Page 57 of Lovebug
Do I sound defensive?
“But you did prudence-prance?”
“No way, mister!Prudence-pranced? What are you even talking about?”
“Why are you suddenly calling me mister?”
“Because I—unlike some people—have manners. Plus, you’re my elder.”
“Your elder? I’m yourelder?” he chortles.
“Yes! I mean, I think so? You seem older than me. You’ve got this sort of… grizzly thing going on? And you’re so confident and sturdy and—”
“Thank you for the compliments, ma’am.”
“I don’t know if I’d consider them compliments. You’re just so—”
“How old are you, Mabel?”
“Twenty-four.”
“Really!” He seems genuinely surprised, then offers me his hand so I can lower myself safely into the rowboat. I take it and get myself settled on the side farthest from the oars.
He stands, staring at me from the dock.
“What?” I ask, looking up at him and bracing myself for some snide comment about… about what, I don’t know. I can’t keep up with the way this guy’s mind works, but I’m bracing myself for the worst all the same.
“Just… you’ve accomplished a lot for being so young.”
“Oh.” I feel my body relax a smidge. “You think so?”
“Absolutely,” he says as he climbs in, unfastens the ropes from the dock, and shoves us out onto the water. “You’re twenty-four and already a fully licensed entomologist?”
“I am, yeah,” I say, pride sneaking into my voice. “Wait. How do you know that?”
“I have my ways.”
“Okay…” I stretch the word out and wait for him to elaborate. From the look on his face, though, that won’t be happening anytime soon.
I watch him row, his strong arms propelling us across the water.
“So,” he says. “Tell me more.”
“About what?”
“About you. About how you became a twenty-four-year-old entomologist.”
I always feel a bit shy talking about myself in this way. “It’s not a big deal. I doubled up on credits and graduated high school a year and a half early, then headed straight to undergrad, and after that, I dived into my masters. Just finished.”
“Impressive,” he whistles under his breath.
“Nah. Just eager, I guess.” Self-deprecation is my specialty it seems.
“Eager for what?”
“To get my life going on my own terms?”
He pauses and looks me square in the eyes for a moment.
