Page 41 of Considering Us

After we had finished eating, Tam and I retreated to the bathroom; I was dying to hear her thoughts on the evening.

“I really like him,” she said from the next stall over. “He’s so cute and has a sweet way about him. He looks at you with a mix of admiration and awe. It’s refreshing to see a man so smitten.”

“Professor Plum seems to like him, too. And I’m a fan, by the way. This is a good match for you. I mean, anyone who can get you to stop discarding men the way I go through bags of chocolate chips in the dining hall kitchen…”

“Noted,” she said while washing her hands at the sink. “But we’re focusing on you right now since it seems to be urgent. I agree; Plum loves him. I think they really are going to a hockey game together, and Ellis doesn’t even like sports that much.”

“But,” I began, not finishing my thought as I took out lipstick from my purse.

She sighed. “So, back to my weird,You’ve Got MailandSleepless in Seattleanalogies because I can’t give those up. You’re right. He’s not a Frank. Definitely more of a Walter,” she said, referring once again to Meg Ryan’s love interest played by Bill Pullman.

“He luckily doesn’t sleep with a big noisy humidifier on the nightstand.”

“It’s not technically winter yet. You never know.” She applied lip gloss and then turned to me. “You’re not in love with him, Devon. Professor Plum might be, but I don’t think you are.”

“We just started dating a few weeks ago. It’s very early. How long did it take you to know Plum was the one?”

Tam opened the door to the restaurant. “I went back to my old apartment in the Seaport after our date and couldn’t sleep, so I watchedLove Actually.”

“One of your favorites. Even if it’s from the early 2000s.”

“I do prefer the eighties and nineties. But I got such Jamie vibes from Ellis.”

“Colin Firth’s character. The author. I love it when his pages end up in the pond. Who would let that happen? But so charming.”

“Yes. Then, I started craving every scene in all my movies where the characters realize they need to be together. So, I got onto YouTube and watched them all.When Harry Met Sally,Notting Hill,While You Were Sleeping, you name it. I still couldn’t sleep. By then, it was four in the morning.”

We stood by the front door to the restaurant and saw the men waiting for us outside on the sidewalk. “What did you do then?” I asked.

“I had been searching high and low for the perfect romantic moments when I realized I could live my own. Finally. So, I took a shower and figured out where he lived and bought sticky buns from Flour.”

“Those are incredible.” My mouth watered at the thought of the Boston-area bakery favorite.

“They are. And I got on the red line and took it to Porter Square and walked through the rain for like five blocks. I pressed the buzzer, and luckily, he was home.”

“Probably because it was like six in the morning.”

“Seven. Flour in Beacon Hill didn’t open until six-thirty.”

“Okay, continue.”

“And I met him outside his apartment, soaking wet. Because my life has become a rom-com. And I said, ‘I thought you might want breakfast.’”

I clutched my chest, somewhat joking but also loving this story. “I’m guessing that was it for both of you. Because this is, indeed, a rom-com.”

“We’ve spent every night together since.”

We opened the door and said our goodbyes, with Heath and Ellis promising to be in touch about future plans. And then Heath took my hand, and we silently walked to his truck. As I opened the door, I could have sworn I saw the flash of a camera.

20

“What do you know aboutThe Underground Stallion?” I asked Adrienne as we assembled the pans of spinach gratin before their trip into the oven. I had planned a steakhouse night with a wide assortment of savory vegetarian side dishes. The captain of the boys’ hockey team had approached me with a sincere request for more steak, and I was finally starting to feel like I was connecting better with the students. I wanted to make it a good dinner in hopes of hearing more such wishes. The longer I cooked for other people, the more I realized the importance of food as a connecting point, and I knew that things like this were going to make all the difference in my relationship with Rockwood. I was trying.

“It’s a secret newspaper,” she replied with a shrug. “I know there are kids involved in it, but I’m not sure who they are or what their aim is. Maybe they’re just disruptors? Our regular newspaper is almost nonexistent, so they get to dominate the scene. I’m just happy they’ve left me alone so far.” She sprinkled a mix of gruyère and parmesan on top of her pan full of spinach, cream, onions, and more cheese. “Why do you ask?”

“Come on, I know you’ve seen their issues. I am often the focus.” I opened the ovens, and we loaded our creations inside. “I can’t go anywhere without someone scurrying behind a tree or snapping a picture. It’s creepy and unnerving. Are things so boring here that they feel compelled to spend their time stalkingme? Notice they didn’t run anything on Midsy. I bet they were all involved in it.”

“Possibly,” she said, washing her hands. “Or else they’re just scared of the pranksters. Ashlyn and her crew are pretty powerful on this campus. I avoid them at all costs.”

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