Page 58 of Considering Us

As we had in January 2007 on a much warmer night, we walked around the body of water that was so small that calling it a lake was a stretch. Hand in hand, we told each other stories of our classes, parties we had attended, and people we knew. We mused about sending in a class note to our alumni magazine about our reuniting to give our classmates a shock. We stopped and kissed at the point where we were almost positive we had done the same years earlier. It was all very sweet and nostalgic and very, very cold.

“I can’t feel my toes or my nose,” I said. “I was in LA this time yesterday. I think I’ve confused my body. Plus, it thinks I don’t sleep anymore.”

“I only sleep in driveways now,” he said. “Let’s go.”

We walked across the quad as students were heading to the dining hall for dinner, and it seemed so strange to be at Norwell watching the same kind of scene we were a part of almost every evening at Rockwood, just with younger people. We stopped and sat on a bench and watched them shuffle past us, laughing and talking, some couples holding hands, a few smoking cigarettes, many with big backpacks, clearly heading to the library as soon as dinner was over.

“They’ve got finals soon, I bet,” I said, leaning into Kyle as we observed the Norwell world unnoticed.

“I wonder how many of our professors are still here,” he pondered. “Most of them seemed so old. They were probably our age.”

“We’re only thirty-five, goofy,” I said. “Were any college professors later presidents?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I figured I should learn something since we’re back at college.”

“Well,” he began, taking my hand and pulling me up to stand. “John Quincy Adams taught at Harvard and Brown. Taft taught at Yale Law School after he lost reelection and before he became a Supreme Court justice.”

“He was a justice after he was president?”

“Yep, the only one in our history. He didn’t really want to be president. Teddy Roosevelt talked him into it. And then ran against him four years later.”

“That’s right. That’s how Wilson was elected. It’s all coming back to me now.”

“You got it. After he was president of Princeton,” he said as we got to the Jeep. “Ice cream near me,” he said, speaking into his cell phone.

“You really want some? It’s maybe thirty degrees out.”

“For you, anything. You still on a toffee kick? Not sure if this place has it,” he said, scrolling through the results.

“No more Heath for me,” I answered. “What looks good?”

“Caramel Oreo Swirl? I bet you would like that one.”

“Oh, definitely.” My stomach growled as if by suggestion.

“Did you know that Barack and Michelle Obama had their first kiss while getting ice cream?” he asked.

“You didn’t read that in a history book.” I laughed, imagining Kyle pouring over presidential romance stories.

“No, it was an interview with Oprah.”

“Even better.”

27

“You should just move in here,” I said, lying in bed in my apartment with Kyle, feeling like I was finally where I was supposed to be. I was somewhat kicking myself for not linking up with him right away once I got to Rockwood like he had seemed so fully ready to, but part of me knew that I hadn’t been all there. The trust we had built over the past few months, the getting-to-know-each-other aspect of it all, the slow burn of seeing each other practically every day and almost never touching each other, plus my ill-fated relationship with Heath … maybe that’s the way it all needed to happen. I would never know for sure, but in this moment, sprawled out in a sea of sheets and blankets and pillows on a December morning, all was right in the world.

“Us shacking up. Now, that would be something forThe Underground Stallion,” he said, running his hands through my hair, getting caught in the inevitable knots from a mane that needed a thorough scrubbing. Our bath together the day before had been less of a cleaning experience and more of one of laughing, splashing, and, for lack of a better term, foreplay. I definitely needed a good long shower.

“Does the paper even exist anymore? Can I stop worrying that someone is lurking behind a tree, ready to take my picture? I can’t believe Ryland and Marnie were the brains behind it,and I use the wordbrainsloosely,” I said. “What will happen to them? I don’t envy Andrea’s job at all.”

“He’s certainly not teaching this week,” said Kyle. “The buzz among the faculty on the group chat is that he told his classes to read a book of their choosing this week and send him a paragraph review of it. That’s it. And then we’ll hit the holiday break, so who knows when the investigation will conclude. Then, the disciplinary hearing will take place at some point. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I love that you have a group chat. Karma can be a real bitch,” I said, lying with my head on his chest like I had so many years ago. “Andrea let me decide whether or not Marnie could work this week. I said she could stay for now, but we would see what the investigation yields. In my mind, what Ryland did was far worse since it involved the manipulation of students. Plus, I’d need to either hire a replacement or see if one of the workers on my team is ready for this kind of role. There’s a lot to think about. But like Andrea said, trusting her is an issue. I need to talk to her.”

“For whatever reason, Ryland is able to work these women. I saw it with Cora. I don’t get it, but I’m just a straight guy. What do you think? Is he all that appealing? Is he some kind of sexy beast?”

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