“Really? Which shop?”
I hold my breath, knowing I’ll reveal now that I know her sister in some sort of way. I just don’t know how she’ll react. It shouldn’t matter at all, but it could. I still haven’t told Hudson I’ve been sleeping over at his girlfriend’s house the last few nights. I should probably bring that up.
I roll over onto my back, not wanting to look at her as I tell her. Her stucco ceiling provides me a distraction as I count my confidence in the little ridges.
One… Two… Three…
“Want to hear a funny story?” I don’t wait for her to respond before continuing. “I sort of know your sister.”
“Rae?” I nod. “What? How?” She’s up on her elbows now, staring down at me with curiosity.
“Has she told you about the new guy she’s dating?”
“Henry?”
“Huh?”
“Isn’t that his name? Or something like that. It starts with an H at least.”
“Hudson?”
She slaps her forehead. “Duh. That’s it. Hudson. Yeah, she’s told me some. She really likes him.”
“He’s my best friend, and boss.”
She’s quiet, eerily so. Then she’s all noise and movement.
“No, no, no,” she chants she flops onto her back, dramatically throwing an arm over her face. “There’s no way in hell this is happening.”
I peek over at her and frown, taking up the position she abandoned. “It bothers you?”
“Yes! But no.” She winces. “Yes. Is that bad? I just wanted something to myself, you know? This is going to sound weird, but I want to be able to bemewith you. Not Rae’s sister, not the schoolteacher—”
“You’re a teacher?” I interject.
A brief glance. “You’re the worst best friend ever.” An eye roll. “Yes, I’m a teacher of sorts. I own a childcare center, from infants to afterschool care up to grade six.” She waves a hand through the air. “Never mind all that. I didn’twantto be the teacher with you. I just wanted to be Nikki.”
“You really use her as your alter ego, huh?”
“Sometimes I have to,” she whispers.
Wow. Haley as a teacher. In a way, it’s surprising. In others, it’s not. It’s clear to see she’s a naturally happy person—usually—but a teacher? From what I can see, she’s messy, eclectic, spunky. I don’t know why, but when I think teacher, I think uptight, boring, clean. Trust me, I know it’s not accurate by any stretch of the imagination, especially since I know teachers have lives outside the classroom, but that doesn’t mean it’s not hard to wrap my head around. Seriously. Think back on one of your teachers. Where do you see them? At home drinking wine, watchingAmerican Horror Story, inviting strange men over to their house? No? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
However, based on the light that shines from her, I would bet she has a job where she makes people smile a lot, so what she does for a living fits.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about knowing Rae.”
“How many times have you met her?”
“A few. She’s…interesting.”
“Tell me about it,” she mutters. She rolls over to face me, tucking her hands under her head. “Please don’t judge me based on her.”
I drop down to mirror her pose. “I wouldn’t. And I promise to only think of you as Nikki from now on.”
One side of her mouth twitches. “No, don’t. I like being Haley. I just sometimes wish there were a happy medium.”
If she only knew how much her words are resonating with me right now. I want that, to find a place between my past and my present, between the two versions of me that exist, and then center myself there permanently. I just can’t get a good grasp on where the middle is.
