right.”
Okay, that was a complete turnaround from a similar conversation we’d had where she agreed that he thought she was cute. Was she starting to let her guard down, starting to trust me? Or was she just messing with me?
“What? You don’t think a guy could like you?” I asked.
“I don’t know if I want a guy to like me.”
If we didn’t need to get back to the kiddie pavilion as quickly as possible, I would have stopped and stared at her. “Why not?”
She looked around as though someone might hear us. Then she shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Whitney, you can tell me.”
“Oh, sure. And then you’ll go tell everyone else. I know you don’t like me. No one likes me.”
“I like you.” Some , I added silently. “After all, you are adorable.”
She grinned. “Yeah, I guess I am. And you won’t tell anyone?”
I’d never not told Caitlin something. It felt like a betrayal. But still, I heard myself say, “I promise.”
She stopped walking. So did I.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend.” She groaned. “Who am I kidding? I’ve never even had a date.”
“That’s not so awful. Neither have I. Had a boyfriend, I mean. Or a date.”
“I really thought — you and Sean.”
“Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. Y’all just seem to have this connection.”
“I spend a lot of time at his house and do things with his family — because of Caitlin, but that’s all.”
“If you say so.”
“Believe me, Sean and me, no way.” But even as I said it, I didn’t sound very convincing. Was I starting to think of him differently?
“Whatever,” Whitney said. “My problem is my dad. He is, like, so superprotective. I’m afraid he’d make any guy who wasinterested fill out an application, go through a security check, and pee in a bottle so he could do a drug test.”
“No way!” I said, laughing. We’d had to do a drug test to get this job. I’d been a little insulted that it was assumed I might be taking drugs. On the other hand, I figured they couldn’t afford to take a chance that someone would be high around water.
“Way. It’s kinda sad really.”
“It’s almost pathetic.” I wondered if my dad had hung around if he would have been protective, if he would have interrogated any potential boyfriends. And while I did agree that her dad was extreme, in a way, it was sort of nice that he paid that much attention.
“Anyway,” she said. “I’m sure I can get a boyfriend. I just have to set my mind to it.”
“Because you can have anything you want?”
“That’s right.”
But I was beginning to think maybe she couldn’t. And she knew it.
“So how was work?” Mom asked me later when I walked into the kitchen after Sean had dropped me off. She was at the counter chopping a tomato.
An empty jar of spaghetti sauce was on the counter — its former contents probably in the microwave — and a pot of noodles was on the stove. Mom wasn’t exactly a gourmet chef.
“It was insane. We had soooo many people.”
“That’s great,” she said. “Job security.”
“No kidding.” But it was also exhausting.As soon as I finished eating, I planned to crash.
“Will you grab the salad out of the fridge?” Mom asked.
Which meant grabbing a plastic bag of shredded lettuce. I poured some into bowls and Mom scraped the chopped tomato on top. I snatched up the bottle of Italian dressing, while Mom got the bowl of sauce out of the microwave and some garlic bread out of the oven.
When we had everything ready, we sat at the counter to eat. We weren’t big on eating at the table because that just meant something else to wipe down when we were finished. So we usually just ate in the kitchen.
Mom and I looked a lot alike. She had brown eyes and brown hair that brushed her shoulders. I had a few freckles across my nose. Mom didn’t have any but then she pretty much avoided the sun as much as possible. She had this thing about getting skin cancer. Not that I blamed
Okay, that was a complete turnaround from a similar conversation we’d had where she agreed that he thought she was cute. Was she starting to let her guard down, starting to trust me? Or was she just messing with me?
“What? You don’t think a guy could like you?” I asked.
“I don’t know if I want a guy to like me.”
If we didn’t need to get back to the kiddie pavilion as quickly as possible, I would have stopped and stared at her. “Why not?”
She looked around as though someone might hear us. Then she shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Whitney, you can tell me.”
“Oh, sure. And then you’ll go tell everyone else. I know you don’t like me. No one likes me.”
“I like you.” Some , I added silently. “After all, you are adorable.”
She grinned. “Yeah, I guess I am. And you won’t tell anyone?”
I’d never not told Caitlin something. It felt like a betrayal. But still, I heard myself say, “I promise.”
She stopped walking. So did I.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend.” She groaned. “Who am I kidding? I’ve never even had a date.”
“That’s not so awful. Neither have I. Had a boyfriend, I mean. Or a date.”
“I really thought — you and Sean.”
“Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. Y’all just seem to have this connection.”
“I spend a lot of time at his house and do things with his family — because of Caitlin, but that’s all.”
“If you say so.”
“Believe me, Sean and me, no way.” But even as I said it, I didn’t sound very convincing. Was I starting to think of him differently?
“Whatever,” Whitney said. “My problem is my dad. He is, like, so superprotective. I’m afraid he’d make any guy who wasinterested fill out an application, go through a security check, and pee in a bottle so he could do a drug test.”
“No way!” I said, laughing. We’d had to do a drug test to get this job. I’d been a little insulted that it was assumed I might be taking drugs. On the other hand, I figured they couldn’t afford to take a chance that someone would be high around water.
“Way. It’s kinda sad really.”
“It’s almost pathetic.” I wondered if my dad had hung around if he would have been protective, if he would have interrogated any potential boyfriends. And while I did agree that her dad was extreme, in a way, it was sort of nice that he paid that much attention.
“Anyway,” she said. “I’m sure I can get a boyfriend. I just have to set my mind to it.”
“Because you can have anything you want?”
“That’s right.”
But I was beginning to think maybe she couldn’t. And she knew it.
“So how was work?” Mom asked me later when I walked into the kitchen after Sean had dropped me off. She was at the counter chopping a tomato.
An empty jar of spaghetti sauce was on the counter — its former contents probably in the microwave — and a pot of noodles was on the stove. Mom wasn’t exactly a gourmet chef.
“It was insane. We had soooo many people.”
“That’s great,” she said. “Job security.”
“No kidding.” But it was also exhausting.As soon as I finished eating, I planned to crash.
“Will you grab the salad out of the fridge?” Mom asked.
Which meant grabbing a plastic bag of shredded lettuce. I poured some into bowls and Mom scraped the chopped tomato on top. I snatched up the bottle of Italian dressing, while Mom got the bowl of sauce out of the microwave and some garlic bread out of the oven.
When we had everything ready, we sat at the counter to eat. We weren’t big on eating at the table because that just meant something else to wipe down when we were finished. So we usually just ate in the kitchen.
Mom and I looked a lot alike. She had brown eyes and brown hair that brushed her shoulders. I had a few freckles across my nose. Mom didn’t have any but then she pretty much avoided the sun as much as possible. She had this thing about getting skin cancer. Not that I blamed
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