“Do you remember who bought the airline?”
Harrison gives me a strange look. “No.”
A woman passing us turns her head to stare at Harrison longer. He winks at her.
Definitely me, I decide, eyeing his wedding band. Other women seem to find him plenty attractive.
“So, where you headed?” Harrison asks.
“Italy.” I keep my reply short, uninterested in prolonging this conversation.
Isabella is a stickler for punctuality, so I have plenty of time before our flight departs, but casually chatting with the guy who said nothing while I was repeatedly called a slut isn’t on my priority list.
“Visiting family?”
“Yes.”
He nods, seeming to get the hint I’m eager for this reunion to be over. “I saw you and really wanted to say, I’m sorry about high school. I was a real shit back then.”
I think of the wink.Only back then?I want to snark.
But I don’t.
Because I haven’t thought of Harry Pearson since well before graduation. Because I’ve experienced real heartbreak since, and my main concern in high school was that a well-meaning parent might mention the bullying to Isabella and I’d be subjected to a lecture about the sin of sex before marriage.
“It’s fine,” I say.
“I only told everyone because all the guys wanted to get with you. I didn’t know Samantha and the other girls would be such bitches about it.”
“It’s fine,” I repeat. “My flight is boarding soon,” I add. “I should go.”
“Yeah, of course. It was good to see you.”
My, “You too,” is automatic, not heartfelt.
By the time I reach the right gate, Isabella has found a section of open seats.
“Who was that?” she asks as I take the chair beside her.
“A guy I went to Albright with,” I reply. “Hadn’t seen him since high school.”
“A friend?”
“Not really.”
Isabella drops the subject, tapping the crossword puzzle open on her lap with a pencil. “Group of crows,” she says. “Six letters.”
I think. “Murder.”
She shakes her head. “English is strange.”
My stomach grumbles again. “I’m going to get some food. Do you want anything?”
Isabella shakes her head, patting her purse. “I packed snacks.”
“Okay. I’ll be back soon.”
She nods. I stand and head for the concourse.
