I cocked my head. “More complicated?”
Isa bit her lip but then unzipped her purse and took out her phone. Ev put a subtle and silent hand on my knee as she pulled something up onscreen. “Please don’t read the messages,” she whispered once she’d given it to me. “Just the pictures.”
Pictures?I thought, and then,Oh, snap,pictures!
Isa had sent James an album’s worth of images documentingour day, an entire trail of breadcrumbs. There was one of me driving Mr.Cruz’s Tesla, a shot of Independence Hall and its Assembly Room, a video of Ev and me racing up the art museum’s Rocky Steps, photos of various paintings, Jean-Georges’s panoramic cityscape, even Pat’s superior cheesesteaks—everything.
I lost it before I could stop myself. “Why, Isa?” I asked, my heart hitching and voice shrill. Poor Ev, poor Uber driver. Things were going to get loud. “Why would you do this? James is going to tell our parents!”
“Because he should’ve been invited!” she cried. “Like I said, there arefourof us, G, not three!”
“But it’s not the same….” I trailed off. Ev’s fingers found mine as it suddenly dawned on me. Isa assuming we were kidnapping James. Isa losing it over James’s fifth-grade shenanigans at Independence Hall. Isa hugging James’s blue blazer to her heart—the blazer she had faithfully held while touring the art museum, and the blazer she’d been wearing since escaping the sixty-story Comcast building.
And there were probably a million other things, things I’d missed because I was too focused on Ev and my guilt. Who had Isa been talking and laughing with at our family get-togethers? Who did she always perform with at our annual talent show? Who helped her quell her anxieties?
Holy crap, it was all so obvious now.
I swallowed hard and leaned forward in my seat. The two of us locked eyes. “You like my brother,” I said, my mind whirling. “You like James.”
Fairmount Park was over two thousand acres. Rolling hills, woodland trails, gardens and green spaces, and relaxing waterfront views of the Schuylkill River. Once upon a time, we had gone to the Philadelphia Zoo in West Fairmount, but today, our Uber dropped us off in East Fairmount, at Boathouse Row. Fifteen historic Victorian houses lined the riverbank, each one belonging to a Philly college or rowing club. I’d only ever seen them from across the river. They looked especially stunning at nighttime, all lit up with Christmas lights come December.
But I would have to wait a little longer to admire the boathouses up close, because as soon as we got out of the Uber, Isa began hobbling up the paved pathway in her heels. “Speed-walking,” if you used the term loosely. “Isa!” I called. “Wait!”
She ignored me, and I didn’t exactly blame her. How could I? “Yes, I like James,” Isa had admitted in the car. “This isn’t how I wanted to tell you, but I do. I really, really like him.”
And what had I said?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
In fact, I’d even turned away from her to lean against my window. My heart was beating too fast to say anything, and truthfully, it was a lot to process. James wasJames.The complete opposite of Isa’s usual type, and not to mention, he was mybrother.I’d always thought Isa saw him as her brother, too. The brother she’d never had.
I guess not.
Isa didn’t wait for me, but I caught up to her pretty quickly. (I’d seriously offer to switch shoes with her, but our feet were far from the same size.) “Hey,” I said while Ev trailed a distance behind us. “Hang on for a sec. Let’s talk.”
“Why?” Isa asked. She sounded a little choked up. “Clearly you’re upset with us.”
Us.They were an “us”—or at least wanted to be one, like Ev and I did.
Isa’s heels stoppedclick-clacking when I pulled her into a hug. “I’m not upset with you guys,” I said. “I’m surprised—maybe even a bit overwhelmed and really confused? But I’mnotupset, Isa. I’m not.” I broke away and nodded at a nearby bench. “Do you want to sit and tell me aboutit?”
Isa shook her head. “No.”
My brow knitted together. “No?”
“No, I mean, yes,” she said quickly. “Yes, I do. But can we keep walking? If I sit down…” She glanced at her shoes. “I don’t think I’ll ever stand up again.”
I checked my phone. We had time, and our parking meter back at Independence Hall wasn’t hungry yet. “Lead the way.” I smiled at Isa, linking my arm with hers. But as I glanced at Ev over my shoulder, I felt Isa unlink our arms. “I’m sorry,” I blurted. I knew Ev and I didn’t need Isa’s permission to date, but a huge part of me wanted her blessing. “You’re right. I’m obsessed with him, it’s a problem, and I’m going to work onit….”
Isa laughed. “No, it’s okay,” she said. “It’snice,actually. I think it’s a good thing to be kind of obsessed with your otherhalf.”
“Youare my other half,” I told her.
She smirked. “And aren’t you obsessed with me?”
I smirked back, so relieved inside. “Irrefutably.”
“But you know what I mean,” Isa said. “You are obsessed with yourotherother half, too.”
