Page 71 of Finding Jack
“It would be rude not to.”
I snorted. “You’re right. I mean, you were rude right to his face so many times when he was over here, but a barn calls for better manners.”
“I admitted that I was maybe too hard on him.”
“Maybe?”
“I was. Happy now?”
“I think I’d feel happy for sure if I know Paul is happy. So is he?”
Ranée sighed. She picked up the two mugs of tea and set one in front of me before taking the seat across the table. “Is there something you’d like to say to me?”
“I don’t know. Depends on if you have anything you want to tell me. Like about you. And Paul. And these conversations you have.”
She stirred the tea bag around in her cup. “So…uh, I guess maybe I should tell you something.”
I leaned forward. “I can’t wait.”
“So…” She dipped the tea bag a few times. “This is awkward.”
I smiled at her, the most angelic smile I could muster, determined to make her spit out every bit of this without help.
She scowled when she saw it. “You know, don’t you?”
“I don’tknowanything. But I have some real strong hunches.”
“Paul and I have been talking.” The words burst out of her like she was a shaken can of Coke.
“So you’ve said.”
“This is real talking. Like when we’re putting up the horses at the end of the night, and the conversation wanders. And somehow we’re talking about state policies on adolescent mental health for urban teens. And then we’re talking about how when you move to the city, your country roots always stay with you, and it makes you feel like you have extra wisdom, somehow. Because you understand stuff that city natives don’t. And then we’re talking about how you learn that wisdom, and what you do with it. He’s got layers.”
I’d always known he wasn’t as bad as Ranée had thought he was, but this level of introspection from him surprised even me. “Those sound like good conversations.”
“Yeah.” She stirred her tea some more. Then, without warning, she dropped her head onto the table and buried it beneath her arms. “I don’t know what to do.” The words came out muffled, but her angst was clear.
I allowed myself one big grin before I decided to put her out of her misery. “Ranée? If you wanted to date Paul, I wouldn’t be mad.”
She hid beneath her arms for another minute. I sipped my tea and enjoyed the moment.
“Really?” The word finally floated out from her arm cave.
“Really.”
She picked up her head. “I’m not saying I want to date him.”
“Okay. Then talk to him. Ponder the mysteries of the universe together. It still won’t bother me.”
“I don’t want to just talk.”
“You don’t want to date him. But you don’t want to talk to him. What do you want?”
She picked at the edge of the table, not meeting my eyes. “Suddenly I have stuff you’ve said about him on replay in my head.”
“Like what?”
“Um, I think you mentioned he’s a good kisser? And now I can’t stop thinking about that.”
