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“Being an actress all the time would be hard.”

“That’s what I did in high school,” Arabella blurted. She flushed and

looked away when June glanced at her. “I mean, that’s… I know we

shouldn’t talk about that.”

They passed by the huge stretch of water and June’s attention was

momentarily distracted by a major duck fight going down on the water. She

thought it was a fight. Two ducks were quacking the heck out of the place.

They were just giving it to each other. They weren’t beating wings or doing

anything physical. Maybe it wasn’t so much a fight as a telling each other

off. She laughed at the wild quacking and Arabella joined in.

When they’d walked past, June remembered what they’d been talking

about. “It’s not that we shouldn’t. I want to make sure you’re okay with it.

That we’re not beating a dead horse. You can talk about it. I don’t need to

from my end, and Summer doesn’t need to. That’s all I meant before.”

Arabella bit her bottom lip and nodded. “In high school, I was always

putting on a mask and pretending to be something and someone I wasn’t. I

was so much happier when I graduated and didn’t have to do that. I know

exactly how my mom felt. She didn’t leave that life by choice, but when she

was forced out, she actually found the other side to be alright. Aside from

the worries about other things.”

“How’s your dad doing?”

Arabella hesitated. “He’s okay.”

June wanted to ask about things that weren’t her business, like how

Arabella was coping with getting her parents insurance and the hospital

bills and if she needed help, but she didn’t want to be nosey or pushy.

Arabella wasn’t a proud person, but everyone had their pride, and she didn’t

want to go too far too soon. Pacing. But what was the right pacing for

wanting to help someone you cared about?

“So. Not meeting the parents this week or next week. Maybe not the

week after or the week after that,” Arabella said, bringing them back to her