“I don’t know. Soon. Paul should be in tomorrow, so Courtney won’t be alone.”
Julia’s throat thickened. “Just take care of her, honey. She’s so precious.”
“I know, I love you. Get some sleep.”
“I love you, too. Good night.” Julia set the phone on the charger, undressed, then went to the bathroom and washed her face, trying toshake off her anxiety over Leni. It worried her that her daughter was still wetting the bed, and that she’d heard an imaginary friend made things worse. Julia could only hope that it wasn’t like her hearing the scream in the garden, but even she knew she was jumping to conclusions,catastrophizingher therapist would have said. Maybe they were both exhausted, stressed, and disoriented at being apart.
Julia padded out of the bathroom and checked her phone to see if Courtney had texted back, but she hadn’t. Her Eagles shirt was on the bed, and she slipped into it, loving its softness from years of wear. She’d had this shirt since college, and she remembered when she wore it to the library, the first day that she met Matt Winger. He was the last thing she wanted to think about now.
Julia turned off the light, climbed into bed, and pulled up the covers, which felt vaguely spongy. The mattress was hard, and a whitish glow filtered through the curtains from the lighted sign by the road. A wave of edgy exhaustion swept over her, and she felt like she wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep.
She closed her eyes, and her thoughts drifted back in time, and a memory came to her. She remembered that night back in college, when she and Courtney were at a party off-campus. Julia hadn’t known anyone there except for Courtney, who was with a date. The party was big, smoky, and packed with people talking and dancing to “Hey, Soul Sister.”
She was lingering by the wall, trying to find somewhere to look when she spotted Matt Winger, the preppy guy from the library, across the room, standing alone. Their eyes met through the crowd, and he flashed her his dazzling Zack smile, then crossed to a silvery beer keg, filled a red Solo cup, and, to her surprise, made his way through the crowd to her.
Hey, Julia.Matt handed her the beer.You look thirsty.
Thanks.Julia took the cup, feeling a rush of excitement.
I’m Matt. We met in the library the other day, remember?
Of course, yes.Julia could barely hear him over the noise.
You got me so distracted, I couldn’t study.
Julia giggled, nervous.
I did terrible on my analytics exam and it’s all your fault.
Oh, no, sorry.
What did you say? I can’t hear with this music.Matt leaned closer, and Julia could smell his spicy aftershave, which set her tingling.
I only said sorry.
You want to go outside on the porch, where we can talk? It’s a nice night.
Courtney snapped her head around.Hi, I’m Courtney, and we were just leaving.
Julia looked over.We were?
Courtney took the beer from Julia’s hand and set it on the windowsill.Yes, we have to get back. We have Stats tomorrow morning.
Julia didn’t get it.I know, but it’s not that late.
Yes, it is.Courtney took her arm.Time to go.
Matt waved, making a comically sad face.Goodbye, Julia, see you at the library!
Bye!Julia let Courtney tug her through the crowd and out the front door, then stopped on the porch.What are you doing, Court? Why are you being so weird?
I don’t like him.
I do.
You don’t know him.
I’d like to get to know him. He’s really nice and he’s in business school.
