“No, I have two kids—I’m just tired.”
“110 on a 220—you’re probably burned out.”
“We’re all burned out.”
“Not Cary, though, right? Look at him.”
“Calmdown,Tina.”
“Not Mikey, either.”
“Mikey’s famous.”
“Mikey’s Mikey.”
“I heard Mikey’s first wedding cost thirty thousand dollars.”
“I heard they served crab. I wish I could have gone. Shiloh went, right?”
“No, I didn’t go.”
“Really? I was sure you’d be there.”
Ten
before
They were supposed to go to a friend’s house after prom. Somebody from journalism was having a party.
But Cary didn’t want to go. And Shiloh wasn’t going to go without Cary. She didn’t feel like hustling another ride home. Among other things.
When they got to the party, Shiloh let Mikey out of the car.
“That’s the last time I sit in the middle,” he said, climbing out and stretching. “I’m a window-seat guy.” He bumped his shoulder against Shiloh’s. “Cut him some slack.”
Shiloh made a face.Shewas the one who deserved some slack tonight. Where was her allotment of slack?
She got back into the car, worried that Cary might be thinking about driving away without her.
He didn’t say anything on the drive home. Cary never talked just to keep things from getting awkward. If anything, he seemed fortified by silence. Shiloh played with the car radio, chattering to herself while she scrolled through the channels. “Gross, no... Oh. I like this song, but it’s almost over... This’ll do, I guess.”
Cary didn’t even pull into her driveway when he got there. Just stopped in front of the house and waited.
And waited.
Shiloh sat back in the passenger seat and looked out the window, up at her house. She felt heavy all of a sudden. Like she was made of concrete. Like she didn’t have fully articulated joints.
She wasn’t goinganywhere.
If she got out of the car right now, that would be it, the end of thenight—Cary would stay angry with her. He might still be mad when he picked her up for school on Monday.
Why was Cary so angry?Because Shiloh wouldn’t dance? Because he’d been trying to do something nice for her? Even though she didn’twantit?
He’d called her stubborn and miserable—well, he was right. That’s exactly how Shiloh felt. Stubborn. Miserable. Immovable. She wasn’t ever going to get out of this car. Cary was going to have to lean over and open the door, unbuckle Shiloh’s seat belt, then shove her out into the street. Roll her right into the gutter.
There was no parking on the street in front of Shiloh’s house. A car came up behind them and honked, then swung around. Some guy leaned out the passenger window to cuss at Cary.
Cary let up on the brake and drove around the block. Shiloh pretended she didn’t notice. It was a long block. When they got back to her house, he pulled into her driveway and shifted into park. He left the engine running.
