“What are you doing?” T.J. asked.

“I’m going for a run.”

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Chapter 54 – T.J.

I carried the last box up the stairs to Anna’s new place, a small one-bedroom apartment fifteen minutes from Sarah and David.

“Where do you want this one?” I asked when I walked through the door, shaking the rain from my hair.

“Just set it down anywhere.” She handed me a towel and I stripped off my wet T-shirt and dried myself off.

“I’m trying to find the sheets,” Anna said. “They delivered the bed while you were gone.” We searched until we found them, and I helped her put them on.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. She returned with a small object and set it on the nightstand, plugging it into a nearby outlet.

“What’s that?” I asked, lying down on the bed.

She pushed a button and the sound of ocean waves filled the room, almost drowning out the rain that beat against the window.

“It’s a sound machine. I ordered it from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.”

She stretched out beside me. I reached for her hand and kissed the back of it, then pulled her toward me. She relaxed, her body melting into mine.

“I’m happy. Are you happy, Anna?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

I held her in my arms. Listening to the rain and the crash of the waves, I could almost pretend we were still on the island and nothing had changed.

She didn’t ask me to move in; I just never left. I spent a few nights at home, because it made my parents happy, and Anna and I stopped by a lot to hang out or have dinner. Anna took Grace and Alexis shopping a couple of times, which thrilled them both.

She wouldn’t take any money for rent so I paid for everything else, which she barely allowed. I had a trust fund my parents set up when I was younger. I would have had access to it when I turned eighteen and the money was mine now. The balance in the account would easily cover living expenses, a car, and the cost of my college education. My parents wanted to know – and they asked me all the time – what my plans were, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Anna hadn’t said anything, but I knew she wanted me to start working on my GED.

People sometimes recognized us, especially when we were together, but Anna slowly became more comfortable being out in public. We always went outside, to the park and on long walks, even though spring was still weeks away. We went to the movies and sometimes out for lunch or dinner, but Anna liked eating at home. She cooked me anything I wanted, and I slowly gained weight. She did, too. When I ran my hands over her body, I didn’t feel bones anymore. I felt soft curves.

At night, Anna laced up her running shoes and ran almost to exhaustion. She returned to the apartment, stripped off her sweaty clothes, and took a long, hot shower, joining me in bed afterward. She had just enough energy to make love and then she crashed, sleeping soundly. She still had the occasional nightmare or trouble falling asleep but nothing like before.

I liked our routine. I had no desire to change it.

***

“Ben invited me to spend the weekend with him,” I told Anna over breakfast a few weeks later.

“He’s at the University of Iowa, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I love that campus. You’ll have a great time.”

“I’m leaving Friday. I’m catching a ride with a friend of his.”

“Check out the school, not just the bars. You might want to consider going there after you finish your GED.”

I didn’t tell Anna I had no interest in a college that was in another state, away from her. Or any interest in college at all, actually.

***

A wobbly six-foot-high beer can pyramid stood in the corner of Ben’s dorm room. I stepped over empty pizza boxes and piles of dirty laundry. Textbooks, tennis shoes, and empty Mountain Dew bottles covered every inch of the floor.

“Jesus, how can you stand this?” I asked. “And did someone take a piss in your elevator?”

“Probably,” Ben replied. “Here’s your ID.”

I squinted at the driver’s license. “Since when am I five-eight, blond, and twenty-seven?”

“Since now. Are you ready to go to the bar?”

“Sure. Where do you want me to put my stuff?”

“Who cares, dude.” Ben’s roommate had gone home for the weekend so I threw my duffel bag on his bed and followed Ben out the door.

“Let’s take the stairs,” I said.

We had a good buzz going by nine o’clock. I checked my cell but there were no messages from Anna. I thought about calling her, but I knew Ben would give me shit about it so I put my phone back in my pocket.

He invited some people over to our table to do shots. No one recognized me. I blended into the crowd like any other college student, which was exactly the way I wanted it.

I sat between two very drunk girls. One of them downed a shot of vodka while the other paused, holding the glass to her lips. She leaned toward me, her eyes glassy, and said, “You’re really hot.” Then she set the shot down and puked all over the table. I jumped up and pushed my chair back.

Ben motioned for me to follow him and we walked out of the bar. I took deep breaths of the cold air to clear the smell out of my nose.

“You want to get something to eat?” he asked me.

“Always.”

“Pizza?”

“Sure.”

We sat at a table in the back. “Anna told me to check out the campus. She said I should think about coming here after I get my GED.”

“Dude, that’d be awesome. We could get our own place. Are you gonna?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

I was drunk enough to be honest with Ben. “I just want to be with her.”

“Anna?”

“Yes, dumbass. Who else?”

“What’s she want?”

The waitress came to our table and set a large pepperoni and sausage pizza down in front of us. I put two pieces on my plate and said, “I’m not sure.”

“Are you talking, like, get married and have a kid with her?”

“I’d marry her tomorrow.” I took a bite of my pizza. “Maybe we could wait a little while for the kid.”

“Will she wait?”

“I don’t know.”

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Chapter 55 – Anna

Stefani and I ordered a glass of wine at the bar while we waited for a table.

“So T.J. went to visit his friend this weekend?” Stefani asked.

“Yes.” I glanced at my watch. 8:03. “My guess is they’re heading full speed toward wasted right now. At least I hope so.”

“You don’t care if he gets trashed?”

“Do you remember what we did in college?”

Stefani smiled. “How is it that we never got arrested?”

“Short skirts and dumb luck.” I took a sip of my wine. “I want T.J. to have those experiences. I don’t want him to feel like he’s missed out.”

“Are you trying to convince yourself, or me?”

“I’m not trying to convince anyone. I just don’t want to hold him back.”

“Rob and I want to meet him. If he’s important to you we’d like to get to know him.”

“Thanks. That’s really nice of you, Stef.”

“The bartender put two more glasses of wine in front of us. “These are from the guys sitting over in the corner.”

Stefani waited a minute and then grabbed her purse hanging on the back of her chair. She rummaged around inside and pulled out a mirror and lipstick, turning back around.

“Well?”

“They’re good-looking.”