Nick got up, grabbed his book bag, and walked around the library table until he was standing behind her, pretending to peruse her calculus homework. His nearness made all the numbers blur, and not only that, the entire library spun around her. He bent down and whispered in her ear, “I’m falling in love with you.”
And then, before she could catch her breath or her balance, he walked away. Leaving her reeling.
“Come on,” Rachel’s voice startled her, bringing her back to the backyard full of her family and friends, “everyone wants to say hi.”
As Darla let Rachel pull her into the fun, she couldn’t help thinking that ever since she’d touched down, Nick had been everywhere, filling her senses and her life. She was riding an emotional rollercoaster. How could she get off?
* * *
“Darla, honey, there you are! My baby girl’s home!”
A slight shiver went through Nick as Darla’s mother called out across the lawn and Darla ran to greet her. Tricia Manning was a force. A fiercely dedicated neonatal ICU nurse, she had standing up for the underdog baked into her nature, professionally and personally.
That’s not what scared him. Nor did her often stoic expression or her short, no-nonsense haircut and personality to match. It was the fact that she’d never, after all these years, forgiven him for all the grief of the divorce. Which she blamed him for exclusively. And try as he might over the past decade, he could do nothing to get into her good graces. Oh, she wasn’t terribly rude. And she still talked to him, which was a plus. It was just that she conveyed with practically every sentence how much he wasn’t her favorite person.
He tried not to hold a ten-year grudge against her, because Nick didn’t hold grudges against anyone. Except she’d done one thing he had trouble forgetting, even if he’d forgiven it. She’d made sure he didn’t get within a mile of Darla during her chemo treatments.
It still left a bitter taste in his mouth, because he’d always felt that Darla hadn’t had a say. Even though he hadn’t been on Darla’s Favorite Person list back then, he’d desperately wanted her to know that he still cared. Darla never knew how hard he’d tried to help her during that rough year.
Tricia was hugging Darla and patting her back, and they were both crying.
“You look thin,” her mom said, holding her at arm’s length. “And your hair is so long. It’s so good to see you, honey!”
It was great to see her. Just seeing her walk out of the house just now made him emotional, brought him back to older times. He needed to get a grip.
“You too, Mom.” Darla half laughed and half choked. “But I can’t breathe.”
“Oh, sorry, I just can’t help myself.” As Tricia released her daughter, she looked over and saw Nick standing there. The smile immediately faded from her face. “Hi there, Nick,” she said, with about .001 percent of the enthusiasm she’d just expended on her daughter.
“Hey, Mrs. Manning.” He forced a little smile. And yes, he wasn’t proud of it, but he still called his former mother-in-law Mrs. Manning, just like he had when he was eighteen.
She turned immediately back to Darla. “Carol Drake from the realty office let it slip that your house is about to go up on the market. Are you really leaving us?”
What? Nick darted his gaze to Darla, who suddenly turned the color of the geraniums growing alongside the patio.
“I was going to tell you when I got in yesterday,” Darla said hurriedly, “but you were at work.”
“Tell us what?” Hadley piped in as she and Kit walked up.
“You’re selling your house?” Kit asked.
Everyone had gathered around. Darla let out a heavy sigh and addressed her best friends. “My writer-in-residence year at Stanford went really well,” she said, “and they invited me to stay on as faculty and teach some classes. It’s an opportunity to help create a new track in their writing program. I’m really excited.”
Nick knew exactly what excited sounded like for Darla, and what he was hearing didn’t jive. She seemed to be trying hard to sell her new adventure to everyone. Or maybe he was just completely thrown.
“I planned to say something,” she continued, “but then the wedding was such a surprise, and I—I just didn’t think the timing was right.” She turned back to her mom. “It was a great honor to be asked. Like you’ve always said, financial security is important, and being a writer—”
“You’re moving across the country?” Rachel looked stunned.
Tricia wrung her hands nervously.
Nick felt a little shocked himself, but part of him almost smiled. Tricia had always been worried about Darla becoming a writer for financial reasons. But Darla had done it anyway and made a great success of it. So he knew that money wasn’t an issue, but it was an angle her mom would understand.
But why was she leaving? Was there a guy in California? What else could possibly take her away from her family and her posse of friends who were closer than sisters?
“I’m so proud they want you to keep teaching,” Tricia said. “It’s just…so far away.”
“Really far away,” Hadley said with a sigh.
“Wait—you’re leaving?” Kit said, as if her brain had to catch up with her emotions. “You’re actually leaving?”
“That wasn’t the plan,” Hadley said. “All of us were supposed to be together, remember?” She paused. “I’m sorry,” she backpedaled, rubbing her temples. “It must be the wedding stress. That sounded really selfish. I’m just a little shocked.”
“We’ll miss you, Darla,” Alex said. “But, wow, Stanford. And to think, I remember when you used to doodle plot points on napkins in the high school cafeteria. Just like J. K. Rowling.”
“Those weren’t plot points,” Hadley corrected. “They were notes she was passing to Nick.”
Darla didn’t look happy about that comment.
Tony seemed to be quietly taking everything in. He was also staring at Nick over his beer. When Nick caught his eye, he lifted his brow in question. Nick didn’t get a chance to respond because Tricia spoke again.
“What about your medical records?” she asked. “Dr. Ag knows you so well and—”
“Mom,” Darla said quickly, “Stanford has one of the best cancer hospitals in the world.”
Tricia looked like she was fighting tears. “It’s just…well, to be frank, after all you’ve been through, I thought we’d have you close to home.”
Yeah, Nick got that. In fact, he thought about it a lot, the fact that they’d almost lost her. Actually, he personally almost lost her twice—once to divorce, and nearly again from the cancer. Ironically, the loss from the divorce was the more permanent one.
Darla seemed at a loss for words. Teddy tapped on Darla’s leg while he wiggled his butt. “I got to go to the bafroom again. C’mon, Auntie, help me.”
Darla looked down at Teddy’s earnest little face and smiled. “Oh, that’s so exciting. Let’s go!” Teddy immediately took her hand and started pulling her away, and Darla seemed way too happy to go.
“I’m going to go get the burgers from Greg,” Rachel said, also seeming eager to leave. Their friends went into a semi-huddle, processing the big news.