Jill paused. "Do you feel guilty you've not shared this with your family?"
Carrie shook her head. "No, not at all. For one thing, James could never slow down enough
to enjoy it out here. He's all go, go, go, all the time. Now the boys would probably enjoy the
lake in the summer, would enjoy going swimming, but they both have their own things going
on now. Josh will graduate in May and go off to college. He doesn't have a clue as to what
he wants to do but he wants to leave home, go someplace new. And I'm all for that. He's
far too young to be stuck in one place. But Aaron, now he's his father's son. He so smart,
he could do anything he wanted—engineering, computer science, anything. But damn if he
doesn't want to stay here and run one of James's stores."
"Well, I'm sure James is happy at least one of them wants to follow in his footsteps," Jill
said.
"Oh, of course he is. I think he was secretly afraid he was working his ass off all these
years for nothing," she said with a laugh. "But in the summers, Aaron goes with him every
day. And this coming summer, James has promised him an assistant manager‛s job. I have
this horrible fear he'll graduate high school and move into a manager's position and never
go to college. And Aaron would be perfectly happy. So would James, for that matter."
"Well, at least your kids have interests. Angie's world revolves around boys and makeup. I
know she's only a freshman but she shows no interest in anything. I asked her once what
she wanted to do and she said she'd probably end up being a secretary, like me," Jill said
with a smirk.
Carrie laughed and squeezed Jill's hand.
"I know. If she knew my salary was more than her father's, she'd die. I don't know how it
happened but she's very old-fashioned." Jill leaned closer, liking the feel of Carrie's
fingers on her hand. "She has this vision of fathers working to support the family and
mothers being home to cater to the kids. And I know she gets that from her grandmother."
"She spends a lot of time with her?"
"Yes. Especially when she was younger. After school, she'd go over there until I got home
from work. Even now that she's older, she still goes over after school most days. I cringe
when I think of all the crap they must be filling her head with."
"Does Craig know all the things his mother says to you?"
"No. In the beginning when she'd say something to piss me off, I'd tell him, but usually he
would just laugh it off, or worse, take her side. The only time he didn't take her side was
when I quit teaching. He knew how miserable I was."
"So you tolerate her and pretend everything's fine?"
"Yes. And she informed me we're having dinner with them tonight. Craig apparently forgot
to tell me."
"Ouch."
"Yeah. What a way to end a perfect day."
"Was it a perfect day?" Carrie asked quietly.
Jill smiled. "Well, let's see? It didn't start out all that great, no. But sitting here at the
lake in the sunshine, visiting with you ... yeah, it was perfect."
"I'm glad you think so."
But after sitting through dinner, silently listening as Craig gave play-by-play descriptions
of the basketball games he'd watched that day, Jill thought how truly perfect the
afternoon with Carrie had indeed been.
Carl, her father-in-law, looked at her once, his eyes questioning, but she smiled and turned
her attention to Craig. She tried—she really did—to muster up some enthusiasm for what
Craig loved. Unfortunately, it just wouldn't come.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"Five sunny days in a row," Carrie exclaimed one day weeks later. "Do you think spring is
really here?"
Jill laughed. "March is barely here. I don't think you should lay claim to spring too."
"It feels like spring. It even smells like spring. And look how swollen the trees are," she
said. "Everything will be budding out soon." She turned to Jill. "I can't wait for green."
"I know. And this would be a good weekend to start on your flowerbeds."
Carrie nodded. "Yes, it would." Then she grinned. "Are you sure you have to go?"
"As much as I would love to be with you, Craig and Angie would never forgive me if I missed
the state tournament."
"Oh, I know. I was being selfish."
"No you weren't," Jill said as she reached over and squeezed Carrie's hand. She wasn't
surprised when Carrie's fingers closed over hers. They had been doing that a lot lately.
Touching. "And if I could get out of it, I'd ask you for the whole weekend," she said
quietly. "The lunch hours seem shorter and shorter."
"Yes. It's probably because the weather is nice and we're out here, not stuck inside, that
makes the time race." She slowly let Jill's hand slip away before turning back to the lake.
"But the state tournament is a big deal, right?"
"Yeah, it's a big deal. Once in a lifetime thing for most of these kids. And Craig about
passes out from excitement just talking about it. I can't imagine what he'll do at the
game."
"Well, believe it or not, Josh even made mention that Kline was going to State. And Aaron
tells me they've painted up the windows at both stores in town."
"Yes, everyone is excited. Arlene bought us all matching T-shirts to wear at the games. I
have this fear that she's going to hold up a sign saying we're the coach's family."
Carrie laughed. "I can tell how enthused you are."
"Don't think I haven't thought about staying behind, because I have. But I'm sure the
wrath of the basketball gods would rain down upon me!"
"Oh, well. Maybe soon we can find a weekend."
"Maybe." Jill turned on the bench, waiting until Carrie looked at her. Her blue eyes looked
bright in the sunshine. Jill couldn't decide which color she liked best, this or the pale blue
she saw more often. "I... I really miss talking to you, Carrie. I mean, on the weekends." She
paused. "I don't understand it," she admitted softly. "I've never had a friend like you. I've
never talked to someone so much."
"I know exactly what you mean." Carrie sat up, resting her elbows on her thighs as she
gazed out over the lake. "I don't know what it is about you but when you're around,
everything seems so brilliant, so beautiful." She glanced at Jill quickly, then away. "I'm
almost afraid of the colors I'll see this spring," she said with a laugh. "If you don't mind, I
would love to paint you."
Jill smiled. "Paint me?"
"Yes. Not a portrait. I mean, outside, standing by the water, or sitting here on our bench,
with the colors all bursting around you." She turned back to Jill. "What do you think?"
Jill tilted her head. "Will I get to keep it?"
"If you wish."
She nodded. "Yes. I would love for you to paint me."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
In all the years she had known Craig, she'd never once seen him like this. But the silence
was nearly unbearable. Unfortunately, she didn't know any inspiring sports quotes to cheer
him up.
"It's really a nice evening. I think we should grill out," she said. "And I think we should ask
your parents to join us. We owe them." She rolled her eyes. God, she must be desperate to
want Arlene over here.
"I'm not really in the mood, babe."
She tucked her blond hair behind both ears and stood staring at him. His eyes were glued
to the TV, a TV that stood dark and silent. Even his cell phone remained quiet.
"Craig, it was a good game," she said hesitantly.
"Good? We lost by one fucking point. You call that good?"
She raised her eyebrows. She hadn't heard him use the f-word in years. But she tried
again.
"You went to State, Craig. You made it to the final game. You're acting like you got blown
away."
"Blown away? We were picked to win. We should have won." He shook his head. "Goddamned
call. It wasn't a foul. Jesus! Anybody could tell it wasn't a foul."
She sighed. "Okay, fine," she murmured. I tried.
She went through the kitchen and into the garage where they kept the freezer. She took
out four steaks, then hesitated, finally tossing two back in. If he didn't want his parents
over, she certainly wasn't going to invite them. She feared she would end up entertaining
them while he sulked in private. But no, sulking is always better when you have an audience.
So, she pulled out the other two steaks after all.
And after a call to Arlene to let her know the mood her son was in, she went about catching
up on the laundry she'd missed while they were gone. When she walked through the house
to go upstairs, Craig was still in the same position, staring at the TV. She knew it must be
devastating to lose the championship game, but still, they'd at least made it that far. How
many teams could say that? She opened her mouth to say those very words but stopped.
What did she know about it?
She methodically unpacked their luggage and piled up their dirty clothes to take
downstairs. And she thought she had time to shower before his parents would be there.
She was about to go into Angie's room to retrieve her clothes when the door opened. Craig
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