really fair of him to be so... punitive.”
“Don’t you remember what I told you about his ex-girlfriend dumping him?” She looked at me like I was an idiot.
“What does that have to do with me?” I asked incredulously.
“Just because he’s so good looking doesn’t mean he’s not as insecure as the rest of us. I think he has some serious trust issues.” I thought about his mom leaving him and it did made sense.
“But it’s not the same thing,” I protested.
Megan rolled her eyes at me. “Believe what you want to believe,” she said, “but you don’t see how he’s been watching you. You’ve been walking around in a daze.”
“I’m afraid to sleep,” I said.
“I’m afraid you wanna go sleeping with the fishes!” she said, and I laughed in spite of the seriousness of the situation. Megan’s cynical outlook on life was like a tonic, showing me there was simply no point in wallowing in self-pity. I needed to play the hand I was dealt.
Megan drove me home, making me promise to barricade myself into my room carefully. We made plans to hang out on Saturday and she made me laugh again, teasing me about sleepwalking down the street in my underwear.
“I’ve been sleeping in my clothes all week!” I complained.
“Dang Marina, I thought me and Cruz were the weirdos!”
“Step aside, there’s a new freak in town,” I laughed.
“Don’t worry,” she said, leaning over to give me a hug, “We’ll figure something out.” I turned to leave with a grateful smile, “Thanks.”
“Marina –” she called after me, “I don’t think you should meet with her alone either.” I slept on and off through the night and partway into the day on Saturday, waking up to see the sun streaming through the open curtains. I remembered a happy dream about surfing with Ethan, laughing and tumbling in the salty sea. I had to pull the desk away from the door to leave my room, but I noticed the chair had been knocked over on the floor, making me queasy.
When I groggily stumbled into the kitchen I looked out the window to see Ethan’s truck pull away. He had been here working in the garden while I slept, and the thought made me sad again.
Abby came humming into the kitchen, “What do you have planned for today?” she asked.
“Megan’s coming over,” I said, “We’re gonna watch some movies and hang out.”
“Okey Dokey!” she said. I suppressed a laugh. She was practically levitating with happiness and it was unusual, even for Abby.
Suspicious, I asked, “What do you have planned for today?” She tried to keep it in, but it was impossible for Abby to be circumspect.
“I’m going out on Dutch’s boat for the day,” she beamed.
I smiled, glad for her, “Have fun!”
She skipped out of the room to say goodbye to Cruz.
Megan came over that afternoon with an armload of movies and junk food. “Therapy!” she said, waving a stack of chick flicks at me.
“I’ll make the popcorn,” I said, and we settled down for a lazy afternoon on the couch. Cruz flitted in and out, spending most of the day at his work bench. He was doing some intricate cut lace appliques for Evie’s gown, growing increasingly agitated as he second guessed his every choice. The work was time consuming but beautiful, and I assured him the dress would be right up Evie’s alley. Megan and I coaxed Cruz out for a break every few hours, and before I knew it the sun began to set.
Day passed into night and we ordered a pizza for dinner, the three of us eating together and listening to Cruz complain about his temperamental sewing machine. Megan gathered up her stuff and went home, leaving Cruz and I waiting up for Abby.
“How do you feel about your mom dating Dutch?” I asked him.
Cruz shrugged, “Ethan’s dad always seemed like a good guy,” he said. “And I’m gonna be gone in another year. So I think it would be nice if she had a friend...”
“That’s very mature of you,” I said, casting him a sideways glance. He threw a pillow at me.
We were fully engaged in a vicious pillow fight when we heard the Volvo pull into the driveway.
We scrambled to pick up the mess and sit back down casually before Abby came in.
“How was your day?” I asked her cheerfully.
Abby was smiling from ear to ear. “Dutch and Ethan are coming over for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.” She strolled off to bed in a daze, “Can