“Yes, I’m fine.”
Her lips quivered at the corners as she tried to contain her laughter.
“Well, thank you, Lucy. I am very flattered, but I have been happily married for the last thirty years.”
“Oh,” said Lucy. “Well, if it doesn’t work out with Mrs. Mahajan . . .”
“I’ll be sure to keep you in mind.”
“Okay, thanks, Dr. Mahajan.”
“Good night, Lucy.”
“Oh my God!” she cried when she hung up the phone. She clapped her hand over her mouth. “I can’t believe I just did that!”
We all burst into laughter.
Freddy gave her a congratulatory pat on the back. “Well done, kiddo.”
“Ha,” said Candela. “I love how cool he was about it. Like, ‘Hello, I love you, Dr. Mahajan.’ ‘Okay, Lucy, thanks but no.’”
We all broke into laughter again.
“I was a victim of the same dare once,” said Rad.
“Whom did you have to call?” I asked.
“Cameron, my mechanic.”
“How did he take it?”
“He was pretty cool about it. And he gave me a discount the next time I brought my car in.”
“You stud,” said Freddy.
“Oh God,” said Lucy, burying her face in her hands. “That reminds me—I have to go in for my flu shot next week. No way I’m doing that now.”
“Hey, it looks like we’re out of booze,” said Candela, draining the last of the vodka.
“Lucky for you we picked up a six-pack of Coronas on our way here,” said Freddy.
“It’s chilling in the trunk of my car,” said Rad. “I’ll go and grab it.”
“I’ll come with you,” I said, getting up.
We began the short walk to his car. Tonight the moon was barely visible, and I tripped on a loose rock as Rad’s arm shot out to steady me. Without a word, I laced my arm through his and we continued walking.
“Hey, Audrey,” he said, when we were out of earshot. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“Yeah?”
“These past few weeks . . . well, you’ve been really great . . .”
There was something in his tone that made my stomach drop. Even though I knew that Rad and I couldn’t keep going down this path forever, I didn’t want it to end just yet.
“Okay,” I said and waited for him to continue.
“It’s hard to believe it’s only been a few weeks since I’ve met you. I mean, I can talk to you about stuff that I’ve never been able to tell anyone else.”
“Me too,” I said.
“But we’re friends—we know that. That’s where it starts and ends with us. It’s just—” he frowned. “Everybody is turning it into something else, something it’s not. Your boyfriend looked at me with daggers all night, and to be honest, I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t want some guy hanging around my girlfriend, either. And you know, with Ana—”
“Rad, you don’t have to explain. I know what people are saying about us, and I know what we have to do.”
He nodded. “It sucks, though, doesn’t it? I really like talking to you.”
I felt tears prick the back of my eyes. “So do I.”
Soon, we were at his car, and he reached into his pocket for the keys.
“Hey,” I said, turning to face him. “Do you think there’s an alternate universe where we didn’t have to worry about all this stuff? Where we could keep hanging out and no one would care?”
“Yeah,” said Rad with a smile. “We’re just characters in a book, remember? There are millions of books out there. We could be living all sorts of different lives.”
“Which book would you put us in?”
He thought about it for a moment. “The Princess Bride.”
I laughed.
He opened the trunk and rummaged around in the dark. He stopped when he heard the rustle of paper. “Oh, I almost forgot! I got you a present.”
“You did?”
“Yeah,” he said, handing me a brown paper bag. “I saw it in a shop window and thought of you.”
I put my hand in the bag and drew out a hard round object.
“It’s a snow globe!” I peered at the miniature scenery of a tiny town set against the backdrop of snowcapped mountains. “Oh, it’s so pretty.” I tipped it upside down then back up again. We watched as the bits of tiny white confetti swirled around the globe.
“I remember what you said that day we met, about snowcapped mountains.”
“Oh.” I was suddenly overcome with emotion. It felt like the person standing in front of me knew me better than anyone else. On impulse, I took a step toward him, and we put our arms around each other. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.
“Thank you,” I said, putting my head on his shoulder. He was wearing a blue-and-white checked shirt that felt both soft and rough against my cheek. My face was inches away from his neck, and I caught the scent of soap and something else that was warm and comforting, like freshly laundered sheets.
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it.”
“I do.”
“I hope you’ll find your way there someday, to that little mountain town, and write your book.”
“I hope you’ll write yours too.”
I pulled away from him reluctantly. “We should get back or they’ll send a search party.”
“Okay.”
“So this is it then, I guess.”
“It feels kind of like a breakup, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, in a weird way it does.” I couldn’t imagine how I would stop myself from calling him, and I sensed he felt the same way. It was a new thing for me, feeling this attached to another person, especially since we’d known each other for such a short time.
“Do you think we’ll stick to the plan?” I asked.
“The one where we stop talking?”
“Uh-huh.”
He seemed to think it over. “Have you got your phone on you?”
I reached into the pocket of my new Audrey jacket and pulled it out. At the same time, he fished his phone out from the back pocket of his jeans.
“Let’s delete each other from our phones.”
“Now?” I felt a wave of sadness wash over me.
“Yes, on the count of three.” He gave me a sheepish grin. “Otherwise we’d never stick to it. I know I won’t.”
“Okay.”
“Ready?”
I nodded.
He began to count. “One . . . two . . . three.”
I pressed the delete button on his contact page and looked to see that he had done the same.
“You know, I’m really glad I met you, Audrey,” he said, putting his phone away.
Tears began to well up in my eyes. I looked away, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
“I just wish I had met you sooner,” he continued.
“I know.”
“Maybe one day we’ll end up at the same campus, like what Lucy said. Things might be different then.”
His words gave me a sense of optimism. It sounded like a dream, studying at the same campus as Rad, seeing him every day. And it wasn’t unrealistic. If I did well in my exams, I could be there next year.
“I like the thought of that,” I said.
Six
I brought a bottle of Pinot and a small yellow cactus plant to Candela’s housewarming party. I had stuck googly eyes on the cactus and made him a tiny paper top hat.
“He’s sensational!” Candela declared holding him out for everyone to see. “I’m going to name him Reginald.” She set Reginald down on a nearby coffee table and introduced me to the guests. There were a handful of people I knew, and I guessed the rest were friends of the punk flatmate on the account of all the piercings and tattoos. “Ramona!” Candela called out to a girl who was coming down the hallway. She grabbed my arm. “Come and meet my friend Audrey.”