The summer storm season had finally arrived. As rain dripped down the windows of Leila's apartment, Leila's finger hovered over her phone. She stared down at her text message once again and sighed. Fuji, who was resting on her lap, looked up at her and meowed.

"I know. I know. I'll send it in a second. I just need to read the text over one more time," Leila said.

It was just Mia, after all, and yet, Leila's fingers continued to stay frozen Perhaps it was Mia, but the Mia Leila knew was from twelve years ago. They hadn't exchanged any communication since early high school. It was possible a lot had changed in that time. But then Leila remembered that Mia had willingly given out her number. There was no excuse not to text. She wondered why it was so difficult, then.

Finally, Leila shut her eyes, and quickly pressed the send button before she could hesitate again:

Hey Mia, it's Leila. Glad to see you in town again. Want to grab a coffee sometime?

Leila set her phone down and gently scratched Fuji's chin. As he nuzzled into her hand and purred, she sighed and looked down at him.

"Why was that more nervewracking than asking a girl out?" she murmured to the cat.

Fuji's purrs didn't provide a very clear answer.

Leila leaned back and ran her fingers through her hair. She jolted slightly as her phone buzzed on the couch seat beside her.

Sure. What about Saturday?

...

If Leila thought it was nervewracking to simply text Mia, she had no idea how anxious she would be the day she met Mia in person. She'd spent the morning changing her outfits multiple times, even though again and again she had repeated the same mantra in the mirror: "It's just Mia."

The storms had subsided thankfully, making way for beautiful sunny skies. Leila hoped the nice weather was a sign that her reunion with Mia would go well. She surely hoped so. Her stomach was doing backflips just searching for a place to park. They had settled on a simple café along the seashore, a few blocks away from the café that Mia worked at. That had been Mia's one request, that they eat somewhere away from her work. She had left all the other details up to Leila, just as she had done when they were kids.

"I'm easy," was what Mia would always say.

The coffee shop they had chosen, Seaside Coffee, was tucked away in a quieter part of town, away from the tourists. It sat on the far end of the street corner with a wooden patio stretching out over the white sands of the beach. As Leila stepped inside, the paint appeared to be chipping some and the furniture had seen better days, but Leila knew better than anyone that the older businesses always had the better coffee. The café that Mia worked at just didn't offer that same sense of nostalgia to Leila as this place did.

Leila lingered in the back of the shop, glancing back at the door. Each time the door's golden entry bell rang, Leila's eyes would quickly dart to the entrance, but each time, her heart would sink slightly to see someone else enter.

Finally, Leila gathered the courage to step in line and order, figuring that if Mia had stood her up, she at least wanted to enjoy an iced coffee. Suddenly, the door opened once more, and Leila turned to see Mia stumble into the shop, clearly out of breath. It was strange seeing her not in her café apron. She was wearing pale denim shorts and a pink t-shirt, a typical outfit Leila had always seen Mia wear a rendition of during the summer.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Mia murmured as she met Leila in line. "I tried to text you that I was running late, but my phone died, and I didn't have a charger—"

"It's okay. I guess I should've realized you wouldn't show up on time given your track record," Leila said. "What do you want? I'll buy your coffee."

"What? No. I'll buy it myself," Mia argued.

"Absolutely not. I asked you to meet me," Leila said.

"You're always so stubborn," Mia grumbled before submitting.

Both only held the silence for a moment before laughing slightly. It seemed like for a moment, nothing had changed.

Once they got their coffees and took a seat out on the patio, that was when Leila began to notice that the passage of time had made a difference. While obviously Mia's appearance had changed with age, she seemed quieter and slouched more often than she used to. The dark circles under her eyes were new, and Leila was quick to notice the scabs on her fingers from where she had picked at her hangnails. As Leila observed these things, Mia's gaze was focused on the ocean. While Mia appeared tired and worn, Leila only saw childlike wonder in her eyes when her attention was fixed on the waves.

Leila sipped slowly on her glass of iced coffee. The thud it made when she set it back down on the table broke Mia from her trance.

"Thanks for meeting with me," Leila said.

"Oh. Of course," Mia said.

Once again, an awkward silence lingered between the two. Leila suddenly felt foolish for thinking things would pick up again where they left off. Twelve years without seeing each other was a long time apart.

"So, when did you move back?" Leila asked, trying to treat the small talk as if she were on a first date.

"May," Mia answered, her mouth full of blueberry muffin. She took a few seconds to swallow before explaining further: "After my lease in New York ended."

"Where'd you go to school?" Leila wondered.

"NYU. I majored in art and studio design," Mia answered.

Leila smiled, happy to know Mia had never lost her passion for artwork.

"And you've been...here?" Mia wondered.

"Pretty much," Leila said. She took another sip of her coffee. "I went more in-state for college, but I moved back here after graduating. I've been working at a PR firm nearby for a little over a year now."

"That's good to hear," Mia said. Her gaze turned to the ocean once more.

"Are you working part-time at that coffee shop?" Leila wondered.

"Oh. No. Full time, actually. I haven't really found out how to put my degree to good use yet, so I've had to take customer service jobs in the meantime. But you know. Someday," Mia murmured.

"Oh. Sorry to hear that," Leila murmured, feeling the awkwardness seep in again. "So...why did you move back here? Did your dad come with you?"

She watched Mia stiffen. Slowly, her gaze turned back to Leila.

"Actually, my dad died this past April," Mia said.

Leila's jaw dropped automatically. "I-I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry to hear that—"

"Drunk driving accident. Maybe it helped already going through one parent's death before, or maybe it was because my dad and I weren't that close when he died, but I'm okay. Don't worry," Mia said. Silence lingered between them once again. "As for your other question, I don't really know why I moved back here. Sorry if that wasn't the answer you were looking for."

"No, it's okay! You don't need to explain. I mean, thank you for feeling comfortable sharing with me about your dad. I'm sorry to hear that. Even if you don't know why you came back to Maine, I'm glad you did. It's nice seeing you again, at least," Leila said.

Mia smiled weakly. "Thanks, Lei—Leila," she quickly corrected herself.

Leila had almost forgotten that Mia used to call her that too. It was a nickname usually only reserved for family members, but Mia had heard her mother use it one time and had started using it jokingly. Eventually, it just became standard.

"Do you think you'll stay here for a while, then?" Leila asked.

"Well, the lease is for a year, so...at least that long," Mia answered.

"Who are you living with?"

"Someone I met online through a housing group. She's thirty, so it's kind of strange, but she offered me a good rent price. I get my own room at least," Mia explained. "That wasn't really a luxury in New York."

"I bet," Leila answered.

"Are you living with your parents, then?" Mia wondered.

Leila shook her head. "Nope. I'm living in an apartment on my own. I even have a cat. Here, I'll show you a picture," she said, pulling out her phone to show Mia various pictures of Fuji. She was happy to see Mia's lips curl into a smile.

"He's cute," Mia responded. "What's his name?"

"Fuji," Leila answered. "I adopted him shortly after graduation." She set her phone back on the table. "So, do you think you'll get a new job if you'll be here a while?"

Mia shrugged. "I'll have to see. That waitress job is driving me insane, but it makes a decent amount of money for the time being. I'm just going with the flow, I guess," she said. The waves crashed loudly behind her.

"Have you been enjoying your time being back here?" Leila wondered.

Mia nodded and took a sip of her drink. "It feels...nice, I guess. I just feel like I keep getting hit by waves of nostalgia, especially after running into you. Um, but I met someone here shortly after coming back. His name's Julian. We've been dating for a few months now."

Leila felt a twinge of something when Mia shared these words, but she couldn't exactly name what it was. All she knew was that she was slightly unsettled to hear that Mia had entered into a relationship so quickly after returning home. She supposed it naturally was weird to hear Mia wasn't single. After all, they had stopped being in contact with each other shortly before getting into that normal dating age. She was sure Mia had had loads of boyfriends. And Leila, meanwhile...

"Oh! Where does he work?" Leila wondered, trying to break her train of thoughts.

"Cloud Bar. I came with my roommate shortly after I moved here, and he was my bartender," Mia answered. "We've been dating a few months now."

"That's good," Leila murmured, never really sure what to say in these situations.

"What about you?" Mia said, a sudden teasing look on her face. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Leila waved her hands in front of her. "Oh, uh, no!" She opened her mouth to share with Mia that, in fact, she wasn't attracted to men, and she hadn't learned that until high school, but she couldn't get the words to come out. Instead, all she could mutter was, "Not right now."

"Oh? Do you have your eyes on someone?" Mia asked teasingly.

"N-No! Um, I'm not dating anyone right now," Leila said, tucking a spare strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh," Mia said, seeming surprised. Thankfully, she drew the conversation away from relationships. "So...you're a bit of a homebody then? Staying here in Maine and all?"

"I like it here. I never really wanted to leave," Leila answered.

"You never wanted to, like, see some other cities or a different part of the country? Or even go abroad?" Mia wondered.

Once again, Leila shook her head. "No. Maine is quiet. It's familiar. To me, it's home." 

"Well, I guess I can't judge you. I mean, I moved back here after living in New York. That was a big change," Mia said. "It's weird not taking public transit anymore. Rarely paying for parking is strange too."

"Yeah?"

Mia nodded. "But I think...I think I missed being here," she said. She glanced out at the beach again. "Remember that time when there was that storm and there was all that kelp in the water? It kept getting stuck to our legs."

Leila giggled and nodded. "Yeah. You chucked some at me, and it perfectly landed on my face. I never want to remember how slimy that felt."

Mia laughed. "Or that time you tripped over the kid's sand castle and spilled all your icecream in the sand?"

"That kid was so mad at me too," Leila said, covering her face as the memory came back to her. "But I was more upset about the icecream. You bought me a new cone, at least. I think that was the rest of your money you brought for the day."

"I'm sure I didn't mind," Mia said, laughing sime.

"It's really good to see you again, Mia," Leila said. "I guess, after we stopped writing to each other, I didn't really think we'd see each other again. It was kind of a surprise running into you the other day."

"Same. I didn't really expect to be back here either, but here we are," Mia said.

Leila felt as their conversation continued and memories resurfaced, they both relaxed some. No longer were they sitting stiffly or staring at each other in silence. The memories came back easily, and so did the laughter from the fun that they shared. It was easy for Leila to remember why Mia had been her best friend back in the day.

Mia glanced down at her watch and frowned. "I have a shift in an hour. I should probably head home and clean up before I go."

"That's okay. I probably should get going soon too. I sometimes go to my parents' house for dinner on Saturdays," Leila said. She stood up from her chair and brushed off remnants of pastry crumbs from the dress she was wearing. "I had a good time. Do you want to hang out again sometime?"

Mia nodded. "Sure. I'd like that."

Both lingered in place for a moment. Leila normally expected a hug at this point, but with there being so many years since they had last seen each other, she settled on a shy wave instead.

"I'll see you around then," she said, glancing back and waving at Mia one last time.

Mia held her hand up and waved in response. "See you later, Leila."