“If it helps, I’ve referred to you as the pee-listening lady on more than one occasion.”
She steepled her fingers under her chin. “Mmm. That’s good. That’s helpful.”
“You have to stop with that,” I said. “It’s no way to make friends.”
“But I have picked up more than one client from public restrooms.”
“What about your packed schedule? Do you really need more clients?”
She shrugged. “I’m a single parent now. A packed schedule is my safety net.”
“Fair enough but don’t be surprised if I won’t go to the ladies’ room with you.”
“You’ve got a deal.”
We polished off the cheese and charcuterie as we covered all manner of nonsense—whether we thought headbands looked good on us, the problem of trying to accumulate credit card airline miles, which barista at the Pink Plum made the best drinks, why we had no desire to go into a mall ever again—while the restaurant gradually shut down around us. Christie ordered another martini before switching to wine—none of which ended up on the staff—and I had some more sangria. I didn’t trouble myself with the specific number of refills.
Being that we were still in Friendship, the car service we ordered wouldn’t arrive for at least half an hour. The bartender grumbled about it but he dragged two barstools to the entryway to save us from waiting outside in the cold November rain.
“We’re going to have to do this again tomorrow,” I said.
“I can’t drink like this two nights in a row,” she said. “I’m gonna feel this for a week.”
“No, I meant getting a car service.” I laughed. “Because our cars are here. We’re going to have to come back.”
“Oh. Right.” She nodded as she swiped her phone. “That’s going to be a pain in the ass. Maybe I should just walk home.”
“That’s a stupid idea,” the bartender called.
“I’m on the other side of the bridge,” I said. “And up a hill. And my husband doesn’t like it when I walk places at night.”
“Yeah, that vibe comes across loud and clear,” she said. “But then again, he does worship you. I bet he’d carry you up a hill if you asked him to.”
I hugged my arms across my chest to hold in a shiver. It wasn’t true. He didn’t worship me. Whatever his feelings were for me, they were new and I couldn’t convince myself they were here to stay. Soon enough, he’d tire of me the same way everyone else did.
chapterthirty-five
Noah
Students will be able to confess everything.
The last twohours of our drive home were terrible. We hit miles of pointless traffic and then chased a storm through Connecticut and into Rhode Island, and Gennie was irritable the whole way. By the time we exited the highway toward Friendship, she was kicking the seat back and yell-singing an annoying theme song from a kids show.
My head was just about to split open when we finally reached Old Windmill Hill Road.
I had a difficult relationship with my family’s farm and this town but I couldn’t deny that I was relieved to be home. And it wasn’t simply a matter of coming home after an exhausting trip with a handful of a child. I was relieved to return tothishome, to this land, to the life I had here. The life we had together, me and Gennie and Shay.
I was going to tell Shay the truth tonight. I was going to tell her that I loved her, that I’d always loved her. All the way back to the beginning. Even if I dropped dead from admitting that I’d loved her in silence for years, I wanted her to know. And I wanted her to stay.
“I want to see the doggies,” Gennie wailed as I turned down the gravel lane. “And my kitties too.”
I scanned the dark clouds overhead. We were in for a downpour but this kid needed to run around. “You can visit with them until the rain starts. The minute you feel a raindrop, you come inside.”
“What if I don’t feel any raindrops? What if the rain doesn’t drop on me?”
I glanced at her in the rearview mirror. She didn’t notice. “If there are any raindrops falling near you, it’s time to come inside.”
“What if I don’t notice because they aren’t close enough for me to notice?”
