“Aw hell, who invited this jackass?”
Grinning so wide it makes my cheeks hurt, I turn toward the voice bellowing from the porch.
“They still haven’t given you back to the orphanage yet, huh?” I yell in response.
Hunter bounds down the steps, gripping me in a tight hug once we reach the house.
“Y’all might have gotten me with that when we were kids, but it’d be a lot more believable if I wasn’t a carbon copy of my mom,” he laughs. “I missed you dude, how the hell have you been?”
“I’ve been good,” I say, clapping his shoulder. “Eleanor, this is my second-favorite cousin, Hunter. Hunter, this is Eleanor, my girlfriend.”
“First of all, I’m definitely his favorite.” His expression turning grave, his next question comes out in a low, somber voice. “How long does he have?” he asks, looking at Eleanor.
“I’m sorry, what?” she says, smiling nervously, a confused look on her face. “He’s sick, right? That’s gotta be why Make-A-Wish assigned you to be his girlfriend. Because I know you can’t be dating him voluntarily.”
He ducks quickly, cackling as he narrowly avoids the hand I raised to smack him upside the head.
To my surprise, Eleanor frowns deeply, slowly nodding her head and patting me on the arm. “He doesn’t have long, but he’s being very brave about it.”
He lets out a roar of laughter, wrapping his arms around Eleanor and lifting her off the ground in something more like a tackle than a hug.
“I like her. Can we keep you even after you get rid of him?”
“I’ll talk to my supervisors and see what I can do,” she says teasingly as she tucks in to my side and wraps her arms around my waist.
Hunter leads us inside, shouting for everyone to come say hi as we follow behind him. Eleanor yelps when I give her a playful smack on this ass.
“You’re supposed to be on my side here,” I murmur, low enough so only she can hear.
“I need to win them over,” she says out of the corner of her mouth. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
Music to my ears.
The rest of the afternoon is a blur of introductions, yard games, and repeatedly answering “how have you been?” and “what’s your father doing these days?” and “I can’t believe you’re old enough to have graduated!” until my head spins. Eleanor and I got separated when Hunter dragged her into a game of cornhole against Lizzie and Ryan, and my gaze swivels to seek her out more often than not.
Everyone adores her, like I knew they would. She’s effortlessly charming, her quick wit and natural kindness winning them over just as fast as they reeled me in. The few times she’s happened to look up at me the same time I’m looking at her, she smiles so brightly that I go weak in the knees. She’s currently standing by the drinks table with Lizzie, her lemonade sloshing precariously in her solo cup as she talks animatedly, Lizzie’s shoulders clearly shaking with laughter as she shoots me a furtive glance.
I don’t think I want to know what she’s saying, actually.
When the first lightning bugs make their appearance with the setting sun, the whole group makes their way inside to a makeshift dining table made up of about fourfolding tables lined up end to end. I don’t know how we manage it, but soon enough all thirty-ish of us are seated, passing dishes along as we fill our plates. After passing a dish to Ryan’s brother, my Uncle Tim, Eleanor leans in close, whispering in my ear.
“I’m having so much fun. Do you think they like me?”
“They love you,” I whisper back, squeezing her thigh under the table. “Who wouldn’t?”
She kisses me softly on the cheek before turning back to the table to resume her conversation about books with my cousin Carter.
The table is boisterous, but not overwhelming–it just sounds like a group of people that love each other deeply (and loudly).
“So Ellie,” Uncle Tim starts. “You guys just graduated?”
“Yes, sir,” she says, nodding. “Just before Memorial Day.”
“Congrats, kiddos,” he says, tipping his glass in my direction. “What’s next for you?”
My stomach drops, Eleanor’s smile faltering as she shifts uncomfortably in her seat. We haven’t talked about that yet. Frankly, I’ve been actively avoiding it. I don’t know what comes next for us. Eleanor is headed for the University of Texas, and I’ve been accepted to Texas Tech, although I haven’t decided if I’m going to enroll or not. Working inconstruction this summer is the first time I’ve ever actually feltgoodat something. More and more, I’ve been thinking I might be built for doing something with my hands, not studying in a classroom.
College has always been this abstract thought –I never had a dream school in mind, or a dream career, or a dream town outside of Larkspur. I love our little corner of Texas. I like being in a town where everyone knows everyone, and we help each other out. The thought of living somewhere surrounded by thousands of strangers makes me feel like I can’t breathe. A steady, quiet life sounds a hell of a lot more comfortable than one that’s fast-paced and always busy.
