Chapter 6
SUSAN MADE SAM WAIT AN entire week. Sure, he’d seen her at school. She’d even saidhi, but her tone and actions made it clear she wasn’t open to further conversation.
Every class, every bell, every passing in the hallway was agony on Sam. How had he been such an idiot? If she wasn’t even speaking to him, was there hope of keeping a friendship at all? Had he acted too early? Too impulsively? Maybe he was confused. Maybe he wasn’t really in love with Susan, but they spent so much time together that he’d mixed things up.
“Sam?” his mother said outside his room just before she knocked softly on his door. “You have a visitor.”
Sam immediately stiffened. He’d been slogging through his homework with a single lamp in his room, as the shadows of twilight deepened around him. He hadn’t realized it was nearly ten o’clock on Friday night—which he’d spent alone. Who would be coming by this late?
There was no censure in Mother’s tone.
“Who is it?” he asked, his heart climbing his throat. It was likely a couple of his buddies, stopping by to see if he wanted to join them for sodas. They would have considered it too late to call his house in case his parents were sleeping.
“Susan,” his mother said.
Was it possible for a heart to suddenly stop beating, then start up again?
“All right,” he somehow managed to say in a semi-normal tone. “I’ll be right down.” He pushed up from his desk and glanced wildly about his room. Should he change clothing? Should he rush to the bathroom and check his hair? No...he’d be who he was right now. He didn’t need to spiff up to get rejected. He grabbed a mint from the small box on his desk. Then he was ready.
Walking down each step felt like he was descending to his doom. His life sentence. To hear the words of his judgment. His mother was nowhere to be seen, and Susan stood in the doorway of their living room, as if she was undecided if she wanted to come into the house or flee back to hers.
“Hi,” he said, his voice sounding scratched.
“Hi.” Susan’s eyes were wide as she surveyed him. She was dressed as if she were going to a party. She wore one of her nicer dresses, and her hair was styled with finger curls. She wore low-heeled pumps that made her a couple of inches taller.
“How are you?” she said after a long moment.
Sam rubbed the back of his neck. She was here, and that was something to be grateful for, right? “I’ve had better weeks.”
Her smile was tentative. “So have I.”
Now, what did that mean? Guilt crept in. He’d ruined their friendship, so of course she was probably hating him right now. But she’d been courteous enough to come over and end it officially in person.
“I’m sorry,” he ventured. “About everything. I never should have made you uncomfortable. I should have kept those thoughts to myself.”
Her brow furrowed, and she stepped toward the door.
Now what had he done? Before he could apologize for apologizing, she spoke. “Do you think we could talk outside?” She glanced past him.
His parents weren’t on the main floor, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be able to hear them in the quiet of the house. “Of course,” he said.
Susan turned and pushed through the door, Sam following. She didn’t stop on the porch, though. She continued across the front yard, then stopped under the group of trees at the corner of the property. They’d spent many afternoons lounging in the grass in the shade of these trees. Sometimes reading or playing games. Other times talking about outrageous future plans, all of which seemed laughable right now.
When Susan stopped, Sam stopped, leaving plenty of distance between them. They were back far enough from the street that if a car drove through the neighborhood, they’d stay concealed.
“Sam, I’ve been thinking about what you said...”
He folded his arms, creating some sort of protective barrier against her words and his emotions.
“And I like you too.” She released a breath, as if it had been a difficult thing to say.
He knew she liked him. They were best friends—or had been.
“And if you’re still asking, I want to go to the Spring Fling with you.”
Now this did surprise him. “As friends?” he blurted out before he could think reasonably. She’d just raised the flag of peace and he had to question it.
She smiled then, and he knew he’d give his right arm to know what was going on inside her head right now.
“Yes, as friends,” she said with a laugh.
But the laugh only pierced his chest like a hot fire poker.
“We’ve always been friends, Sam. Do you think that would change just because we’re going steady?”
Wait . . . “Steady? As in going on more than one date?”
Her smile grew. “If you’ll ask me. I suppose I could ask you too. I mean, it’s 1919.”
Sam blinked. Were Susan and her red hair and smile a mirage? Had he fallen asleep at his desk doing homework? Would he wake up in a couple of hours with a kinked neck and dry mouth?
He dragged a hand over his face, then refocused on her. “You want to go steady with me?” His voice was barely audible, but surely she heard it.
“I do.” She took a small step closer to him. “If you haven’t changed your mind?”
Sam laughed, mostly in surprise and relief. “I haven’t changed my mind. I’d never change my mind.”
“Good.” Susan was grinning now. “Because I want to try something.”
Race through the dark streets? Jump out of a tree? She could name it, and he’d do it.
“What do you want to—” His voice cut off when she closed the distance between him.
Placing her hands on his shoulders, she pushed up on her toes and pressed her mouth against his.
It all happened so fast, so unexpectedly, that Sam didn’t react at first. She drew away, releasing him, her eyes filled with vulnerability. He was still an idiot. She’d kissed him, and he’d done nothing. Well, she was still standing there, and so was he.
Sam moved his hands to her waist and pulled her close. Then he kissed her. She was much quicker to react, and her hands returned to his shoulders. The was definitely not an expert kiss, but there were plenty of fireworks. Mostly, his skin burned at the press of her body against his, and the softness of her lips, and the all-encompassing scent of Susan.
This time, when she drew away, she didn’t step out of his arms. He rested his forehead against hers. “Is that what you wanted to try?”
Her laughter was soft. “Yes.”
“And what did you think?”
“Well, you’re definitely not my brother.”
Sam smiled. “Definitely not.” Then he kissed her again.
After he walked Susan home that night, Sam wasn’t sure his feet actually touched the ground as he headed back to his house. He couldn’t have dreamed up a better scenario, and he’d be surprised if he slept at all that night. Or the next night, or the next.
By the time Monday afternoon rolled around, everyone at school knew they were an item. Susan had held his hand in the hallways, and Sam wasn’t about to protest. His head was in the clouds, his heart was soaring, and his feet barely touched the ground. His friends teased him, but he didn’t care.
Susan was going steady with him, and nothing could change his elation.
Until the night before the Spring Fling. When she showed up at his doorstep right after the dinner hour, her cheeks stained with tears, Sam ushered her onto the porch.
“What’s wrong?”
“My dad lost his job this morning,” Susan said. “He’s been making phone calls all over the city, but there’s nothing.”
Sam felt like he’d been kicked in the gut. Her father had undergone more than one pay cut at work, a fact that Susan only knew because she’d overheard a conversation between her parents. They’d been economizing, like everyone had.
“But it’s worse than I thought,” she said in a quiet voice, her eyes focused on the porch. “I overheard my parents talking. They haven’t been able to pay their mortgage for the last three months.”
Sam frowned. “Oh no.”
Susan gave a short nod. “We’re going to be kicked out,” she whispered. “The bank isn’t going to keep floating us.”
He swallowed hard, his mind racing. Susan had an aunt in the city, but she lived in a small apartment.
“You could live here,” Sam said. “We’ll make room. My parents would be happy to accommodate.”
Susan lifted her chin, but her eyes were sad. “The six of us wouldn’t fit. Besides, my dad’s pride wouldn’t allow it. My mom is making phone calls too. She might work at the bakery.”
They both knew there weren’t jobs at the bakery. Susan’s mom might get a few hours, but that wouldn’t pay a mortgage. New tears started down her cheeks, and Sam pulled her into his arms for a tight hug.
She cried against his chest for a few moments until she was able to steady her breath. “I have savings,” he whispered against her ear. “And I can sell my baseball card collection.”
Susan drew away and shook her head. “I’m not going to use your savings. Besides, we need a long-term solution. We’ll figure something out. We just have to have faith.”
Sam had to hold on to her words because the alternative was too painful to think about.
“I’ll talk to my parents,” he said. “Maybe my dad will have some things in mind.”
Susan shrugged. “Maybe.” But there was no hope in her eyes. “I don’t know if I should go to the Spring Fling. It seems inconsiderate to go to a dance when my parents might be losing the house.”
Sam dragged in a breath and grasped her hand. “We’ll do whatever you want. Just let me know.”
Her eyes glimmered with new tears as she lifted up on her toes and kissed him. Right there in front of the whole neighborhood.
Sam’s heart skipped a couple of beats. He’d never get tired of Susan’s kisses, or her touch.
“Thanks for understanding, Sam.”
He nodded, ignoring the tight twist of regret in his stomach. The Spring Fling didn’t matter. Susan and her family did. And if she felt like she needed to focus on their predicament, then dances could wait. There’d be more.
The following afternoon, Sam had mostly forgotten about the dance, since he was caught up in scouring the newspapers for job opportunities he could pass along to Susan’s dad. He even called to inquire on a few, but was told the positions were no longer available.
When a knock sounded on the door, he was the one to answer it since his parents were both out of the house.
Susan stood on the porch, wearing a blue floral dress. Her eyes danced and her mouth curved in amusement at his expression.
“Surprise,” she said in a light tone. “We’re going to the Spring Fling.”
“We are?”
She nodded. “My dad found a job.” Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes glimmered with unshed tears.
“That’s amazing, where?” he asked.
She hesitated, then her voice trembled as she said, “It’s in Nevada, so we’ll have to move. We’re going to live with my uncle, and my dad’s working for him.”
Sam couldn’t have been more shocked. “Nevada? When?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Soon. We’ll finish out the school year there.”
His mind reeled. “Maybe you can stay here to finish? It would be hard to—”
Susan stepped close and kissed his cheek. Then she took his hand. “I have to go with my family, but we’ll write all the time. And we’ll figure out how to see each other in the summer.”
Questions raced through him, but he could see that her emotions were already on the surface. As were his. He squeezed her hand. “I’ll get ready.”