have turned observing into an art form of its own.
Ethan and Will had both died the same year. Ethan had drowned (Cam supplied no details) and Will had committed suicide a few months later. Lucy had also killed herself, on the anniversary of Tallenâs execution. Jack still lived in Georgia, as far as Cam knew. Cam hadnât seen him since Lucyâs funeral. They had gotten into a bitter argument just as Cam was leaving, and heâd said some things he now regretted. Later he had written Jack a long, apologetic letter. It had come back marked MOVED NO FORWARDING ADDRESS . He had tried to find Jack a couple of times, with no luck. He knew Jack didnât want to be found and figured heâd never see his brother again. It didnât bother him, or so he claimed.
Cam wouldnât offer much about how he had managed to escape unscathed. He attributed it to the age difference (five years) between him and the next oldest, Ethan, or the fact that Will had been kinder to Cam than he had to the others, probably because Will knew it was his last chance to have a decent relationship with a son. Cam said he remembered realizing at a very early age that his family was crazy and declaring, âIâll be in my room until Iâm eighteen, then Iâm out of here.â He had kept that promise and had not done a lot of looking back.
The article about Cam had turned out to be one of the best things Randa had ever written. It caused a bit of a stir for a while, but Cam kept reassuring her he was not sorry heâd given her the interview. He said it had been very âfreeing.â It had also bought him a lot of free publicity, but he didnât seem to think like that, as far as she could tell.
Not long after her article appeared, Camâs marriage had broken up. She never knew if there was any connection because he never wanted to talk about it. He just kept saying that it had been coming for a long time. Randa never even met Camâs wife. All she knew was that her name was Terri and she was or wanted to be an artist. Through a couple of cryptic comments heâd made, she also suspected that Terri had never been very faithful (although, by his own admission, neither had Cam) and that she had some kind of chemical dependency. All in all, it sounded like Cam was better off without her.
When Cam and Terri broke up, Randa was living with Evan, a screenwriter who made a fortune writing movies that were never made. The first time Randa had asked Evan if he loved her, heâd said he didnât know what love meant. When he was still saying it two years later, she moved out. The irony was that she wasnât sure she loved him, either, but she wanted the option.
Next sheâd taken up with David, a studio musician whoâd fascinated her because he was brooding and mysterious. When it had finally become apparent to her that he was merely brooding, she decided to chalk up another waste of time and move on. David hadnât minded much. It gave him something new to brood about.
While Randa was with David, Cam went through a country singer, a publicist, a freelance photographer, and, for the sake of cliché, a flight attendant. Not necessarily in that order and not necessarily one at a time.
Through all this, Randa and Cam remained fast friends. They got together at least once a week to share their successes and bemoan their losses, or to critique movies theyâd seen or books theyâd read, or to vent about the state of the world in general. They also took each other to any events their mates didnât want to go to, since they both always seemed to hook up with people with whom they had little in common. Their mates were always required to live with this arrangement, and only the most insecure of them had ever felt threatened by it.
Randa wasnât sure when she had realized she was in love with Cam. There wasnât any specific moment, just a sort of growing awareness; sheâd
Ethan and Will had both died the same year. Ethan had drowned (Cam supplied no details) and Will had committed suicide a few months later. Lucy had also killed herself, on the anniversary of Tallenâs execution. Jack still lived in Georgia, as far as Cam knew. Cam hadnât seen him since Lucyâs funeral. They had gotten into a bitter argument just as Cam was leaving, and heâd said some things he now regretted. Later he had written Jack a long, apologetic letter. It had come back marked MOVED NO FORWARDING ADDRESS . He had tried to find Jack a couple of times, with no luck. He knew Jack didnât want to be found and figured heâd never see his brother again. It didnât bother him, or so he claimed.
Cam wouldnât offer much about how he had managed to escape unscathed. He attributed it to the age difference (five years) between him and the next oldest, Ethan, or the fact that Will had been kinder to Cam than he had to the others, probably because Will knew it was his last chance to have a decent relationship with a son. Cam said he remembered realizing at a very early age that his family was crazy and declaring, âIâll be in my room until Iâm eighteen, then Iâm out of here.â He had kept that promise and had not done a lot of looking back.
The article about Cam had turned out to be one of the best things Randa had ever written. It caused a bit of a stir for a while, but Cam kept reassuring her he was not sorry heâd given her the interview. He said it had been very âfreeing.â It had also bought him a lot of free publicity, but he didnât seem to think like that, as far as she could tell.
Not long after her article appeared, Camâs marriage had broken up. She never knew if there was any connection because he never wanted to talk about it. He just kept saying that it had been coming for a long time. Randa never even met Camâs wife. All she knew was that her name was Terri and she was or wanted to be an artist. Through a couple of cryptic comments heâd made, she also suspected that Terri had never been very faithful (although, by his own admission, neither had Cam) and that she had some kind of chemical dependency. All in all, it sounded like Cam was better off without her.
When Cam and Terri broke up, Randa was living with Evan, a screenwriter who made a fortune writing movies that were never made. The first time Randa had asked Evan if he loved her, heâd said he didnât know what love meant. When he was still saying it two years later, she moved out. The irony was that she wasnât sure she loved him, either, but she wanted the option.
Next sheâd taken up with David, a studio musician whoâd fascinated her because he was brooding and mysterious. When it had finally become apparent to her that he was merely brooding, she decided to chalk up another waste of time and move on. David hadnât minded much. It gave him something new to brood about.
While Randa was with David, Cam went through a country singer, a publicist, a freelance photographer, and, for the sake of cliché, a flight attendant. Not necessarily in that order and not necessarily one at a time.
Through all this, Randa and Cam remained fast friends. They got together at least once a week to share their successes and bemoan their losses, or to critique movies theyâd seen or books theyâd read, or to vent about the state of the world in general. They also took each other to any events their mates didnât want to go to, since they both always seemed to hook up with people with whom they had little in common. Their mates were always required to live with this arrangement, and only the most insecure of them had ever felt threatened by it.
Randa wasnât sure when she had realized she was in love with Cam. There wasnât any specific moment, just a sort of growing awareness; sheâd
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