We’re about five seconds from getting off the Chappy Ferry.
I took Connor’s hand and squeezed it once he hung up the phone. “How do you feel?”
“Prematurely mortified,” he said, lips no longer so puffy. “You are about to witness the most embarrassing moment of my life.”
“Oh, come on!” I laughed a little. “That can’t be true! Didn’t you embarrass yourself in high school?”
My mind flashed to me sophomore year, tripping down the library steps in a pair of ridiculous high-heeled boots.
“No, I did not,” Connor said lightly, then he dropped his voice. “But there might’ve been something in middle school.” He paused. “Involving a water park’s wave pool.”
I battled back a laugh.
By the time we disembarked, a red Edgartown Fire Department ambulance was somehow maneuvering its way pastthe ferry line. Connor casually waved, as if the ambulance were his Uber.
He keeps his cool, I thought, impressed. I was internally freaking out again. Had the EpiPen done enough?
“Allergic reaction, right?” one of the paramedics asked after putting the ambulance in park. Her partner went around to the back and opened its double doors. “Shellfish?”
“Or tree nuts,” Connor said. “I’m not sure. I was eating a BLT.”
“Hmm.” The paramedic motioned for him to follow her to the mobile examination room. “Sounds like a cross-contaminant situation…”
My phone chimed in my bag, and knowing Connor was now in safe hands, I scooped it out to seeFinlay Houseonscreen. I felt my stomach drop as I stared. What happened? Why was Elkins calling me? If something was wrong, they always called my dad.
Had he not picked up?
I wanted to ignore the call, to focus on Connor, but everything in me screamed that I couldn’t. What if something was actually wrong and they needed to contact us?
I glanced over at the ambulance—the open door blocked me from seeing anything, but I heard the paramedics laughing at whatever joke Connor had probably just cracked.
I tapped to accept the call. “Hello?”
“Olivia, hi!” Tara chirped. “You busy?”
The sunshine in the nurse’s voice was artificial but still brought me some relief. “No,” I said. “What’s up?”
“Your grandmother would like to talk to you,” she said. “Hold on a moment.”
My heart leaped, delighted. Annie wanted to talk tome, Olivia.
One, two, three seconds passed, but when I finally heard a voice at the end of the line, it wasn’t Annie’s. “Just a minute!” Tara told me, and then, off to the side, “Annette, this is your granddaughter. You asked to speak to her, remember?”
“No, I asked toseeher,” I faintly heard Annie reply, her voice icy. “That’s entirely different.”
“Annie, hi!” I exclaimed before I considered that I might be blowing out Tara’s eardrum. “I’m right here!”
Tara must’ve convinced her to take the phone, but my grandmother’s response was less than enthusiastic—a heavy sigh. “You’re not,” she told me. “You arenothere, Chris. You never are.”
The corners of my eyes stung. Why was this disease being so hard on my dad? Maybe he couldn’t show up all the time, but he still showed up as much as he could. I swallowed hard. “We’ll be home soon, Annie.” I pretended nothing was wrong. “And I have so many pictures—”
I dropped off when I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Connor. A little color had returned to his face, and he gave me a smile before stealing my phone and pressing it against his ear. “Hello, Annette,” he said gently. My pulse pounded. “How are you this afternoon?” Pause. “I’m Connor McCallister, Olivia’s old camp friend.”
Excuse me?I thought.Old camp friend?
It wasn’t until Connor winked that I realized he was teasing me, trying to slip under my white-hot skin. It started to burn as he walked back toward the ambulance, making sweet small talk with my sick grandmother, knowing he’d also given me something to think about.
If I didn’t want to call Connor my “old camp friend,” whatdidI want to call him?
