Details, Details, Details

I felt hot.

Disbelief kept my mouth slightly ajar and my mind went blank. My blood felt thick beneath my skin as my pulse began accelerating until I could barely breathe and my whole world came into sync with my faulty heartbeat.

My entire body was throbbing.

I had just been told my very best friend had been mocking me and spreading lies about me behind my back. To others, these problems may appear as a tiny, irrelevant, sliver of the whole world, but what can I say? In high school, friend groups always come before you. Status was everything, and status was something I never achieved.

“Those rumors going around? She started them.” They said. My two twin flames sat across from me in the diner booth on a Monday afternoon. Hanna and Hasti. My girls. Just two years before, I had introduced them to my beautiful bestie on a summer night at a street fair. Ever since then, we had not spent one day without seeing each other, talking to each other, or texting each other. We were a perfect quartet.

My best friend, Ashley, was captain of the cheerleading squad. Original, I know. Her parents let her go to countless parties every other weekend and was fairly popular. I know; my life is trite and unbelievably unbelievable, but it is all true. It is quite hard to believe a green-eyed, cheerleading party animal would be friends with the gauche acne-prone, brunette bench warmer of the volleyball team. Despite our disparate personalities, we were peas in a pod and had been that way since the second grade.

I should not have cried as much as I did, but at that moment, I melted like spoiled soft butter. I could not help but explode into dust, slowly falling into the ground, but never having the satisfaction of touching it, forever floating. Upon hearing that my closest friend of ten years had been saying such things without my knowledge, millions of questions brewed inside my head. Why? When did this start? Why? Why? Why?

In the middle of the diner at 4:16 pm, I cried.

Hiding my scrunched countenance with both of my shaking hands, I swallowed each sob completely so no one else would hear me cry. My two girls crawled underneath the diner table and wiggled into my side of the booth, briefly turning my whimpering to simpering, but you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

They wiped my tears, held my hand, and hugged me tighter than a stress ball. Chills continuously hiccuped through my body from my throat to my gut to my jaw. Someone was wearing far too much perfume but at this point, I could barely breathe through my dripping red nose.

“We’re here babe. We’re here. We got you.” Hanna whispered.

I could feel Hasti’s rings click against my backbones, rubbing me closer. Our straight, wavy, and curly heads of hair became one.

Across from our booth sat an older woman. She had been watching the entire time. Presumably, she had heard every single word that had been said despite the hustle and bustle of the diner. Kids and families passed behind her through the exit as she kept still, politely stealing glances at us now and then. Her gray hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, with loose hairs sticking out at the top. The corners of her mouth and eyes were lined with wrinkles from smiling too much. She was pretty. Chewing her burger, she stood up and walked away.

“ORDER #57!?!” We hear the hostess yell.

“ORDER #58!?!” The busboy shouts.

Silent sobs slowly diminished as I began to compose myself.

Hanna asks, “You need anything? Want to go to the car?” I shake my head no. I can barely move. We sit in silence for a few moments, keeping each of my hands in theirs, sharing playful squeezes every couple of seconds. It felt good to cry.

The older lady came back, and to our surprise, held ice cream in each of her hands.

“You girls are the sweetest friends I have ever seen. You are so incredibly sweet.” She proudly said. Her smile made me forget the past twenty minutes I had endured.

“Aw thank you so much!” Hanna replied. Turning to me, she poked me in my side and said in a sweet voice, “you want some ice cream?”

I let out a laugh, sounding more like a broken engine, and frantically nodded my head. It was sweet of her to do this. Glancing my way only a handful of times, a stranger went out of their way to do something nice to a crying girl in a diner. Although it was just one moment, just one ice cream cone that magically wiped my tears away, it was a moment that mattered. It was a good deed indeed but, it was not the only good deed that had occurred. Yes, the ice cream was a warm gesture that left a refreshingly sweet taste on my tongue. Yes, the lady had a smile that could cure an entire battlefield, but she does not deserve all the credit. Hanna and Hasti strained their necks crawling under a tiny table for me. The skin that lines my back will forever miss Hasti’s rings rubbing back and forth, remaining the perfect example of heavenly human touch. Words of affirmation. Hand squeezes. Reassurance. Sitting in the silence.

Upon going through such a hectic and emotional day, I noticed the little things, irrelevant things, and unnoticeable things. Details, details, details. When you look at a vast painting, you will always see the big picture. However, taking a few steps before you will allow your eyes and mind to notice the tiny details you would have easily glanced over. The bigger picture is so important, but the details make it so special, memorable, and powerful. These gestures were powerful. Neither grand nor expensive, they were filled with compassion, empathy, and love.

Returning home that evening, I no longer felt hot in my chest or cheeks. I felt warm. No longer a wildfire melting everything in its way, I felt more like a toaster oven now. I was ready to shout at the top of my lungs and surprise everyone with goodness and love. I was prepared to create good deeds of my own.