February 2019

I entered the kitchen as I rummaged around, famished for something to eat. I had gotten stuck at lunch grading papers and had forgotten to eat. Sometimes I wondered why I worked when I could live off the royalties from my books but I just shook my head. I loved teaching and wouldn’t give it up for the world.

When my eyes came across a premade lasagna dish my mouth started to water. I took out the large casserole and peeked under the aluminum foil, the smell of marinara sauce already assaulting my senses.

“Nu uh, not for you.” My mother came into the kitchen and slapped my hands away, folding the aluminum foil back in its proper spot.

“Hey, why not?” I asked with a pout. I went for the dish again and my mother blocked me.

“Because this is for the new neighbor. I was actually hoping you could drop it off for me. I’m on night shift again tonight.” My mother picked up the tray and plopped it into my hands. I inwardly groaned.

“Why do I have to do it? Can’t you just take it tomorrow morning?” I pleaded with her but her stern look was more than enough for me to shut my mouth.

“Just bring it over and I’ll make you a sandwich or something before I leave.” I stomped my foot like a child thinking that I could be eating lasagna instead of ham and cheese sandwich. My mother chuckled as she showed me to the door. “Don’t throw a tantrum and meet the woman. She’s nice. You’ll like her.” With one last look over my shoulder she added, “And be nice, Jennie Ruby Jane Kim.”

My lip twitched at my full name and muttered a not so nice provocative word under my breath.

I knocked on the front door, the paint now a beautiful clean white. Over the last few weeks cleaning and construction crews came and went, tiding the house up for the new tenant. I didn’t even want to think how much Lisa had to pay in order to get the house back to living order. Those kids had probably trashed it.

“Come in!” I heard from inside. I looked around me stupidly, not thinking that the invitation was meant for me. Maybe this woman was expecting someone? I thought about placing the lasagna down at the front step and then leaving but my manners got the best of me.

I opened the door as I stuck my head in. I hadn’t been inside this house for a decade but the familiar decorating and colors was enough for my tension to slowly ease. “Hello?” I called out. “I’m from next door. My mother wanted me to send you over a house warming gift.” I waited for someone to answer but the voice never came. I made my way through the foyer and then to the kitchen. I placed the lasagna down on the table and turned to leave. I guess I would have to introduce myself later.

“Oh, please tell me it’s your mom’s lasagna. If you do I swear I’ll love you forever.”

I think I’ve only been speechless three times in my life. The first when I found out my father died. The second when Lisa told me she was leaving and the third at this precise moment. I couldn’t speak but I could damn well stare as I watched Lisa peel back the aluminum foil and take a deep whiff of the lasagna. I took in everything about her. From her long, blonde hair to the way her t-shirt and jeans fit her toned body. I knew that Lisa was a beautiful girl but as a woman she was simply breathtaking.

“Hello? Are you in there?” Lisa was waving her hands in my face and that seemed to knock me out of my stupor. I stared at her as my embarrassment showed heavily.

“What are you doing here?” I finally asked. I don’t know if it sounded accusatory or just plain fascinated but I needed to know why Lisa was in this kitchen, with me, right now.

“I live here now. I decided to move back after your mom called me and told me about how crazy those kids were.” Lisa took the lasagna over to the stove and pushed some buttons. The wheels in my head turned as I started placing what she just said.

“My mother?” I watched as Lisa bent over to place the lasagna in the oven and I quickly diverted my eyes. I didn’t want to be caught looking.

“Yeah. She didn’t tell you?” She looked over at me and suddenly her smile fell. “Oh, you thought that I...you had no idea I was back.”

I shook my head confirming her suspicion. “She told me to come over to introduce myself to the ‘new neighbor’.”

Lisa laughed softly. “And she told me that you were coming over for dinner and that she would make us a meal since I don’t have any food stocked up yet.”

We both sighed in unison. “Was she always this meddling when we were kids?” I asked after a few moments of silence. Lisa’s smile widened as she took a few steps, closing the distance between us.

“She probably was but we were so engrossed in everything teenager that we didn’t notice.” She tilted her head slightly and then said, “Hey,Nini.” The way she said the nickname she made for me weakened something inside. My heart tightened, and the butterflies I thought had long gone made their appearance from a time once forgotten.

“Hey, Lili.” She smiled as she opened her arms, never one to allow moments to get away from her. I hugged her tightly in turn and before it became awkward, I pulled away.

“It’s been what? Ten years?”

I nodded as she moved away from me, opening her refrigerator and pulling out two beers. She lifted one up in invitation and I again nodded at her. She removed the cap, throwing it into the trash can and placing the beverage next to me at the table. She took her own seat and looked at me, taking in what time had changed.

“You look great.”

“Thanks. So do you. Looks like you’re not eating though. What do they feed you in New York?” I took a chance to glance at her body. It was obvious that my words were teasing as Lisa always had a perfectly proportional body. She had curves where there should be and lean, toned muscles that she perfected throughout the years.

Lisa laughed as she sipped her beer. “Definitely not lasagna, I’ll tell you that. I have a feeling I’ll be in the gym twice as much just living next to you again.”

“I can’t believe you’re back, really. You always said you’d stay in New York. What changed?” I was seriously curious what could have driven her back out here.

“Well, after I finished the series I decided that there wasn’t really anything there for me anymore. Plus there are a lot more opportunities out here for movies and shows so I thought it was the best move. New York would have been great if I wanted to do theater but that’s just exhausting.”

“So you’re looking for work?” I asked in conversation. I wanted to steer clear of the movie’s success. There were only a few people who knew about the true identification of Randle Gooding and I had planned to keep it that way for a while.

“Not right now. I’m just enjoying this break. I will have to get out there eventually though. Just to keep my name fresh in everyone’s mind. What about you? Your mom said that you’re teaching?”

I took a long swig of my beer and nodded. “Yes. I teach communication at none other than Granada Hills High.” I smiled as she almost spurted out her drink. She looked at me with wide eyes and then laughed with a fit.

“You cannot be serious. Out of all the high schools in the area, you chose to go back to good old GHHS?”

“What can I say? I’m a stickler for punishment.” I sighed as she continued to laugh.

“Has it changed at all?”

“Well, some of it has. A few years back some seniors snuck on campus during the night and cut that big pine tree down in the middle of the quad, so they took the opportunity to renovate. And they went Charter so everyone has to wear uniforms.”

“How are the kids?”

“They’re okay. It’s a lot like it was when we were going there. There are still those select few that get away with things they shouldn’t but for the most part everyone is accepting. I even mentor the GSA.”

Her smile widened. “That’s great. I could see you being a good mentor for them. Do they know?”

She didn’t have to explain that she was asking if they knew I was gay. “They know that I’m accepting of it and they may assume that I’m a lesbian but I’ve never come out and said it directly. I’m out in almost every aspect of my life, but I tend to keep that to myself in my profession.”

Lisa twirled her almost empty beer bottle in her fingers. “I can understand that. You don’t want people to judge you based on who you sleep with.” It sounded like she knew from experience and maybe she did. Lisa was still very much an enigma when it came to her personal interests. I had followed her here and there throughout the years of her becoming a well-known celebrity. Of course there were rumors of her dating some Hollywood heartthrob but she never had commented on her relati