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“That’s bull,” Jeremy muttered.
“Exactly.”
For a long time, Alana and Jeremy locked eyes. Jeremy’s eyes smoldered. After a long time, Alana blinked away tears and whispered, “I have never met anyone like Sarah before.”
Jeremy nodded, clearly overwhelmed. “I know. She’s special.”
“She really is.”
They held one another’s gaze. For a long time, Alana thought they might kiss the way they used to when they were teenagers. How overwhelming it had been to be in love at sixteen and seventeen years old. Your life revolved around one thing and one thing only. When that thing fell apart, you exploded along with it— forced to create a brand-new way of living.
Jeremy’s voice cracked as he added, “She seems better.”
Alana’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s ever that simple.”
Jeremy let out a single sob. “She looks so healthy.”
Alana nodded, reaching across the bar top and gripping his hand. Overhead, eight fireworks exploded at once, filling their ears with sound.
“If doingNantucket Dreamswith her has taught me anything, it’s that that girl has a whole lot of spunk in her,” Alana whispered. “She plans to fight this.”
Jeremy’s eyes caught the light of the fireworks. “I hope you’re right.”
Alana and Jeremy spent the next half-hour of fireworks in complete and silent rapture, their eyes to the sky. Occasionally, one of them lifted a finger to nab the bartender, who refilled their drinks immediately. Mostly, though, they were caught in worlds of their own creation, lost in a sea of private thoughts.
After the fireworks finished, Jeremy received a message from Sarah. He told Alana he had to head home to check on her. “It’s time for us to have a real conversation,” he explained. “It’s been way too long.”
Alana nodded, watching as Jeremy paid for her drinks with a flourish of his debit card. When Alana reached for some bills, Jeremy pushed her hand away.
“You’re about to enter a world of legislation,” he told her. “You’re going to need that money.”
Alana laughed, her heart brimming with something like love. She knew it was just the ghost of what she’d previously felt for him.
Jeremy walked Alana most of the way back to The Copperfield House with his hands latched behind his back as they walked slowly, their eyes toward the stars. Alana wanted to say something poetic about how they’d done this time and time again as teenagers, but held the sentiment in. It didn’t matter any longer. Besides, she’d lived so many lives since then, as had Jeremy. Perhaps they could just be two damaged adults, friends till the end. Whatever that meant.
When they reached their parting point, Alana locked eyes with Jeremy and said, “You know, Sarah really saved me this summer. I don’t know what I would have done without her friendship.”
Jeremy nodded. “You want to see her again?”
Alana’s voice broke. “It would tear me apart if I couldn’t.”
Jeremy blinked several times. He looked tentative, like a boy on the verge of asking her out on a date.
Instead, he just said, “Sarah probably needs you, too.”
And with that, he bowed his head and whispered, “Good night.” He turned on his heel and, soon after, disappeared into the darkness. Alana was left with a knot in her stomach, divorce papers at home, and a whole future ahead without a single plan in sight.
In many ways, her lack of plan reminded her so much of her high school days. Time was a flat circle, wasn’t it?
