I frowned and shut off the engine. “No. But like he said, I haven’t seen much of him lately.”
“There’s that too,” she said. “He always has ‘other plans’ and spends a lot of time on his phone. He used to hardly touch it, now it’s in his hand constantly.”
Guilt sank like a heavy stone in my gut. “I’ve been so wrapped up with Emery, I haven’t been paying attention. Maybe he’s stressed about finals?”
“Maybe,” Harper said, her gaze forward. “I have a bad feeling.”
“Now I do too. He’s so private,” I said. “He’s one of my best friends, and yet I’ve never been to his house. He’s never mentioned his parents or anything about his home life at all.”
“Me neither. But I have the feeling he’s under a lot of pressure.”
“Really? But he’s…”
“A Bender?” Harper arched a brow. “So are you. So am I. You don’t feel the pressure this school—this entire fucking town—puts onyou to be something worthy of walking its hallowed halls?”
“I see your point,” I said, though my pressure was different. To salvage my dad’s legacy by following him to MIT and ensure he wouldn’t be forgotten, even as his disease chewed up every last vestige of what made him great.
But Harper’s words were making me scared for Dean. “You and he aren’t…?”
“No,” she said. “Just friends. And he’s the same mix of open and completely closed off with me as he is with you.” She turned to me with sudden urgency. “I know you have enough on your plate with your dad, but can you talk to him? Have that ‘manly chat,’ but for real?”
“Of course,” I said. “I’d turn the car around and do it now if I could. I’ll make it happen, I promise.”
“Thank you. On a more festive note: We need a Christmas gift for the love of your life. Let’s do this.”
She was teasing, but I didn’t bother to correct her. Warmth flooded me, driving out some of the cold fear. That was Emery’s specialty—to make everything beautiful. To make even the worst situations feel hopeful.
And what happens in six months…?
I cut that thought off at the pass and followed Harper into a store.
“What’s your budget?” she asked in the boutique as we wandered through aisles of Murano glass pieces, ornaments, cards, and jewelry. “Her family has billions, so nothing fancy is going to impress her.”
“I can’t afford fancy,” I said. “I’m aiming for ‘thoughtfully touching.’”
“Alexander, my friend, you are one of the good ones.” Harper picked up a snow globe and gave it a shake. “How about this?”
But my gaze had already snagged on a jewelry counter. Antique rings, pendants, and earrings were arrayed on black velvet stands and trays.
Harper bent to peer beside me. “Ring shopping for your fiancée?”
“Um,no.” I coughed, the back of my neck growing hot. “I like that one.”
I pointed to a tarnished heart-shaped locket tucked in the corner like a castaway, etched with swirls that resembled flower petals.
“Very pretty,” Harper said. “Unique.”
I called the salesclerk over. She unlocked the case and set the necklace in my hand. I opened the locket, which was about an inch long and flat, and inspiration struck me like lightning.
“I’ll take it.”
***
It was getting dark by the time I dropped Harper back at her car at school, and snow had begun to fall in gentle drifts. I came home to find my dad happily at work at his desk, bent over his mess of papers.
“How’s it going, Dad?”
“Never better, son. I believe I’m only a few factors away from cracking it.”
