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“I’m sure Russell didn’t mean to trick you or anything,” Montana said. “It can just be… a whole thing. Not that I’m condoning what he did!” she said quickly. “Just that I can understand the impulse, especially after what happened with Olivia.”
What happened with Olivia? Didi asked sharply.
What happened with Olivia?! Katy echoed.
“Oh, um, right,” I said, my mind spinning. Because Russell had never talked about an Olivia. Was this an ex? What had happened? Was this the thing C.J. had mentioned to Russell? I took a breath, trying to summon the courage to ask, just as Montana reached down and scooped up Andy, resting him on her lap. He immediately started licking her chin.
“So are you Russell’s same age? Or in college already?”
I nodded, spearing another bite of pasta. “I’m about to start my freshman year. Stanwich College.”
“Really?” Montana grinned at me and jostled the dog joyfully. “I love that school!”
All at once, I remembered Russell talking about his friend Montana, who knew about it. “How do you know it?”
“I was dating a professor there for a while when I was getting my master’s in New Haven.”
“You can say Yale,” Connor said, looking over as he rolled his eyes.
“Oh, shut up,” Montana laughed, and then turned to me. “That campus is just stunning, and it’s right outside the city. And they have that great fall festival.…”
“They do?” In protest of going there, I had done almost no research into Stanwich, which was now seeming incredibly stupid.
“It’s the best.” She sighed happily as she scratched the dog under his chin. “God, I loved undergrad. I’d give anything to go back. Freshman year, everyone getting to know each other, hooking up in the dorms, people thinking they’re actually going to continue with a philosophy major…”
“Which undergrad?” Wallace called, and Montana made a face at him.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“My brother is referring to the fact that I bounced around a little. I transferred after my freshman year. And then I took a year off to do Habitat for Humanity. And then I studied abroad, and liked it so much I stayed another year—”
“Also known as, fell in love with a girl in her program,” Connor said, turning a page in his book.
“And then I did my last year remotely because I got a great internship.” She shrugged, and I nodded, feeling a little overwhelmed. Montana gave me a smile, then leaned forward, like she was about to tell me a secret. “Everyone expects you to do four years in the same place, but who wants to stick to a script? Things are much more interesting when you color outside the lines. And who’s to say you need college at all? My dad never went, and he’s doing okay.”
I nodded, like I was taking this seriously. “So I’ll put rock star down as my backup plan. Sounds good.”
Montana laughed and I finished up my bowl of pasta. Somehow, as obvious as it was, this had never occurred to me. It was like I’d been on this path that had only pointed in one direction, trapped into going to Stanwich because I had no other options. But it suddenly felt like a window had just been opened, letting me see a view outside, one that had been there the whole time but I’d never bothered to look at. Because Stanwich didn’t have to be the end of the story—if I hated it, and I kept my grades up, maybe I could transfer somewhere with a scholarship. Or study abroad. Maybe I wouldn’t be stuck there for four years after all.
Or maybe you’ll love it, Katy pointed out hopefully. You don’t know yet. Don’t just decide.
“All done?” Montana asked, looking down at my bowl.
I nodded. “It was so good. Thank you so much.”
She smiled. “I’ll have to tell Priya. She’ll be so happy.”
“While you’re at it, tell her that we’re finally playing Fishbowl,” Wallace said, setting down his controller with a flourish.
“Is it because you lost again?” Connor asked.
“It’s not not that,” Wallace said. “But seriously. We worked so hard to set up this game and now we’re not even going to play it? Unacceptable!”
Sydney shrugged. “Okay.”
Wallace pointed to her. “Sydney’s in!”
“I’ll go get Priya,” Montana said. She grabbed my bowl from the table and dropped it in the farmhouse sink on her way over to the doors that led to the pool. “Darcy, could you do me a favor?”
