Page 61 of Infinite as They Come
Kurt sat up a little straighter, his eyes moving between me and Sawyer. “So, how did you two meet?” Kurt asked. “Tell us the story.”
“Oh, yes.” Linda pressed a hand to her chest. “Please tell us. I’d love to know.”
“Uh…” Me and Sawyer let out at the same time, both our heads turning to face each other.
“School,” I said.
“Yeah, school,” Sawyer said.
Kurt took a sip of his drink. “I bet you guys fell for each other straight away.”
Big smiles stretched across both me and Sawyer’s faces at that.
“Kinda the opposite, actually,” I said.
“Yeah, definitely didn’t fall for each other straight away,” Sawyer said.
“We were both a little stupid. Young and dumb and too stubborn, but…” I felt Sawyer’s thumb rub against that spot on my ring finger again. “We both got over that eventually. Took us some time, though.”
Linda blinked at us. “You two didn’t get along?”
“We both just kinda got into a habit of arguing with each other. Like Holly said, we were too stubborn, but I’m really glad we both got over that.” Turning to face me, Sawyer’s eyes stared right into mine. “Really happy, ‘cause I can’t imagine my life without her now.”
“It’s so nice to see you in love,” Linda said. “And you look so in love, Sawyer.”
“Yeah, I really am,” Sawyer said.
“Oh, I’m gonna tear up while we eat tacos.” Linda brushed her fingers against her glistening eyes. “Let’s eat before it gets cold.”
That tension lingered, but it mostly just stayed there in the background as we all talked and ate, like it was just some unwelcome visitor that would eventually leave as the night went on. Spencer went into graphic detail about that fight he had got into, his eyes all lit up behind his glasses and his hands moving around animatedly. It was good to see him being all bright and confident. Me and Sawyer talked a little more about New York and Columbia and his art, and Kurt told us all about his job at the warehouse. I could literally feel Sawyer losing all that stress I knew he was holding on to next to me, his shoulders going from all squared to relaxed as the night carried on. When we were done with the tacos, Linda brought out some ice cream for dessert.
“I wanted to ask you something,” Linda said, hands wrapped around her bowl of ice cream. She hadn’t touched any of her dessert yet, and instead kept her fingers splayed against the sides of the bowl. “The both of you. Maybe if you’re not busy next Friday, we could see each other again? The county fair just started up. It’ll be running for a few weeks. We go every year. It’d be so nice if you joined us.”
Lips pressed together, I waited for Sawyer to answer. That was his choice,and I wasn’t about to push him into anything he wasn’t ready for.
“Come, Sawyer,” Spencer said, pulling the spoon from his mouth. “It’ll be fun. Please.”
“It’ll be a nice night out,” Kurt said. “Lots of rides and good food. Should be fun.”
“Uh…” Sawyer looked over at me, and I gave him a little shrug in response. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
“Oh, great.” Linda clasped her hands together. “I think I have a flyer hanging around here somewhere. I’ll give it to you before you leave so you know the address.”
We finished dessert while Spencer told us all about the fair and all the fun stuff he did last year and the even more fun stuff he planned on doing this year. He never touched the rides, he told us. But the games? That was his domain, and honestly, I was looking forward to seeing him in action. Linda and Kurt insisted they clean up everything when dessert was over with, so we hung out with Spencer in the living room who begged Sawyer to teach him some new fighting moves.
“Here’s that flyer,” Linda said as she moved into the room. “Maybe we can meet you there around six?” She sounded so hopeful, so honest. I could hear it in her words: that she was trying, that she was aching to see Sawyer again and make up for all that lost time.
“Thanks,” Sawyer said, taking the paper from her hand. “I guess we’ll see you there.”
“I really hope so.” Linda sighed softly. “Thank you for coming tonight. The both of you. It’s so nice to just… be around you and look at you and talk to you.”
Sawyer gave her a little nod. “Yeah, it was nice. Thanks for dinner. For having us over. It was… It was a good night.”
Linda looked ever so slightly teary-eyed as we all stood up and moved outside. Kurt had a hand on her shoulder, and I could see him squeezing at her, the gesture looking comforting, warm, familiar. We got to the truck and Spencer gave us a giant wave as Sawyer held the door open for me, and I couldn’t fight back my smile. I liked seeing Spencer like that. More himself,like he was growing into the boy he was supposed to be: proud, more sure of himself, confident. And maybe somewhat gutsy now that Sawyer had given him the push in the right direction.
It was quiet as we left their home behind, as Sawyer’s hand found my thigh. Such a comforting feeling. We settled into the silence, into the quiet hum of the truck, my eyes falling to the gently swaying pom pom keychain I had given Sawyer years ago.
“Tonight was… weird,” Sawyer said, finally breaking the silence.
