It might simply be her job—it’s hard when one partner couldn’t be happier and the other is feeling unsatisfied—but what if it’s more than that? What if this town is too small for her big personality?
Bailey and Casey have bought a house here. His entire family is here. He loves his job. He’s invested. Even Dad and Sheryl moved here to be closer to them. That’s got to feel like a lot of pressure on my sister to be happy.
21
Bailey has “American Girl” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers blaring out of her car speakers and we’re singing along to the chorus at the top of our voices, windows down, hot air blowing in and messing up our hair.
Bloomington is about an hour north and we drive through farmland and small towns to get there. We’re traveling separately from Jonas and Anders. They’re going for business, not pleasure, so we haven’t made plans to meet up, but maybe we’ll bump into them.
Bailey and I are staying in an apartment right in the city center that belongs to Bailey’s friend Tyler. She’s actually away right now and was gutted to miss us, but she told Bailey we could grab the key from her neighbor and make ourselves at home.
We spend the afternoon wandering around and going in and out of shops. The third time I make a beeline for darker clothes, Bailey drags me over to a more colorful rail. I am now the hesitant owner of a pair of denim shorts, three T-shirts of varying colors, a blue, white, and yellow ditsy-print dress that cinches me in at the waist, hugs my chest, and floats around my knees, and a black-and-red dress in the same style.
Bailey convinced me to get the dresses because she said Ilooked “stunning.” I wasn’t at all sure, but she was so insistent that I didn’t have the energy to argue.
She bought herself a yellow summer dress, a pair of white shorts, and a couple of stripy tops.
In the late afternoon, we find ourselves walking past the quirky, higgledy-piggledy frontage of Nick’s English Hut.
“Take a photo and text it to Anders,” Bailey urges.
I hesitate, but only briefly.
He replies almost immediately:Are you settling in for the night already?!
Not quite, but it won’t be long.
Bailey is looking over my shoulder. “Ask him if they’re still in Bloomington!”
Are you still in town?
Yep. Jonas is set on Nick’s for a stromboli, actually.
“Ask if we can join them!” Bailey prompts.
“No,” I reply, staring at my phone screen. No way am I acting keen.
“Why not?” Bailey asks with a frown.
“Because.”
And then another text comes in:See you there?
“That’s an invitation!” Bailey hisses, jabbing my phone screen with her finger.
I stare at her contemplatively, and then I finally pluck up the courage to go there.
“Does Casey mind you hanging out with them?”
She shifts on her feet. “I mean, I’m not sure helovedit when I told him I was going over there on Sunday, but he didn’t cause a fuss. I really like them, especially Jonas. He’s so funny.”
I hesitate. “You do mean as a friend, right?”
I’m dreading her answer. If Bailey ended up taking after our dad and having an affair, I’m not sure I’d ever forgive her.
She stares at me. “I wouldnevercheat on my husband.”
“That issogood to hear,” I say with a rush of relief.
