Page 31 of Just a Heartbeat Away

“Sorry,” he muttered, dragging a hand over his face. “I really wish I hadn’t said that in the middle of a public school.”

“On a workday,” she added, biting her lip to keep her smile inside.

“To my son’s former preschool teacher.”

“And soon-to-be guidance counselor.”

He groaned and took a step backward. “On that note, I think I’ll quit while I’m way, horrifyingly behind.”

“Have a good weekend, Sebastian.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow at the game, though, right?”

“Oh.” The papers in her hands crumpled a little and she smoothed them out. “Great.”

THEDRAFTYFEELINGhad subsided a bit as the week went on, though Via couldn’t help but feel as if that were just a coincidence. Her life was almost too busy these days to indulge in the melancholy. Especially since she was attending a yoga class every day, before or after school, to prepare for leading the yoga lesson at next Monday’s staff meeting.

Regardless of why the feeling was subsiding, Via was just glad that it was.

Her conversation with Evan, however, was not subsiding. It bothered her that he thought she didn’t have friends at school. She’d joined softball! She was going to happy hours! She joked around at the Xerox machine with Cat! She’d started eating lunch in the teacher’s lounge a few times a week. She’d even recently shared a sandwich with Grace, who’d forgotten her lunch at home. That was a big deal for Via, sharing food with someone. See! She had friends!

But why would Evan’s words haunt her so much if they were patently false? She couldn’t help but wonder if, at least partly, he was right. If, on some level, this internal checklist she’d been working her way down wasn’t actually producing real friends, but some polite facsimile of friends. Like in a sci-fi movie with robots who looked just like people. What did they call those? Androids.

Via was starting to worry that Evan was right. She hadn’t made any friends at school, she’d just made herself join in on a lot of activities and instead of cultivating real relationships, she’d made herself into a friend-droid.

Determined to rectify this as quickly as possible, Via invited Sadie to go see a movie on Sunday afternoon. Sadie had enthusiastically agreed, easing some of Via’s worries.

The two of them suffered through an Oscar contender at the Cobble Hill theater. Via enjoyed the movie theater itself—with its tiny screens and red velvet seating—considerably more than the actual movie. She was glad to hear that Sadie felt the same.

“I’m so glad we spent an afternoon getting an inside look at that very famous and already well-documented historical figure’s private life,” Sadie said sarcastically.

“And I’m very glad we got to see the very famous, very rich actor who played him try his hardest to win an Oscar.”

Sadie laughed and then fixed her face into a sage expression. “Yes, I think we’re better for it.” She rolled her eyes. “We should have seen a chick flick.”

“Definitely,” Via agreed.

“Next time we won’t try to impress each other with our good taste and we’ll go see a movie we actually want to see.” Sadie winked at Via. “Ooh! I love the burgers at this place. You hungry?”

Via blinked for a moment. They’d been strolling casually down Court Street, the chic clothing shops with their linen pants and delicate gold jewelry sort of blending into one long window of fashion. They hadn’t made plans past the movie and Via had been unsure if Sadie was ready to go home or what, but there she was, holding open the door to a burger joint, a huge grin on her face, her red hair tousling in the wind.Want a burger? Let’s eat!Easy as pie.

“Oh! Yes. Sure!” Via wasn’t hungry due to compulsive popcorn eating, but she was not about to pass up this opportunity.

Moments later they were seated in a booth and Sadie was dazzling their twentysomething waiter with her smile and a flirty flip of her hair.

“Sunday afternoon beer?” she asked Via.

“Sure.” That was very uncommon for Via, but it kind of sounded fun.

The women ordered and chatted idly about school. Via hoped Sadie was having a good time. A few minutes later, when Sadie came back from the bathroom, her face was contorted into a mask of horror as she slid back into the booth.

“Is that a Christmas song playing over the radio? How dare they! The leaves are barely turning yet!”

Via smiled at Sadie’s outrage. “Not a Christmas fan?”

Sadie shrugged. “Rae is Muslim and I don’t celebrate anything really. My family was never big on Christmas. We’re more of a Thanksgiving group of folks.”

Via laughed at the snarl on Sadie’s face. “I can see from your expression just how much you love the holidays.”

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