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“Yeah,allthe time,” little Olivia parrots as she starts using chalk in the driveway to write her name. Scratch that, she’s writingmyname in big bubble letters.
“Thanks again.”
Skylar catches on to what Olivia’s doing and gives me an apologetic smile as she mouthes the words,Run for your life!
“Hey, you said you were gonna go in the pool,” she calls after me.
To which Skylar says, “He actually didnotpromise to go in the pool.”
“I have to go now, but I’ll take a raincheck.”
The kid looks at me like I’m loony. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’ll go in the pool the next time we’re here.”
I hold back from saying that I might not ever come back here. Sarah maybe, but me? I don’t know where I stand. There’s a decent chance we’ll disintegrate once we cross back over the state line and arrive on reality’s doorstep. I’d say we’re standing on a pretty shaky foundation at the moment.
I tell myself we’ve kissed and that’s all, but the kind of kissing we’ve done is different. It’s more. I held back like a jerk when she asked if we were friends, but she is my friend. She’s someone I’ve confided in, and by holding her close and comforting her, she’s given me the kind of comfort I didn’t even know I needed. But even if we do firmly establish ourselves as something more than friends, Sarah is leaving once the summer ends. That’s a fact.
I take a deep breath before knocking on the door again, and when Grace greets me she looks wrung out, with tears threatening. “Is Sarah ok?”
“Um, she’s been in the bathroom for a while?”
When I knock on that door, Sarah says, “Just gimme a minute.”
“It’s me,” I tell her, and the lock clicks a second later. She’s leaning her butt against the sink, her face looking much like Grace’s. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
Sarah lets out a breath that goes on and on. “It’s just that,” she meets my eyes, “it’s a lot, you know?”
“Like I said, you’re the captain of this ship. You want to go, just say the word.”
She reaches back and turns the faucet on to muffle her voice. “I feel like I should be mad at her, like, to tell her she was weak, and, you know what? It worked out fine because I have parents who are better than you ever would have been.” I say nothing to this, even when she looks to gauge my reaction. “But that’s out of loyalty to my mother and father, and because I feel guilty for the way I left yesterday. I’m not mad at the woman.” She looks up at the ceiling. “Ugh, I don’t know what to think.”
“You don’t have tothinkorfeelorbeone way or another. You’re just learning her story and she’s learning yours. And there’s no pressure here, got it? She’ll understand if you want to leave now and take some time to think about everything, talk another time, meet up or never meet again…Whatever.”
“No.” Shaking her head, she looks like she just ran a marathon but she’s pushing herself to do it all over again. “I might not ever get this chance again.”
And we’re both surprised when we exit the bathroom and find another person standing toe to toe with Grace, holding both of her hands in his. Grace takes a step back from him when she notices us, and he looks right at Sarah with kind eyes. “Hi, I’m Owen. I’m—”
“Grace’s husband.” Poised, polite Sarah is back in action. Taking his outstretched hand, she introduces herself, and introduces me as her boyfriend while she’s at it.
This is my boyfriend, Liam.
I’m dumbstruck in a good way for a second there. She whips her head back to me, looking to see if I’m horrified by this, so I reach for her hand and give it a squeeze to let her know how I feel.
What a simple word, a word I tagged as stupid and corny before, but I’ve just been proven wrong because I’m smiling for no other reason than that corny word. I’ve never been anyone’s boyfriend, never believed I was truly special to anyone before, and the idea that Sarah sees me as worthy fills me with something that’s good and painful at the same time.
Thankfully Grace and her man are focused on Sarah now, and not scrutinizing me. I can’t imagine I look even remotely normal at the moment.
“We’re so glad you came,” he says, his eyes lingering on Sarah. Shaking his head, he says, “Wow. You look so much like hi—”
“Owen,” she interrupts him softly, and shakes her head to stop him from talking.
“Sorry,” he says, looking from Grace to Sarah. Changing tack, he says, “Leo and Skylar told me you guys have been on the road for days? Is that right?”
