so he never corrects them when they say it. He just plants a kiss on my forehead, which doesn’t do much to set the record straight. What it tells me is that Andrew says with his actions what he can’t say with his words. Yet.
“Well, I am his girl friend.”
Macie rolls her eyes. “Drop the torch, Katherine, or you’re going to die a virgin.”
The first time she and I had this argument, I expected her to apologize. She never did. Instead she said, “You don’t even know what you’re good at. You. All alone. By yourself. For all you know you’ve got some incredible hidden talent that only needs a little personal space for it to come out.
“Maybe you’re a poet. Or you could throw pottery. Put some muscle on those scrawny little arms. I mean, for the love of God, Katherine, who in their right mind wants to go to law school?” She said these last two words like they were synonymous with root canals or waterboarding.
I slide my phone back into my pocket and quickly change the subject. “Andrew and I will probably end up at Theta Delt after dinner. Do you want to meet us there?”
“Yeah, I could go,” she says. “There’s an end-of-the-year drama club party, but I’m not really feeling it.”
My phone buzzes again. I’m expecting Andrew, but this time it’s Mom.
can you pop home this afternoon? there’s something we need to talk about. can’t do it through text.
I groan and text back:
sorry. andrew is picking me up at 6.
Mom responds half a second later:
have him pick you up at the house.
It’s like she had her response teed up before I even hit send. I pinch the bridge of my nose. Andrew and I really should have thought about going farther away for school.
“What is it?” Macie asks.
In frustration, I pass my phone to her, and she shoots me a sympathetic look.
Chapter Two
Katherine
The house that I grew up in is a large two story on a quiet cul-de-sac. It has a porch swing and even a white picket fence. It looks like a happy family cliché, which is pretty much why I hate coming back, even with school less than a forty-minute drive away.
After getting Mom’s text, I delayed the drive home so I wouldn’t have to spend too much time here. Andrew should arrive shortly. Enough time for Mom and I to talk about whatever she thinks needs discussing.
When I open the door, the sound of the TV drifts from the family room to the front hall. I take off my shoes and line them up on the mat, taking the time to straighten my mom’s carelessly discarded heels. My bare feet go shwip-wip-wip against the hardwood floor, down the hall to the kitchen.
“Katherine? Is that you?” Mom calls. I always wonder at the question. Who else would it be? It’s not as if Dad is someday going to answer.
“Yeah, Mom. It’s me.”
She’s in the kitchen wearing her pale pink business suit. The suit is a leftover from her days as a Mary Kay makeup consultant, back when Dad was around and she didn’t have to work but did it just to get out of the house. Now she works for an insurance agent during the week and as a cashier at the Hy-Vee (one town over so she doesn’t run into people she knows) on Saturdays.
She tosses back the contents of her wineglass, then sets it down on the kitchen counter with a dull clink.
“How was work?” I ask, eyeing the empty glass.
She shrugs, then pulls up her right foot to her left knee, flamingo style. She pours herself more wine, missing the mark and splashing some on the counter.
I have the spill wiped up before she takes her first sip. When I toss the paper towel, I check the waste basket for empty bottles. “So are you going to tell me what’s going on? Your message was a little cryptic.”
“Getting right to the point, I see. Somewhere to go?”
“I told you. Andrew is picking me up at six.” I check my watch. It’s already five forty-five.
“Fine.” She crosses her arms and stares at me. I shift my weight. Finally she says, “What do you have lined up for a summer job?”
I give her a sideways look. This isn’t exactly what I was expecting as far as conversations go. “I’ve got a few shifts each week at Starbucks, but you know Andrew and I were accepted into Professor Schumacher’s internship. I told you