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Her eyes glimmered with new tears as she lifted up on her toes and kissed him. Right there in front of the whole neighborhood.
Sam’s heart skipped a couple of beats. He’d never get tired of Susan’s kisses, or her touch.
“Thanks for understanding, Sam.”
He nodded, ignoring the tight twist of regret in his stomach. The Spring Fling didn’t matter. Susan and her family did. And if she felt like she needed to focus on their predicament, then dances could wait. There’d be more.
The following afternoon, Sam had mostly forgotten about the dance, since he was caught up in scouring the newspapers for job opportunities he could pass along to Susan’s dad. He even called to inquire on a few, but was told the positions were no longer available.
When a knock sounded on the door, he was the one to answer it since his parents were both out of the house.
Susan stood on the porch, wearing a blue floral dress. Her eyes danced and her mouth curved in amusement at his expression.
“Surprise,” she said in a light tone. “We’re going to the Spring Fling.”
“We are?”
She nodded. “My dad found a job.” Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes glimmered with unshed tears.
“That’s amazing, where?” he asked.
She hesitated, then her voice trembled as she said, “It’s in Nevada, so we’ll have to move. We’re going to live with my uncle, and my dad’s working for him.”
Sam couldn’t have been more shocked. “Nevada? When?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Soon. We’ll finish out the school year there.”
His mind reeled. “Maybe you can stay here to finish? It would be hard to—”
Susan stepped close and kissed his cheek. Then she took his hand. “I have to go with my family, but we’ll write all the time. And we’ll figure out how to see each other in the summer.”
Questions raced through him, but he could see that her emotions were already on the surface. As were his. He squeezed her hand. “I’ll get ready.”
1981
THE MOMENT CARLY CAME THROUGH the door, Anita brushed off her hands and hurried inside the house. It was her first day back, and Anita had worried about it all day. Mostly about rumors affecting Carly and how the friend circle was doing.
“Well?” Anita asked as she set down her backpack. “How did it go?”
“Fine,” Carly said as she picked out an apple from the bowl on the kitchen counter. She took a bite out of it and picked up her backpack. “I have homework.”
With that, she disappeared into her bedroom.
Anita blew out a breath. She’d spent part of the day at the mechanic’s having the battery replaced and everything else looked over. Then she’d come home to an empty mailbox when she was hoping one of her commission checks would show up. Next, she’d endured another phone call from Glenn, who seemed to have the day off.
She really needed to tell him that she wasn’t interested.
Hearing Mr. Davis talk about his wife Norma, and then the mysterious Susan, made her realize he’d been a man who’d loved two women. One he’d lost, and the other he’d married. The softness of his tone and the tenderness in his eyes when he spoke of them told Anita that Glenn didn’t hold that type of place in her heart.
The doorbell rang, and she frowned. She wasn’t expecting anyone. When she opened the door to Phyllis, she pushed back the irritation. They’d already talked earlier that day over the fence in the backyard.
“Look what’s come up early,” Phyllis said, holding out a basket.
Sassy ran into the house, weaving between their legs, and disappeared somewhere. Likely to Carly’s bed.
Anita peered into the basket. “Oh, they’re carrots.” They were carrots, but they were a deep orange, almost brown color. “I don’t think those are early carrots, though.”
Phyllis’s brow pinched. “You think they’re from last year?”
