Seventy-Two Hours Read Free Page B

away from the throng of
bystanders watching the parade.
    “God, Jenny, you reek of cigarettes. You
know how I feel about your smoking,” he stated with disapproval.
    I couldn’t meet his hazel eyes. “We broke up
last night. What are you doing here with my parents?”
    “I thought maybe you would have changed your
mind,” he said, rolling a stone under the toe of his Nikes.
    “No, I haven’t.”
    “Why haven’t you told your parents yet?”
    I shrugged. “I don’t know. They’ll try to
talk me out of it.”
    “You’re mom invited me over for a picnic.”
    “Are you coming?”
    “Maybe.”
    I finally pulled my hand from his. “You
can’t. I don’t want you to. You have your own family.”
    “I told my mom that you broke up with me.”
    I felt a twinge of regret. Whatever my mixed
up emotions were making me feel for Chris, I still loved his parents. His
father, Conrad, was the county game warden and was always joking around and
full of energy. He teased me incessantly, but it was all good-natured fun.
Chris’ mother, Marti (short for Martha,) was a teller at the local bank. She
was prone to having a more serious side, but was always kind to me. Always
made me feel like a part of their family.
    “What did she say?”
    “She told me you were scared of losing me to
some college girl.”
    I swallowed a lump. “You’re going to be in
Rochester and we’re too young to be tied down.”
    He reached out and stroked my hair and said,
“But I love you.”
    A tear rolled down my cheek. I brushed it
away with the back of my hand. “Chris, you don’t give me a minute to breathe.
You’re always with me. Smothering me.”
    “You’re my girlfriend and I want to be with
you. You should want to be with me.”
    “I’m 17 and you’re 18. Our lives are just beginning.”
    “I thought we wanted the same things for our
future. To be together.”
    “We’re not supposed to be connected at the
hip. We’re still kids.”
    His jaw clenched. He swallowed and
compressed his lips as he tried to maintain his composure.
    “You don’t do anything with your friends
anymore. Not even Scott.”
    “Do you love me, Jenny?”
    What was wrong with me if I said no? He was the
most beautiful boy at school. Thoughtful. Smart. Funny. Respectful.
Attentive and romantic. He was the complete package. Voted most likely to
succeed. Prom king. I knew I was the envy of a few girls from Chris’ class
and a few from my own for going out with him. When word got out that we were
broken up, he wouldn’t be at a loss for female attention.
    “Do we even know what love is?”
    “Just answer me. Damn it.”
    I took a deep breath and said what I didn’t
want to say, “Yes.” I wasn’t lying. I did love him. Only then, by verbally
admitting my feelings, he would assume we were going to pick up from where we’d
left off.
    And that’s exactly what happened. He draped
his arm around my waist and drew me against his tall form.
    “Things will get better. We’ll have a little
space while I’m away at college. All couples go through rough patches, Jenny,”
he told me against my ear. “You’ll see. I’ll try to give you breathing room.
I promise.”
    Before the parade ended, I was wearing his
class ring on my left ring finger again. The purple yarn I’d used to size it
down to fit my finger still wrapped around the bottom half.

Chapter Three
    Present Day
    I’d been sitting on the large dock listening to
the water lap rhythmically against the shore for the better part of an hour. A
relaxing sound for many. Sail boats and motor boats passed by with their crew
members offering friendly waves to me. Warm summer breezes rustled through the
leaves in the trees. It was all quite lovely. But even with my attempt at
turning lemons into lemonade, I was still completely raw with a mixture of
emotions I was too overwhelmed to make sense of.
    I hadn’t heard his approach so when he said,
“I made dinner,” I jumped.
    “I’m not hungry.” I