Page 123 of Never Forever

You can do this. Just take your time.

I only hoped that was true. I only hoped we had forever.

27

Carrie

“Oh, my heavens!” Weidman cried when she saw us walking across the grass to the bandshell. It was still warm but the breeze was cool. The kind of evening that made you think of fires and hot cocoa. And wrapping up in the back of a truck in an old sleeping bag that smelled like your boyfriend.

Stop that nonsense right now.

“You two are a sight for sore eyes,” Weidman said.

“Sorry, we stopped at the Fall Festival. I wanted to see it again,” I said.

“You wanted to run the three-legged race in Crocs,” Matt said. “It’s a safety hazard.”

“You’re a safety hazard,” I said, nonsensically.

We each got quick hugs from Weidman and were given jobs to do. The wheels on the flats with the corn weren’t put on properly and so they squeaked and froze up any time someone rolled them.

“Verity is still hyper-ventilating when she’s supposed to be dead,” Weidman said in my ear. Verity was breathing into a paper bag on the side of the stage, looking like a defeated daffodil.

“I’ll talk to her,” I said, patting Weidman on her shoulder. She wore overalls and a flannel shirt over them.

I crossed over to Verity, who, when she saw me, tipped her head back and wailed. “She sent you to fire me.”

“No!” I said. “Not at all.”

It was community theater. Firing people was not an option.

“I tried those shallow breath exercises, and they didn’t work.”

“What about the-”

“Breathe only using your back?” Verity rolled her cornflower blue eyes. “That’s not a thing.”

“Well, it is kinda-”

“It’s not a thing I can do!” Verity shouted, and it was so impressive and out of the blue that my mouth fell open and I clapped my hands with delight.

“What?” she said, looking angrier.

Honestly, sweet Verity Petit had a temper? Who knew.

What I said instead was, “No, no, you’re right. Back breathing is stupid.”

“It is!”

“So is shallow breathing.”

“It only makes everything worse!”

“You should just breathe.”

“That’s what I said!” she cried. “No one is watching me during the musical number anyway.”

“You know something?” I leaned forward. “You should sing along.”

---