"Do you remember Tyler Barnes?"
At first Betsy stifled a chuckle, then decided to let it loose. The more clueless
Alexis appeared, the harder Betsy laughed.
"It only took him what, seventeen years?"
Alexis bristled. She didn't like her sister laughing at her. It reminded her too much of their childhood.
"What are you talking about?"
"Tyler Barnes had a massive crush on you in high school. A monster-sized, nausea-inducing crush. How can you not remember that?"
"I don't think I can remember something I never knew."
"Then you were living more up your own ass than I ever realized. I'm surprised you didn't charge yourself rent."
Betsy carried on setting out the rolls, whistling Jingle Bells. Alexis remained still, trying to absorb what Betsy said.
"What makes you think he had a crush?"
"For starters, he used to ride his skateboard past our house all the time. Rumrunner Road wasn't on his way to anywhere. Hell, it's not on anyone's way to anywhere." She glanced over at her mother. "No offense, Mom."
Tilly shrugged. She was more interested in hearing the rest of the story.
"Okay, he rode his skateboard around the island. Big deal."
"He worked with you on the Yearbook Committee. How could you forget that?"
Alexis wrinkled her nose. "Lots of people worked on the Yearbook Committee.
What does that prove?"
Betsy gave an exasperated sigh. "Tyler Barnes was not a Yearbook Committee kind of guy. He was a lusted after hot guy with a guitar who didn't give other girls the time of day because of you."
"Then why did he never ask me out?"
"You'll need to ask him that, but I'd bet my money on pure intimidation. You're not exactly of the soft and cuddly variety."
Alexis shook her head, still in disbelief. "You remember all this? I can't even remember the name of my favorite teacher."
"It was Mrs. Baker, your English teacher. She said you had the eyes of Walt
Whitman and the soul of Thoreau." Betsy scratched her head. "You ate that crap up."
Alexis stared at her sister, open-mouthed. "What the hell?"
Betsy shrugged like it was no big deal. "I still live here. Things like that get reinforced over the years just through casual conversation. I still cut Melissa Kinney's hair and she had a raging lust for Tyler even after high school, but he wasn't interested. She couldn't stand the sight of you in high school. Was happy as a clam that you left town, not that it helped her any."
"How sweet."
"I'm just giving you the background." Betsy gave her a pointed look. "You asked."