Page 35 of The Pink House

“What about you?”

Hannah shook her head. “Sitting in a boat or on a bank always seemed kind of boring to me. Even if I caught one, I’d just throw it back.”

Ignoring a prominently displayed warning sign, Mackenna tapped the glass side of a tank. “This is as close as I want to get.”

"Amen.”

The sentiment had Mackenna chuckling and slanting Hannah a sideways glance. “What have you been doing to keep yourself busy this week?”

Keeping busy had been her and Brian’s focus for nearly a decade. Maximizing time. Being productive. Taking advantage of every spare minute to get some work done.

“Nothing exciting,” Hannah answered. “A little baking, some cleaning and a whole lot of planning. I’ve also planted a few flowers and gone for a couple walks in the woods. What about you?”

“Work has been crazy. The days fly by. That’s the way I like it.” Mackenna paused in front of the catfish display and pointed with a long red nail to a particularly large flathead. “He reminds me of Mr. Petree.”

Hannah remembered their social studies teacher with his broad, jowly face and a mustache he’d greased and curled. She chuckled. “Very much so.”

“Hey, Petree.” Mackenna tapped on the glass, then shrugged when the fish swam off. “Brian was in that class with us. Remember? He and Charlie sat in the back.”

Now that her friend had brought it up, Hannah did remember. Of course, back in high school, she, even more so than Mackenna, had been firmly entrenched in what Hannah thought of as the middle tier of popularity.

Charlie and Brian had been at the top. The athletes. The good-looking guys who’d known how to have a good time. Boys who’d always had a pithy response.

When they’d gotten acquainted in college, Brian had told Hannah she’d always been on his radar. It was nice of him to say, but she wasn’t sure she believed him.

“Neither of them knew I existed.”

Mackenna laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“Neither of them did,” Hannah insisted, wondering why she’d brought Charlie into the conversation.

“You were the one who didn’t know they existed,” Mackenna said pointedly. “You were more into your studies than socializing.”

“That’s because no one asked me to do anything.” Hannah chuckled, not bitter, but not wanting to sugarcoat either.

“You had that air of ‘don’t ask’ back then.” Mackenna’s gaze grew thoughtful. “I’d have taken you with me to some of the parties, but you gave no indication of wanting to go. It was as if—and don’t take this the wrong way—such things were beneath you.”

The words brought a tiny pinprick of pain to Hannah’s heart. If she’d been more open to possibilities, could she and Brian have been together back then?

“I’m sorry, Hannah.” Mackenna grabbed her arm. “I didn’t mean to hurt your—”

“No, no,” Hannah hastened to reassure her. “You didn’t. Well, maybe a little, but only because I remember when Brian and I first started dating in college, he said something similar. I just fluffed it off because I thought, ‘No, I’m not like that.’ But maybe I was…”

“You knew who you were and what you wanted, even back then. A lot of kids lose their way in high school. You never did.”

“Maybe.” Hannah saw no reason to admit that she also hadn’t had much fun during those years. Still, college had been wonderful, as had her life with Brian, until his illness had blindsided them.

Gesturing to the double Ferris wheel in the distance, Hannah changed the subject. “The first time I went up in one of those, it was with you. Remember?”

Done with the fish, she and Mackenna made their way toward the large wheel. They skirted vendors selling toys that drew the eye but would likely fall apart in a week and those hawking various petitions needing signatures.

Every ten feet or so, they were stopped by someone who knew Mackenna. There would be introductions and polite conversation. Hannah hoped by next year as many people would stop to speak with her.

“It appears all paths lead to the Midway.” Hannah gestured with one hand toward the monster rides zipping and zooming through the air up ahead.

“Do you mind if we stop and get something to drink first?” Mackenna turned toward a village of white wooden food huts ahead. “I’m craving a frozen lemonade.”

Hannah smiled. “I could go for something cold.”

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