Page 37 of Considering Us

“You and me both. What would a little plum baby be called? A plummy?”

“Eww, that sounds like something nasty. I don’t want to think about that. Please don’t say that ever again.”

“We’ll come up with something else.”

“Definitely. But think aboutSleepless in Seattle.”

“How does that apply here? Walter? Heath is not Walter.”

“Okay, what aboutYou’ve Got Mail? I’m trying to think of the right rom-com analogy here. He can be Frank inYou’ve Got Mail. Greg Kinnear’s character. Meg Ryan—excuse me, Kathleen Kelly—is with a guy, and it’s good, and it’s fine, and it’s comfortable. But then there’s Joe Fox…”

“I’m not sure Frank is that great of a guy. He ate all the caviar garnish, remember? Or was it Joe Fox? And you think Kyle’s Joe Fox?”

“You’re right. It was Joe. How am I getting my characters mixed up? I’ve only seen this movie a million times. But can I please go meet Kyle?”

I sighed. “Okay, let me just run into the dining hall and make sure we’re on track for dinner. I’ll be out in five minutes.”

After checking in with Marnie and the rest of the staff, I felt comfortable leaving again—for enough time to bring Tam to the library and check on my parents. Tam had met them before, and luckily, my mother kept it together and didn’t call her the fancy TV reporter or anything like that. Tam made small talk with Kyle about how she had been Andrea’s college classmate and how she and I met in Boston a few years earlier. I had told Kyle plenty about her, and he genuinely seemed excited to meet her. The sullen Kyle from the last few weeks had been replaced by the Kyle I knew, the enthusiastic, all-in Kyle. It made me both happy and even more confused.

As I walked Tam back to the news van, she linked arms with me and said, “I really like him, Dev. I know I’m meeting Heath this week, and I’m excited about that. But there’s a way that he looks at you out of the corner of his eye… I can’t describe it. It’s just there. Know that it’s there, and I see it.”

“I love you,” I said, giving her a hug. “Thank you for being here today, even if it’s for work. You have no idea how much I needed you.”

“And anytime your campus is trashed by spoiled brats, I’ll be here.”

18

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” I asked my parents. “You’re skipping my free and quite excellent dinner for a ten-dollar turkey dinner at a congregational church. Even under these current circumstances, we’re eating delicious sesame chicken and vegetable lo mein tonight. You love Chinese food!” I could not understand some of their life choices.

“Sounds fancy,” my mom said, and I rolled my eyes. “We already bought the tickets.”

I looked toward my dad, and he sheepishly shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll save you a fortune cookie,” I said to him, giving him a hug. “They go great with whiskey sours.” My mom had already gotten into the car, never one for much affection. “I’ll come up to see you soon,” I directed toward her through the open car door.

“To what do we owe this honor?” she asked, turning the key in the ignition.

“It’s been a long time, that’s all. I miss the cat. I’ll be in touch.” I shut the door behind my dad and walked up the path to where Kyle was standing.

“They are brutal,” I said to him, shaking my head. “Well, she is. He’s fine. He can’t get a word in edgewise.”

“I really enjoyed hanging out with him. The guy knows his military history. And just history in general. I learned a lot.”

“Thanks for doing that,” I said. “He doesn’t really have people to talk like that with. She couldn’t care less about history.”

“Your mom works hard, it seems.”

We were walking now along the campus path, but with no real direction or purpose, it seemed. “It’s funny,” I replied. “She doesn’t mind getting dirty. I mean, bachelor parties at local motels? Nasty. But she’s abrasive and judgmental and pisses people off, so she gets fired. And then gets hired somewhere else because it’s so tough to find workers who are willing to do what she does. It’s an endless cycle. It’s been like this most of my life.”

“You’re nothing like her,” he said, and I was so relieved he could see that.

“Well, thank God. I mean, I’ve got some spunk in me,” I said, and Kyle laughed. “But I never got terminated from a job. Until the most recent one, but well, you know what those circumstances were. I can’t believe my mom spent the whole afternoon with Adrienne Preston,” I said, smacking my hand against my forehead.

“Adrienne’s a good kid. I doubt she said anything.” He took a turn toward the wooded path that went to the pond where we had walked just weeks earlier and shared the ill-fated kiss. That wasn’t happening this time, but I felt okay continuing the walk. The conversation felt healing and comfortable, which I think we both needed.

“I was glad to see her,” I said, meandering through the crunchy leaves along the way and spotting the water on the other side. “I was worried she got caught up in the hijinks.”

“Why would you think that? Pressure to fit in as a new kid?”

“I was thinking more about the horse that ended up in Andrea’s office.” I filled him in on the Walden Pond incident that ultimately brought Adrienne to Rockwood.

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