Chapter 17

• It had been about seven years since I last saw Darcy, though I’d thought about her nearly every day of those seven years. Her son, Jared, has been my best friend since college. I was the broke out-of-state student, piecing my tuition together with scholarships, grants, and part-time jobs, who couldn’t afford the trip home to Chicago every holiday. Jared was the one with a rich family and a fun-loving mom who threw pool parties that nearly got her ousted from their historic downtown Charleston neighborhood. She was also the one who came to my rescue during my junior year when my grades plummeted due to too much partying, and I lost one of my scholarships. She let me stay in the garçonnière rent-free. Let me borrow her old car — a late-model Mercedes — to get back and forth to campus. Fed me from her table most nights. I think I fell in love with her that summer. Well, to be honest, I was halfway in love with her before that, or at least deeply infatuated.
• Jesus… The way my heart used to pound in my chest every time I heard her ask Jared, “Are you coming home this weekend? If you are, bring Lil’ Tommy with you!” And I accepted every invitation eagerly.
• Lil’ Tommy.