“Not more than anyone about to get married should be.” She shrugged. “My therapist says it’s normal.”
“I’m sure it is,” I said.
“Are you in a relationship?” she asked.
“Not at the moment,” I said.
“Remember Clint? From high school?”
“How could I not?” He was my high school boyfriend. I broke up with him because he was constantly copying all the answers off me for our homework assignments. I was worried the teacher was going to eventually realize our answers were exactly the same and I’d be dragged down with him. “Wait, do you still talk to him? Does he still live around here?” I may have visited my mom quarterly for the last ten years, but Tara was the only other person I had visited here before she too moved away. I had my schedule and it worked perfectly. Introducing other people to it might have changed that.
“No, I don’t think so. I was just thinking about him and how much everyone loved him. He was so fun and cute. I was beyond jealous when he asked you out.”
“You were?”
“I’m obviously over it now.”
I laughed. “I hope so because he wasn’t that great.”
“What are you getting?” she asked, nodding toward the menu.
“An omelet,” I said. “What about you?”
“Pancakes with strawberries.” She closed the menu and leaned her elbows on the table. “So? How did the session go?”
“It went fine. I thought she was catching on at first, could tell that we didn’t really know each other, but then Elijah started lying and making up stories about us,” I said.
She leaned back against the padded booth and crossed her arms. “Of course he did.”
“If she didn’t realize after one session, I’m not sure she will in four.”
“You don’t think so?”
“I don’t.”
Tara’s eyes dropped to the table.
I reached across and grabbed her hands. “You shouldn’t have to do this to prove he’s a good guy. He’s not Bobby.” Bobby washerhigh school boyfriend and a huge jerk. Had cheated on her twice, even after she’d forgiven him the first time. It felt like she’d been dating nothing but Bobbys ever since. I hoped she wasn’t dating another one now. “Right?”
“No, of course not.”
I shifted back in my seat, releasing her hands. “Then I think we need to call it. No need to play this game. Trust your heart.”
“You don’t want to do this for me?” she asked.
I swallowed down the lump that immediately formed in my throat. The memory of her standing on my front porch jumped to the front of my mind. She was dressed in a mid-length black dress, gripping a folder holding piano sheet music. She was supposed to perform that day. I was supposed to go with her and help her turn the pages while she played, but mostly for moral support. She’d been nervous. Behind me, my mom was in the middle of angry cleaning. She’d insisted I help. She was unreasonable when she got like that.
I’d texted Tara that I couldn’t make it. Then she’d shownup on my porch, telling me she couldn’t go through with it. It was her parents’ dream, not hers. I’d blamed it on Bobby back then, her quitting piano. After all, she had just caught him cheating for a second time a few weeks before. But it was at least partially my fault for not being there for her that day when she’d been there for me so many times. Guilt overwhelmed me now.
“This will help you feel better?” I asked.
She nodded emphatically. “Will you give it one more session? If there is any chance it will work at all, if it will get him to do therapy with me, it would mean the world to me.”
I drew in a deep breath. “Is Elijah the kind of guy to honor a pact?”
“What?” she asked, confused.
“We made a pact about not lying in the next session, so maybe that will help.”
