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“Maybe it was their anniversary too?” Laurel guessed. “I thought they worked out on Friendship Island every single day.”
“The usually do,” Tessa said, and Alice looked over to her. She smiled, said, “It’s fun that you two get to go to lunch together sometimes,” and then she departed too. She too wore a black skirt with a flowery top, and Alice definitely suspected they’d just had a business lunch.
Whether that was with Jennifer or not, she didn’t know.
Alice wasn’t sure if she really meant that or if she’d somehow jabbed at Laurel and Alice about going to lunch together.
They were allowed to be friends outside the main group. Alice went to lunch with a variety of people, especially when Arthur worked at the school. Counselors had gone back already, as one of their busiest times at the high school was the few weeks leading up to the first day of school.
“I go out to lunch with Kristen sometimes,” Alice said, her chest stinging. “And Jean and AJ and Kelli. Everyone.”
“I don’t feel left out,” Laurel said. Their eyes met, and Laurel’s filled with worry. “Do you think others feel left out?”
Alice had no idea, and she’d never thought of it. “Kelli’s at work today. I invited AJ, but she was busy. Jean’s doing her Seafaring Girls day camp.” She started holding up a finger for each person. “Robin and Mandie are doing that consultation. Eloise is recording videos for Julia. Kristen said she was too tired.”
She looked down the sidewalk where Clara and Scott had gone. “The only person I didn’t think to invite was Clara, and I figured she’d be out on Friendship…with Tessa.”
Tessa wasn’t truly in the core group anyway. She’d come to the Fourth picnic, but she hadn’t been added to the group text.
“I should’ve invited Clara,” Alice said. A twinge of guilt cut through her. “I will next time, now that I know she’s not out on Friendship all the time.” Clara could’ve told everyone that, but she hadn’t. She’d opened up a little bit, but not much, and Alice couldn’t force friendship on someone.
“Don’t feel bad.” Laurel linked her arm through Alice’s. “They obviously wouldn’t have been able to come anyway.” They went toward Laurel’s car, as she’d picked up Alice that morning for shopping and lunch. “It’s dangerously close to my nap time, so we have to get going.”
“Plus, it’s too hot to stand out in the heat and second-guess ourselves.” She smiled at Laurel, who nodded emphatically. Alice really tried hard not to do that. She’d spent so much of her life on second and third guesses, and she didn’t want to do that anymore.
“I can’t believe the twins are leaving in less than a month.” She sighed. “Tell me the truth: Am I handling it better than Robin?”
Laurel shrugged one shoulder and released Alice’s arm. “I’m not going to answer that. I have no idea how to rate how you’re handling anything. You’re different people.”
That was perfect answer, and it reminded Alice that she didn’t need to handle her twins leaving home and going to college like someone else. She only had to do it her way.
At home, she found Charlie sitting at the counter, an empty bowl in front of him. It had obviously contained cereal at some point, and she picked it up. “Done with this?”
“Yeah, thanks, Mom.” He didn’t look away from his phone until the bowl clanged in the stainless steel sink as she set it down. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something.”
She turned toward him, a zip of adrenaline pulling through her. “Yeah?”
“I’ve been talking to my roommate at NYU, and he said we can upgrade our Internet for only ten bucks a month.”
“Okay,” she said.
“I was wondering if you’d be willing to sponsor that for us.” He put a big, goofy, Charlie-grin on his face.
Alice did not return it. She put one hand on her hip instead. “Depends.”
His smile slipped, as he’d clearly been expecting her to say yes. Even if she hadn’t up-front, Alice didn’t normally strike deals with her kids. “On what?”
“On what you say next.” She prowled over to the counter top, and with only four feet separating them, she looked her son right in the eyes. “Who did you go out with on Friday night?”
He hadn’t told her. She hadn’t even known it was a date until he’d gotten home—at one o’clock in the morning—and he’d let the word slip.
He blinked and swallowed. “This isn’t a big deal,” he said.
“The fact that you have to preface her name with that means it’s a big deal.” Alice folded her arms. “I just want to know if it was Mandie or Sariah.” That wasn’t entirely true. She wanted to know that, and then she wanted to know why he thought starting up a relationship with either one of them again was a good idea.
He was leaving in three weeks.
So is Mandie, she thought, the words a whisper. They were going to the same school, living in the same city. It would be easy for him to continue a relationship with Mandie. Alice didn’t entirely hate the idea, but she wanted to understand where her son’s mind was.
