“Gee, thanks.” He threw her a sideways glare. What the heck? He was wearing his best sweater.
“No, that’s not what I meant.” Her eyes glanced at his clothes. “The sweater looks nice. You look sick. What’s wrong?” she asked as he came around the table.
“I should let you know I won’t be bugging you today,” he said, slumping into his seat beside her.
“Okay. To what do I owe the pleasure?” She turned to face him, propping her chin on her elbow.
Duncan sighed. “My parents told me this morning that they’re getting a divorce.” He sneaked a glance at her, waiting for her laughter at his expense; he knew he deserved it.
“Oh, gosh … I’m so sorry.” Her kind, gentle tone caught him by surprise. “That’s awful. And right before school? They could have waited ‘til you got home.” She shook her head and clicked her tongue, offended on his behalf. Her brows knit together as she looked him directly in the eye; for the first time he noticed that hers had green in them. “They told you it’s not your fault, right?”
“Yeah,” he choked out, looking away before she caught him staring.
“Good.”
He spent the rest of homeroom in silence, watching Aurora work on a friendship bracelet she had pinned to her planner. He was confused about the world. How could parents stop loving one another? Where was he going to go to school next year? Why would a girl he’d tormented relentlessly show him kindness?
The day before the reunion, Duncan arrived at the airport baggage claim after his flight to find Mike holding two coffee cups from the airport shop.
“Ah, coffee. Too bad you’re married, Mike.”
Mike laughed. “And neither of us swing that way.”
“True.” Duncan savored his first sip.
“Didn’t you get any sleep on the flight?”
“A little. I kept having this dream of a brunette in a red bra though. Not something you want to dream about on a plane.”
Mike’s eyebrows shot up. “You were dreaming about Aurora?”
“It might have been her.” Duncan shifted back and forth while he took another sip of his coffee. “The flight attendant kept waking me up.”
Mike howled with laughter. “You got it bad for her, don’t you?” Duncan didn’t answer him, but the tips of his ears got warm. “This is going to be a fun weekend.”
“Well, I hope so. We worked hard on it.” Duncan ignored the blatant comment on his entertainment value.
“That’s not what I mean.”
“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”
“Duncan, you can’t fool me.”
“Come off it, Mike. Nothing happened twenty-five years ago, and it probably won’t happen now.” Despite his fantastic idea, Duncan had done too much thinking on the plane between dreams, and he wasn’t sure anymore. What if she rejected him?
“She’s not going to make the first move.” Mike shoved his hands in his pockets, searching for his keys. “Neither of you have a date. This is your chance.”
Duncan’s face fell. “Remember when I said I always screwed things up around her? It happened again.”
“What did you do?”
“I joked about something I shouldn’t have joked about, and she got really upset. She forgave me, but I doubt I’ll get so lucky next time.”
“That’s just part of getting to know the other person. Now you know not to joke about it next time.” Mike held the door to the parking lot open as they made their way to the car. “She doesn’t hate you.”
“Yet. We talked a little about sixth grade.”
“What did you tell her?”
