TTFN (16 page)

SnowAngel:

zoe, the pressie u sent me came today! thank u sooooo much!!!

zoegirl:

oh, angela, you are sooooo welcome!

zoegirl:

u like?

SnowAngel:

it's beautiful. SHE'S beautiful, i shld say. i put her on my bedside table so i can see her first thing when i wake up. she's the only decoration in my entire room.

zoegirl:

she's the angel of hope, which you probably already know if you looked at the sticker on the bottom. i know it's dorky, but i thought it could be kind of like your “believe” bracelet, although it's not something to wear.

SnowAngel:

aww, zoe, ur so sweet

zoegirl:

i looked for another “believe” bracelet, by the way. i went to the store where u got it, but i couldn't find anything like it.

SnowAngel:

cuz it was the only 1. ever.

SnowAngel:

but THANK U for my angel.
i love her, love her, love her. *sends big smoochie kisses to dear friend zoe*

zoegirl:

plus, the whole “angel” thing, with you being our SnowAngel and all.

SnowAngel:

she's great, and god knows i need all the angels i can get.

zoegirl:

i almost got one for myself, but then i thought, “no, it should just be something special for angela.”

SnowAngel:

we can share her, how bout that?

zoegirl:

yay!

SnowAngel:

so whenever u think of doing something bad, u can remember that she's watching over u from california, and u can change your erring ways?

zoegirl:

haha

zoegirl:

can u believe it's christmas eve?

SnowAngel:

no, i thoroughly cannot. i haven't done ANY shopping, which for my family is just too damn bad. but for u and maddie, i feel terrible.

zoegirl:

please don't, you've got enough to worry about. seriously, we don't care in the slightest.

SnowAngel:

but i do

SnowAngel:

hey, i know! i'll mail ME back to atlanta for your present!

zoegirl:

yeah!!!

SnowAngel:

how much does a plane ticket cost, u think? i've got $250 in savings. is that enough?

zoegirl:

i don't know. i bet it's a little more than that. but maybe?

zoegirl:

are you really thinking about coming?

SnowAngel:

i doubt my parents would let me.

SnowAngel:

but if it's my money, then i can do what i want, right?

zoegirl:

er …

SnowAngel:

i'm gonna go check plane fares.

SnowAngel:

don't worry, i'm not REALLY gonna take off w/o my parents' permission, but it would be good info to have in the back of my brain—just in case.

zoegirl:

just in case what?

SnowAngel:

what's that one website called? canoe-something-or-other?

SnowAngel:

i'll figure it out. bye!

SnowAngel:

merry christmas, zoe!!!

zoegirl:

merry christmas! you seem happy. are you happy?

SnowAngel:

i am—or at least this is the happiest i've been since we moved. my mom made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and our tree looks so beautiful, even tho it's not nearly as big as the one we had last year. and tomorrow we're gonna drive into the city for the after-christmas sales.

zoegirl:

cool

zoegirl:

when you say “the city,” do you mean san francisco?

SnowAngel:

yeah, ppl here just call it the city. anyway, we're gonna get a hotel room and stay for a couple of nights, do some of the touristy stuff. so i might be less text-y for a while since my parents hate it when i use my phone when we're supposed to be having QUALITY FAMILY TIME.

zoegirl:

same here, actually. we're going to my grandmom's house tomorrow. we won't be back till wednesday.

SnowAngel:

and maddie's already left for her aunt and uncle's. she was planning on taking her stash with her, did she tell u?

zoegirl:

her “stash”?

zoegirl:

of what?

SnowAngel:

of pot. that's what chive gave her for christmas.

zoegirl:

is she actually gonna *smoke* it?

zoegirl:

oh man, angela. i am not liking this “maddie + pot” combo. i think it's a bad idea. and i think it's a really bad idea that she'd even consider getting high with her family around.

SnowAngel:

she said it's a coping mechanism based on years of family tradition, just that her relatives use alcohol instead of pot. and then she was like, “not that i have anything against alcohol, don't get me wrong …”

zoegirl:

you should tell her how dumb she's being

SnowAngel:

what do u mean, *i* should? ur the one who's still in town with her!

zoegirl:

yeah, but *you're* the one she talks to about this stuff. she never brings it up with me.

SnowAngel:

cuz she knows u'd scold her

zoegirl:

i bet she's doing it to impress chive, so that when she gets back in town, she can be like, “hey, i smoked the stash u gave me.”

SnowAngel:

no, here's what she'd say: “duuuuude. good times, buddy. good times.”

zoegirl:

i don't like it. it worries me.

SnowAngel:

it worries me too

SnowAngel:

so …

zoegirl:

so …?

SnowAngel:

so we'll tell her, ok?

SnowAngel:

for real, w/o holding back

zoegirl:

yeah, okay

SnowAngel:

madigan, long time no talk! how was your trip?

mad maddie:

hey, a. one sec while i finish this email …

mad maddie:

ok, i'm back. i was responding to a delta airlines customer service dude. alas, still no word on your bracelet.

SnowAngel:

u emailed delta about my bracelet? aw, mads!!!!

mad maddie:

he checked their claim area, but no “believe” thingie.

SnowAngel:

damn

SnowAngel:

but that was incredibly sweet of u to try

mad maddie:

yeah, i know

SnowAngel:

so did u have a good time with your relatives?

mad maddie:

the usual. the cousins breathed garlic in my face, the dads got ripped and made fart jokes.

mad maddie:

but i wanna hear about U! how was the city?!!

SnowAngel:

oh, maddie, it was AWESOME. the only un-awesome thing was that u and zoe weren't there, cuz u guys would have loved it. there's so much going on—omg, it's so different from atlanta. OR el cerrito, which doesn't even compare.

SnowAngel:

there was this street musician on the sidewalk who totally made me think of u. he played the guitar, and he had a harmonica on a frame by his mouth, and he had cymbals strapped to his knees. i was like, “maddie would love this guy.”

mad maddie:

sounds cool. atlanta is pretty boring when it comes to street life.

SnowAngel:

san francisco is definitely not boring. there are ppl EVERYWHERE. vendors selling jewelry, hot dog stands, guys with knockoff watches. oh, and we went to chinatown, which was sooooo fun. u go thru this archway thing, and it's like stepping into a different world. everyone was chinese—der—and they had these cute little shops with satin slippers and sparkly barrettes. touristy stuff too, like miniature trolley cars and I
SAN FRANCISCO shirts.

mad maddie:

did ya get me 1? did ya, did ya?

SnowAngel:

sorry, no tacky souvenir shirt

mad maddie:

damn. chive loves that campy stuff.

SnowAngel:

i got u something better. i got u lots of stuff, actually—u and zoe both. from chinatown i got u guys candy, like Hello Kitty suckers and gum in weird flavors like cantaloupe and blueberry. and from the ferry building, which is this place down on the waterfront, i got u both boxes of the most awesome chocolates in the world, called Scharffen Berger chocolates. i got u a mix-and-match assortment with infusions of lavender and chile—which sounds gross, but it's not—and i got zoe a box of these super-thin pear slices dipped in dark chocolate. i hope u guys like them.

mad maddie:

we will, i'm sure. thanks, a.

SnowAngel:

and b-t-dubs, i LOVE my slippers. i've got them on right now.

mad maddie:

angela. u do realize that it takes longer to spell out “b-t-dubs” than to just type “by the way,” don't you?

SnowAngel:

*blinks like a lizard* *like an expressionless lizard*

mad maddie:

back to yr slippers. did u microwave them?

SnowAngel:

i did. chrissy was like, “ew, what's that smell? it smells like burnt straw!”

mad maddie:

hey now—the guy said they were supposed to smell good!

SnowAngel:

i like the smell, it's just chrissy who doesn't. anyway it doesn't matter, cuz they feel so lovely and warm.

mad maddie:

i'm glad u like them. and i'm glad ur doing better in the land of california.

mad maddie:

u are doing better, right?

SnowAngel:

i dunno. a LITTLE, i guess.

mad maddie:

take it and run with it, girl. u deserve it.

SnowAngel:

except school starts on tuesday. that's five days away!

mad maddie:

nyah, nyah! u have to start a day earlier than we do!

SnowAngel:

i just hope all the girls aren't like glendy. i have to spend tomorrow night with her, cuz mr. boss invited our whole family over for new year's eve, and of course my dad said yes.

SnowAngel:

can u imagine a worse way to ring in the new year? i begged my dad to let me stay home, but he refused.

mad maddie:

bastard

SnowAngel:

what about u? what r u gonna do for new year's?

mad maddie:

i'm hanging with my man chive, and probably meade and brannen and whitney. we're going to a concert at the omni. it's a battle of the bands.

SnowAngel:

huh. r whitney and chive still an item?

mad maddie:

do u know how much he would hate it if he heard u call them that? an “item”?

SnowAngel:

so r they?

mad maddie:

i guess, altho they can't be THAT serious, cuz sometimes chive and i still fool around. like yesterday we were on a beer run, and at a stoplight he just leaned over and kissed me out of the blue. a LONG kiss.

SnowAngel:

and u let him?

mad maddie:

what do u mean “let” him?

mad maddie:

whitney may be his girlfriend, but that's just cuz … i dunno. cuz she's pretty. cuz she does the girl thing and pouts when he doesn't call her. but i'm the one he talks to about music and life and shit. we've got, like, a connection.

SnowAngel:

hmmm

SnowAngel:

but then—don't be mad—why does he make u hide it?

mad maddie:

give me a break. we're not into rules, angela. the world is bigger than that.

SnowAngel:

oh

mad maddie:

what does that mean?

SnowAngel:

nothing!

mad maddie:

yes it does. u said it like u don't believe it, i can tell.

SnowAngel:

did u smoke the bag of pot he gave u?

mad maddie:

as a matter of fact i did. do u have a problem with that too?

mad maddie:

it's just POT, angela. nobody's gonna get hurt from a little pot.

SnowAngel:

if u say so

SnowAngel:

just … be careful, all right?

mad maddie:

i'm having fun, angela. be happy for me.

SnowAngel:

ok, ok

mad maddie:

good luck tomorrow night with glendy. call and tell me how it goes!