Page 50 of Legally Mine

"What are you doing here?" I demanded as I let her go.

Jane reached behind her and wheeled a small suitcase into the apartment, kicking our door shut.

"Clearly I am here to help you sort out the mess of your life. By the way, the lock on your building entrance is broken." She glanced at Eric, who still sat on the couch, staring at her with hilarious bewilderment. "What's up, man-whore?"

Eric immediately recovered his blasé expression. "Hey. Good to see you too, Jane."

He picked up one of the study packets on the coffee table and continued to sip his drink as if Jane's sudden appearance was completely run-of-the-mill. Jane just rolled her eyes and mimed a hand-job.

"Whatever," she said. "You have me until tomorrow night. I figure we can spend the morning studying, and then take a break this afternoon, do a bit more, and then go out tonight." She looked behind her at the packets Eric was using. "Good, you guys are going through BarPrep too. We can work together, since the first unit is all federal statutes. That is, if Captain Underpants over there can tear himself away from his weekly un-dresser."

"You hard up, Jane?" Eric asked without even looking up from his work. "Because I could probably help you out if you're interested."

"Like an iceberg. I'll pass on the VD, thanks."

I bounced between them like I was watching a tennis match, but before I could say anything to break it up, Jane linked arms with me.

"Come on, show me your room, chick," she said. "We'll leave the human hormone to his masturbation studies until we're done gossiping."

~

"So your dad really doesn't believe you about that Katie bitch?"

After three hours of studying, Jane and I had decided to walk down to Haymarket to enjoy the sunny spring day and peruse the stalls of produce. It was the kind of day that made me love living in Boston. Just enough warmth bounced off the cobblestoned streets, and I could smell the briny water sloshing around the piers on the other side of Government Center and Faneuil Hall. I could walk around in nothing but my favorite jeans, a gray T-shirt, and a pair of sandals, my hair thrown into a casual braid down my back.

I shrugged as I looked over a display of peppers, drifting my fingers over their red and yellow skins. I had finished recounting to my friend the events of the past twenty-four hours, including Brandon's and my reconciliation, as well as the awkward conversation I'd had with my dad earlier that morning. My epiphany about Katie Corleone hadn't been taken well. It probably hadn't helped that I could hear her squealing in his ear while I talked.

"Yeah, it's...kind of nuts. I mean, I know it's just a suspicion on my part, but I don't like it. Not to mention that he really shouldn't be getting into a relationship when he's in the middle of recovery. You should have heard him, Jane. He got so mad when I suggested even the possibility that she was in cahoots with Messina."

Jane gave a low whistle and shook her head. "It's probably hard for him. Single guy, gimpy hand, lives with his mother. He probably got a bit of tail when he was playing piano, but now... She's probably got his dick so locked down right now you'd need a nitroglycerin to break that safe." She nudged my shoulder when she caught my obvious disgust. "Oh, stop with the sourpuss, Skylar! He's a musician in New York. What did you think was happening?"

I continued to scowl, but as much as I hated to admit it, Jane was probably right. I examined an eggplant, turning it back and forth.

"Come on. What are you going to do with that? Microwave it?" Jane pulled the eggplant out of my hand and set it back with the others.

I turned to her, annoyed. "I might cook it," I said, picking it back up. "You don't know."

"I know that Richie Rich's favorite food is eggplant parmesan." Jane batted her eyelashes knowingly. "And I also know that in three years, you never once used our stove for purposes other than boiling water."

I rolled my eyes, but put the eggplant back in the bin. I had forgotten just how annoying it could be living with someone who knew all of my secrets.

"Eric doesn't make fun of me for my lack of kitchen expertise."

"Yet, my love. Yet being the key word there."

We continued to stroll through the marketplace, looking at the bright rows of vegetables and the other stalls hawking various crafts and wares. My gaze landed on a couple: a tall blond man with a woman about my height. The man had a baby strapped to his chest. He leaned down to kiss the woman, and my heart squeezed, a feeling that was becoming all too familiar.

"So, last night. You didn't tell Brandon? About...you know?"

"I know I should," I said quietly as we continued to walk.

"It's your choice, Sky," Jane said. "I'm not judging. Really."

I sighed and continued to weave through the crowd listlessly, no longer interested in taking in the sights. Jane followed, and eventually we were making our way through the downtown area and into the Commons, with the Public Garden just up ahead. She said nothing while we waited with other pedestrians to cross into the park, just walked next to me, sipping the iced coffee she'd picked up at the market, until we wandered around the duck pond and ended up taking a bench not far from the bronze "Make Way for Ducklings" statues.

I stared at the baby ducks and glanced around the park. There seemed to be kids everywhere today.

"Look," Jane said, breaking the silence. "I'm not saying it was the wrong choice. No one is saying that. I'm just saying, if what you said is true...if you guys are trying to start again with a fresh slate, then honesty is going to be key. You're so mad at him for holding all that stuff back, Sky. How do you think he'll feel if he finds out you hid this from him?"