Second Chance (50 page)

I tap my fingers on the table
.
“
What if
somebody paid for you to
go to school?
”

She
stares at me
.
“
What
are you saying, Gray
?
You’re going to hook me up with

a
sugar daddy
?
Is there some ‘sex for school’ program I’m unaware of?
”

      
I
smile back at her
.
Just like me, she turns something serious into a joke when she doesn’t want to face it
.
“
I’m saying you can apply for a scholarship
.
If someone paid for you to go to school, would your
mom
be happier about it?
”
 

Lenny shakes her head
.
“
I’m not going to get a scholarship
.
I don’t play sports and I wasn’t a valedictorian of my high school.
”

“You’re missing something obvious here,” I say.

“What
?
Is there a scholarship
available
for
disgruntled
food industry workers
?”

Dylan pointed
this
out to me at the admissions office and it never even occurred to me
, b
ut it
’s
perfect
.
It’s Lenny’s chance
.

I
still have a few papers in my hand and I throw them on the table
.
“
Just read
the
m
over
, that’s all I ask.
”
 

She
picks
up the papers
.
“
What are these?
”

“
Every year
they offer
full
-
ride scholarships
for
minority students
.
You’re also
really smart and
an over
-
achiever
.
You have a great shot at
getting
one of these
scholarship
s
.”

She
stares down at the papers
.
“
How did
you find these?
”

“
We did some research.
”

She stares back at me
.
“
We?
”

“
Okay,
maybe
Dylan pressed this.
”

Her
mouth twitches
.
She’s almost smiling and for Lenny, that’s a breakthrough
.

“
I also wrote you a letter of recommendation.
”
I
ruffle through the pile and pull out the letter that Dylan and I threw together at an extra computer in the
a
dmissions office
.
She picks it up
and
starts to read
it
and her mouth trembles
.
Oh, my God, I cannot handle seeing Lenny cry
.
No way
.
She
looks up at me and there are tears in her eyes
, but I pretend I don’t notice. W
e
don’t do sentimental stuff
.
I stick to business because I know Lenny would
rather
vomit
than do the
sappy
cry-in-my-arms
hug.

“
You
need two more letters
of rec
ommendation
,
”
I say
.
“
I
also
scheduled
a time for you to meet with that
advisor
.
”
She
shakes her head because I know her schedule as well as she does
.
I point out the time
on the back of the
business
card.

“
Thanks.
”

I
stand up
,
but before I leave, I
add one more thing
.
A sincere regret
.
“
Sorry I didn’t do this for you
sooner
.”

She smiles
.

I head
out
the door
and
Dylan’s down the street waiting for me
.
She’s taking a picture of something
on the ground that
’s
invisible
to the average eye. S
he’s sprawled on the sidewalk and I
remember the first day we met—t
hat
dusty
courtyard
in
Phoenix
, and
I think how incredible it is that a single person can change your life
.
I’ll do anything for her now
.
Anything
.
She helps people become twice
their potential
.
She deserves the same thing in return.

GRAY

We’re all
eating dinner
Sunday night
and Dylan
’s sitting across from
me
.
I notice
how, lately,
her ou
tfits all match and fit her.
I have
to admit, she looks good
.
The clothes show off her body and she can pull off anything because she’s so tall and wiry
.
But it’s also a little disappointing
, because
suddenly Dylan is
fitting
in
.
The
change
makes me feel unsettled
because in the back of my mind
,
I know
it’s me that she’s
trying to please
.

      
Over dinner, Li
z
is discussing wedding plans and all the guys nod politely like we care
.
S
he
suggest
s
Dylan look into doing wedding photography
in Albuquerque
this summer.

      
“It’s really good money
.
We’re paying
a
photographer
three
hundred
dollars
for
two
hours of work,
”
she says.

      
“I’d love it,” Dylan says
.
“But I won’t be here this summer.”

      
I already know this
.
Dylan has restless cells and they lose
their shimmer if she’s too stagnant
.
The
rest of the table is stunned
.
In the
ir
eyes, Dylan’s life
is here
.
S
ettled
.
Next comes routine
.

      
“Where are you going?
”
Tr
avis
asks
.

      
Dylan explains she’s been a kayaking instructor for the past few years in Northern Wisconsin
.
She
guides
trips through sea caves in
Lake Superior
, and leads camping trips in the
Apostle
Islands
.
Her
eyes
light up while s
he talks about it
.
She says it’s the best
way to spend the summer
,
that
she’s paid to watch the sunset over the Great Lakes
.
She can’t pass it up.