As soon as he left, I stood up and was holy cow dizzy. I had to hold the seat to steady myself. Mary laughed. “You are a lightweight. First time drinking? Spend the week with us and we’ll turn you into a fish.”
“Excuse me. I have to—”
“Sit, sit. We must talk.” I walked towards the bathroom, but the movement of the train and the drink made it difficult.
Iris took my hand and put me back in the seat. “So, tell us about your husband. How did you meet? What was the wedding like?”
“I, um—”
“The tension between the two of you is plain juicy,” Mary said. “I bet the wedding night was fun, to say the least. What’s he like?”
“He’s a gentleman,” I said. “He’s probably the best person I’ve ever met.”
It hit me then how much I meant it. He was the best person I’d ever met or would ever meet. This wasn’t a simple crush and I didn’t just like Greer.
“How long have the two of you been together?”
“Only recently, but I’ve had feelings for him for some time. Maybe the moment I met him.” My stomached swirled with butterflies. Vague half-truths rushed their way out of my mouth. “Maybe it was at the opera, or the hike on the hill. The river when we saw the owl. Running in the rain. I guess it doesn’t matter.”
“We can see the love between you as plain as day.”
Greer returned with three pinkish purple drinks. He played all nicey-nicey with the women but gave me quite the scowl. I smiled, letting him know I’d done all right and not said anything that would get us in trouble.
The women were oblivious, and Iris admitted, “Your wife was telling us how much she loves you.”
“Oh, was she?” He smiled down at me.
“So, when did you realize you were in love with Hannah?”
I waited with this sickeningly hopeful feeling.
“The moment I saw her.” He said this offhandedly, like it was nothing. Unlike me, this wasn’t real to him and his response was proof. When Greer first saw me, he told me to run and, in the cellar, he’d forced sunglasses on me and said he knew what I was. He didn’t love me at the beginning and never would.
He gave the women their drinks, and I noticed his was different. Less cloudy, less pinkish. I doubted his drink had alcohol in it. He was playing these women.
I sat closer to the window while Greer and the women raised a glass to toast love. If I looked at him or them, I’d lose it. I attempted to think back to when this crush had become so large, like if I replayed the moment my feelings could revert, but it was impossible. I deeply cared for Greer, and while I didn’t know if it was love, it was something very close. Adoration was the right word for it. I adored him, and yet our situation was temporary. We couldn’t hide in the hills forever. I had to help my grandma because she was the reason for being in that crumby world, and yet the thought of not being with Greer was bringing me close to tears.
Chapter 33
Oh, Stuff It, Greer
It was a short ride, but Greer kept the drinks flowing, and by the time we reached our destination, the women were six drinks in and all three were singing in their seats. The women were well pickled and they never noticed Greer was acting. I doubted they observed much about him after drink number five. I, at least, found one area where Greer did not excel: his singing was terrible.
The ladies leaned heavily on my fake husband as they exited the car, yelling it was the most fun they’d ever had on a train. I stood alone outside the train station as Greer helped them into a cab for their destination. I couldn’t help being jealous of the women, and not just because they’d had a great time with Greer, a better time than we had ever had. They had a vacation of fun and relaxation ahead of them, and I was attempting to find words, running away from the government and helping an organization I knew nothing about. I needed a break.
Across from the station was the largest pile of sand I had ever seen. Even through the cars and clamor of the crowd, I easily heard the surf crashing on the other side. I’d never been to the ocean before.
I couldn’t help it. I picked up the bags and climbed the sand mound. The ocean was so large, so blue. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Greer called my fake name behind me, but I didn’t call back. I wanted this for me. I dropped the bags on the dry sand and kicked off my sandals. My feet hit the sun-cooked sand, and I ran towards the ocean.
The cool surf lapped over my slightly singed feet. The sand bubbled as the water receded, only to return with a purple shell. This shell was mine. I picked it up and held it in the palm of my hand.
Greer came over. “You can’t go off like that.”
Oh, stuff it, Greer. I didn’t even want to see him at that moment. I wanted to be alone with this beautiful monstrosity. I wanted life to be simple again. I wanted to just be Waverly at the beach.
Greer had the bags in his hands. “Come on, we better get going.”
My feet were sinking in the wet sand. “It’s so big. I knew it would be. I mean I’ve seen movies and pictures and stuff, but this… this is amazing.”
“You’ve never been to the ocean before?”
“I never left Barton.”
“Didn’t your parents take you to the beach on vacation?”
“When I was younger, they didn’t have a lot of money. It’s hard finding a job for two teachers in our town because the
