On The Run: Part Two

Chapter Twenty-Eight - "Delayed Gratification"

Chloe

I can’t explain it, but the minute I was thrown into the deep end, my nerves disappeared.

First of all, there was the fact that Sarah stuck by my side throughout. Then there was the fact that these people all simply wanted to talk about themselves! They began by being actively interested in who I was, where I’d popped out of, and deciding if they wanted to spend any of their precious time talking to me.

Then, they found a link – something that they could turn on themselves.

“I go to Fairless High.”

“Oh, really. My son does too. Adrian Rogers – you must know him; he takes AP Calculus. Honestly, I sometimes wonder to myself where he got those brains. I could barely do my multiplication!”

And the diatribes were endlessly positive. No one admitted to any negativity. They were all perfect – with perfect interests, perfect hobbies and absolutely perfect thoughts.

But you know what? That was what made it fun.

When Shannon O’Keeffe, actual great-granddaughter of Georgia O’Keeffe, said, “No, we own only a small portion of the Kerguelen Islands. Certainly not all of it! I’m afraid my husband’s a bit of a penny pincher.”

Sarah glanced at me and bit her lip to refrain from laughing, and I saw Jay roll his eyes when Shannon’s gaze was trained on me. Then I had to refrain from laughing.

People ate. People drank. They danced. And somehow, I didn’t feel that unnecessary unwanted attention – even though the night was about me. What does that say about people? But hey, I wasn’t complaining. I was at a party and there were so many people, I could barely keep track.

I didn’t even realize when it ended. One minute, I was saying goodbye to the mayor. The next, the house had emptied out, with the occasional guest still knocking back drinks at the bar, or making themselves at home.

I had no idea what people did after the party. All that built-up excitement; then what?

I found Trey lying on a deck chair outside staring into the pool.

“Hey,” I said, climbing in next to him.

He shifted, “Hey. Too early for a thorough feedback?”

I grinned, “I don’t know. It was really good, I thought. I had fun, but it felt . . . oddly familiar. I was nervous and then I wasn’t.”

He smiled, “I told you. This is where you belong.”

“What about you? You and Megan seemed to get along. And you and Katie. Actually, you got along with a lot of people.”

He chuckled, “Chloe, are you jealous?”

I snorted, “Yeah. Sure.”

He put his arm around my shoulders and said, “I’m glad I know you right now, while all of this is happening,” he was using the words I’d said to him when he was leaving for D.C.

I held onto his hanging hand, “Wouldn’t have been the same if you didn’t.”

Jay popped his head out through the French doors and said, “Hey, have you guys seen Sarah?”

“No, maybe she’s in her room or . . . I don’t know. I haven’t seen her.” The last time I’d seen her, she’d been talking to Jake. I didn’t have enough time to process the expression on her face, but as I thought back to it, I started to think maybe there was more. Maybe what I was missing was what was always there – that sadness that she hid behind the smiles and laughs.