During the latest leg of our flight, I'd vowed this at least a dozen times, only to break that vow repeatedly by sulking like a petulant child.
No more.
If there was one thing I'd learned from growing up in a dysfunctional home, it was that bad moods were contagious. Already I'd contaminated Anna more than enough with my sorry attitude.
I needed to do better, starting now. In reply to her last statement, I summoned up a smile. "Maybe you're right. Either way, there's nothing we can do about it now, huh?"
But soon, my smile faltered. "I probably should've asked this hours ago, but how didyouget suckered into this?"
"I wasn't 'suckered'," she said. "I wanted to come."
"Why?"
She laughed. "Because I missed you. Is that so hard to believe?"
Given my current mood, I couldn’t imagineanyonemissing me.
Still, I appreciated the sentiment. "I missed you, too." And I meant it. Even though my time with Jack had been amazing, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'd been longing to spend more time with Anna.
And now I smiled for real. "Thanks for coming along, seriously."
"Don't thankme," she said. "It was Flynn's idea."
"More likeJack'sidea." I tried to laugh. "I'm pretty sure you're my baby-sitter."
She grinned. "It wouldn’t be the first time."
This much was true. But that was a long time ago, and I wasn't a kid anymore. I didn't need a babysitter even if selfishly, it was really nice to have Anna along.
I said, "Hey, can I ask you something? How much do you know about Jack?"
She laughed. "Not much asyoudo."
I wasn't so sure.After all, she was engaged to someone who'd known Jack for a lot longer than I had. "How about Flynn? What doesheknow?"
"More than he's saying, that's for sure."
I perked up. "Really? What makes you say that?"
"All right, get this," she said. "On the way to the airport, Flynn asked me to keep him updated on how you're doing."
I smiled. "Awwww—"
"Daily."As she said it, she gave me a significant look. "Gee, I wonder whothat'sfor."
Something squeezed at my heart. "So you think the updates are really for Jack?"
"Definitely," she said. "Not that Flynn doesn't care about you. I'm just saying, he wasveryspecific."
"Yeah, but even if your theory's right, does it really matter? I mean, it's probably just a pity thing."Or, he wanted to make sure that I didn't "blab."
"Oh, please," she said. "According to Flynn, Jack's crazy about you."
"Seriously?"
Anna nodded.
With a trembling laugh, I said, "And you just thought to mention this?"
