“I’m sorry,” he said.
Cherry didn’t answer.
“You’re not a bad driver.”
“No,” she snipped. “You’re just better.”
“Cherry...”
“It’s true. You’re better.”
Tom had turned toward her in the seat. “I would follow you anywhere.”
His voice sounded different. Raw.
Cherry had argued so much with her college boyfriend... She almost never fought with Tom. Tom got quiet, not angry.
She didn’t look at him.
“I mean it,” he said. “I would put you in charge of... everything.”
“Except the car.”
“Cherry...”
She looked at him. She felt tearful again. “I wasn’t trying toendangeryou, Tom.”
He brought his hand to her jaw. “Hey. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” She waved her hand. “You got us home in one piece. You’re a better driver—it’s fine.”
He was looking in her eyes. His face was open. More open than Cherry was used to. Like he was struggling with something. “You can drive... everywhere else, okay?”
“When it’s not snowing?”
Tom closed one eye. “No—I always want to drive the car, in all weather. From now on. But you can drive, you know, when we’renotin the car.”
Cherry shook her head. “What are you even...”
He wrapped his thumb around her chin. “I mean”—his voice dropped even lower—“I’m at your service.”
Cherry shook her head again.
“You just tell me where to go.”
It was hard to talk to Tom about some things.
Personal things.
His family. Work.Thursday. Sex. The future.
(That was a lot of things.)
It was like he kept everything important deep, deep inside of him... Like he had to hike three days through the wilderness to reach his feelings, and then hike three days back to share them with Cherry.
(Had he buried his feelings there? Or was that where they were naturally located?)
Tom woulddoanything for Cherry.
