The Creek is filled with laughter and warmth, and nostalgia so thick you can almost choke on it. There’s Megan and Jennifer and Kylie, the cheerleaders all together again, with the notable exception of Hailey. They don’t seem to miss her. They’re busy shrieking with laughter at something Justin Ward said. There’s Josh Malone, welling up while singing karaoke, tears spilling down his cheeks while he belts his way through “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and the crowd cheers. There’s Darren Hofstadt, still the same shifty little weasel he always was, coming out of the bathroom with coke on his nose.

Carrie casts an unforgiving eye around the room. She can remember everyone perfectly, exactly the way they were twenty years ago, so she knows that they’re all lying when they say to each other, “You haven’t changed a bit.” And yes, she knows it’s unfair as she looks at her classmates. They’re all pushing forty. But most of the people here are pushing Middle America forty, while she and the others are not. It’s the difference between McDonald’s for dinner and quinoa. It’s five beers and falling asleep in front of the TV versus I-gotta-get-up-early-for-that-meeting. And more than anything else, it’s having kids and the lack of time and all the stress and worry and expense that goes with it. It’s the difference between stayed home and went off to the big city.

Some people look back at Carrie. A couple even nod. But no one comes near them. Nobody wants to catch up.

They find a table in the back. The music is like a curtain separating them from the rest of the bar, offering a little privacy. For a moment, it’s just the four of them. As if they were normal.

Carrie picks up the menu. Jesus Christ, the Creek is offering bourbon pairings. You really can’t go home again. The waitress, a girl who was a toddler the last time Carrie was inside this place, hustles back and forth with their orders.

Eric gets a shot and a beer, slams the whiskey, then downs half his beer in a single gulp before he begins talking.

“So yeah,” he says. “Colchester is back.”

Charles Colchester.

Carrie’s surprised that she’s so frightened when it was so obvious. It’s not like she didn’t see this coming, that the clues didn’t all add up. But some small part of her hoped it wasn’t true, like a little girl who hides under the covers from the monsters.