Page 62 of Considering Us

“The feeling is mutual,” I muttered. “He thought I wanted to be Head of School? Ha! That’s ridiculous. I barely know how to do this.”

“The stuff with the paramedic and you,” she continued. “That was to get Kyle upset—to get under his skin. It seemed to work. I felt bad about that. He was a mess at Midsy with the karaoke.”

I nodded. “Yes, it was a rough night. You all weren’t involved with the Midsy pranks?” I had visions of Ryland creeping into Andrea’s shower to implant the bouillon cubes.

She shook her head furiously. “Absolutely not. That was all Ashlyn and her friends. They bribed the security guards with anew poker set, too. Well, those guys didn’t know they were being bribed, but I saw it that way.” She sighed, shaking her head. “Who knows? Ryland was the one who told me about that, so maybe hewasinvolved. I didn’t put two and two together until now.” She cracked her knuckles again, and I tried not to wince. “You know Ashlyn was sent home, right?”

“Andrea finally did it.”

“Which makes me nervous she’ll do the same thing to me, so it’s time for me to resign.”

“But you should anyway,” I insisted. “Arizona will be great.” I stood up, and Marnie did the same. “All right, my friend, I need to make sure lunch is ready to go before I head to a meeting in Boston. Are you coming, or are you going to try to catch Andrea now?”

“It’s grilled cheese and tomato soup day,” she said.

“It is. I’m going to ask the team to stuff bacon in some of them,” I replied, thinking of Kyle.

“I’ll try to see her after that. Let’s go cook.” And for one last time, we did.

...

I felt a pit in my stomach as I pulled up to David’s building, even though I had been there countless times. The valet took my car, and I brought the usual bags up the elevator to the penthouse. When I walked into David’s condo, Dr. Anders was sitting on the couch, typing on her laptop.

“Devon,” she said, not looking up. “Just give me a moment more, and then I’m all yours.”

“It’s no problem,” I said. “There’s plenty to put away. Is David here? I can make him a smoothie.”

“He had practice,” she said. “Just leave everything in the fridge. I can make him one later.” Her nails clicked against the keys while I unloaded and stored everything I brought. “Okay, that’s done. Want to walk over to Caffé Nero? We don’t have it in Atlanta yet. I could go for that caramel latté they have.”

We braced for the cold December weather and plodded across the street to the coffee shop. Once we had our hot drinks and were seated, I decided that this would be a very different approach from sitting with Marnie earlier. I waited for Dr. Anders to speak, and she eventually did.

“Thanks so much for taking the time to meet with me, Devon. I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for David.”

She’s definitely firing me. Kyle wasn’t right this time.“I’ve loved working with him,” I said, swallowing hard and trying to keep my composure. “And I’m so excited about how things are going for him right now. It’s good to see his hard work paying off.”

She nodded. “Hopefully, it continues. I know he’s happy about it. Did you see his press conference after Houston? The reporters can’t believe he’s actually engaging now. As you know, this is a big change. You deserve a lot of the credit for this. You’ve been a constant in his life, and you’ve also been able to gently build his confidence. We’ve all known he was capable of greatness this whole time. He just needed to believe in himself. I think he does now.”

“Well, thank you. It’s an amazing thing to witness. I’m very proud of him.” I sipped my latté, trying to channel my focus to the sweetness of the caramel and the smoothness of the milk as it blended with the espresso in my cup. It was better than thinking of where this conversation was inevitably going.

“Devon, I know this isn’t easy. You’re working full time at Rockwood, plus cooking for David and coming down here every week. And I’m sure going to LA was a challenge for you.”

“A lot of good came out of that trip, though,” I interjected. “Thanks for the extra ticket, by the way. My friend was very grateful.”

“You are very welcome. I’ll always help with that when I can. Anyway, as I was saying, I know working for us hasn’t been without its difficulties. It’s emotional to deal with David, as I know all too well. But now that he’s reaching the kind of success he has been striving for, we need more consistent assistance here in Boston.”

There it is.“Thanks for everything these last few years,” I said, keeping my voice as even as possible. “It’s been an honor. I’m happy to help train whoever you decide to hire. Just let me know what you need.”

Dr. Anders shook her head. “I think you’ve read me all wrong, Devon. I’d like to make you an offer.”

...

The Jeep drove back to Rockwood as if it was on autopilot. I mulled over every single word Dr. Anders and I discussed, all the possibilities, all the angles, all the praise she gave me for everything I had done for David. I thought of my sweet little condo in Beacon Hill, waiting for me, now sitting empty since Tam had moved in with Professor Plum in Cambridge. I thought of the things that Dr. Anders offered me, opportunities I had always wanted but never quite knew how I would make happen. I also racked my brain going through the possibilities of David being traded to various teams in cities across the country, whichcould ultimately happen at any time and which would upend the whole plan. It was so much to consider.

Andrea was sitting on the front steps of Wentworth when I walked up to my dorm. She was dunking a triangle of grilled cheese sandwich into a paper cup of tomato soup. “Marnie brought me this,” she said. “And then she quit.”

“What are your thoughts on that?” I asked, sitting next to her. “It’s cold out here. You can come inside if you want.”

“But there will be kids around listening to our conversation if we sit in the lounge,” she said. “And I’m not hauling my ass up to the fourth floor, even if your apartment is nicer than my house.” She took the last bite of her sandwich. “I don’t know what to think of it. I know this sandwich is good, even though the soup is cold now. She brought the one with bacon in it.”

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