We both looked back at Ev, who had his hands tucked in his pockets and was once again risking his life by sporting that stupid Mets hat. My heart somersaulted.
That boy.
“Okay, tell me about James,” I said. “Tell me why you’re obsessed with him.”
Isa sighed. “Well, first, because he’s just sosweet.”
I gave her a look. “We’re talking about my brother, right? James Barbour?”
“G!” She lightly slapped me. “Come on, listen!”
And so I did. I listened as we abandoned Boathouse Row, walking along our winding pathway until we reached a sprawling meadow with late afternoon picnickers and multiple Ultimate Frisbee games in motion. Isa told me about the first time she felt sparks with James, one night when she’d come over to find me gone. “He made me the most delicious ice cream sundae,” she said, and I nodded. James had certainly been touched by the sundae gods. “And then we just talked about random things—he made melaugh.I was so wound up from my class that night, but by the time I left your house, Ifelt like me again. I felt like ahappierme.” She paused. “This is nothing against you, Grace, but ever since all the college stuff started, I haven’t been very happy.”
I haven’t been very happy.
My heart pushed hard against my chest, wanting to break free and fly to her. “Oh,” I whispered, but when I tried to hook my arm around hers again, she didn’t let me.
“An Ivy League school is my dream,” she said, “but getting there was really stressful. I mean, you know…”
I nodded. Her panic attacks.
“I’m not saying you didn’t support me,” she said. “It’s just, James was surprisingly what I needed. You steady the load,but he lightens it.” Her voice grew quiet. “I needed to be light, or else I would’ve been crushed.”
“No, I get it,” I said. “He has his gifts. Ice-cream sundaes are one, and calming you down is another. Then we have piano, pranking teachers, faking illnesses…”
Isa giggled as we passed a huge abstract sculpture. I liked this meandering walk of ours, I liked our easy, high heel–friendly pace. I liked that my best friend was gushing about a guy, even if that guy was my brother.
He was justsucha goofball!
“Yeah, and he’s also incredibly kind, caring, and smart,” Isa replied when I said as much. “But I do love his goofiness. It’s one of my favorite things about him.” She grinned. “I came to your house after my SAT class one night, and you weren’t home, but James was. And when I saw him in your kitchen,eating an ice cream sundae, it felt like coming home to your other half after a long day. Like he was the person I’d wanted to see all along.” She wrinkled her nose. “Does that sound silly?”
“No.” I shook my head. “No, Isa, it definitely doesn’t.” I thought about the two of them over the years, about all their talent show concerts—how natural their voices were together, how they smiled at each other during songs, how they almost made their audience feel like intruders. In a way, it was hard to believe this hadn’t happened sooner. “I’m happy for you,” I said, then oh-so-dramatically sighed after Isa grinned. “But I can’t say there won’t be an adjustment period for me. I’ll have to get used to the fact that you’ll be making out with my brother two doors down from my room.”
Isa groaned. “Really? Youhadto go there?” She shook her head. “We both know James has hooked up with plenty ofgirls.”
It was true. My brother had that “wink-and-a-smile” charm. He had dated a handful of girls, always inviting them over and bringing them…
“To the basement,” I told Isa. “No girl besides you has ever been in his room.”
Isa proudly smoothed James’s blazer. “I’m sorry I kept it a secret,” she said a moment later. “I should’ve told you sooner. He’s wanted to tell everyone for months”—she blushed—“but I said I wasn’t ready.”
“Hey, don’t be sorry.” I reached for her hand. “I kept Ev a secret, too.”
Isa gave me a look. “I’m sorry about that, too,” she said. “I’m sorry that everyone expected you to choose a side when Everett and I broke up, especially me. I never should’ve done that, and I also never should’ve asked you to pretend in front of our families.”
“Isa…” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “We should’ve just talked. All we had to do was talk.”
She nodded. “That’s another reason why I felt like I couldn’t tell you about James. You two used to be so close, G, and now you barely talk. I didn’t want to risk driving you further apart.”
I blinked back tears. James and Ihadbeen super close when we were younger, and I missed those days. When he’d been assigned a different academic track in middle school, we didn’t share any of the same classes or even the same lunch period. He made new friends, and I stopped asking him to hang out with Isa and Everett and me. By high school, we were so used to our new routine that it felt like it was too late to reconnect. Neither of us made the effort.
“I understand,” I told Isa, and whispered that I loved her when we hugged.
“I love you too, G,” she whispered back.
“A band name,” I said when we made another turn, into Fairmount Park’s azalea garden. The breathtaking magenta, red, and purple flowers were in full bloom. “Now that you and James are basically together, youhaveto settle on a band name.”
“Funny you should mention that,” Isa said. “Today gave mean idea, and I sent it to James….” She pulled her phone out of her purse, and once she showed me the familiar painting—the one I had admired her admiring at the art museum—I smiled and looped my arm through hers. Isa laughed as we walked in perfect harmony. We were forever linked.
