Julia felt something inside her chest swell. Of course it was. Sam’s property bordered her own in the back, and each house was set on a small rise. Between them was a lush green meadow surrounded by wetlands. It was one of her favorite views in the world, even though she saw the reverse from her house.
“Weren’t you supposed to hand it in?”
“I’m going to tomorrow. But she’ll probably fail me, it’s so overdue.”
Julia shook her head. “She’s crazy if she doesn’t give you an A. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Then she winced. What was shedoing?
But Sam didn’t laugh. Instead he held her gaze, the corners of his mouth pulling back in that boyish way.
Then the brakes hissed, and the bus lurched to a stop. He slipped the painting back into his portfolio and stood. “See ya.”
Julia watched him walk down the bus aisle. He said goodbye to their driver, Kathy, whom everyone else forgot to say goodbye to. When he stepped down the bus stairs, Julia stole a peek through the window. Sam walked up the driveway, his stride long and easy. He didn’t glance back.
Julia didn’t see Sam the last couple days of school. He wasn’t in study hall and didn’t ride the bus for some reason. Then it was Friday, the last day of school before summer.
Julia boarded the bus and sat near the back, in the same seat. Minutes later, to her immense relief, Sam climbed the bus stairs and headed down the aisle toward her. But he was staring at his phone and walked right past her. She couldn’t tell which seat he took, but she knew it wasn’t directly behind her like the last time. Clearly, he was not interested in talking to her. And she was too much of a wimp to turn around and say anything the whole way home.
When the bus finally stopped at his driveway, she heard him stand and gather his things behind her. She was mad at herself for letting the opportunity go. But it was too late to say anything now, so she stared straight ahead as his footsteps grew closer.
“Hey.”
Julia’s head snapped as he stopped by her seat. He held something out to her. “You were right.”
It wasn’t until she took it from his hand that she realized it was the painting. By then Sam was already halfway down the aisle. Julia flipped the painting over. It was graded A. And there was a note beside it in pencil: “You seemed to like this, so keep it. Maybe you can come see the real thing.”
She jerked her head up just as the bus pulled away from Sam’s driveway. She pressed her hand to the glass window. Sam raised his in return.
She pulled her phone out and looked him up on Snapchat. “How about tonight?”
After that, they began meeting up. Walking up to Sam in the middle of the field made Julia feel suddenly shy. It was one thingto bump into each other at school or on the bus. It was another to plan it. But seeing Sam sitting on the big boulder in the middle of all that greenery relaxed her. When she reached it, she clambered up and sat beside him, staring at the horizon. “It’s good, but your painting is better.”
He turned to look at her, and she could feel the weight of his gaze. “You know, my mother really liked that watercolor. I had to come up with a lie when she asked me where it was.”
“She did?” Julia spun around to face him. “Oh, God, I feel terrible!”
“You should. It was her favorite.”
Julia smacked him on the arm. “I’m giving it back.”
“Nah, she’s got plenty of them.” Sam chuckled. “I just wanted to see you squirm.”
After that, they met almost every night. They found a large rock by the lake’s edge where they could see a blue heron’s nest in a weeping willow. When it was particularly hot, they met by the stream, where the shadows were cool and the ground mossy. Once she caught a small brown turtle with garnet-red spots on its shell that she’d never seen before. “Look at that,” she said, handing it gently to Sam.
“I’ve never seen one like that,” he said, examining it in wonder. “It must be rare. Let’s put it back by the water.” As Julia watched him return to turtle to the mud, she couldn’t think of any other boy who would appreciate such things.
“What do you two talk about?” Chloe demanded when Julia would call her to report back.
“I don’t know. Nothing. Everything.”
It was true. Sometimes they just sat and listened to the peepers. Sometimes Sam brought her a snack, like the perfectly ripe plum he once pulled out of his pocket, took a bite out of, and wordlessly handed to her. She’d never tasted anything so sweet. Sometimesthey joked about school friends and gossip. Sometimes it was more serious, like a few nights ago, when they sat on their rock and he told her he had to go to Saratoga Springs soon to visit his grandfather, who was dying of cancer. “He’s my favorite relative in the whole family. I don’t know what to say to him.” Sam’s voice broke. “I’m not sure I want to remember him like this.”
It was the first time Julia had taken his hand. She pulled it onto her lap and squeezed it in her own. Sam’s hands were softer than the buttery leather reins on Radcliffe’s bridle. It hardly sounded romantic, but as an equestrian, she found nothing more satisfying to the touch than the smooth braids of leather woven between her fingers. Until that moment when Sam looked at her and squeezed back.
Now, as she got ready for her parents’ stupid gala, Julia found it hard to keep Sam out of her thoughts. Hurriedly, she pulled her hair into a loose ponytail and dabbed on lip gloss. If it weren’t for the mint dress, and the freckles starting a dangerous trail across her nose, she’d almost say she looked pretty. Almost. She hurried to her walk-in closet and selected a pair of white sling backs which were tricky to walk in but made her taller. Before dashing downstairs, she grabbed her phone off her bed and sent Sam a text: “Sorry I couldn’t stay, but my parents have that thing tonight. How about after?”
As she trotted downstairs, she could hear the house already buzzing. The patio doors had been thrown open, and notes of music trailed inside like birdsong as the jazz band warmed up. Her family was gathered in the archway between the living room and kitchen, apparently waiting for her. Her mother sounded impatient. “Where is Julia? We need to take the family photo.” Eliza stood at the ready with a camera.
Julia groaned. Before every party, her mother went crazy with the photos.
