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Harper:I’m at your apartment. What’s your ETA?
Me:Five. You’re here? I was on my way to Hagan’s.
Harper:Come here first.
Me:K.
She meets me on the sidewalk. “Is there a park nearby with swings?”
“Yeah but it’s cold.”
All she says is, “Perfect.”
I drive us to Forest Park. It sits on the edge of campus next to the employee day care center. They have their own fenced in park but this one is across the street. Each pathway is lined with Oak trees. We walk into the swings come into view. I grab the chains covered in some sort of rubber material.
She does the same. “These are fancy.”
A small breath escapes my chest. We swing—legs out—legs in.
Finally, she says, “I’ve never seen him like this. He won’t even talk to me. It fucking hurts. I’m his twin.” She pauses. “He’s not talking to Archer either.”
“Didn’t Archer have a meeting in Cincinnati? And when did you get here?” I ask.
“Got here around five this morning. Archer cancelled his meeting. The whole family will descend on this sweet little town by six p.m.”
“Why?”
“One, because Hagan doesn’t justthinkthis is his fault. Hebelievesit with one hundred percent certainty.” She pulls back as her legs soar into the sky. “Has he told you that I have anxiety?”
I tuck my legs in as the swing goes backward and then pull letting the momentum fling me into the light blue sky. “He’s mentioned it but hasn’t given me specifics.”
Swinging is really freeing.
“Well, him not speaking to me is giving me fucking anxiety. I can’t tell him because it will put more pressure on him, and he’ll believe my anxiety is his fault too.”
She stops her swing and starts twisting the chains. I slow down, dragging the tips of my chucks in the dirt. “Harper, I pushed him away when he needed me most. I should have comforted him. Joe is one of his best friends.”
Harper lets the swing unwind, her balayage hair swaying in the wind. “God this is fun. Why do people think swinging is for kids? It’s therapeutic.” She pauses. “Do you love him like you told us at Thanksgiving?”
“Yes.”
“Doyoubelieve the accident was his fault?”
“Of course not. But he kept my dad’s involvement and his condition from me for hours. I’m not blaming him for the accident but him not being honest with me is heartbreaking. He’s the one person I thought I could depend on.”
“Come on, Adalee. He was surprising you with your father’s visit. Most people would put that surprise into the PRO column, not the CON.”
She’s right. “Harper? Are you here for Hagan?”
She twists her seat letting go again. “I’m here because I love him, and I love you by extension. It’s hard to explain—the twin thing. Last night, I had an abdominal cramp so bad I ended up on the floor. There was no rhyme or reason for it. I hadn’t had anything greasy or any unusual food. It was around seven thirty. This morning I saw on the news that’s when the ambulance arrived at the hospital. That must be when Hagan found out. I feel what he feels.”
Hagan said we were forty-five minutes late at seven fifteen, and it wasn’t much later that when Ginger called. “What time did you call him?”
“I shrugged it off for an hour trying desperately to just sit up in a chair. I called for five straight hours with no answer. He always answers me, and I was afraid that he had died. He always answers me, Adalee. Always.” I nod because I know it to be true with the only exception being during our sexy times. “Anyway, I called Archer, and he was on his way to the hospital. He called me once he talked with Hagan. Then, he said to get on the first flight here. I felt bad being relieved that it wasn’t Hagan in the hospital, but when he explained, I knew I had to be here for both of you.”
My phone rings and I slip it from my back pocket.
“How ya holding up?”
