“I’m actually a little worn-out,” I lied. “I’ve got to study for semester tests. I’m behind.”
“So, do you want to sleep or study?” he said, an eyebrow arched.
“Both,” I said, buttoning my shorts.
“You wouldn’t happen to be coddling me, would you?” he asked. “Because that would be embarrassing and possibly a little insulting. I’ve had asthma attacks before, and you weren’t there to baby me. Somehow, I still went on living.”
I smirked. “Take me home, so you can ice your ego.”
His mouth fell open.
“I’m not coddling you. I’m loving you. There is a difference.”
He frowned. “How the heck am I supposed to argue with that?”
“You’re not. C’mon.”
I hopped down from the bed of the truck to the concrete below, and Weston followed.
He drove to my house, holding my hand in his. He rolled the windows down, and we laughed at my hair blowing in a dozen different directions. Weston pushed a button on the radio, and his Chance Anderson Band CD began playing through the speakers. He tapped the steering wheel with his thumb and sang loudly.
Barely ten minutes later, we were sitting in the Aldermans’ drive, and Weston was kissing me good night. I walked into the house, smiling at Julianne’s expression.
“You’re home early,” she said, unable to hide her surprise.
“He was tired,” I said, joining her on the couch.
She bounced a bit when I sat, and then she hooked her arm around my neck.
“Are you telling me that it was his idea to bring you home?”
“Nope.”
“I didn’t think so.”
We laughed, and Julianne lifted the remote. “Your Sam was called in. What do you want to watch?”
My cell phone chimed. It was Veronica.
Thank you.
She knew as well as Julianne that Weston coming home early hadn’t been his doing.
I smiled and sent back a yellow winky face. Weston had finally shown me how to get emojis on my phone.
“That’s called tough love,” Julianne teased.
“He wasn’t happy about it.”
“So, you do? Love him?”
Her question caught me off guard. I recoiled, feeling like all the air had been sucked out of the room. “Do I love him?”
“Sorry,” she said, clearly frustrated with herself. “I forgot that we’re not…there yet. But we will be, I hope.”
“I’m just…it’s not you—or you and me. We’re fine. We’re doing good. I like it.”
The awkwardness soared to a new level.
Julianne watched me for a moment, and then we both burst into laughter. I cackled so hard and for so long that tears began to fall from my eyes. Julianne was wiping her eyes, too.
“Ah!” she lilted. “I haven’t done that in a long time.” She nodded. “I needed that.”
“Me, too.”
“I, um…I talked to Dr. Briggs today. He thinks he’ll have room for another PA in the fall.”
“Really? That’s awesome!”
“Yeah?”
“Completely. I saw you in action yesterday. You’re really good. You still know your stuff.”
“I forgot how much I love it.”
“Then, you should definitely do it again.”
“I haven’t told Sam.”
“Then, neither will I.”
“I just wanted to wait until I talked to you about it. I was thinking about starting after your first week at Stillwater—just in case you need anything—and then I’ll go back.”
“You’ll get bored. You should go back the first day of my classes. That way, we can start something new together.”
She wrinkled her nose and then looked down to her lap, shaking her head. “You’re”—she nodded—“an amazing young woman, Erin. I couldn’t be prouder even if I had nothing to do with it.”
“You had everything to do with it. This part of me was missing until now.”
She shook her head again. “No, you’ve had it all along. You would have carried it with you to college, and…it’s been hard for me to say this out loud because of what it might mean, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t glad to get the chance to know you. I’m not glad Alder’s gone. I miss her. She…” Her face crumpled. “A lot of kids are angry and make bad choices in high school, but they get to make up for it later. They get their heads and hearts straight, and they grow up. Alder won’t get the chance to tell you she’s sorry. It’s been hard for me to grasp this, but I can be glad you’re here without being glad that she’s gone.”
“You’re right.”
Julianne took me into her arms and squeezed. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Julianne pushed a button, and the program guide displayed on the screen. “Okay, Red Square Death Squad Two, Three Dogs’ Journey, The Bloody Ghosts from Hell. What the crap? Over three hundred channels, and it’s these or Silky Soul and Latin Jazz.”
I cackled. Julianne was feisty on Saturday nights.
“What about SNL?” I asked.
She nodded once. “We can do that. Oh, by the way, your dress is back. I picked it up from Wanda today. She does the alterations for Frocks and Fashions.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
“You should try it on before you go to bed. Just in case.”
“O-okay.”
“Are you still going?”
“Yes.”
“Are you nervous?”
“Yes.”
“Do you trust him—not to stick with Alder’s plan to embarrass you, I mean?”
“Yes. I don’t know about anyone else though.”
“They’d better not,” she said, looking at the television. “They’d just…better not.”
I didn’t know if she would bake them a batch of bad cookies or point her finger at them, but she appeared to be serious.
While the skits played on the flat screen sitting above the fireplace, I imagined what would have happened had Alder and Sonny made it back safely from spring break, and Weston wouldn’t have been able to stop them from carrying out their plan. Gina wouldn’t have noticed that I’d gone to prom, much less done anything in my defense if I’d come home covered in whatever they had doused me with.