The Floor is Guava

From: Gus Vandrew — To: Joshua Goldsant; July 26th, 2022 - 12:45 am

Hey Josh!

It’s been forever, how are you??

You know what I was thinking of the other day? Remember that time, a decade ago, we landed at a random diner on a road trip up to Atlanta?

Of course you do. We all do, don’t we? I mean, whatever tiny town we were in… we stop basically 79 miles from the Florida/Georgia line.

We look around for somewhere to eat and what else is open but an old-timey greasy spoon place.

Like, good lord! I know you remember the look of this joint. Un-frickin-real. I only thought those brightly-painted trailer type diners existed in movies about the ‘50s.

But there it was. I think all six of us had to pinch ourselves, right? After hours in your mom’s clunky Toyota minivan, everything on the road starting to look the same… we then step out to that. Like WHAT?! The last thing you expect to see in some random town in northern Florida.

Haha. But anyway, of course we go inside. Who wouldn’t? And I feel like I’m transported into one of those movies. I never thought I could sit in one of those quaint red and white booths in real life.

The waitress was classic — 45 to 50 years old, pressed apron over a pink blouse, pencil in her dirty blonde hair. Also straight out of the movies. What was her name? I wanna say Delilah.

I don’t know if you remember what Clyde said? That it all reminded him of something called… what was it? Oh yeah, Archie Comics.

I didn’t have a clue what that was, but I looked it up later. I guess it was a comic strip about high school teens that started all the way back in the ‘40s. And it’s still going. Or at least it was. So even in the modern day they would go and hang out somewhere like that.

And you’d probably know this… there’s now this Netflix show inspired by it. You know Riverdale?

Anyway, we all sit down. Clyde had to squeeze in at the end. Too bad Richie was in his heavy phase, right? I think he was already with Tiffany, but she hadn’t shamed him into losing the pounds yet. I hope he’s kept himself healthy since then.

Anyway we all order the works, like two and a half plates each. She diligently scribbles everything down, not missing a beat.

After confirming everything, she then asks the question. You remember, don’t you? I don’t even have to say it. The one we won’t ever forget. The one that changed that pit stop into something that defined our whole friendship from then on.

How did she put it? “Would you also like complimentary sides of Guava?”

Yeah. We all double-take and look at each other, checking if we heard correctly. I mean, I was dumbfounded.

“Come again?” Richie asked.

“Complimentary slices of guava?” she repeated. Again, we look at each other and back at her.

“Isn’t that a fruit?” Clyde asked.

“Yes,” she answered. “A tropical island fruit. Unique aroma and flavor. People say it tastes like a cross between strawberry and pear.”

I think we all laughed out loud with the absurdity of that. You told me Florida is different, but I don’t anything showed me that more than this. Who in America has had a guava??

I think it was Robbie who asked why, of all things, that was a side fruit at a diner. She told us it’s because they had a Summer promotion with them and still have a bunch left over.

It wasn’t because of feeling bad for them that we decided to go for it. It was more like… why not?

We knew most people won’t believe us when we tell them. As we bit into the green and pink exotic fruit, we knew we were sharing a moment that will keep us together wherever we go.

That’s why I have to reach out again now. Even though we’ve drifted apart… we will always be guava buddies. All six of us.

I look forward to catching up with you right away. Tell me everything about your life! Isn’t it funny that I remembered to reach out because of this whole guava story.

It’s like our foundation. It will always be.

Love you buddy,

Gus