Chapter 3
Devan
I flop down on Marilyn’s childhood bed the way I’ve done a thousand times.
Staring around her room, I see that nothing has changed.
The same posters Marilyn tacked up on her walls during high school are still present.
I giggle at the sight of Mumford & Sons, remembering what a great time we had at that concert.
The door opens and my best friend comes inside. “I can’t tell if you’re happy about the interview or sad.”
Propping myself up on my elbows, I smile. “I think I’m both.”
“What does that mean?” she asks, sitting on the side of the full-size mattress.
Moving until I’m sitting with my legs crisscrossed, I let myself think about the next step.
You know. Moving on, being an adult. It’s scary, and I’m gravitating toward the idea of letting it happen in a place where I’m comfortable.
“No matter which job I take, the students will call me Miss Dunn. Isn’t that crazy? ”
Marilyn laughs. “I think that’s the way it works.”
I scrunch my nose. “Seventh graders are like twelve and thirteen years old. I’m only twenty-two. It’s weird.”
“Nine to ten years is a lot.” She wiggles her shoulders. “I can see it now. I bet all the boys will have a crush on Miss Dunn.”
“Not if I teach in Riverbend and they know of Ricky. He was my worst nightmare when it came to guys when I was young. They were all scared of him.”
Marilyn lies down on the bed and turns toward me, holding her head in her hand with her elbow on the bedspread. “That’s why you didn’t date much in high school. What’s your excuse for college?”
“I date. I guess.” Not a lot, but I’ve gone out. Shrugging, I assess. “Maybe I’m not datable material.”
Her eyes open wide. “Are you joking? Have you looked at yourself lately? You’re gorgeous. And not only that, but you’re also fun to be around. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have put up with you for the last four years.”
My smile turns to a pout. “I’m going to miss you.”
With her lips in a straight line, Marilyn nods. Our separation at the end of this semester is the giant elephant in the room. We both have plans even if mine aren’t set yet.
Before we can get all mushy and emotional, the door swings open, and our friend Jill appears. “I’m here,” she announces.
The room echoes with our screams as Marilyn and I scramble off the bed and we all hug.
Yes, there’s a bit of jumping too. The three of us were inseparable throughout our childhood.
And if you ask me, Jill was always the most beautiful.
Her auburn hair and green eyes make her eye-catching.
But just like what Marilyn said about me, it’s Jill’s outgoing personality that makes her special.
We were the good girls with good grades who got away with too much talking.
“I’m so glad you two came back this weekend,” Jill says. “I can’t take another Little 500 weekend in Bloomington.” She shakes her head, her long hair swinging across her back, and scrunches her nose. “I’d much rather spend the weekend here with the two of you.”
Softly, I push against her shoulder. “I didn’t tell anyone else we came to town. I was hoping to escape Riverbend and go to Bloomington. You know, check out the fun.”
Throwing her big bag on Marilyn’s bed, she takes a seat beside it. “At IU, Little 500 is amateur weekend. The parties are mostly filled with underclassmen.” Shaking her head, she adds, “Unless you’re imagining a night that ends with walking through puke, I suggest we come up with something better.”
“Eww,” Marilyn and I say together.
“Way to paint a disgusting word picture,” I say.
Jill lowers her chin while watching the two of us from behind veiled lashes. “I have something to tell you two, and before you get mad…I was waiting to see you in person.”
As her words come faster and faster, Marilyn and I look at one another and back to Jill.
“Oh my God,” Marilyn says. “You’re pregnant.”
Jill snickers and shakes her head.
“You got a job?” I ask.
“A summer one,” she answers. “My other news is more exciting.”
“What?” we both practically scream.
She lifts her left hand, revealing a modest yet pretty diamond.
Marilyn and I scream again as we rush toward her, tackling her as the room fills with laughter, oohs, ahs, and congratulations.
“I can’t believe Todd proposed,” I say, thinking out loud about how Jill and Todd have been an item since our sophomore year of high school. Well, he was a senior, and let me say, Jill’s mom, Suzy, wasn’t a fan. Luckily for Todd, Jill doesn’t have an intimidating older brother.
With all three of us sitting on the bed, Jill is nodding fast, and her smile is so big it spans the width of her face. “He asked me two weeks ago.”
“Two weeks,” Marilyn says, “and you didn’t tell us.”
She holds her left hand out and wiggles her fingers. The diamond glitters under the light. “It wasn’t something to tell my two best friends in a text or on Snapchat.”
I imagine receiving that text. She’s right, we would have been happy for her, but tackling her in person is better.
“How did he do it?”
“Do you have a date?”
“Which one of us is your maid of honor?”
We sling questions right and left.
“We went out to dinner in Indy” —she absolutely beams— “and after dinner, he suggested we go to the Circle for dessert. I love the South Bend Chocolate Company. Anyway, on the steps in front of the monument, he fell to one knee.” She brings her hands to her chest. “I started crying.”
It was probably a given that Jill would marry first, but at the same time, it’s hard to wrap my head around.
Married.
With a husband.
She’ll be a wife.
Jill goes on, “We’re thinking next summer. So, a year away. Todd will be done with his MBA.”
“What about your grad school?” I ask.
“I’ve applied to IUPUI. Todd lives in Indy, and now I’m moving in with him.” She looks at me. “Tell me that you’re taking the teaching job in Indy.”
I shrug. “I haven’t made a decision.”
“Devan got another offer,” Marilyn says, her eyebrows dancing.
“Wait. What?” Jill asks as she reaches for my hand. “I didn’t know you were even dating.”
“No,” I say, “not that kind of offer. Teaching. I had an interview today.”
Her forehead furrows. “Today? Before you got to Riverbend?”
Pressing my lips together, I shake my head.
Jill’s green eyes open wide. “Oh, here.” She hops off the bed. “Devan Dunn is moving back to Riverbend.”
“It’s not official,” I say. “I’m torn. Especially now that I know you’ll be in Indy.”
Her green eyes sparkle. “You do what is best for you. I’d love to live close, but if you come back here, Marilyn will still be in Bloomington, right between us. We can meet up there. And you can keep us up-to-date on all things in Riverbend.”
Marilyn’s eyes squint. “You just said that you don’t like being in Bloomington.”
“On Little 500 weekend. Trust me, there are plenty of nice grown-up, puke-free places to have a good time any other weekend of the year.”
Standing, I turn a circle and shake my head. “Oh my God,” I say, struck with the realization that it isn’t only happening to me. “You guys…”
They both turn my way.
“We are really grown-ups.” I scrunch my nose. “Aren’t we?”
“Not too fast,” Marilyn says. She turns to Jill. “Is Todd coming to Riverbend this weekend?”
“Nope. I told him I wanted some time with the two of you.” She rolls her eyes. “He’s insanely busy with his classes. I’ll head to Indy on Sunday and probably back to Bloomington Monday before class.”
Marilyn grins. “I’m curious if Mrs. Kohlberg is aware of your plans.”
“Mom’s excited about the engagement. She may or may not know I visit Indy regularly.”
We all laugh.
“Okay,” I say. “We order pizza and hang out in Marilyn’s bedroom, or we go do something.”
“Something,” Marilyn says with a smile looking around the room.
“Ideas?” I ask.
Jill responds, “Todd reminded me that tonight is the Gordons’ hog roast.”
“No,” I answer. “Remember, my visit is covert.”
“I forgot.” Jill grins. “I have an idea. We wait until it gets dark.” She opens Marilyn’s closet and starts looking through her things.
Jill pulls out a Purdue hoodie from when Marilyn’s older brother Marcus went to Purdue.
“And we go incognito. We can spy on our old classmates, see what’s happening that our moms haven’t told us. ”
Rolling my eyes, I say, “It will only be old people and people who never broke free.”
Jill stands her ground. “You know this hog roast is always a big deal, remember? We even went in high school. It’s the first party of the year, getting people out after the long winter.
I think it’s pretty cool Mrs. Gordon is carrying it on after Mr. Gordon died.
And some people have broken free but want to come back. Am I looking at one of those?”
Is she?
I don’t know.
Marilyn nudges me with her elbow. “Might be a good way to explore your thoughts about moving back.”
I take the hoodie from Jill’s grasp. “And you think wearing a sweatshirt from another school will fake out the people we’ve known all our lives?” I make eye contact with one friend and then the other, seeing the sparkle from both. “Okay, let’s do this!”
“Can you find two more sweatshirts?” Jill asks Marilyn.
“Are you kidding? My parents have enough Purdue and Ball State attire to clothe a small country.”
I pull the hoodie over my head.
It’s at least three sizes too big, and the hem lands in the middle of my thighs. Moving the hood over my head, I step in front of the full-length mirror. A genuine laugh bubbles out of me as I take in my reflection. “Oh right. Add darkness and sunglasses and it might work.”
Jill laughs. “Since it will be dark, we should probably skip the glasses.”
“Yes, and it will be after dark,” Marilyn says. “This will be fun. Just like old times.”
“If anyone asks,” I say, still looking at my reflection, “my name is Echo.”
“Echo?”
I shrug. “I just made it up. Seriously, my mom would be upset if she knew I came to town and didn’t tell her. I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”
“Did you hear someone?” Jill asks Marilyn.
They both laugh. “Not someone. I think it was an echo.”