I drizzled some onto my waffle. It was delicious.
But an hour later I had to say goodbye.
“Goodbye for now,” Lark corrected me as we stood on the sidewalk together. “It’s only a couple more days until I come to Vermont.”
“Okay,” I said, leaning in for one more kiss. There would never be enough of those. “I have to go now.”
“I know,” she said, still hugging me. We kissed again. And again.
Until finally I pulled myself together and left.
36
Zach
As it happened, Lark’s trip was postponed for a reason I never saw coming. Over Christmas, the Shipleys got sick. First it was Griff and Audrey and Dylan. And the next day, Daphne and May and Ruth. They all got a stomach virus, except for Grandpa.
For the first time ever, I was unscathed.
May texted Lark, telling her to stay away. We don’t want to give you the plague.
For a few days it was just Grandpa and I doing the milkings and feeding the livestock. We delivered cups of tea and slices of toast to whomever could eat. In the kitchen alone, I made sandwiches for Grandpa and I, and reheated soups from Ruth’s freezer.
“You’re a lifesaver,” the Shipleys would say as I brought them another dose of aspirin or a glass of ice water.
But really, it was nothing. I didn’t mind taking care of the people who take care of me.
Christmas was basically postponed. I didn’t give anyone the gift I’d bought, because a puking family doesn’t care about gifts. I just rode out the storm, wondering when the virus was going to hit me next.
It never did.
On the morning of the twenty-seventh, everyone finally felt human again. I helped Ruth make some pancakes, and she announced we should all open gifts.
They opened mine first. It was a solar-powered bird feeder with special powers. “When a squirrel lands on it, the motor spins the bar around, flinging the squirrel right off.”
“Omigod, I’ve seen a video of this!” Daphne said with a squeal. “They try to hang on and it’s hysterical.”
“That’s fun, Chewie,” Griff said with a chuckle. “We’ll hang it from the crabapple outside the kitchen window.”
From his mother, Dylan got video games, and Daphne clothes. Griff got lined work gloves, and Audrey got a gorgeous cookbook from the French school where she’d just spent two months. May got several books she’d been wanting to read.
It was a flurry of wrapping paper in the living room. “Who’s got Zach’s present?” Daphne asked.
“Right here,” May called, producing a small box. “Open it, Zach. It’s from all of us.”
I took the box. It was wrapped in shimmering green paper. I never unwrapped a gift before I came to Vermont, and it always made me a little self-conscious. This one was smaller than a cigar box, but not heavy enough to be a book. It kept me guessing ’til I got every scrap of paper off. Even when I saw the box, I wasn’t sure it was real, because sometimes boxes were repurposed.
But not this one. When I lifted the close-fitting lid, there was a shiny smartphone inside. “Wow,” I said. “Fancy.”
“You need this!” May crowed. “To text with Lark.”
“And Skype,” Griffin added under his breath.
I lifted the sleek thing from its package. “Geez. Thanks. I’ll activate it soon,” I said slowly. But phone plans were pricey.
“Nope!” Daphne said. “It’s already activated. On our plan.”
“You shouldn’t,” I said immediately.
“It’s not even expensive,” Ruth said. “We put you on our family plan, because you’re family.”
I pressed the power button and the phone blazed to life in my hand. “Thank you. Seriously. This is so cool.”
May sat down beside me and put an arm around my shoulders. “You’re welcome. Time for your first selfie. Come on. It will be the two of us.” She poked the icon for the camera. “I know just who we can send it to.”
I lifted the phone and took our smiling picture.
* * *
Lark: You got a phone??? I love the selfie.
Zach: I did. I’ve joined the 21st century.
Lark: Does this mean you’ll send me a dick pic later?
Zach: Let’s not get carried away.
Lark: ????
Zach: How do you make that smiley face?
Lark: Oh honey. I’ll show you in person. When can I visit?
Zach: Soon. May doesn’t want you to get the pukey flu. Everyone is waiting for Grandpa and I to start hurling.
Lark: You feel sick?
Zach: Nope. And I just at six pancakes. How about New Year’s Eve? I’ve never kissed anyone on New Year’s.
Lark: Okay. It’s a date. I should tell you about a New Year’s Eve tradition I adopted one year in Spain. You’re supposed to wear red underwear for luck.
Zach: Shut the front door.
Lark: I’m not making this up. Guess who’s all prepared to visit you in four days?
Zach: This just became my favorite holiday.
Lark: I
Zach: I
Zach: How do you make the heart?
Lark: ????
Zach: I hope four days goes fast. Love you.
Lark:
* * *
“What do you think, Zach?”
I looked up quickly to find Chastity’s questioning face across the big dinner table. As I tried to rewind my brain to come up with the topic of a conversation I was supposedly following, Chastity grinned. “Aw. The poor guy can’t concentrate.”
“Quick, someone deal a hand of poker!” Griff cried. “I can earn back the money I lost to him last night.”
May set a salad down in the center of the table, and then patted Zach’s shoulder. “Hang in there. She can’t be long now.”
I touched the button on my brand new phone and checked the time. Again.
It was one minute later than the last time I’d checked.
Another glacial minute ticked by while I tried to listen for tires outside over the hum of the family gathering.
Down the table, Chastity was taking some flak about her new hairdo. She’d shown up tonight with her hair dyed pink.
“That’s very Strawberry Shortcake,” Kyle said.
“Dude,” Kieran argued. “What do you know from Strawberry Shortcake?”
His brother socked him in the arm. The cousins had come over for dinner tonight and to talk Griff into going to the Gin Mill later. Or the Goat. They’d probably go another seventeen rounds before it was settled.
There was a lull in the conversation, and that’s when I finally heard it—the sound of gravel pinging the undercarriage of a Volkswagen Beetle. My stomach got tight with anticipation. I’d get one night with Lark before she went back to Boston again. Our time together was precious.
I stood up and headed for the door.
“There he goes!” Kyle yelled. “Go get her, man.”
“Is she here?” Audrey asked as I passed through the kitchen. “Just in time for dinner.”
Without a word, I strode past her and out the back door. The motion sensor lights came on, illuminating Lark’s face as she stepped out of the car. My heart stuttered.
Then she smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “Hi there, handsome,” she said. “I sure did miss you.”
I made it over to her in three long strides. And when I got there, Lark threw her arms around me and planted her nose in the center of my chest. “Happy New Year. Almost. It’s going to be a good one. I just know it.”
We just stood there holding each other in the cold nighttime air, and I’d never been happier.
“Dinner is just about ready,” I said finally. She kissed the underside of my chin. And who knew there was a direct line from my neck to my dick? So instead of heading for the door, I gave her a kiss.
“Mmm,” she said against my lips. “Dinner first. But I want to get you alone later.”
“D
eal.”
Inside, Lark made the rounds, greeting her friends. “Wild Child!” Griff said, giving her a squeeze. “You look great.”
“Thanks,” she said, her expression bashful. “I’m doing a lot better.”
Everyone wanted to hug her. “Where’s May?” Lark had to ask.
“Primping,” Daphne said. “She’s going to a party later. There are clothes all over every surface of her room.”
“Then I’ll save her a seat,” Lark said. “Move over, Kyle.”
Ruth carried the platter of ham into the dining room, and then Audrey hurried in to set down a covered crock. Griff opened up a growler of cider and began to pour it for whoever was drinking. “Pace yourselves, fellas. New Year’s is still five hours away.”
“Can’t wait to celebrate it at the Gin Mill,” Kyle said.
Griff just shook his head.
“Sorry!” May called from the other room as her footsteps hurried toward the dining room. She skated into view a second later.
“Wow!” Lark said. “Vavoom!”
May spread a hand across her cleavage. “Do you think it’s too much?”
“I’m not known for my superior judgement in these matters,” I pointed out. “So I’d say go for it. You should have told me this was a dressy occasion. Where are we going?”
“Well. I’m going to a party,” May said, sitting down.
Grandpa interrupted this line of discussion by starting to say grace. I watched my girlfriend and May close their eyes respectfully until he said amen. Then both their eyes popped open and they continued where they left off.
“But you’re not coming, and neither is Zach,” May said. “I’m going to hang out with you guys for an hour or so and then I have a date.”
“Go you!” Lark interjected.
“With a woman.”
“Finally,” Daphne muttered, spearing a slab of ham off the platter.
Wait. What? That didn’t compute. Unless I’d misunderstood May? I glanced at the faces around the table, but nobody else had seemed to notice what she’d said.
“May, honey. Could you start the black-eyed peas?” Ruth asked. “They’re right in front of you.”
Frowning, May took the lid off the crock. She plunged the serving spoon inside, but then looked up, her eyes scanning the table. “I just said I had a date tonight with a woman. A date. I’m wearing a dress and everything.”
“Lookin’ good, too,” Kieran said. “Do the peas have bacon in them?”
“Have you met me?” Audrey asked. “Of course there’s bacon.”
May scooped some peas onto her plate. Finished, she lifted the crock, but then hesitated. “Isn’t anyone surprised? Am I not speaking English? I’m dating a woman. Well, not dating. Not yet. But maybe. Anyone?”
I raised my hand. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“Thank you! Jeez. I thought my queerness would at least be newsworthy.”
Kyle took the crock of black-eyed peas from May. “If your date had, like, four tits, that would be newsworthy. Does she?”
“No!” she howled. “She’s a very beautiful law student.”
“And you look very beautiful tonight too, dear,” Ruth said.
“Thanks, Mom,” May said tightly.
“Does anyone else have anything they want to share?” Dylan asked in a campy voice which made his sister’s scowl deepen.
“Actually…” I said, and everyone turned expectant faces to me. “I bought a truck today. Jude found it for me. It’s a 1997 Ford F-150.”
All the men’s faces lit up. “No way!” “Whoa!” “What’s the mileage?” “Does it need a lot of work?”
“Seriously?” May hissed.
“They’re men.” Lark soothed her with a pat on the hand. “Just tell yourself you made the right choice for the evening.”
“Obviously.”
“Where did Jude find it?” Griff asked. “Tell me it’s not a junker like that Avenger of his.”
“It’s bad, but it’s not that bad,” I said. “I started looking at all the used cars for sale, just to get a feel for the prices, because Chastity will need a car eventually. And then I realized I needed one, too.” I stole a glance at Lark, and she smiled at me. “I can’t borrow a vehicle every time I want to go to Boston, right? So I just bought it.”
“Did you take out a loan?” Griff asked.
“No. Cash.”
“Good man. Though an old Ford will be a gas guzzler. Gonna cost you to drive it to Boston every weekend.”
“Maybe he won’t have to drive that far,” Lark said quietly. “Maybe.”
“Why?” I asked, slipping my hand into hers under the table.
“I had two interviews this week,” she said. “One was in Boston. But the other was across the river in Hanover.”
“At Dartmouth?” May asked, her face brightening. “I love this idea.”
Lark nodded. “I had a long talk with the dean of the geography program. There are a couple of professors in the department who work on food security and environmentalism. I asked myself, ‘What does a spoiled rich girl do after her life blows up?’ And the answer is—go to grad school. I’m thinking of applying to the PhD program.”
I smoothed my thumb over her hand. “You’re not the least bit spoiled, Lark. But that sounds interesting.”
“I really like the idea,” she admitted. “But of course I might not get in.”
“Do your parents know anyone at Dartmouth?” Griffin asked. “Might be time to call in a favor or two.”
“I’m sure they do,” Lark said slowly. “But I don’t want to be that kid who relies on her parents’ connections. We’ll just see what happens, I guess. My other interview was a little more practical. There’s a non-profit in Boston that sources sustainable ingredients for luxury food companies. You know—shade-grown coffee and fair-trade chocolate. They might have a new position opening up.”
I squeezed Lark’s hand. “Is there travel?”
“That’s some. But you know what? They’d heard about me.”
“Who had?”
“The people at this company had heard about my troubles in Guatemala. I guess nonprofits are a small world. And—this really surprised me—they said, ‘We never would have sent you to that region. And we sure wouldn’t have sent you there alone.’” Her eyes darted up to mine. “I really needed to hear that.”
“I bet,” Griff said.
“Yeah. I just spent a month trying to forgive myself for what happened. And today, this guy who interviewed me was better than my overpaid psychiatrists.”
“Why?” I asked softly.
“Because it wasn’t his job to try to make me feel better. He was just stating his opinion. And his opinion was that the timing and location of my trip to Guatemala was a terrible idea.”
“Amen!” May said. “We’re glad you’re here. Eat some black-eyed peas just for insurance. They’re good luck on New Year’s.”
“Do we know how that tradition got started?” Kyle asked. “Not that I need a reason to eat Audrey’s cooking.”
“They’re humble,” Ruth said. “So we’ll start the New Year with humility.”
“I’m already humble,” Kyle said, stabbing another slice of ham off the platter. “It’s hard to walk around all day and not boast about all this perfection.”
A chorus of groans ensued, but I wasn’t paying attention. I was holding hands with Lark under the table, and trying not to get too excited about her potentially moving to Hanover.
* * *
Lark
After dinner, I made a point to hang out with May for a while. It’s something I would have done anyway, even if it weren’t for her recent confession of love I couldn’t return. I’d always made time for her, and that wasn’t about to change.
So I dragged her into the TV room while Zach was washing dishes, just so I could give her my Christmas present—the luxury lip glosses in their sleek little silver case.
“I love these!” she said when sh
e opened my gift. “You shouldn’t have.”
I shrugged. “This brand always makes me think of you. It was our college splurge.”
“Haven’t had much reason to wear makeup in a while,” May said, dabbing the perfect little brush into one of the glosses and pursing her lips in the pocket-sized mirror.
“Me neither. But once in a while it’s fun. And I have a question.”
“Mmm?” she asked, rubbing her lips together.
“When two women make out, is it a problem if your lipstick clashes? What if one of you is wearing a cool shade of pinkish purple, and the other has an orangey red? Like, omigod. That’s a fashion no-no.”
“You crack yourself up,” May said, tucking the brush back into the compact and closing the lid. “That was the most blatant fishing expedition for details that I’ve ever heard.”
“Fine. I’ll just ask outright. Has there been any nakedness yet? And was it awesome?”
May shook her head. “She just asked me out last week for the first time. Took me completely by surprise.”
“A secret admirer! What’s her name?”
“Daniella.” She grinned. “Yeah, it was a nice ego boost. But of course I didn’t realize she was into girls. So we had this stumbling conversation where I had to ask a few clarifying questions about whether this was a date or a hangout. That part is just easier with men.”
“No kidding. If a guy asks you to go anywhere with him, you can just assume he wants sex.”
“Right?”
“Hey, Lark?” Zach’s head popped into the TV room where we were sitting. “Can you come outside with me?”
May and I promptly burst out laughing.
“What did I say?” Zach asked.
“Nothing!” I protested. “We were just talking about things men want.”
He came in and sat down on the sofa next to me. “I just want to show you my truck.”
“Aw,” May said, reaching across me to pat his knee. “Don’t ever change, Zach. You’re the best kind of guy.” She stood up. “I’m going to peek at my hair one more time and then go. You two kids be good.”