Tim whistles. “Wow.”
Nate just gapes at the giant hole in the wall.
“What the hell is that?” Shannon yelps.
Sarah leaps away from me and runs to her. “Shana Banana!”
Shannon opens her arms and braces for the onslaught. “Sarah Sunshine!”
I wasn’t the only one who got lucky with the best friend in the world. Sarah got another big sister in the deal.
Once she’s lavished Shannon with hugs and kisses, she studies the strangers. She paces up and down the row of men like a drill sergeant who’s inspecting a platoon for weakness.
She stops in front of Nate. “Who are you?”
“Nate.”
“What do you like?”
“Beer.” Nate winces as soon as the word leaves his mouth. It must have been an automatic response.
Mom scoffs. “This is why I don’t like her coming here to visit you.”
Nate blushes. “Sorry.”
I hold my hand up for Mom to pipe down. “She likes meeting new people. Let her.”
Sarah moves on to Tim. “Who are you?”
“Tim.”
“What do you like?”
“Studying.” He nods like he absolutely means it.
Sarah shrugs. She’s not impressed.
“I’m Jake.” He holds his hand out to her before she asks.
She shakes his hand, but she’s not happy about the insubordination, judging by her frown. “What do you like?”
“Music, and the beach, and cheeseburgers, and football …”
Sarah makes a time-out motion. “Just the basics, sir.”
Dad and I exchange an amused glance, but Mom bristles, embarrassed.
Sarah stops in front of Jim and looks way up at his face. “Who are you?”
He bends at the knees until he reaches her eye-level. “I’m James. Who are you?”
She doesn’t mind his insouciance because she loves to be the center of attention. “I’m Sarah.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Sarah.”
She beams. “What do you like?”
He tips his head to the side, studying her, probably absorbing more information I’ve never given him to use against me. “I like you. I’m really sad I’ve never met you before.”
Sarah glances back at me with a surprised expression that screams, Can I keep him?
I nod because … maybe.
She throws her arms around his neck. If it wasn’t for all those early morning gym workouts, the force of her affection would have knocked him on his ass. I know. She’s done it to me. And to Shannon.
He’s not uncomfortable by her bear hug like Shannon was when she first met her. He wraps his arms around her and squeezes back, lifting her off her feet until she squeals with delight.
It’s not that people are inherently bad or mean. Shannon definitely isn’t. It’s just that if they haven’t lived this life, then being around a person with different needs takes some getting used to. But Jim grew up similarly, so he’s already used to the special side of life.
Dad smiles at the scene. There are definite hearts in his eyes, and this time, they’re not football-shaped.
Mom seems less sure, like she’s waiting for him to make an excuse to bolt.
Sarah begins her inquisition as soon as Jim places her feet back on the floor. “Where do you live?”
“In a house not far away from here. Where do you live?”
“In a house far away from here. Do you go to college at State like Shana Banana and Sophia?”
“I do. Do you go to school?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “Not anymore. I don’t like school.”
“That’s too bad. Learning new things can be fun.” He glances at me, his expression full of disappointment.
“Well.” Mom claps her hands together, no doubt to disrupt Sarah’s typical need to find out everything there is to know about her new friend. “Now that we have some muscle, let’s get started.”
With four extra bodies I didn’t plan on imposing upon, we get all my bedroom furniture from the moving truck into the apartment surprisingly fast. Now, we’re onto the living room and dining room items. Sarah trails after Jim, nearly making him drop my couch in her efforts to plaster herself to his side.
He motions to Nate to set the couch down, which they do. Right in the middle of the sidewalk leading to the main entrance. Jim sits on the couch then pats the cushion beside him for Sarah to sit, too. Nate shakes his head with a smile on his lips then heads back to the truck to see what else he can help with.
Sarah perches on that old couch like it’s a throne, and she’s ready to hold court. “What’s your favorite thing ever?”
Mom runs up to them. “We can’t sit now, Sarah. We have to get the furniture into Sophia’s apartment.”
“It’s fine,” Jim assures her before I can even argue. “It’s a college town. There are couches everywhere. People are used to it.”
Even though I have a heavy bin of clothes in my arms, I don’t head up to the apartment. Either Mom is going to have to be talked down, or Jim is going to run out of patience when he gets the full brunt of Sarah’s curiosity.
“What’s your favorite thing ever? What’s your favorite thing ever? What’s your favorite thing ever?” Sarah bounces on the couch, refusing to be silenced now that she’s been given free rein.
Jim’s body bounces along with Sarah’s excitement. He smiles and points at me. “Do you know that lady there?”
Sarah stops bouncing to fix Jim with her patented duh look. She’s such a smart-ass. “She’s my sister, Sophia!”
He nods. “Well, Sophia is my favorite thing ever.”
I’m not sure if he’s trying to win brownie points with me or with her, but I definitely can’t leave now. Mom looks ready to launch into her own inquisition.
Sarah’s expression morphs into shock. She looks like a meme as she turns toward me with owl eyes. “Are you boyfriend-girlfriend?”
Mom loses it. “You stayed with your boyfriend all week? In the same house? In the same bedroom? I thought he was just joking about a trial run for living together when we first met!”
Now, listen. I am ninety-nine percent sure my parents engaged in premarital sex even though I do not want to hear those stories for confirmation of my suspicions. But what’s good for the mother is almost never good for the daughter—in both my and Sarah’s cases.
Jim winces. He knows he’s stepped in it. He ruffles his hair, and then Sarah mimics the movement, giggling.
“Uh, no, no. Not necessarily. She stayed at our house but not specifically with me. Jury’s still out actually. Your daughter hates me as much as she loves me.”
I don’t get a chance to respond to that weighty statement because both Mom and Sarah come at me from different angles.
“What? You hate him? Why? I love him!”
“And when were you planning on telling me about this new boyfriend, hmm? You’ve never even mentioned his name before! Whatever happened to that nice boy you dated last year? What was his name?”
“John,” Jim supplies, deadpan.
“John!” My mother beams at Jim. Oh, this is such a train wreck. “What happened to John? You didn’t tell me anything about that either!”