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“I don’t think I’ve heard you mention someone named Layne,” he replied. “Was she new to the team this year?”
“No, she got there at the same time I did. We just started getting close right before all of this started happening. She really killed it for us in the conference tournament. I wish you could’ve seen us play together. It was like she just knew where I was going to be even when we weren’t in a play, and she’d get me the ball and–”
“You like her,” her mom stated.
“I do,” she admitted.
“As more than a friend?”
“Yes.”
“Does she like you?”
“I think so.”
“So, you’re not together?”
“No, Mom. We’re just dealing with the situation right now. She’s at home with her mom, and I’m here with you, guys. She’ll be moving to Chicago once her job tells her the remote stuff is over. I’ll go back to Dunbar. It’s not like anything can really happen.”
“She makes you giggle, Shay. You don’t giggle.” Her mom shook her head. “That says something to me.”
“I giggle.”
“Not like that. You laugh, yes, but I’ve never heard you laugh like that. And I happen to like the idea of you laughing like that.”
“You know she’s a girl, right? You didn’t miss that part?”
“No, I didn’t. Shay, we don’t care. You came out, and it took us a while to figure out how to handle everything, yes, and the timing wasn’t great because you were going off to school, and your dad got the job that takes us away from here for half the year, but we… just want you to be happy. God, life is too short. If there’s one thing this horrible sickness has taught us, it’s that, isn’t it? I don’t want to lose any of my kids to this or anything else, so if this Layne makes you laugh like that, and you like each other, I vote you two figure it out.”
“You don’t really get a vote, Mom.” Shay laughed.
“I know. But I should. So should your father.”
“This isn’t the eighteen hundreds.” Shay laughed again.
“Are you done eating, or do you need to shuttle the peel from your baked potato into your mouth, too, before you guzzle the rest of your iced tea?”
“I’m done.” Shay rolled her eyes.
“Then, go. Your father will do the dishes tonight.”
“Thanks, Mom,” she said, not needing to be told twice, and rushed out of the kitchen.
“Me thinks our little girl is in love,” her mom said to her dad.
“Mom!” Shay yelled but didn’t stop heading to the stairs.
She did stop jogging, though, and walked the rest of the way. When she got downstairs, she checked her hair in the bathroom mirror and changed her T-shirt to a Dunbar tank top because she thought it looked better on her than what she’d tossed on after her shower. Then, she climbed onto her bed and waited. Seconds later, Layne’s face came through on her screen, and she accepted the FaceTime call.
“Hey,” she greeted with a smile that then fell. “What’s wrong?”
“I haven’t told you because it’s been fine, but…”
“Layne, what’s going on?” Shay shifted to lie on her side and stared at her phone.
Layne looked exhausted, and Shay’s heart raced.
“I’m okay.”
