than ramming into a phone pole.
'Austin's mother.'
Serendipity. It's not just the name of a mildly entertaining
John Cusack movie. 'Oh?' I couldn't manage a different
response.
'She said to say hi.'
'Uh-huh.' As far as I knew, when her son and I had
broken up, Mrs. Miler had been happy to see me go.
'Don't make that face at me, Paige.'
'You don't know what face I'm making.'
'I'm your mother, I don't need to see your face to know
you're crunching your nose. You're going to get horrible
crow's-feet that way.'
'Around my nose?'
'And guess what she said?'
I waited while she dangled further information in front of
me like cheese in front of a rat.
'She says he's moved up there. Where you are.'
Wel, at least I'd forgotten to keep staring at the note with
hungry eyes. 'Harrisburg isn't a foreign country, you know.
It's only forty minutes away.' I tried not to sound sharp,
but failed.
My mother didn't care. When 'going away' in the
vernacular of the area means you're taking a trip to the
store, forty minutes was an eternity. I was gone. Anyway,
I'd already known about Austin.
Harrisburg was my place. Not his. He didn't belong here.
He should've stayed in Lebanon, where his family lived
and had always lived and would always live. He should've
stayed there where every street could remind him of me
and he could weep bitter, salty tears at the loss.
'Lemoyne,' she said as though I hadn't spoken. 'His mom said he got a new job with some big heating-and- cooling
company. He's not doing construction with his dad
anymore.'
'Good for him.'
'I'm sure I could get his number for you.'
'I have his number.' She was silent to that, because as far as she knew, Austin and I hadn't spoken since the day I'd
walked out of our apartment.
'Fine. Be that way. I just thought you might like to know,
that's al. He's got a good job.'
'Depends on what you consider good.'
This time, her silence was longer. 'Wel. When did you
become such a snob?'
I sighed. 'I'm not a snob. I'm just…trying to change things
for myself. That's al.'
There realy was no better way to put it, and no way not to
say it without offending her. My mother had everything I
never wanted. Most parents want better for their kids, and
