Page 54 of Considering Us

“I feel it, too,” I said, and then we were silent until a crowd of spectators opened the doors and descended onto my hiding place to rush down the stairs and out of the arena to head home or to the bars or wherever they were going. “I gotta go, Kyle!” I shouted, not sure if he could hear me over the sudden din.

“What?” he asked.

“Bye!” I stood there as people rushed past me, and I realized that I needed to keep moving so I wouldn’t get trampled. I followed them down the stairs until I reached an exit and stepped outside into the warm December Southern California air. I stood in the middle of the street and took a big breath. Disappointed Clippers fans walked past me while the scattered Boston supporters fist-bumped each other and celebrated David’s amazing night.

When I walked back into our hotel suite, Heath was standing on the other side of the doorway with his suitcase. “You’re going home?” I asked.

“Oh yeah,” he answered. “You didn’t even notice me leave.”

“When did you leave?”

He shook his head. “I saw you bolt out of there and go into that stairwell. I followed you, and then I saw your face. Your face said it all. I knew you were talking to Kyle.”

“Heath, I don’t know –”

“No worries, Devon. I got the message.” He walked past me into the hallway. “Best of luck to David. He had the game of his life.” And with that, he wheeled his bag toward the elevator.

I closed the door behind him and looked around. There was a bit of a mess in the kitchen, but it wasn’t too bad. I had barely unpacked, so there wasn’t much stuff out in the queen bedroom or adjacent bathroom. I lay down on the bed for a few minutes, staring up at the white ceiling. I thought back to my phone conversation with Kyle in the stairway and smiled. I was so glad he had watched the game and could understand everything I was so excited about.Kyle.I bolted up from the bed and began throwing everything into my suitcase. I dragged it into the kitchen and living area and grabbed the things I needed to bring back with me, leaving the rest. I hated not cleaning everything up, but I had to get to the airport. I fished a twenty out of my wallet, threw it on the counter, and left.

In the cab on the way to LAX, I realized there were four different airlines I could choose from, but I wanted to avoid being on a flight back to Boston with Heath. The challenge was that the four possible airlines were in four distinct terminals, so I didn’t dare book anything yet. The first terminal that was a possibility was Terminal Three, so I asked the driver to drop me off there. I ran to the check-in area and spotted Heath’s hoodie sweatshirt from behind at a Delta kiosk, so I dashed back outside and hopped on the first shuttle bus I saw. Then I realized it was for the rental car facility.

“Is there any way you can drop me at Terminal Four? Or Five? Or Seven? Any of them would be fine,” I said to the driver.

“You forgot Six,” he said gruffly. “Fine. Here’s Four.”

“Thank you!” I cooed as I sailed down the bus stairs and scurried into the American Airlines Terminal.

Once I was inside, I realized that I could finally just open the app on my phone and book the flight. I knew there were seats available; I had checked all that en route to the airport. Within minutes, I was booked and heading through security on my way back to what I hoped could possibly be home.

25

I couldn’t text Tam because it was ridiculously late—the middle of the night—on the East Coast. I paid for Wi-Fi on the plane but didn’t know what to do with it. I finally opened my email and tapped out a quick note to her.

If you didn’t watch the game, I’m sure you know by now. Amazing. I’m on the red-eye home (alone). Hope Kyle will still want me. Feels more like Jerry Maguire than Harry and Sally. But I’m fidgety Tom Hanks trying to get to Jonah in NY in Sleepless in Seattle on this plane. xo me

There wasn’t anyone else I was ready to talk to about any of it, and I had already spoken to David’s mom from LAX after she landed in Denver. I knew that I should try to sleep, but my attempts were fruitless. I ended up watching two seasons ofThe Office, remembering that it was one of the few shows Kyle enjoyed. Maybe we had a little of Pam and Jim in us, too. I had to hope for the best.

Once I landed at Logan just after eight o’clock in the morning, I felt like I was running in slow motion. My legs couldn’t possibly get me through the terminal any faster. By the time I finally made it to the elevator to go to the parking garage, I realized I didn’t have my car since Heath had driven me to the airport.

“That fucker!” I exclaimed as the door to the elevator opened, just in time for a family with two young children to stare back atme. “I’m so sorry,” I said, holding the door open for them. “It’s a guy with a car.” The woman nodded in reply and shuffled her kids away from me as quickly as she could.

I would either have to rent a car that I would have to figure out how to return somewhere or take another form of transportation. I pulled up the Amtrak app and saw there was a train departing in twenty minutes that could get me to Durham on the University of New Hampshire campus.Right near Norwell, I thought. I dashed outside and threw myself in a cab. “North Station! Please!” I shouted at the driver, who must have had immediate regrets for letting me into his car.

I sprinted through the train station and into an Amtrak Downeaster car as the doors were about to close. The ride was over an hour long, so I walked to the café car and bought a hot coffee and a whoopie pie. I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten anything. As I devoured the cream-filled chocolate cake sandwich, my phone rang. Tam must have read my email.

“Hey,” I said with a muffled voice, my mouth full of whoopie pie.

“You sound weird. Where on earth are you?”

“Eating a whoopie pie on the Amtrak Downeaster,” I said, taking a sip of coffee to clear my voice a bit. “We’re about to pull into Haverhill.”

“Okay, weird, but I’ll excuse it for now. Devon, oh my God! I feel like so much has happened since you left two days ago.”

“It has,” I agreed as a few new passengers boarded the train. “First of all, David was unreal. It finally happened. You can’t tell anyone this, but he was an absolute mess before the game.” I looked around to see if anyone was watching me, and luckily, they were either sleeping or staring at their phones with their headphones on.

“Ooh, that must have been awful. Sounds like you got him through it. You two are a good team.”

“I think so. It all made me very grateful to have him in my life—if that makes any sense. He feels like family now. Like you.”

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