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He reached out over her shoulder and took two bottles from the carton, his arm brushing her shoulder. She felt the warmth of it, its touch reassuring and more, something that both comforted her and put her even more off balance. When he moved away to open the bottles, she felt the loss of him beside her. She shook her head. God, she was a mess.
She grabbed a beer for herself, took the opener from him after he was finished, and opened her own bottle, taking a deep swig. It was good, refreshing, she discovered. If Giancarlo could see her now, she could only imagine what he’d say.
She sniffed and looked over at Ethan. “Are both those beers for you?”
He shook his head. “No, I figured your father would want one. He usually does, right?”
She nodded, grateful that he understood. Something inside her shifted a little. An easing.
“And Simon too?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I suppose. I don’t really know Simon anymore.” She opened the fridge again and took out two cans of soda. “I’ll take a couple of these just in case.” The knowledge that she didn’t know Simon or anyone else in Somerton Lake struck her. How distant she felt from them. Even her brother.
Ethan cut into her thoughts. “I think there might be a bag of pretzels down in the left-hand cabinet by the fridge. And maybe some Fritos too.”
“Really?” she said. She opened the cabinet and saw them. “Wow. I didn’t know. I bought some potato chips the other day and put them over there.” She gestured to the small basket that was on the counter across the room.
“Great. We’ll add that to the pile.”
“Dare we?” she asked, trying to add a bit of humor to her voice. “I mean, Tamzin has gone to all that trouble.”
“Sure,” he said. “Everyone has a choice then. That’s what it’s all about.”
“Prometheus unbound, then.”
He looked at her a moment and gave a slow, wry smile. “Maybe.”
They took their haul through to the living room. She put the sodas on the table while Ethan placed the bags of pretzels, Fritos, and chips on the coffee table and handed one of the beers to her father. He took it silently, giving him a nod before turning his attention back to the football. She knew he usually got lost in it, but today there seemed an extra intensity about him. She looked over at Tom to see if he noticed. He was absorbed in the game, as well, though she could see a little twitch at the corner of his eye. She looked away, unable to watch his own struggle to create a sense of normality. Turning, she made her way back into the kitchen and grabbed the rest of the beers, picking up the opener as she passed the counter and retraced her steps back to the living room. Without a word, she opened one beer and handed it to Tom. He looked up at her, his eyes bleak and took it with a grateful nod. She opened another beer and handed it to Simon.
“Thanks,” he said, his voice low. He made a small toast gesture and took a deep swig.
Kate glanced at Ethan, his eyes warm and knowing. He gave a slight nod. The nod said so much and had many possible interpretations, but she embraced them all as positive. She crossed the room to the spare armchair and resumed her seat. She could feel Tamzin looking at her. A moment later, Tamzin rose, made her way out to the kitchen, and a few minutes later returned with a glass filled with a smoothie. Kate had spotted it in the fridge. It had a slight green tinge to it and she knew it was probably extremely healthy, but probably not something she could drink.
“Did you play football in college or high school, Ethan?” asked Simon.
“Me?” said Ethan. “No, not really. I mean I wasn’t on a team. I played soccer.”
“Soccer?” said Tom. “Cool. Dad and I used to watch that too.”
“I think your dad mentioned that once.”
“You liked soccer, too, didn’t you, Katydid?” said her dad. “You used to watch it during college when you weren’t out doing your music thing with Missy.”
“Missy?” said Tamzin, looking over at Kate. “Who’s Missy?”
Kate froze, no words forming in her mind.
“Oh, that was Kate’s best friend,” said Tom. He took a swig of his beer. “They were inseparable. Even formed a band.”
Her dad looked over at her. Without a word, he reached out and squeezed her hand. Kate held on to it, trying to get her emotions under control. She glanced at Ethan and he gave her a puzzled look, so many questions in his eyes. She looked away and caught Simon’s gaze, his eyes filled with what seemed like pity. Pity was something she didn’t want or deserve.
“What position did you play, Ethan?” asked her dad.
“Position?” said Ethan. “Oh. Wingback.”
Her father nodded. “Impressive.”
They chatted a little and she tried to calm down. She turned to the TV, but she could still feel Ethan’s gaze.
