Cal’s bumping around the house before his morning run. I flip my sheets off and walk out into the rest of the house just as the front door slams. “Come on,” I say to a darkened house. I grab Cal’s sweatshirt by the door and run out of the house in bare feet and my pajamas pulling the sweatshirt on over my head. Cal’s still stretching just in front of the salon as I come barreling toward him. “Where are you going?” I ask. “On my run,” he says, bending over for another stretch. “I know yesterday was weird, but I swear—” “This whole thing goes away when you tell me and Momma that you’re not taking that job. You get that, right?” Cal asks. “Yeah.” “So . . .” “You know how when I first got here you asked me why anyone would want to leave New York City and come back to North Star?” “Yeah.” “And that all you can think about right now is going to UT and getting out of North Star?” “Yeah.” “But do you know that in-between place? Where you’re excited to go to UT, but kinda scared to leave home?”
