another family.”
“Oh. So they remarried.”
“Yes. Listen, it’s not a big deal,” she claimed, hoping to move on to some other subject. She disliked talking about her personal life, and she worried that she was giving Philip the wrong impression.
“Don’t you like their new spouses?”
She wondered why he wasn’t letting this drop. “Well they’re not exactly new. Mom got remarried soon after the divorce. I was so young when my parents split up. I don’t even remember my father ever living with us.”
“That’s sad,” Philip said quietly. “So I guess that means you don’t have siblings.”
“No, I do. Half siblings,” Sara told him. “Mom and her second husband have two children together, also known as the golden girls.”
“What do you mean?”
Sara looked at Philip sideways. “Are you interviewing me?” she asked with a smile. She wasn’t really enjoying the line of questioning, but she was enjoying being with Philip.
“No. Just interested,” he answered.
Sara felt her stomach do a little flip. He just said he was interested, and he sounded sincere. Even if he was only being polite, it still meant a lot to her. “I mean exactly what I said. They were golden. They could do no wrong.”
“And you?”
“Me?” She shrugged. “I was invisible. They didn’t even notice me.” She couldn’t believe she just admitted something so personal. But that little confession helped Sara to relax a little—probably because Philip didn’t seem to be judging her.
“I find that hard to believe,” he said. “Did you get along with your sisters?”
She thought for a moment. “I don’t know. Well enough, I guess. We just never bonded. We have nothing in common. I mean nothing.”
“Hmmm. What about your dad’s family? Are you any closer with them?”
She bit her lip, feeling a little uneasy admitting her lack of family ties, especially after reading Philip’s essays and knowing how close he was with his family. “I guess you’d say it was pretty much the same story, but with a different cast of characters.” She chuckled. “I’m someone who’s much happier being by myself and not having to deal with them. I always feel like the odd-woman-out when I see them.”
Touching her shoulder briefly, he said, “I’m sorry to hear that. So, are they in Florida?”
That gentle touch rippled through Sara’s body, and she couldn’t think for a minute. What did he just ask her? Oh god, she couldn’t remember! “Um. What?”
“I asked if they live in Florida.”
“Oh.” Exhaling, she told him, “No. Pennsylvania. What about your family?”
“Southwest Florida. The Naples area. You ever been there?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Hmmm.” Philip got quiet for a moment. “So, you’re gonna be on campus all by yourself, huh?”
“I don’t mind.”
Chapter Seven
In his business class a few days later, Philip was listening to a lecture about the rise and fall and rise again of Apple founder Steve Jobs, when his mind wandered to Sara. She wasn’t his first choice for a chauffeur to the doctor the other day, but it worked out okay.
She shocked him with the hug in the doctor’s office. Philip had melted many girls’ hearts in his time, but Sara was different. He didn’t think she liked him at all, let alone cared whether or not he ever walked again. Still, he was glad to see that she was softening toward him and opening up a little. It would make the tutoring experience more palatable.
Holding the end of a stylus between his lips like a cigarette, Philip mused about how Sara wasn’t like other girls he normally encountered. She wasn’t flirtatious or cute or coy. She didn’t throw herself at him like so many of the girls he knew. In fact, she seemed to look down on him, as if he were a lower form of life.
Now and then, however, there were glimmers of a connection between the two of them, like the day she walked with him to the sports
“Oh. So they remarried.”
“Yes. Listen, it’s not a big deal,” she claimed, hoping to move on to some other subject. She disliked talking about her personal life, and she worried that she was giving Philip the wrong impression.
“Don’t you like their new spouses?”
She wondered why he wasn’t letting this drop. “Well they’re not exactly new. Mom got remarried soon after the divorce. I was so young when my parents split up. I don’t even remember my father ever living with us.”
“That’s sad,” Philip said quietly. “So I guess that means you don’t have siblings.”
“No, I do. Half siblings,” Sara told him. “Mom and her second husband have two children together, also known as the golden girls.”
“What do you mean?”
Sara looked at Philip sideways. “Are you interviewing me?” she asked with a smile. She wasn’t really enjoying the line of questioning, but she was enjoying being with Philip.
“No. Just interested,” he answered.
Sara felt her stomach do a little flip. He just said he was interested, and he sounded sincere. Even if he was only being polite, it still meant a lot to her. “I mean exactly what I said. They were golden. They could do no wrong.”
“And you?”
“Me?” She shrugged. “I was invisible. They didn’t even notice me.” She couldn’t believe she just admitted something so personal. But that little confession helped Sara to relax a little—probably because Philip didn’t seem to be judging her.
“I find that hard to believe,” he said. “Did you get along with your sisters?”
She thought for a moment. “I don’t know. Well enough, I guess. We just never bonded. We have nothing in common. I mean nothing.”
“Hmmm. What about your dad’s family? Are you any closer with them?”
She bit her lip, feeling a little uneasy admitting her lack of family ties, especially after reading Philip’s essays and knowing how close he was with his family. “I guess you’d say it was pretty much the same story, but with a different cast of characters.” She chuckled. “I’m someone who’s much happier being by myself and not having to deal with them. I always feel like the odd-woman-out when I see them.”
Touching her shoulder briefly, he said, “I’m sorry to hear that. So, are they in Florida?”
That gentle touch rippled through Sara’s body, and she couldn’t think for a minute. What did he just ask her? Oh god, she couldn’t remember! “Um. What?”
“I asked if they live in Florida.”
“Oh.” Exhaling, she told him, “No. Pennsylvania. What about your family?”
“Southwest Florida. The Naples area. You ever been there?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Hmmm.” Philip got quiet for a moment. “So, you’re gonna be on campus all by yourself, huh?”
“I don’t mind.”
Chapter Seven
In his business class a few days later, Philip was listening to a lecture about the rise and fall and rise again of Apple founder Steve Jobs, when his mind wandered to Sara. She wasn’t his first choice for a chauffeur to the doctor the other day, but it worked out okay.
She shocked him with the hug in the doctor’s office. Philip had melted many girls’ hearts in his time, but Sara was different. He didn’t think she liked him at all, let alone cared whether or not he ever walked again. Still, he was glad to see that she was softening toward him and opening up a little. It would make the tutoring experience more palatable.
Holding the end of a stylus between his lips like a cigarette, Philip mused about how Sara wasn’t like other girls he normally encountered. She wasn’t flirtatious or cute or coy. She didn’t throw herself at him like so many of the girls he knew. In fact, she seemed to look down on him, as if he were a lower form of life.
Now and then, however, there were glimmers of a connection between the two of them, like the day she walked with him to the sports
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