We've all been friends for a while, but in that way that feels longer and deeper than just the years we've known one other. Tonight the 14 of us threw some crab legs and corn on the cob and sausage and peppers in a pot and boiled it up, and dumped it out on tables covered in brown paper. We sat out in the garden of the church and if you sat back and listened, you could hear everyone telling stories, wonderful stories, all at once. And you could hear everyone laughing, and everyone listening. We ate with our fingers and made a big mess. The sun was setting out over the hills and it lit everything from the inside so the trees and the fields and the clouds were dusty and golden.
When I said goodbye it was with reluctance and with gratitude. When we drove away I turned to catch a glimpse of everyone still sitting out. The clouds moved across the sky and I thought that when I get to heaven it will be just a little like this. Everyone will be there. It will be like I've known them forever. But also as if I'm knowing them for the first time.
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