to the ground in a clatter. Before I can react, he wraps both arms around me in an immense bear hug and lifts me a few inches off the ground. Once the element of surprise has worn off, I flex my arms to break out of his grasp, if only to get my feet back on solid concrete so I can properly return the bro hug.

We break off the masculine show of affection before anyone can claim it to be gay. Reed still has a big smile plastered across his face, one which I mirror. “Holy shit, Anon! How long has it been, dude?! I mean… damn, bro! Look at you! I remember a scrawny little kid, and now… you’re a big guy!”

Don’t say ‘For you.’ Don’t say ‘For you.’

“For you.”

Reed’s raspy laugh is just like it was in high school. In fact, save for the white pharmacist jacket, black trousers and lack of a pair of headphones dangling around his neck, he basically looks the exact same as he did back then.

“Haha, you still quoting those ancient movie memes? Here I thought you were a totally different person, but I guess you just stacked muscle on top of the same old stupid jokes.”

I shrug. “What can I say? You can chisel marble into a damn fine statue, but the quality of the rock won’t change.”

He nods contemplatively. “Very wise, very wise indeed! Come on, bro, let’s catch up for a few minutes!”

Reed begins escorting me away from the pharmacy and the line of perturbed customers. As I apologetically glance over my shoulder to the annoyed crowd, a diminutive dinosaur hops onto what I assume to be a stool behind the counter. The compsognathus’s voice is shrill, but loud: “Hey! Reed! Where do you think you’re going? And WHAT did you do to my brochures?!”

Reed lazily turns his head. “I’m on break, Chet. Be back in fifteen… maybe twenty.” The small dino balks as Reed turns back and gives me a wink. He leads me to a pair of chairs with a small table between them near the deli. As we take our seats, he reaches into an internal pocket of his lab jacket, partially withdraws a small silver cylinder, and takes a big drag. He glances around briefly before lowering his head and exhaling slowly from his nostrils, thin tendrils of vapor quickly dissipating before they can be noticed by anyone not paying close attention.

“Some things don’t change, huh?” I say with a smirk.

Reed smiles. “What, this? Nah, man. It’s not carfe or anything serious. Just e-cig. I cut out all that heavy stuff.”

I shake my head. “Okay, who the hell are you and what have you done with my old pal Reed?”

He chuckles. “No, dude, I’m for real. I had to kick that stuff. Had, like… responsibilities and shit. Growing up, you know?”

“Well, if television has taught me anything, it’s that running a drug empire is a lot safer if you’re sober while you do it.”

“Man, that blue stuff always looked good… but nah, man. This here’s the only drug peddling I do anymore.” He jams a thumb over his shoulder towards the pharmacy. “Straight and narrow, just like the fuckin’ government wants.”

I catch a twinge of resentment in his last statement. Unsurprising, given how adamant he was about his hatred of Capitol Hill back in school. We grow out of some things, and others stick with us.

“Hey, enough about me, man! What the heck have you been up to? Your military stint got you all burly and muscley, but what else is new?”

I put on a mischievous grin. “Oh, you know. Little of this, little of that. Got an entry-level position staring at a monitor and slapping a keyboard for eight hours a day. Got a cozy little place up the way. Married my high school sweetheart. Nothin’ major.”

Reed’s eyes flash. He practically leaps out of his seat as he grasps my hand in his and fervently shakes it. “DUDE! No shot! You and Fang?! Holy shit, dude, congrats!!”

I feel my face getting red. I hate blushing like a doofus around anyone besides Lucy. “Yeah, yeah, thanks man. Things have been going really well.”

Reed releases my hand and takes his seat again. “Wow… I don’t believe it. Who woulda thought that you and Fang would be getting hitched? That’s awesome, dude.” While I still detect a strong congratulatory tone in his words, they also feel somewhat… deflated. And I know exactly why.

“... Reed… I’m sorry you weren’t invited. Things-”

He raises his hand to stop me speaking and smiles. “S’all good, man. I understand we didn’t leave things on the best foot after high school. Shit got pretty wacky, but that’s life, ya know? And hey, this way I didn’t have to buy the two of you a fuckin’ toaster or something.” His grin widens.

I smile back. “The toaster you’d have bought us would probably smoke more than you do.”

He laughs. “Haa- Anon, I missed you, bro. Hey! Why didn’t you ever accept that Faceboop request I sent you? I figured even if things were rocky between Fang and the rest of us, you and I coulda still stayed in touch, ya know?”

Faceboop, huh? Now that he mentions it… I guess I did create an account several eons ago. I think Lucy asked me to make one prior to deploying, so we’d have another avenue to stay in contact. It didn’t really work out since they confiscated our phones as soon as we touched down in boot camp, and computer usage was heavily monitored. Social media was a big no-go, so pen, paper and the occasional landline phone call were all we had to let our loved ones know we were still breathing.

“I… might still have that account? I’ll probably have to use their ‘Remember Password’ thing, give me a second.” As I withdraw my phone and pull up the ancient app, Reed discretely tucks his head into his jacket once more to take another draw of his e-cigarette. Turns out I didn’t need to reset my password after all; in my infinite wisdom I had set it to one of my most commonly used passwords for throwaway accounts, torrent apps and porn sites:

‘TFWn0din0gf’

Welp. That password is out of date. I login and see my Faceboop profile page in all its splendor and glory: one profile pic, one friend. It seems Lucy also hasn’t logged into her account in some time, as her name still reads “Fang Aaron” and her profile picture (the same one as mine) shows her in her old black halter top and tattered pants with her arm around me and mine around her. I took the opportunity to kiss the side of her snoot which made her giggle as she took the picture. The result, though a little blurry due to her laughter, is an incredibly charming reminder of what we had… and what I might have lost if I never came home…

I tap on ‘Notifications’ in the upper corner of the barren news feed page. Twelve messages, all from Lucy. They’re all dated over 3 years ago, so they were sent in the blank space between when I arrived at Basic and my phone was confiscated, and when I was able to first communicate with her that Faceboop wouldn’t be an option for us. The messages start off cheerful and upbeat, but become increasingly sadder as I don’t respond. The last message nearly makes my heart break:

‘Please, Anon. Please. I just want to talk. It hurts so much. Please, I love you. Anon, why aren’t you responding?’

“Everything okay, amigo?” Reed’s question makes me jolt upright. I had all but forgotten he was here, getting swept away in nostalgia and sorrow.

“Erm… yeah, sorry. Just combing through a few years’ backlog of stuff, you know? Did you say you sent me a friend request?”

“Yeah, sure did. It’s ancient but it should still be from my account.”

I scroll through the miscellaneous notifications. Mostly messages from Faceboop about updates to privacy policies and other useless crap nobody reads. At about the “2 years old” mark, I start to see familiar faces. Turns out a handful of people tried to send me friend requests, none of which I ever responded to. I must seem like a big dick to some of them. Let’s see… there’s my mom (dad was never too big on computers), Lucy’s mom, Lucy’s dad, Naser, Naomi (ugh), Moe… the… the fuckin’ hot dog stand lady?! Her name’s Tracy? How the hell did she find my account?! Whatever… Sage (delete that shit)... and…

The final, oldest notification displays on my phone’s dimly lit screen. I squint, trying to make out the photo next to Reed’s name. It looks like there are more people in it than just him, based on the… well, the colors. Blobs of orange and… purple…

I click on the notification to view the user’s profile.

I click on the profile picture.

I look Reed dead ass in the eyes. He returns it with his own look of half-lidded puzzlement.

“You… fuckin’ WHAT, mate?!”

Reed is taken aback. “What? What did I do?!”

I spin the phone around and jab at the profile picture. “YOU FUCKIN’ WHAT?!”

He leans back and smiles, understanding my absolute befuddlement.

“Oh, yeah. Trish and I got married. And that’s our daughter, Patty.”

The phone slowly slides out of my hand and clatters on the table between us. My agape jaw and thousand-yard stare seem to unsettle Reed; he shifts in his chair a bit and his smile falters.

“Uh… you okay, Anon?”

After several moments, my limbs become capable of movement again. I slowly close my mouth as my eyes regain focus on Reed. “... Never in a million years would I have guessed that’s how this would have turned out.”

Reed’s eyebrows raise, and his eyes dart to the side, desperately searching for something to break the uncomfortable silence I’ve foolishly leveled onto our reunion. When no distraction makes itself apparent, he speaks in a wavering voice. “Are… are you upset, or…”

I slap my hand on the table and let out a guffaw. The gesture makes Reed jump, but I quickly try to assuage his fears. “Hah! Nooo, no no no, not at all, man! Holy shit, congratulations! I just… wow. I did NOT see that coming!”

Reed relaxes and lets out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank Jeebus. For a second I thought you were gonna punch me in the nose. I know… I know you and Trish didn’t end on the best terms-”

“Oh, for crying out loud, Reed. Talk about water under the bridge. That hatchet is long buried and rusted at this point. No, no, no… I’m not upset in the slightest. I… geez, this has been a hell of a day. I could tell you all about it but your coworker there might have a conniption with how long I’d keep you.”

Reed and I glance over to the pharmacy. At this distance, and given his size, the compsognathus is barely visible, but a blur of frenzied motion implies a stressed-out dinosaur trying to attend to an increasingly long and agitated line of customers. Every now and again he chirps something in our direction that sounds like Reed’s name, but Reed just laughs it off.

“Nah, he’s my supervisor. He can handle it for a couple more minutes.”

“Whoah, your manager? Won’t you, like… get in trouble for being gone this long?”

“Pfft, fuck ‘em. They know I’m the best pharmacist they have. If they fired me they’d be up to their eyeballs in unfulfilled prescriptions and pissed-off grannies.

I chuckle. “A few more minutes won’t hurt. So… like, really? You and Trish, huh?”

Reed nods. “Yeah, man. It just worked out. I mean… I can’t say I ever had it hot to trot for her in high school, but… well, to be honest, after everything at prom went down, she was a sobbing wreck. I was the one there to wipe her tears away and tell her everything was gonna be okay. And it was okay; more than okay. We spent a lot more time together and… I guess I just sorta fell for her, you know? Thankfully she liked me back, otherwise that woulda been an awkward attempt at a first kiss. Few years later, we’re hitched.”

I cross my arms and lose myself in thought for a moment. If it hadn’t been for that prom night… nothing would have happened the way it did. I may have never joined the military. Lucy may have never struggled with self-harm. The two of us may have never been married. And now, Reed and Trish… Some proverb about the flap of a butterfly’s wings tickles my mind, but just as furtively as an actual butterfly, my train of thought takes flight:

“... Do you think we could have done anything differently? Back then, I mean.”

Reed draws in a long breath, then releases it. “Coulda, woulda, shoulda. We were high schoolers, man. We all had our own shit to deal with. Sometimes we did a kick-ass job, and sometimes we got our asses kicked. I think that’s just growing up. I think that’s just life.”

Reed, the Poet. I always told him he should write his deep thoughts down for future generations to glean his wisdom. I shake my head to move past the subject. “Oh, geez. I didn’t even ask- you said your daughter?!”

Reed’s trademark big grin stretches across his face as he removes his own phone from the pocket of his slacks. “Yeah, man! Li’l Patpat! She’s adorable, got her mama’s eyes and my bone structure! Doctors say she’ll be a damn tall triceratops!”

He flicks his finger across the surface of his phone several times before settling on a photograph. He turns the screen to me and I’m greeted by enormous purple eyes on a tiny purple triceratops. No horns have started growing yet, but small white dots at the tip of her nose and the top of her head indicate where they’ll come in. That is one heckin’ cute baby. But… something’s off… It takes a moment for the oddity to dawn on me.

“Is… is that a tail? Is that… a raptor tail?!”

“Yessiree. She’s got both our blood in her, so she adopts traits from both parents. Naturally, the more predominant traits will come from the parent that shares a sex with the child: father to son, mother to daughter. However, you can still have variations like li’l Patty here. She’s already balancing so well, and she’s not even a year old yet!”

Reed’s impromptu lesson paired with my own thoughts of a potential family with Lucy make me wish I had paid closer attention during the dinosaur portion of biology class. I doubt Reed has any insight into how things go in the case of human-dino relationships. However, in a bid to prove me wrong and convince me he’s a mind-reader, he chimes in.

“What about you and Fang? The two of you workin’ on any little bundles of joy yet?”

I shake my head with a smile. “No, nothing yet. I hope the idea of us having kids isn’t off the table, but we haven’t seriously discussed it.”

“Ah, well, if you do decide to have one, make it quick! Patty needs more friends for her future playdates! Well, that is…”

He trails off, a pensive look on his face. I wonder if his thoughts are going in the same direction as my own. Could Trish be friends with Lucy again? Could Lucy be friends with the two of them again? I speak up.

“Say, Reed-”

Just as I’m about to broach the subject, the space between us rattles with a rhythmic buzzing. I look down at my phone screen as it dances across the surface of the table in its merry ‘Vibrate Mode’ ballet. Sure enough, the wife’s calling me home.

“Well, shoot. That’s Lucy. She was probably expecting me back ten minutes ago, so I’d best be hittin’ the old dusty trail.” I don’t pick up the call; rather, I tap out a quick text message informing her I’m checking out now.

Reed puts on a sappy, overacted frown. “Aw, come on, man! We ain’t seen each other in, like, a hundred years and you’re gonna bail already?”

“Duty calls, I’m afraid. But hey, I did accept your friend request so we can chat through Faceboop now. Or you could just send me your phone number like a normal adult?”

Reed puts a hand behind his neck and scratches. It’s a posture I recall him often holding in high school, but this is the first time I’ve seen him do it since this reunion. “Yeah… uhh, let’s stick with Faceboop for now. I gotta… well, you know… double check with Trish…”

I smile and nod. “Understood, bud. I’ve got some stuff to discuss with Lucy as well. Do you think we could chat about things a bit more in the next few days?”

“Absolutely, dude. You and I are bros for life. Let’s just tread the waters of our old ladies carefully.”

Well, that all went better than expected. I hoist myself from my seat and pick up my cell from the table. As I slide the phone back into my pocket, it crumples a piece of paper.

“... Shit.”

Reed has joined me in standing. “What’s up, man?”

I withdraw the prescription paperwork from my pocket and show it to him. “Why I was here in the first place. Which reminds me, why the heck haven’t I ever seen you here before? I’m at this pharmacy every other week.”

“Ah, they just transferred me from the Skin Row location. Told me that customers were complaining about the way I smelled. I have no clue what they were talking about.” As he says this last sentence, he leans over once more to take a fat rip from his concealed liquid nicotine. This time, he doesn’t bother exhaling slowly or discretely: two enormous billows of white vapor pour from his teeth and nostrils.

The spectacle reminds me of a parade I went to as a young boy. In the midst of the instrumentalists, tractors and tiny cars, a coordinated line of several people donned a single, long dragon costume. Their fluid motions made the red creature with enormous eyes and gaping jaw look like it was actually coiling through the air, and to a lad such as myself whose imagination erased their clearly visible legs, it was pure magic. As the dragon’s elongated face turned my way, smoke erupted from every orifice in its head, spraying white plumes in all directions. I gasped and cheered as the beast turned away and continued its journey down the parade street.

What is it with me and all this nostalgia today?! As I vacantly stare ahead, thinking back to some childhood memory that may or may not have contributed to my preferences later in life, Reed snatches the note from my hand. “One moment, sir. I’ll have your prescription in a jiffy, sir.” His terrible cockney accent is punctuated by a wink as he turns and heads back to the pharmacy. As I follow several yards behind him, he strides up to the counter, plants a hand on it, and throws his legs over in another display of athleticism and apathy. To top it off, his tail once again sweeps the newly stacked brochures and pamphlets, along with their containers, back onto the floor. I hear the agonized cry of a poor compsognathus whose work was undone once more and a raspy laugh from my old friend.

My cart is just where I left it, the trio of items untouched, and when I turn back to the pharmacy counter Reed is already standing there, pill bottle in hand. “Hot damn, you are fast.” As I reach out to accept the medication, he gives the bottle a little shake and raises an eyebrow at me.

“You got some of this good good, huh?”

“Reed, I have no earthly idea what you mean. It’s just what my psy- … what my doctor prescribes.”

Reed closes his eyes and gives a knowing nod. “Hmm… alright, bro. Just don’t have too much fun with these things. This shit’ll zonk out a human like yourself, but I’m never touching the stuff again. Bad trip.”

“I… uhh, noted?” Reed drops the pill bottle into a white paper bag, staples the top with the receipt, and hands it to me.

“Take care, amigo. It was awesome to see you again! Let’s keep this thing afloat!”

I give a wave as I toss the bag into my cart. “Absolutely, it was nice catching up. See you around.”

I move my cart away from the pharmacy and toward the grocery checkout lines. I glance back over my shoulder and see Reed still beaming a smile at me, waving as I depart. His supervisor’s shrill complaints fall on deaf ears. I return the smile and give a quick wave of my own before arriving at the checkout counter.

I pay for my groceries and carry the bag out to my car. The cool evening air feels especially chilly after once again passing through the gates of hell between the double set of sliding doors. As I climb in and toss the satchel of goods into the passenger seat, I think about what a mad coincidence it was to bump into Reed, at the grocery store pharmacy counter of all places. I think about how bizarre yet strangely fitting it is that he and Trish tied the knot. I think about the precious little girl the two of them are raising together, loving parents for a beautiful child.

Placing my key in the ignition, I feel that twinge in my stomach again.

… I really want a kid.

… One thing at a time, Anon. One thing at a time.