Page 119 of Old Acquaintances

“Nah, I think he has some summer classes.” Then Johnny would talk about some superhero movie he wanted to see.

I asked my mom over Easter, “Did Lori say if Tucker has a job lined up?”

She spread icing on a cake. “Um…I don’t think so. She said something about him possibly going to Savannah?”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Who does he know in Savannah?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is he dating anyone?”

“I don’t know.” She finally paused her movements. “Why don’t you ask him all of this?”

I remember feeling hot at the suggestion because the next words out of my mouth were: “I mean, we’re not really friends, I was just curious.”

I was afraid of the future and our friend group disbanding because it meant losing Tucker. I didn’t want to catch up with him on the phone - I needed to be around him.

When my car broke down, he showed up. When I was in a panic, he soothed me. When I needed a date or a favor, he rose to the occasion. I cried myself to sleep and woke up alone, finding him just when I needed comfort. Tucker used to make me feel special, to tell me every day that he thought I was beautiful, and I only found myself appreciating it once it was gone.

I knew I’d see him at the wedding.

Gracie and Steven got married in early June, right after I graduated. They had a wedding in Greenville, in the mountains. I remember askingwhyit had to be June. Why it had to be outside, in South Carolina, in the heat.

“Do not question my choices!” Gracie laid into me while we all sat around stuffing invitations.

When the rehearsal came around on Friday afternoon, I arrived from Alabama, where I’d just been setting up my new apartment. I walked in casually, in jean shorts and a crop top, to the gravel courtyard where my family stood beside a rectangular fountain.

Gracie huffed, “Great. She’s lateandshe’s dressed for the rodeo.”

Everyone else looked nice. I lifted my sunglasses and said, “It’s eighty-five degrees out.”

She whined, “And it’s my wedding!”

I rolled my eyes and looked around. “What are we waiting for?”

Steven answered, “We were waiting on you, now we’re just waiting on Tucker.”

“At least he’s dressed appropriately,” Gracie said.

I turned around to see him jogging past the building. His hair shined in the sun and his button-down shirt crinkled, his skin glowing and eyes bright. He slowed down when he saw me. He smiled. He might have even stuck his hand to his chest like his breath stopped, but I might have misinterpreted that.

They had all been waiting on him for our siblings’ wedding, but he ignored them, walking up to me. It had been months since I’d seen him. Maybe even a year.

“Hey,” he breathed. His eyes smiled.

My cheeks pinched. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

Gracie clapped. “Okay! They’re here, let’s do this!”

Tucker stared at me. I stared back. I wanted him to hug me or hold my hand, something, but we had never done that. Johnny would have swung an arm around my shoulder. Tucker only picked me up when it was part of our game. The game where he pretended to be in love with me.

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