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I nod.
“And maybe we can do something after school?”
“I think so. I mean, I’m not sure what else is going on. My
mind isn’t really there right now.”
This makes sense to her. “Fair enough. Tomorrow is tomorrow.
Let’s end today on a nice note.”
Once we get to town, I can access the directions to her
house without having to ask her. But I want to get lost anyway.
To prolong this. To escape this.
“Here we are,” Rhiannon says as we approach her driveway.
I pull the car to a stop. I unlock the doors.
She leans over and kisses me. My senses are alive with the
taste of her, the smell of her, the feel of her, the sound of her
breathing, the sight of her as she pulls her body away from
mine.
“That’s the nice note,” she says. And before I can say anything
else, she’s out the door and gone.
I don’t get a chance to say goodbye.
I guess, correctly, that Justin’s parents are used to him being
out of touch and missing dinner. They try to yell at him, but
you can tell that everyone’s going through the motions, and
when Justin storms off to his room, it’s just the latest rerun of
an old show.
I should be doing Justin’s homework— I’m always pretty
conscientious about that kind of thing, if I’m able to do it— but
my mind keeps drifting to Rhiannon. Imagining her at home.
Imagining her floating from the grace of the day. Imagining her
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