Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“What’s that even mean?”
“Intimidate?”
I shook my head. “No. Why did he say it?”
“Because I don’t have a lot of real friends besides you.”
“Maybe it’s the other girls who think you’re weird.”
“Who said anything about being weird?” She wrinkled her nose and squinted at me.
“I’m just saying—”
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
She wasn’t wrong. It was possible other boys were intimidated by her because she sure intimidated me. As much as I jumped at opportunities to mock her or call her weird, I really wanted to live inside of her head. I’d never met anyone like her. Not another kid, not even an adult who looked at the world and life the way Josephine Watts did. Living in her world was like living in a movie.
A mystery.
An adventure.
Maybe even the beginning of a love story.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The sun sets while Mom and I do dishes, and Colten has a beer on the deck with my dad.
“Did your mom make your dad help with dishes?” I ask her. “Because my mom used to make my dad do the dishes. This feels a little 1950s to me.”
She laughs. “Your dad’s back has been bothering him lately. Standing in one place for too long aggravates it.”
“What’s Colten’s excuse?”
She gives me a hip-check as we stand at the sink. “What’s your deal with Colten? You don’t act like adults together. You act like the same two kids who used to terrorize the neighborhood. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re holding a grudge.”
“What do you mean, ‘if you didn’t know better?’”
“You’re thirty-five. So accomplished. Independent. Brilliant. I can’t imagine a mother who is prouder of their daughter than I am of you. It’s not the 1950s. And you are a shining example of what it means to be a woman right now. You’ve never depended on a man. I haven’t given up hope that you will one day find someone who complements your life and whose life you will complement as well. I think growing up with Colten next door taught you so much about relationships … and eventually about letting go. To this day, I’m in awe of how gracefully you two parted ways after graduation.”
I dry the colander so long the stainless-steel shines like new. If I look at her, she’ll see the lie. All that motherly pride will spiral down the drain with the dirty dish water. When Colten abandoned me, I did an Oscar-worthy job of hiding the pain.
I perfected the brave face.
I regurgitated the “I’m happy for Colten” speech.
I touted my accomplishments … my college acceptance letters.
Loving Colten Mosley came with a hefty price. I had to let my heart break in complete silence. It felt like someone asked me to keep living without breathing. Everyone except his mom thought I was sad about my “friend” enlisting.
“I think I’m going to take a walk before bed.” I drape the towel over the dishwasher handle.
“What time are you leaving in the morning?”
“Early. Maybe six. So I won’t be long.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure the coffee’s ready.”
“Thanks.” I slip on my tennis shoes and exit the front door, making my way to the back of the house, hoping Colten and my dad are too busy talking to notice me.
To my delight, my tree is still there. Not as much to my delight, it’s a little harder for my thirty-five-year-old self to climb it. But I manage to get to the first big branch, letting my feet dangle as the crickets and frogs sing the song of summer with barely a sliver of sun left at the horizon.
“You were quiet at dinner,” Colten breaks my peaceful train of thought.
I glance down at him.
“It’s been an emotional day,” he says with a little grunt while he jumps to grab my branch, pulling himself up easier than he ever did as a kid. Figures … life just got easier for him. “Did you know that Vera thought we would get married?” He chuckles. “She never told me that.”
I want to shove him out of the tree and pray that he breaks both legs and a sharp stick impales his penis like skewering a kabob. “Would it have made a difference?”
Again, he chuckles. It’s an insecure laugh. “You didn’t want to marry me.”
“I love how everyone seemed to know what I did or didn’t want at the time. I love how everyone knew better than I did what was best for my life. It was such a relief to not have to busy my brain with making decisions for myself. Whoa!” I start to fall off the branch like I did the time I broke my arm.
“Can’t work with broken bones, Dr. Watts,” Colten says with his arm hooked around my waist, steadying me again.
One of my hands grips the branch while my other hand grips his leg. I catch my breath. I used to be fearless. Even when I did fall from the tree, I wasn’t scared. Just in pain.