Page 7 of The House on Memory Lane

“What? Oh no, what did she do?”

Laney groaned, pushed herself into a sitting position, and reached for her tea. “She got Kyle to drive the tractor across the road today.”

She expected shock or dismay, but Evie just pursed her lips.

“Come on, that was inappropriate.”

Evie shook her head. “No, I get it. You’ve got stuff there you need to work through, and it’s not happening if you pretend he doesn’t exist.”

Laney gaped at her sister. Traitor. “There’s nothing to work through. He’s an ex-boyfriend. It’s awkward because it didn’t end amicably. I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Avoidance isn’t resolution.”

“It’s been twelve years, our relationship is most definitely resolved.”

“So you’ve moved on, healed your heart, fallen in love again?”

“Love is overrated.” Laney willed herself to stay calm. “I’ve moved on and found satisfying relationships, yes.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.”

“Tell me about your boyfriends.”

Laney wrinkled her nose.

“See? You don’t even like the word.”

They were interrupted just then by footsteps coming down the stairs, but Laney didn’t feel any relief. Evie on her own was one thing, but her sister and mother together would put on the full-court press. She thought of Kyle’s invitation. Should she stop in and visit? She didn’t agree that there was anything left to talk about, but she could acknowledge that it probably wasn’t healthy to be tense about a college boyfriend more than a decade later.

“Anyone want some cookies?” Claire hovered in the doorway.

Laney kept her eyes trained on her lap, watching her fingers worry the loose knit of the afghan. She didn’t want to catch her mother’s eyes just yet, didn’t want to invite her into a conversation Laney herself would prefer to get out of before it went any further. She didn’t want to be rude, though, and snack prep would buy a few more minutes. “Mmmm. Yes, please. Thanks, Mom.”

Evie waved their mother off and scooted to the edge of her seat, leaning toward Laney.

“You can’t tell me that you want to be alone forever.”

That pulled her up short. The last time she had used that word, she had been lying in Kyle’s bed. The decade in between faded away and she stood in the tiny one-bedroom apartment in Windsor, watching her younger self unwind naked limbs from Kyle’s lean frame.

“This is perfect. I’d like to stay in this moment forever.”

“You could stay forever. You could marry me.”

“You know I need to go to Harvard. It’s just for a year.”

“You could stay and do your master’s degree here.”

“And what if that’s not enough? What if I don’t get into medical school again? This is Harvard, Kyle. A once in a lifetime opportunity. I have to go.”

“What about us?”

“You could come with me.”

“I just got hired at the school board, you know I can’t leave.”

“Then I’ll be home on holidays, and you can come visit me at March Break. You’ll be able to concentrate on teaching, and then we’ll be reunited for good next summer.”

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