And then, softly, the door closed behind her.
I caught her as the elevator doors were opening. She turned, and I saw that the tears streaming down her face matched my own.
“I was supposed to get to hate you forever.”
One side of her mouth lifted. “You still can.”
I shook my head. And I hugged her.
FIFTEENTH WEEKEND
April 9–11
ADAM
Iwas heading down the hall toward Jolene’s apartment with dragging feet when my phone buzzed.
Jolene:
Hey.
Adam:
Hi. I’m knocking at your door.
Jolene:
Good luck with that.
Adam:
Are you gonna let me in? I need to talk to you about something.
Jolene:
I’m not there.
Adam:
Where are you?
Jolene:
Behind you.
I turned, and saw her coming up the stairs, her hair half pulled back and half loose. I moved quicker than she did and we met in the middle of the hall. I knew I held her too tight, but she didn’t complain.
“It’s okay,” she said after I released her from a hug. “I already heard your dad is moving home.”
I expected my gut to bungee more than it did, probably because I’d expected the news to hurt her as much as it had both hurt and thrilled me. My dad moving home was great, but losing my weekends with Jolene... Butshedidn’t look devastated.
“I would have called you but—”
“You only just got your phone back.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s awesome, Adam.” She hugged me again, and it felt like there wasn’t a single part of her that didn’t mean it. “I’m happy for you.”
