The Lingering Grace Read Online Free Page A

had plenty of time.
     
     

     
     
    “You seem happy.”
    Tony grinned at her as she climbed into the car. He’d been picking her up for school every morning lately—her mother’s idea, oddly enough. She had casually suggested it one evening when Tony had been over watching a movie. “I just wish Jeremy’s school started a little later,” she had lamented. “It’s so hard to get him there by eight thirty when I have to drop Alice off halfway across the city at eight fifteen. But I won’t let her take those awful buses, and what other option is there?”
    This, of course, led to an immediate carpooling offer. Alice had initially protested, saying it was too much trouble for Tony to come pick her up when he didn’t have to be at his school until half-an-hour later. But she had, after all, said that to be polite. It hadn’t taken much convincing for Tony to change her mind. Anything that gave her an excuse to spend time with him was an easy sell.
    Her mom liked Tony. When he wasn’t around, she referred to him as “your cute boyfriend.” Alice was sure that “boyfriend” was the key word here; the fact that Alice had finally managed to snag one seemed to give her mother a sense of relief. And the fact that said boy was both smart and gorgeous gave her extra bragging rights at her weekly brunch with a few other neighborhood moms.
    “I do?” Alice asked, buckling herself into the seat. He could read her better than she was comfortable with.
    Tony pulled out of the driveway. “Yep. You walk differently when you’re happy. Bouncier.”
    “Hmm,” Alice murmured, self-conscious now.
    “So, what are you happy about? Did you get your essay done? What did you call it? ‘Everything No One Wanted to Know About Women’s Undergarments in Literature at the Turn of the Century’? ”
    She snorted. “Exactly the title I was looking for.”
    “So you finished it?”
    The essay was done, but it was far from her finest work. She’d powered through all four pages in about an hour at one in the morning. The bibliography was three references short of the required seven, and the essay itself was a page under the minimum. And that was even after adjusting the margins as much as she dared. Her English teacher, Mr. Segal, had a sharp eye and didn’t take kindly to font and margin tweaking. Alice would be lucky if she scraped by with a C. But as much as she tried to care, the idea of failing English hardly made her squirm. Compared to the elation she had felt last night, this distress hardly registered.
    “Yeah, it’s done,” she said.
    “Bet that’s a relief. Did you have to spend all night on it?”
    “I was up late.”
    “But you’re happy with it?”
    She hesitated; she was dying to blurt out everything. Instead, she simply said, “I’m happy.” The strain of containing the true source of her excitement was wearing on her. If she had thought that Tony would be even a little bit thrilled by the truth, she would have spilled it in a second.
    Tony glanced at her, and though he looked a little confused, he nodded and said, “Great.” Tony wasn’t stupid. He knew there was something she wasn’t telling him.
    They were stuck at a stoplight and Alice glanced at the clock. It would take them about ten minutes to get to school from here. Just ten more minutes with Tony.
    “Thanks again for your help. You really saved me,” she said, reaching out to squeeze his hand. He always drove left-handed, leaving his right conveniently free. She was positive this was not by accident.
    He relaxed and so did she. Seeing him smile at her was the only confirmation she needed that her plan was justified. She couldn’t risk losing him. She needed him—solid and kind and reassuring—holding her hand.
    “Well, you know what they say,” he said.
    “What do they say?”
    “That’s what boyfriends are for.” He didn’t often refer to himself as her boyfriend, and every time he did, it gave her a little thrill.
    “And what