The Rules of Attraction

SEAN Tim helps me pack the next morning. I don’t have a lot to take with me, but he has nothing else to do and he carries most of the stuff out to my car. He doesn’t ask about Rupert, though he knows that’s why I’m leaving. From across the lawn Lauren is on her way to Commons. She waves. I wave back.

“Heard about Lauren,” Tim says.

“Already?” I ask, closing the trunk of the MG.

“Yeah.” He offers me a cigarette. “Already.”

“I don’t know,” I say.

“What happened? Is she okay?” He laughs, “Do you care?”

I shrug. I try to light the cigarette and to my amazement the match doesn’t go out in the wind and light snow. “I liked her a lot.”

Tim’s silent but then asks, “Then why didn’t you pay for it?”

He’s not looking at me. I crack up.

“I didn’t like her that much,” I say as I get into the car.