Page 12 of Let It Be Me

She shrugs. “Yeah.”

“What did you make him?”

She pulls a face like this is a weird question. Which it is. “A sandwich.”

“Jeez, is it just me or is this dude weirdly obsessed with sandwiches?”

“It’s just you.”

“So what kind of sandwich did you make?”

“Calm down, it was nothing new. You know you’ll always be my guinea pig.”

This is embarrassingly reassuring. “Good. Anyone who eats at Stacks doesn’t deserve your culinary debuts.”

With that settled, we turn back to the box of CDs between us. I pick up a cracked R.E.M. case, but I can’t help wondering. Okay, so it wasn’t a new recipe, but honestly, if she made him the Lorenzo special—arugula, mozzarella, fig spread, and balsamic on ciabatta—I’m gonna have a problem. I press my lips together. I’m not going to act like a jealous, insecure douchebag over a sandwich. I open the CD case and slide the liner notes out, but I can’t focus enough to read them. Ruby’s never mentioned cooking for a guy before. I get a sinking feeling. What if this time it really is different? I put the notes back into the case and look at her.

“But seriously, Ruby. What sandwich was it?”

FIVE

ruby

Wednesday,after photography club, I head for Lorenzo’s, my stomach growling. With campus deserted for the summer, we’ve been grabbing dinner together almost every night, and even though I like his friends, I love having him to myself. I give a warning knock on Lorenzo’s door and let myself in. From across the kitchen, he waves, phone pressed to his ear.

“I’d need you for probably three days, Mom,” he’s saying, scraping a hand through his hair.

“Hi, Gina!” I call, leaning toward Lorenzo so his mom can hear me, and then I smile when I catch the high tones of her singsong voice. I adore Gina Rossi.

Lorenzo stiff-arms me to keep me away from his mother. “I can’t change the surgery date,” he says. He listens for her reply, then shakes his head quickly. “He has dates the following week, but I’m not waiting. I need this over with.”

He holds the phone away from his head and motions me toward the kitchen. “Have a snack if you want. We’re not going anywhere soon,” he says grimly and returns to the phone. I can’t hear Gina’s words, but the tone of her monologue is pleading. I do as told and move for the kitchen.

Lorenzo drops to the couch and sighs loudly. “You don’t have to be sorry,” he finally says. “And I know you want to be here. Obviously I want that, too, but I can’t put it on hold.”

Gina says something, and Lorenzo drops his head into his hand. I can’t believe it. I try to imagine what could keep Gina from taking care of her son after surgery but can’t come up with a thing.

“Don’t worry about it, Mom. I can get Cash or Cameron here for a couple days. They’re not gonna let me die.”

Cash Hartnell might be the most talented running back Shafer has had in years, but I wouldn’t trust him to correctly dispense heavy painkillers on his best day. Cam, Shafer’s wide receiver and definitely Lorenzo’s most responsible friend, would excel at the job. Too bad he’ll be in Atlanta all summer.

“Not Cam,” I volunteer. “Internship, remember?”

Lorenzo gives me a look like I’m killing his vibe. “I can hire an overnight nurse or whatever if I have to,” he says, apparently to both me and Gina.

I set down the folder of job-training materials I just picked up from campus and open the fridge, plucking a vanilla yogurt from the orderly row of yogurt cups. The idea of Lorenzo paying someone to help him get out of bed and prepare a few meals while I’m happily living a block away fills me with guilt. I can at least take the after-work shift. And I can spend this weekend whipping up a batch of freezer meals too. Why didn’t I think of that earlier?

“Alli?” Lorenzo says into the phone, his voice incredulous.

I look up, taking in his expression carefully. I haven’t missed hearing that name one bit.

Lorenzo shakes his head. “No. She’d do it, but ... just no.”

I snort. She’d do it, all right. She’d do it perfectly, and she wouldn’t smudge even a dab of that petal-pink lipstick she’s never left the house without.

Over on the couch, Lorenzo has completely sunk into himself. Ever since he found out about the surgery, he’s been trying to act like this is only a minor setback, when in reality he’s been working his ass off for months to avoid this very fate. Yesterday he got the worst news of his year, and he’s been trying to keep a smile on his face because on the same day, I got the best news of mine. The yogurt goes tasteless in my mouth, and I throw it in the trash.

“Put her on speaker,” I tell Lorenzo.

---