Page 28 of A Chance at Forever
“We’ll be there,” Danny promised.
The guys shook hands, slapped each other on the back, and parted for their homes.
Rusty parked in his driveway and glanced toward Victoria’s house enshrouded in darkness. She must be already asleep.
“It’s better if she’s not interested in me,” he muttered and unlocked his front door. “I don’t want to be another guy who breaks her heart.”
He loved the home he’d made for himself here, but a morose loneliness enveloped him as he climbed the stairs. Rusty blamed the feeling on the aftereffects of his illness. He undressed and fell into bed. Sleep came as soon as his head hit the pillow.
He woke up late the next morning and dragged himself out of bed. To stave off his lethargy, he exercised in one of the spare rooms he’d set up as a state-of-the-art home gym. Afterward, he took a shower and dressed in a pair of sweatpants and an old Broncos T-shirt. He went downstairs and concocted a protein shake. As he drank it, he graded a set of chemistry lab reports.
Alex called late in the afternoon to share the latest results of Rusty’s lab work. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
Rusty knew better than to sugarcoat the truth with his oldest friend. “Most days I’m wiped out. Some are worse than others. Today is a good day, relatively speaking. So, what are my results?”
“Good news. The last round of treatment is working. Keep taking your meds and try to avoid being around sick people. I know that’s hard to do at school.”
“How long, Alex? How long before the treatment is no longer effective?”
“You can’t think like that, Rusty. I’m making progress every day with my research.”
Sweet music floated through Rusty’s open windows. His ears perked up. “Yeah, okay. Gotta go, Alex. I’ll call you later.”
CHAPTER 9
Rusty strode acrossthe backyard and climbed the wooden steps to Victoria’s porch. He knocked on the kitchen door and waited. The beautiful piano melodies he’d heard stopped abruptly. Bud yipped. Victoria opened the door, and Bud pushed past her to jump on him.
“Hey, big boy! Miss me?” Rusty rubbed the dog’s head. He met Victoria’s blank stare. “Hi, neighbor.”
She rolled her eyes. “Come in.”
He glanced around the renovated kitchen. It sparkled with brand-new appliances, and the warm butter-colored walls created a soft ambiance. Yellow and white gingham curtains and decorations complemented the color scheme. “Steve and Danny did a fantastic job fixing up the place. I love your kitchen.”
“Would you like to see the rest of the house?”
“Sure.”
Victoria took him on a tour of the downstairs. When he saw the piano, Rusty remarked, “You play beautifully.”
“You heard me?” Her hand touched the gleaming black and white keys.
Rusty waved toward the open windows. “Mine are open, too. Airing out the house. It smells a little musty from my being gone all summer.”
He could tell from the distaste in her expression she didn’t like being reminded of how they met. “I’ll bet. Let me show you the library.”
Of all the rooms in the house, this one reflected Victoria’s personality the most. Rusty scanned the titles of the many books in her collection, noting her wide and varied interests. She could converse intelligently on a number of subjects, and that pleased him. Pictures of her and her family and her friends hung on the wall on either side of the windows facing the street. A stack of essays sat on her computer desk, along with a script for a play she’d been highlighting and annotating.
“We have a few students in common. They’re thrilled to have a real drama teacher.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Troy, Brian, and Kaylee?”
“Yeah. They love you.”
“I love them, too. They’re so bright and creative.”
They fell silent then, and the tour ended back in the kitchen. Rusty saw a loaf of freshly baked bread sitting on the kitchen counter and rubbed his stomach. “That looks delicious. I’ve only had a protein shake today. Gotta say I miss you bringing me food.”
A look of annoyance crossed her face. Marysville had one rule of hospitality. If a neighbor said he was hungry, you offered whatever you had on hand. Rusty expected Victoria to set a glass of tap water and saltines in front of him.
