Page 76 of Barefoot Lake

Eli holds up his hand for a high-five. I smack it aside, but grin, nonetheless.

“I like how I feel when I’m with her, Eli. She’s incredible.” There’s no shame or embarrassment here. Alice is incredible and I’ll tell that to anybody who will listen.

“I’m happy for you, man.” He starts walking around my desk. “I’m going to hug you now. Don’t make it weird.”

I laugh as I stand to accept the hug. Eli is a dork, but I love him.

“I hope it’s cool that I invited her to Thanksgiving,” I say as we separate.

“Oooh, so it’s serious!” Eli is grinning as widely as I am, and his support means the world. “Of course it’s cool. I’ve told you for ages that you could always bring somebody. Mom is going to be thrilled.”

“Thanks. I’m hoping it could be serious. We’ll see.”

“I can’t wait to give her all the dirt on you.”

His expression has become downright maniacal.

“You know, Alice said the exact same thing when I invited her?”

I suddenly think of the many stories from our decades-long friendship he could share.

I think I may have made a grave error.

Being with Alice is easy, natural.

That evening, I return to Alice’s place to find her seated in her driveway beside one of the new doors, which she had moved about three feet.

“What happened here?” I ask with my hands on my hips.

She looks up at me sheepishly.

“It’s heavier than I remember from yesterday.”

She eyes the door like it might attack.

“That’s as far as I got before I gave up.”

Together, we eventually get both doors replaced. I’ll admit that carrying one all the way down to the shed wasn’t the most fun, but Alice batting her eyelashes like a cartoon and thanking me for being a “big, strong man” made it all worth it.

As the day progresses, I think more and more about my conversation with Grateful Bob and become less and less worried about things with Alice. Assuming she wants this to continue, and I think she does, it’ll be ok. I may not know exactly how yet, but it will.

For the next two weeks, I feel like I’m walking on air. Even the hard days aren’t so bad when I can spend my evenings with Alice in my arms. She’s compassionate, funny, clever. She keeps me on my toes.

I expect the whole town has an idea that something is going on between us, even though we haven’t been out together since the hardware store excursion. For some reason, nobody has harassed me about it since Hannah and Grateful Bob threatened me. I expect it’s out of respect for Alice’s privacy and her lack of familiarity with small-town gossip.

I think the same courtesy should be awarded to everybody, but I’ll take my victories where I can. As long as they protect Alice, I’m on board.

One afternoon, as I’m finishing up at the nursery for the day, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. I fish it out and see a text from Alice.

Ace

What do you say to picking up Italian for tonight?

The idea of a carb-filled night with Alice is enticing, but another thought pops into my mind.

Me

A good offer, but I’ve got another idea if you’re game?