"Yeah, him.Okay, question for you.Do you remember Richie’s friend Molly—"
"McButter," he finishes before she can even get the question out.
She smirks at me."That’s it.That was the entire question."
"Fine.Call your grandmother.You’ve got to get over this."
Quickly, Rachel disconnects.She doesn’t move, simply staring at the phone in her lap.
"You haven’t been talking to your grandmother?"I ask after a moment.
"I’m mad at her," she says quietly.
We’re almost to the ice cream shop, so I pull over to give us a little more time."What are you mad at her for?"
Rachel remains staring at the phone in her lap.Her hands are fidgeting with the case, pulling the corner off and then popping it back on."Okay, not mad as much as hurt by her.She kicked me out.She made me leave my home.She said I’d always have a home with her.She told me that for my entire childhood, every time my mom dragged us out to live with her.Every time my mom dropped us off because she was sick of being a parent.Every single time, she told me I’d always have a home with her.But then she made me leave when I needed home the most."
I’m quiet for a minute, trying to think about what to say."If you called your grandmother right now and said you were stranded on the side of the road, what would she do?"
Without missing a beat, Rachel says, "Either hop in the car herself, or send Gramps or Uncle Robert to pick me up."
"If you had surgery and needed care, what would she do?"
The corners of Rachel’s mouth turn down."She’d rent a hospital bed and convert her house into a skilled nursing facility."
I bet she knows that from experience.It was a stupid—no, it wasn’t the right question to ask.Or maybe it was.
"If you called her and said you were getting married, what would she do?"
"She’d start baking cookies for the bridal shower and start fussing about where she was going to find a dress and complain about how she can’t wear nice shoes anymore because her ankles are bad."
I press my luck and ask one more question."If you were having a panic attack, what would she do?"
"She’d ask if I want a hug.She’d sit with me, talking in a low voice, trying to distract me with stories about the cats, giving me anything else to focus on.She’d drop everything to be with me."
"All of this, even though you don’t live there anymore?"
Rachel finally turns to look at me."I’ve been a bitch to her, haven’t I?"
"I wouldn’t go that far, but you could probably call her tomorrow.Couldn’t hurt, right?"As I’m saying this, I know I will need to call my mom tomorrow too.I reach over the center console and pull Rachel into a hug.For a moment, she rests her head on my shoulder.If it weren’t for how horribly uncomfortable this is, I would stay like this forever.
"Thanks.I needed that," Rachel says, breaking away from the hug.One of these days, she won’t pull away so quickly.When she’s ready, I will be too.
I put the car into gear, knowing I’m going to catch hell for being so late.It doesn’t matter.All that matters right now is Rachel.
Chapter 33: Rachel
The ice cream shop, which I’ll forever think of as Tom and Jerry’s too, is not as awkward as I thought it would be.Perhaps a skosh more tense than the last time, but more relaxed than the first time when Tyler accused me of being a stalker and his brothers sat on him.
It seems like a normal night.There’s talk of the game, most of which I tune out, instead thinking about the kiss after the game.If I didn’t know better, I’d think Tyler took advantage of the situation just to kiss me, like he wants more.But that’s nuts.Why would he want more with me?It’d be death to his image.Not to mention, it’s me.
No, it must be in my head that he’s hinting at more.I drank those ciders a while ago, but maybe I’m still a little tipsy.
Tyler orders a chocolate chip sundae, which looks almost as delectable as the man eating it.I opt for a single scoop of birthday cake ice cream.
"That’s it?A single scoop?"TJ asks me.
"Don’t hate on my birthday cake ice cream.Not everyone needs a monstrosity of a dessert."Defiantly, I stab at my ice cream with my spoon.
