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And, despite it all, Ally laughed. Because no matter what happened between her and Tag, she knew she officially had her first girlfriend.
“Atta girl,” Iris said with her own happy grin. “I have no doubt you can pull this off. Let’s go sit.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“ALLY, I’M SO SORRY. I had no idea she was coming,” Tag told her later when they left the Caribou and walked toward Ally’s house.
“I know. Iris told me.”
From her vantage point during the game, Ally had been able to see him as he talked and ate with the Meades, all the while enduring what felt like the slow torture of being roasted on a spit over an open flame. Kendall touched him at regular intervals, and while he didn’t respond in kind, he didn’t move away, either. That stupid newspaper photo kept pushing its way to the front of her mind. Iris’s offer to punch Kendall played out in various fantasies and gave her a small measure of relief.
Kendall and her parents had finally left sometime during the sixth inning, and Tag had joined the others at the table. She’d done her best to play it cool and hoped she’d succeeded.
“I knew this campaign was going to demand sacrifices, but it’s difficult to imagine how hard it will be until you’re faced with it.”
This managed to diminish some of her despair and disappointment. Sacrifices she understood. Just like she knew how important this senate seat was to him.
She felt his gaze traveling over her. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Yep. Good.” Reaching toward him, she found his hand and entwined her fingers with his. The little whooshing sound of his relieved breath managed to further loosen the sting of being displaced tonight.
“I feel like I’m going to miss out on a lot.”
She nodded. She needed to get used to this, to taking a back seat to the campaign. And to Kendall, to his family, work, neighbors, friends and the million other demands that were thrown at him on a daily basis. A combination of sympathy and frustration and affection followed because she didn’t think anyone else could manage it all as well as he did. Qualities to be appreciated and admired. Except, did she want to be in a relationship where she had to take a back seat? What choice did she have, though? This Tag was better than no Tag, at least for now.
She made a silent vow not to add herself to his growing column of negatives. If this was how it had to be, then she would learn to deal with it.
She slid a smile his way. “Yeah, and not to make it worse, but tonight you missed a great game. Lucky for you, you’ve got me to fill you in…”
* * *
“ALLY, THANK GOODNESS I found you. Can you tell me the natural way to treat a urinary tract infection?”
Ally looked up from her clam chowder and garlic bread to find Gareth’s friend Kyla standing in front of the table at the hospital cafeteria where she and Tag were having lunch. Ally had played basketball with her and some of Gareth’s friends. No makeup, long brown hair pulled back. Her unnaturally pale face held the tension lines of someone in pain. A tattered backpack hung from her shoulder. The fingers of one hand were fidgeting with a cuticle on the other.
“Kyla, hi.”
“Hi. Oh, wow. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that. I was practicing all the way here from school, and then I saw you, and I was so relieved, it just came out.”
“It’s okay. You know Tag, right?”
“Yeah, hi, Tag. How are you?”
“Hey, Kyla,” Tag greeted her. “Better than you, sounds like.”
Ally asked, “Do you want to have a seat?”
“I’m totally interrupting your lunch.”
“Please, sit.” Ally gestured at the chair beside her.
Kyla nodded and shrugged off her pack. It hit the ground with a thud. She melted down into the chair beside it.
“Have you been diagnosed with a urinary tract infection by a doctor?”
Kyla shook her head. “No. But I’ve had one before. I’m sure that’s what it is. My friend Sydney told me that you can cure them with cranberry juice, and I’ve downed like a gallon in the last day, but it’s not working. Gareth showed me that article in the paper. He said that you helped his cousin.”
