“I wish I could say I planned it this way,” Audrey said, “but I appliedeverywhere. I probably sent an application to every college and university in the Northeast. It’s hard for new professors right now. I was spinning my wheels for a few years, so I definitely did a happy dance when my first full-time offer came from NU.”
“Sounds like it turned out the way it was supposed to,” Mercy said.
Audrey agreed.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to top off my drink and see what my husband’s gotten up to.” Greta excused herself and walked toward the house.
“And I see my husband over there being silly on the patio.” Mercy waved over her shoulder as she followed Greta.
Michelle turned to walk farther into the garden, perhaps having assumed Audrey would follow Mercy and Greta. Maybe she thought Audrey had a husband here, too, but she was wrong, and Audrey wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity to spend a few minutes alone with her.
Before she could change her mind, Audrey followed her down the path.
“Who are you here with tonight?”
Michelle glanced over her shoulder, surprised to realize Audrey was still there. “No one.”
“Same.” Audrey hurried forward to walk beside her. “We might be the only two single people here.”
“Probably.” Usually, Michelle was the only single. Even before her divorce, it had been years since Kelly attended a department event with her. She was always too busy with her own life. She found these things so boring. So did Michelle, honestly, but Stuart made it clear he expected the faculty to put in an appearance.
She and Audrey lapsed into silence, sipping their drinks. Michelle tended to have this effect on people. Kelly used to say she could kill a conversation faster than a train going off the rails. They’d reached the end of the hedge, so Michelle stopped walking, staring out at the Green Mountains in the distance, barely visible in the darkening sky.
“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” Audrey said quietly. “I’d forgotten how pretty it is here. Even my drive to the grocery store looks like it belongs on a postcard.”
“Mm,” Michelle murmured noncommittally.
“You don’t sound very enthusiastic about Vermont. Do you miss the UK?”
“Every single day.” Michelle heard the longing in her own voice, which was a lot more honest than she’d meant to be. She covered the moment by taking a hearty sip of her whisky.
“I’m sorry,” Audrey said. “Are your parents there? Do you still visit? Do you think you’ll ever move back?”
Michelle raised an eyebrow at her. That was a lot of questions. “Yes, my family is there. No, I don’t visit often, although I spent most of thesummer in the UK, traveling between St. Ives and London, working on a research project.”
“It must be hard, being so far from home.” Audrey stood beside her, staring out at the darkened mountains. “My family’s only a few hours away, and I already miss them. My brother and I text a lot, but it’s not the same as seeing him.”
“It sounds like you’re close.” Michelle couldn’t relate. She hadn’t spoken to anyone in her family in months, and that was just fine with her.
“Yeah, we’re really close,” Audrey confirmed. “My brother’s pretty cool, even if he does like to tease me that I’m the kind of doctor who can’t save lives ... he’s an ER physician.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. If you teach long enough, you might just save a life or two. I’ve talked a few undergrads off the proverbial ledge over the years. It can be a hard time, caught between youth and adulthood.” And it had been a long time since she’d helped anyone through a crisis. Surely the students hadn’t stopped struggling. Had she quit noticing? Or had they stopped coming to her for help?
Audrey stared at Michelle in wide-eyed admiration. “Have you? That’s ... I hadn’t considered that we have that much influence.”
“Never underestimate the power that you hold with the students. It’s a huge responsibility, and you shouldn’t take it lightly.”
“I won’t,” Audrey said solemnly.
“It certainly won’t be long before you have someone break down in tears during your office hours, though usually it’s not serious, mostly test stress. I do some volunteer work for the campus Pride Coalition, so I’ve helped students in crisis there too.”
“Oh, so youare—” Audrey cut herself off, looking so embarrassed, Michelle could guess what she’d been about to say.
“A lesbian? Be careful making assumptions, Audrey. There are several straight faculty members who volunteer with the Pride Coalition.”
Audrey pressed a hand over her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to jump to conclusions. Oh god, kill me now.”
She sounded absolutely miserable, and Michelle realized she’d done it again ... come off more serious than she’d intended. Could no one read her sense of humor? She’d only meant to have a bit of fun, as her radar had led her to believe Audrey might not be straight either. She’d thought they might share a laugh about it.
