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She looks me over. “You’re kind of big to be crashing on a couch.”
“A couch is downright luxurious compared to some of the sleeping arrangements I’ve had to endure over the past couple of years.” I laugh, shaking my head. If this girl only knew some of the places I’ve sought shelter. I’ve slept outdoors wet and shivering my ass off, as well as covered in sweat and swatting flies off me while half conscious. “A couch is like a king-sized bed at the Ritz Carlton.”
She’s smiling. “I guess that was kind of stupid on my part.”
I rest my free hand on her knee. “You haven’t said one stupid thing since I met you.”
“It’s been less than a week,” she teases. “Give me some time.”
Looking around the living room, I tell her, “This is a nice place. The kitchen and living room are much bigger than Eli’s.” I turn back to her. “Why did you move off campus a year early? Did you hate the dorms?”
“I didn’t hate it, it’s just that freshman year you’re assigned to a double, but I guess they had a bigger incoming freshman class than they’d anticipated so they crammed a third bed into most of the rooms. Three people in one tiny room is a lot. I mean, I think I made two friends for life with Reese and Frannie, but trying to get a decent sleep when one person has a habit of rolling in after midnight every single night can be a bit much.”
“I’m guessing that was Reese.”
“Good guess. She’s night owl, even when she’s just studying.”
“So she’s at the library now?”
Grace shakes her head as she sips her beer. “On a Thursday night? No, Reese is out painting the town red.”
“Frannie too?”
“She likes her fun, but she’s studying nursing. That’s a tough major, so Frannie keeps her partying to the weekends.”
“I don’t know her at all, but she comes off as…”
“Sensible?” I nod and then she does too. “I’m sure she’s been in bed since ten. We all have our own rooms here and it’s sooo much better. I think one of us might have killed Reese if we had to repeat last year.”
“I’ve never had my own room.” Laughing, I add, “It’s a life goal.”
“So you have brothers and sisters?”
“No, just a really small apartment in the Bronx. A one bedroom with me on a pull-out couch in the living room.”
She’s wide-eyed, but that’s my truth and I won’t ever present myself as something I’m not to impress others. When Grace said she was from Philadelphia, I knew she wasn’t referring to West Philly. From her clothes to her speech to her manners, it’s clear that she’s a Main Line girl. We grew up on opposite sides of the tracks.
“I’ve never been to the Bronx. What’s it like?”
“We lived in a pretty nice neighborhood…Riverdale. My section was all apartment buildings, but ride your bike for a mile or two and it’s like another world. Tree-lined streets, shiny new cars in every driveway and fancy houses. There are some beautiful Queen Annes.”
“Queen Annes?”
“Big old houses with wrap-around porches and those round gables that make them look like something out of a fairytale. I’d ride around that part of Riverdale on my bicycle, picking out which one I’d buy for my parents someday.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Selfish, really. I’d tell myself it was for them but I really just wanted a big grassy yard for myself.”
She looks lost in thought for a moment before asking, “Fordham is pricey, isn’t it?”
I nod. “Scholarship. I had a full ride.”
“And you gave that up?”
“My father worked at the World Trade Center. He worked nights as a custodian, so he was already gone by the time the planes hit that day, but he lost a few close friends.”
“That’s awful.”
