“Fine,” I said. “I’ll do it now.”
“Yes!” She literally cheered. “I’ll send you a text as soon as we hang up. I’ll expect to be a favorite contact, just FYI.”
Of course she did.
We hung up and I went to my room, finding the bag from the phone store. My mom and Jeremy were still talking over the plants as I headed outside. Nurse Geralin, Kasey, and now Liz were in a huddle right by the door.
“… definitely a vibe,” Geralin was saying. “I mean, to me.”
“Oh, it’s obvious,” Kasey agreed.
“But this is Cat,” Liz pointed out. “You know how she is.”
I looked back. My mom looked relaxed as Jeremy said something, waving a hand to make a point. “What are we talking about?” I asked.
“He wants to take her out to eat,” Liz whispered.
“It’s so cute,” Geralin added. Then, more quietly, “He’s sweet on her.”
Liz and Kasey were tittering. I looked back at Jeremy: gentle face, somewhat boyish, nice smile. He was a little… like my dad, actually. Did she have a type?
“Oh, please don’t let him take her to that shamrock place at Bly Point?” Kasey said.
“O’Grady’s has great chowder!” Liz told her. “And those yeast rolls? With the butter?”
“It’s in a mall,” Geralin pointed out.
“What else is there?” Liz asked. “I mean, besides the Tides.”
A beat. From the porch, someone was laughing. We all looked. It was mymom. What was happening?
“I should go,” Kasey said, putting a hand over her mouth as she yawned. “Take advantage of this rare unexpected downtime.”
“I thought you had to drop off bouquets for that baby shower,” Liz said.
“I did, but Lana said she’d go. Wouldn’t take no for an answer, actually. Not that I’m complaining.”
Huh. I went out onto the porch, wondering if a certain seasonal professional was involved in this errand, not to mention her willingness (determination?) to do it.
I sat on the bottom step, taking the box out of the bag. I was just opening it when I heard footsteps, crunching on the gravel of the driveway. It was Ben. In his arms was a crate fromBly Supply, a large (of course) bag of coffee sticking out of it.
“So today’s the day, huh?” He nodded at the phone box. “Lana wear you down?”
“Using Anne’s broken heart as an assist.” I lifted off the lid, revealing the new phone: silver, sleek. The cord was wrapped in plastic. “She’s right, though. I can’t just hide out here in the dead zone forever.”
He considered this. “Well, in that case, maybe I’ll bite the bullet and get one too.”
I looked up. “Really?”
“Clark spent an hour trying to get hold of me about something yesterday. He waspissed.”
“Of course this is all about other people,” I observed.
“Or not.” He shifted the box. “We could be in touch with each other too.”
“You think our epic awkwardness will translate?”
“Maybe,” he said, “we could make it a goal to be even more so. Think of all that could be cringeworthy over text.”
