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CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

JADE

I wait for Garret on the bench outside of the science building. It’s warm and sunny today with a light breeze. I’m looking forward to having weather like this year-round instead of freezing for half of the year. I’ve had enough long, cold winters in my life. I don’t need to experience any more of them. I will miss having snow but Garret’s promised me trips to the mountains whenever I need a snow fix. That’s what’s great about California. You get sunny beaches and snowy mountains all in the same state.

I spot Garret walking toward me and I get that fluttery, excited feeling inside. I see him all the time and he still gets to me this way. He has on light-colored shorts and a navy polo shirt, his backpack hanging off his shoulder and sunglasses on his face. He looks like an ad for an Ivy League college, a little preppy but also super hot with his tan skin and muscular arms.

“How was class?” He leans down and gives me a kiss.

I kiss him back, lingering a bit. Okay, a lot. What can I say? I love kissing him.

When I let him go, he’s smiling at me. “Did you miss me or something? I just saw you two hours ago.”

“Sorry, I won’t do it again.” I take my coffee from him and grab his hand and drag him to the bench to sit down.

“I’m kidding. I like it. I’ll take another one.” He puts his arm up behind me on the bench.

“Maybe later.” I sip my coffee.

He rubs my shoulder. “How’s the coffee?”

“It’s really good. Where’d you get this?”

“At a place just down the hill, right by campus. Campus Brew or Cafe Brew. Something Brew. Anyway, we should go there for lunch. They have a lot of different sandwiches and they’re made with homemade bread.”

I look at him funny. “Did you study the menu or something?”

“One of the servers was trying to get me to eat lunch there and she mentioned that the bread was homemade.”

“I don’t have much time for lunch today. I have lab at 1 and I need to get there early. But you could go there for lunch. We don’t have to eat together. I’ll just find something on campus.”

“I’m eating lunch with my wife.” He turns my face toward his and kisses me. “So stop trying to get rid of me.”

“I’m not. I’d love to have lunch with you. I just don’t have much time. There’s a place to eat in the student union. We could go there, and we’ll try your coffee shop tomorrow. Maybe I’ll go there after class while I’m waiting for yours to end. By then I’ll need more coffee. I’m really tired.”

“Didn’t you sleep last night?”

“I did, but I kept waking up thinking someone was trying to break in. I woke up every time I heard a noise.”

“Jade, I need to ask you something.”

“What?”

“What do you think about us getting a gun?”

“No way. Forget it. I don’t want one in our home. It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s dangerous not to have one. I’ll teach you how to use it. We’ll find a shooting range and you can practice.”

“Practice killing someone? No, thanks.”

“Jade, it’s just a precaution. Criminals have guns. If they have them, we should, too. It only makes sense.”

“I don’t want a gun. We already have a security system. That’s all we need.”

“My dad’s house in Connecticut has the most sophisticated security system available. It cost a fortune. He also has security guys guarding the house. But did any of that stop your father?”

I don’t like Royce being called my father. I try to pretend he’s not. But I know Garret’s saying that because he doesn’t want to say Royce’s name. He always avoids saying it, like he thinks someone’s listening to us.

“Fine, but that was a special circumstance. It’s not like that’s going to happen again.”

“You never know what’s going to happen. That’s why you need to be prepared. Just think about it, okay?”

“I don’t need to. I don’t want us to have a gun. I think it’s a bad idea.” I check my watch as I stand up. “Class starts soon. I should walk over there.”

Garret gets up. “Are you mad at me now?”

“No. As soon as that cop told us about the robbery, I knew you’d bug me about getting a gun.” I reach up and kiss him. “I’ll see you at lunch. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

As I walk to class I think more about the gun. I’m not as opposed to it as I was last year but I’m still not ready to agree to it. Guns scare me, and the thought of having one sitting in a closet or in a drawer or under our bed totally freaks me out.

I go inside the social sciences building and stop at the vending machine to get a Coke. I already finished my coffee and I need more caffeine to make it through my next class, which is developmental psychology. It was one of the few electives that was still available since I enrolled so late. I took psych 101 last year and found it interesting, so I’m hoping this class will be, too. It’s about how your mind and behavior change over your lifetime, starting from when you’re a baby and going until old age. Even if it’s not that interesting, it’ll be an easy class—much easier than my science classes.

I go in the classroom and sit next to a girl with red hair, wearing ripped jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt. This school is very expensive so the students come from wealthy families, but from the way they dress you wouldn’t know it. Some of them look like they just rolled out of bed. It’s totally different than Moorhurst where people showed up to class wearing designer clothes and looking like they spent hours getting ready.

Camsburg is known for academics, not sports or partying or whatever else schools are known for. Moorhurst was known for academics, too, but the students here seem way more serious about their classes. In my organic chemistry class this morning, some of the people had already read the first three chapters of our book even though it wasn’t assigned. And they were already asking questions about the material they read. I felt like an idiot. I had no idea what they were talking about.

If that wasn’t bad enough, I decided to try to make friends in that class and my first attempt went horribly. After the lecture, I asked my new lab partner, who was assigned to me by the professor, if she wanted to get coffee after class and she completely ignored me like she didn’t hear me. I asked her again and she informed me that being her lab partner does not mean we’re friends and that I should stop trying.

I didn’t tell Garret that because it would piss him off, and knowing him he’d probably go yell at the girl.

She seemed like kind of a loner so maybe she just doesn’t like people. I was that way in high school after my mom died so I understand.

After I get my laptop set up, I turn to the red-headed girl next to me. “Hi, I’m Jade.”

She was staring straight ahead, but she turns a little and says, “Hi.”

It wasn’t an enthusiastic ‘hi’ and she didn’t give me her name.

“Do you know anything about this class? I kind of got stuck in it because I enrolled late.”

“It’s a psych class. Aren’t they all the same?” She gets her phone out and starts swiping through it, a sign she doesn’t want to talk.

Strike two in my attempt to make a friend today.

I turn to the girl who’s sitting on my left. She looks a little like Harper, with blond hair that’s pulled up into a ponytail. She’s flipping through the first chapter of our psych book.

“Did the professor assign some reading?” I ask her. “I forgot to check.”

It’s a lie. He didn’t assign anything but I’m trying to make conversation.

“Did you say something?” She looks at me, annoyed.

“I was just asking if the professor assigned reading for today’s class?”

“No. I just read ahead. I always do. I like to be prepared.” She flips to page one of the book and starts reading.

And there’s strike three.

I face forward again and notice three girls huddled around the desk in front of me with their phones out.

“What time do you want to get together tonight?” the one girl asks.

The girl next to her says, “I have biochem study group at 7 but I could do 9.”

“That works for me,” the third girl says. “So psych study group at 9 every Wednesday.”

They agree, then take their seats.

People are already having study groups? Classes just started. What’s there to study?

I feel like an idiot again. I’m used to being one of the smartest people in class and now I feel like the dumbest. How hard are these classes? Obviously really hard if people are studying this much. Maybe developmental psychology won’t be so easy after all.

When I meet Garret for lunch I give him a huge hug. I’m ecstatic to see a friendly face and someone who will actually talk to me.

He laughs at my over-the-top hug. “You miss me again?”

“Yes. A lot. You sure you don’t want to switch your major to chemistry? You’d be in all my classes and it’d be nice to have someone there who’d actually talk to me.”

“You don’t like the people in your classes?”

“They’re not exactly friendly.”

We take our trays and find a place to sit.

“Yeah, I noticed. The people here really stress out about school, although I met some guys who are more laid back. They invited me to lunch but I told them I was busy.”

“You already have friends? Damn. How do you do it?”

“Just give it time. People are always uptight on the first day. They’ll loosen up after a week or so.”

“I don’t think so. Some of them are already having study group tonight.”

“Well, I’m not studying tonight.” He leans over and lowers his voice. “I’m having dinner with my hot wife and then I’m taking her into the shower with me and I’m going to—”

“Mind if I sit here?” A tall, muscular guy with messy blond hair sets his tray down across from us.

Garret sits up straight again and says to the guy, “No, go ahead.”

I’m annoyed by the interruption, my mind left wondering what exactly Garret planned to do to me in the shower.

The guy puts his hand out toward Garret. “I’m Tyson. We just had class together. I sat in the back so you probably didn’t see me.”

Garret shakes his hand. “Hi, I’m Garret.”

I swear. I don’t understand this. Garret has people coming up to him, trying to be his friend, and I can’t even get someone to talk to me. I must be doing something wrong.

“Are you new here?” Tyson asks.

“Yeah, I transferred here.”

“That’s cool. You from California?” The guy takes a big bite of his burger. He has two burgers and a pile of fries.

“No. I’m from Connecticut. This is—” Garret was about to introduce me but the guy interrupts.

“I’m from Orange County. Born and raised there. You surf?”

“Yeah.”

“We should go surfing sometime. You want to go tonight? A bunch of us are going. Like eight guys. We have a spot we like just north of town.”

“Thanks, but I’m busy tonight.”

“Garret, it’s fine.” I say it quietly to him. “Go ahead.”

Tyson looks at me. “Are you the girlfriend?”

“This is Jade,” Garret answers. “She’s my wife.”

The guy laughs. “You’re joking, right? Wife. That’s hilarious.”

I hold my hand out and show him my ring. “He’s not kidding. I’m his wife.”

“Holy shit. What are you, like 19?” he asks Garret.

“I’m 20.” Garret’s angry. I can hear it in his voice. “Maybe you should go sit somewhere else.”

He gets up, still laughing. “I think I will. No offense, man. You can do what you want, but I’m not interested in hanging out with married people.”

Once he’s gone, Garret says, “So we’re probably not going to have many friends here.”

“We need to find a couple to hang out with, like Harper and Sean. I really miss them. Maybe we could convince them to move here.”

Garret puts his arm around me. “It’s only the first day. We’ll find people to hang out with. It just takes time. And if we don’t, we always have each other.”

The tables around us are filling up with people and I see that it’s getting close to 1. I need to get to chem lab, so I leave Garret there, telling him I’ll meet him after class at that coffee shop he went to this morning. I’m done at 2 today but he has class until 3.

Organic chem lab is uneventful. Emily, my lab partner, does all the work while I just stand there and watch. Every time I try to help, she takes over again. I can tell she thinks I’ll screw up the experiment. She informed me that she wants an A in this class and when I told her I did, too, she acted like she didn’t believe me. Since it’s only the first day, I didn’t want to argue with her so I just let her do the experiment.

After lab, I walk down to the coffee shop. It’s right by the entrance to campus. It has a bright red awning out front that says ‘Campus Brew’ and a sign on the window that reads ‘Students welcome. Show your ID for a discount.’

The inside of the place has an open, loft-like ceiling with exposed pipes. There are lots of different seating options; booths, small tables, long high tables with stools, and some lounge chairs scattered around. I take one of the soft chairs. They look relaxing and I need to relax. I feel tense. I sink into the chair and close my eyes for a moment.

“Long day?”

I open my eyes to see a girl standing there. She’s tiny, maybe 5 feet tall, with short dark hair and deep brown eyes. She has a t-shirt on with the coffee shop name so I’m guessing she’s a waitress. I didn’t know they had waitresses. I thought you just ordered at the counter.

I sit up a little. “Yeah. The first day of class always kind of sucks.”

“Can I get you something? The smoothies here are really good. We make them with fresh fruit.”

It’s hot out today and an icy cold smoothie does sound good. “Okay, I’ll have a smoothie.”

“What kind would you like? We have lots of different ones. I’ll get you a menu.”

“Just pick whatever’s good.”

“They’re $4. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

She smiles, then takes off for the kitchen. Finally, someone who’s friendly. I know she’s just doing her job, being nice to a customer, but I still appreciate the friendly greeting.

A few minutes later, she comes back with the smoothie. “This one has blueberries, bananas, strawberries, and vanilla frozen yogurt. It’s my favorite, but if you don’t like it I’ll make you a different one.”

I taste it. “It’s really good. Thanks!”

“Do you want anything to eat? We’re done serving lunch for today but we have pastries or pie.”

“No, thanks. The smoothie is enough.”

“Just let me know if you need anything.”

She leaves, then comes back with a rag and a spray bottle and begins wiping down the tables next to me. She’s fast, yet thorough. She even wipes down the chairs.

“Do you go to school at Camsburg?” I ask her.

“No.” She laughs.

I’m not sure why that’s funny. Maybe she’s still in high school. She has a young-looking face and she’s so small.

“Are you in high school?” As I ask it, I realize that if she was, she’d be in school right now.

“High school?” She laughs again. At least she’s not insulted. “I’m 21, almost 22. Do I really look like I’m in high school?”

“Kind of. Actually, yeah, you do. You look really young.”

“Well, that’s good I guess. It’s better than looking old.” She spritzes cleaning solution on the tall table across from me. “I’m guessing you go to Camsburg?”

“Yeah, I transferred here from another college. I’m a sophomore.”

“How do you like it?”

“I haven’t found the students to be very friendly. I guess I shouldn’t say that because I really haven’t met many of them yet.”

“They’re all like that. They’re either popular and cliquey or they’re academics who want to be left alone. At least that’s what I’ve decided after watching them in here the past year.” She sets her spray bottle down and extends her hand. “I’m Sara, by the way.”

“I’m Jade.” We shake hands. “So you’ve worked here a year?”

“Yeah. I’m trying to find other work but there aren’t many jobs in this town and I need a flexible schedule.”

“Because of college? Where do you go?”

“I’m not in college. I have a kid.”

“Oh.” I didn’t expect her to say that. I’m flustered, which means stupid things are about to come out of my mouth. “What kind? I mean, a boy or a girl?”

She smiles. “What kind? That’s funny. I have the crying, diaper-wearing, constantly-needs-to-be-fed kind. A boy. His name is Caleb. He’s six months old.”

“Do you have a picture?”

Her face lights up as she reaches in her pocket and pulls out her phone. “He was five months when this was taken. He has a little more hair now.”

She shows me the photo. He’s a cute baby; chubby with pink cheeks and a tuft of brown hair sticking up on the top of his head.

“He’s cute.”

“Thanks.” She puts her phone away. “I have to pick him up at day care at 3. It’s going to be a long night. He just started teething and I can’t get him to stop crying. I was up with him all last night.”

“Do you have family around here?”

“No. My mom left town last year. I don’t even know where she lives. She ditched me and moved in with her boyfriend after I got pregnant. She didn’t want another mouth to feed. She’d rather spend her disability checks on alcohol and cigarettes, not her grandson.”

“She’s disabled?”

“No. She faked a back injury years ago so she wouldn’t have to work. She basically just drinks, gambles, and hangs out with loser guys. She’s got some issues.”

“Sounds like my mom.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Not exactly, but she also had some issues. She died a few years ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So where’s Caleb’s dad?”

“He graduated from Camsburg last May and now he works in San Francisco. He doesn’t want anything to do with Caleb or me.”

“Does he at least send you child support?”

“No, and I don’t want to fight him for it. His parents are rich and they’d make my life hell if I went after their son for child support. They think I purposely got pregnant to get their money.” Sara rolls her eyes. “I was on the pill when I got pregnant. Everyone knows it’s not 100%. And I always told Caleb’s dad to use a condom as backup but he wouldn’t do it.” She wipes down another table. “I always pick the wrong guys.” She stops cleaning and smiles. “There was this guy who was here earlier and he was so hot I was actually nervous around him. I figured a guy that hot would be a real jerk, but he was really nice. Why can’t I find a guy like that?”

“You should ask him out.”

“Who?”

“That guy you met. The one you were just talking about.”

“Yeah, right. No guy our age wants to date a single mom.”

“You never know. You said he was nice. I bet he’d go out with you.”

“You really think so?”

“You won’t know unless you ask. Next time you see him, ask him if he wants to go to dinner.”

“I can’t. I don’t have anyone to watch Caleb.”

“I could watch him. I know you don’t know me, but I’m very responsible. I don’t know that much about babies but I think I could handle him for an hour or two. And my husband could help. He’s good with kids.”

She sits in the chair across from me. “You’re married? How old are you?”

“I’m 19. We got married last July and now we’re both going to Camsburg.”

“You wanted to get married at 19?” She blushes. “Sorry, that sounded bad.”

“It’s fine. We get that reaction a lot.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it. Really. I was just surprised. But it doesn’t matter how old you are. You seem really happy so that’s all that counts, right?”

“Finally, someone who isn’t judging me for being married this young. People on campus act like we’re crazy.”

“I’m 21 and single with a baby and a crappy job so I can’t judge.” She gets up. “I gotta go but it was nice meeting you. Stop by again. Maybe we could talk some more. I miss having a real conversation with someone. Caleb’s not much of a talker.” She smiles as she walks away.

I think I just made a friend. I never thought it’d be a single mom I met at a coffee shop but hey, a friend’s a friend.