“Gibsie’s basically the middle child, and Beth’s the baby.” Lips twitching into a small smile, he added, “He’s practically my brother.”
“So you guys sort of adopted him?” I grinned. “Like Master Splinter did with the turtles.”
His brown-eyed gaze flicked to me and his smirk deepened. “Pretty much.”
Hewas pretty. So pretty. “Hey, Hugh?”
“Hm?”
“I like you.”
“I like you, too, Liz,” he replied, pulling himself into a sitting position. “I wish you were in my class at school andnotmy sister’s.”
Mirroring his actions, I sat cross-legged, facing him, and smiled. “I want to be with you all the time.”
“Yeah.” His cheeks reddened when he nodded. “I want that, too.”
“Hey, Hugh?”
“Yeah, Liz?”
“You know the way Gibsie is going to ask Claire to marry him when they’re grown-up?” I shifted closer until our knees were touching. “Do you think you might ask me to marry you?”
Hugh stared at me for a long time before saying, “If I asked you, would you say yes?”
“Yes.” I nodded eagerly. “I would definitely say yes.”
He smiled. “That’s good to know.”
“Hey, Hugh?”
“Yeah, Liz.”
I pointed to the watch on his wrist. “Happy New Year.”
Hugh stared down at the face of his watch for a long moment before turning his attention back to me. And then, with red cheeks, he leaned in close and kissed my cheek. “Happy New Year, Liz.”
PART 3
Devastating Departures
MOVING ON AND MOVING IN
Hugh
APRIL 1, 1995
SITTING ON THE FOOTPATH ON OUR SIDE OF THE STREET, WE WATCHED AS A BIG, WHITEvan pulled into number nine. Keith and Mark Allen climbed out of the van. Rounding the back of the van, Keith opened the door and the two of them started to retrieve their moving boxes.
“Do you think it’s an April Fool’s prank?” Feely asked in a hopeful tone.
“I wish,” I replied.
“This fucking sucks,” Gibsie muttered, balancing the small, curly-haired toddler on his lap.
“Big, fat donkey balls,” Liz agreed with a sigh.
“Guys, don’t curse,” my sister scolded. “Not in front of Beth.”
